When I was a kid, there was a show I used to watch called the Wonder Twins. This brother-sister duo had the power to transform themselves into the form of something. The transformation of each twin combined in such a way that it created exactly what they needed for the situation they were in. For example, one would say, “Form of water,” and the other would say, “Form of a freezer,” and they would become ice that would be their weapon against whatever it was they were fighting. It was a fun show to watch for us who were born in the ’70s because we would pretend with our friends to be wonder twins. We got quite creative with what we activated.
I believe this old cartoon has application for today as it pertains to what God is doing with people in the kingdom of God. First of all, it was a male and female team. They were not in competition with each other, but they complemented each other.
They both had something the other needed in order to face the situation they both found themselves in. In Genesis 1:26-28, when God created humanity, He created them male and female. They had two distinct and different makeups, but one mandate. They were called together to take dominion, not over other people or over each other, but over the earth, the animals and the land.
They were to work together to multiply who they were, to rule and reign together and to subdue every enemy that sought to come against them. Eve was not Adam’s enemy, nor was Adam Eve’s enemy. They were the wonder twins, and together they would activate the kingdom of God on earth.
In Genesis 3 the enemy of this dynamic duo interrupted the original intent of this duo and deception led to a behavior that destroyed the original design for this power couple. Throughout the whole Old Testament we see that the mandate to take dominion over the animals, land and their enemies continued, but one other dominion was alive and well and that was the dominion Adam took over Eve. In Genesis 3:16 we see that part of the curse that was pronounced over Eve for her disobedience to the Word of God, was to live in subjection to her husband.
But Jesus! John 3:16 is the beginning of the breaking of the curse placed on Adam and Eve for their disobedience. Jesus, who was obedient even unto death, broke the curse that was pronounced on Adam and Eve and everyone after them by dying on the cross. Not only that, He restored to them the keys of the kingdom they were originally given in Genesis 1.
The wonder twins were restored at the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. We are still distinctly different, and understanding those differences will help us to work together once again as the wonder twin powers. We are called to activate the kingdom of God on earth. John Gray in his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus began the process of outlining the differences between men and women. But God knows our design and distinctions, so only He can really help us understand how we were created and how we work together in a complimentary, not competitive fashion.
What most of us do not recognize is that men were created for mission and women were created for connection. When we only focus on mission, we tend to go it alone. When we only focus on connection, we tend to go nowhere. But, if we could recognize that women want to be connected so they can be on mission with their man, men would be more effective in their mission, because their wife is created as their helpmate not their enemy.
The enemy has no new tactics, he does the same thing over and over again. He has deceived us to believe the enemy is our spouse, but actually our spouse is our greatest ally. The Bible says when a man finds a wife, he finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord (Prov. 18:22).
Favor is grace, which is divine empowerment for success. The Bible also says a woman of strength and integrity turns her husband into an honored king (Prov. 12:4). When men and women stop competing and start complementing each other, we will realize we are the wonder twins God created to activate things on the earth, that will usher in the kingdom of God. Together we engage in a connected mission.
Lisa Great, author of Divine Principles of Success, pastored a church in Malaysia. She is a minister and blogger at Mouthpiece Ministries.