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Articles
Cindye Coates serves as a pastor/teacher at Solomon's Porch
Family Worship Center where her husband, Stan Coates is Sr. Pastor and Founder. Together they have served in ministry for 20 years. Cindye is presently in postgraduate school earning a doctorate in ministry. She is also a respected community leader.
The Sonship of Women
by Cindye Coates M.Div.
Sonship in scripture always speaks of covenant and inheritance.
The third day Church must walk in the Spirit and understand the eternal meaning
of such concepts. Many have been hindered by the
generic implication of the word, "sonship." The time has come
for kingdom women to move from the wilderness over into their covenant place,
possessing that which was already possessed for them in, through and by Jesus
Christ.
This deliverance from the wilderness into the promise happens by faith.
Hebrews 6:12 says that we are to be imitators of those who through faith and
patience inherit the promises.
In Numbers 27, we are introduced to the first women who go from the wilderness
into their inheritance:
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son
of Machir, son of Manessah, from the families of Manessah son of Joseph. The names his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.
They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the
congregation, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, saying, "Our father died
in the wilderness; he was not among those who assembled together against the
Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from his family, because he had
no sons? Give to us a possession among our father's brethren."
Moses brought their case before the Lord. And
the Lord said to Moses, "The daughters of Zelophehad are just and speak
correctly; you shall surely give them an inheritance among their father's
brethren, and you shall cause their father's inheritance to pass to them."
Zelophehad was a Hebrew slave in Egypt. When he was led out of Egypt,
he entered the wilderness just like everyone else. Somewhere in the wilderness he died in his own sin because he lost his faith in
God's promise to lead them into the land flowing with milk and honey (honey is a
type of revelation). This lack of faith is known
as sin.
(Romans 14:23) For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
(Hebrews 4:2) For we also have heard the gospel preached to us, just as they
did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did
not mix faith with it.
Here we can see that the Hebrews who died in the wilderness failed to receive
their inheritance because they did not mix faith with God's Word. We must not make the same mistake if we plan on leaving the wilderness
successfully.
It's always a tragedy when someone chooses doubt and unbelief over faith in God.
I've often wondered if Zelophehad lost his faith in possessing the Promise Land
because he kept passing out "pink cigars," hoping that eventually his wife would
bear a son instead. Could it be that he lacked
understanding in the Spirit and therefore lacked hope in the future? I
have actually observed couples who keep "trying for a boy" when they had a house
full of growing girls as if successful reproduction hinged on the gender of the
off spring. Help us Lord.
Zelophehad could have been exceedingly blessed if he had known how faithful God
is to His Word. His inheritance had been arranged
generations before him. He was a descendant of
Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. How could anyone deny this lineage? Joseph was chosen by God to inherit
the birthright of the firstborn even though he was second to the youngest.
(1 Chronicles 5:1-2) Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel ( was
the firstborn but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as
first born were given to the son's of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he
is not enrolled in the birthright. Though
Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the
birthright belonged to Joseph )…
God is a covenant keeping God. He remembers
His promises and when the daughters of Zelophehad requested their father's
inheritance, God saw Joseph! God sees the seed not the gender of the
beneficiary. God allotted perpetual provision for
all of the "sons" of Joseph.
Now we have a problem. These daughters of Zelophehad were not boys (natural sons). Moses
was challenged by the request of these five women who stood among men and dared
to ask for what was only given to men up until that time. Land was the most important thing a man could acquire. If a man had land, he had authority and influence. This was unacceptable for women in that culture as women were considered
property and were buried with the dogs. Much like
Islam today.
God had some shaking to do in the priesthood. Moses had spent 40 years on the backside of the desert tending the flocks of Jethro who, like Zelophehad, had only daughters, seven to be exact. One of which became Moses' wife, Ziporah, a shepherdess (pastor) and worked like
a man. Moses was aquatinted with this breed of
women. They did not threaten him, nor did he seek
to oppress them. He actually admired their
strength in the beauty of holiness.
Notice Moses did not confer with flesh and blood on the matter of these women
receiving their inheritance (land). He went
humbly to the Lord and the Lord told him that they were not do be discriminated
against because of their gender. God affirmed and
validated them to be counted among the men and receive their inheritance in like
manner. God is no respector of persons on any
level.
(1 Samuel 16:7) The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
God sees every man and every woman born of the Spirit as a son. Our sonship is by faith in the Son of God as we are in Him. Faith in our covenant sonship will usher us into the fullness of what Jesus made
available especially as it concerns ministry.
(Galatians 3: 26-29) You are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,
slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to
the promise.
The Spirit of God's Son, Jesus will transform the heart of a daughter into a
son. When daughters get the revelation of sonship,
there will be a greater measure released of the Spirit of Elijah, which is the
Spirit of sonship. This revelation on sonship
among women is essential to destroying the spirit of Jezebel, which is an
illegitimate spirit that seeks to castrate the heart of prophets (male & female)
so they can not reproduce more sons (covenant people).
God would that all of us receive the Spirit of adoption, leave the wilderness
and enter into the Land. The daughters of Zelophehad were not denied their covenant place with men. The land that they settled into was Gilead. There
was a balm in Gilead of which they were stewards over. Perhaps the message that we can glean from this is the potential for women to
occupy a Land that will bring healing.
What a wonderful Father we all have to give us all the Spirit of His Son. The time is now that women of God embrace sonship lest they die in the
wilderness. Jesus never oppressed women. He is God and God said, "Give them their inheritance!"
(Romans 8:14) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of
God
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