Summary

The Five Aspects of Woman Bible study presents a way of seeing what God intends a woman to be. By studying God’s original and exemplary gender patterns—Christ and the Church, Adam and Eve, God and Israel—we see God’s design and purpose for masculinity and femininity. The course teaches a Biblical vision for understanding and living God’s design for gender. Each aspect is studied as it was created to be, as it is distorted by sin, and as it is redeemed in Christ.

Femininity and gender are complex subjects. We cannot sum up femininity with one verse on submission or another on equality. Even the key passages listed above are only starting points. We must draw upon the entire Word of God — His definitions, laws, narratives, and the repeated patterns we see throughout the Bible — and not only hear what God says when He defines woman, but also watch closely how He uses gender truth in His whole revelation.

Testimonials

“The Five Aspects of Woman study has clarified my distorted views about women’s roles and has inspired me to live as a true woman of God according to His original design.”

“Five Aspects of Woman filled me with an appreciation and love for other women. The comparing went away and with it the insecurity and fear.”

“Each Five Aspects concept is steeped in solid Biblical backing, drawing upon women from the Bible typically overlooked. But these truths are affirmed daily through cultural and personal examples that jump out at me!”

Scope & Structure

The Five Aspects of Woman (FAW) study course presents a complete Biblical theology of femininity from Genesis all the way through Revelation in 26 lessons. This course is equal in difficulty to two semesters of Bible college coursework. (Looking for a shorter course or book? – consider Seven Principles or The Story of Sex in Scripture) It requires a high personal commitment of 3 to 5 hours weekly to complete the required personal Bible study, lessons with text or audio, class discussion, and personal application. The benefits to the student include:

• A complete Biblical overview of femininity 

• Applications for women in all stages of life

• Foundations in basic Christian doctrine

• Appreciation of God’s design and plan for gender

• Integration of Bible, theology, and application

Student material for the course consists of the Five Aspects of Woman textbook in two volumes. The course is published in two volumes for the convenience of those using semester time-blocks and to aid students who want a stair-step approach. Volume One is the first part of the course, covering the first three aspects in 13 lessons. 

Volume Two is the completion of the course, covering the last two aspects in 10 lessons, plus critical lessons on manhood, wisdom, and Deborah. These lessons can be studied as lessons or read as appendices; they are not in Bible study format. You have not completed the Five Aspects course until you complete both volumes. 

Features of the course include:

• Profiles summarize the facts of each aspect.

• Diagrams reinforce the verbal content with visual details.

• Personifications of each aspect are provided to make each view of femininity more clear and lifelike.

• Bible Study Questions are designed to guide the student through the main Scriptures of the lesson, to review the theological content presented in the text, and to encourage application.

• Life Lessons require the student to express the aspect in her own words.

Questions about Womanhood?

We believe the Bible speaks clearly and encouragingly to the issues women face.  It gives direction, it brings life and health and peace, and it has principles that apply to questions Like:

• What is God’s design for me as a woman?

• What is femininity?

  • Is it fundamentally different than masculinity? How so?

  • Is it something specifically created by God? Or is it just a result of the physical differences between man and woman?

• What is my role in my family, my church, my relationships?

• What are my God-given responsibilities?

• How do I relate to my husband, to men at work, to my sons?

• God has given me a good mind. I enjoy thinking, analyzing, planning, and organizing. I also have a longing to be at home, to be a mother. How does all this fit together?

• Things are messed up in my life–my relationships, my life choices. What do I do now?

• There are basic principles for living the Christian life: living by faith, forgiving, being Christ-like, and so on. How does being a relate to this?

• Are there additional basics for a woman? (and for a man?)

Not sure if this study is right for you?

We invite you to look into our material.

Listen to Lessons

Audio tracks for the course Five Aspects of Woman are distributed here for your convenience at no charge. These audio tracks are the textbook portion of the course, read aloud by the author Barbara Mouser. You may listen here or download the tracks to listen offline.

The first lesson introduces the entire course. The final two lessons give a backward applicational view of the entire course. If you are considering Five Aspects of Woman as a personal or group study, listening to these three lessons is a good way to review the entire course beforehand.

There are 26 lessons in Five Aspects of Woman, and there are audio tracks for 19 of those lessons. The number of the audio file corresponds to the number of the lesson in the book. The other seven lessons are personal application “Life Lessons” or supplements, and so there are no audio files for Lessons 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, Supplement A or B.

Introductory and Summary Lessons

Lectures for Aspect 1: Mistress of the Domain

Lectures for Aspect 2: Helper-Completer

Lectures for Aspect 3: Lifegiver

Lectures for Aspect 4: Lady of Wisdom

Lectures for Aspect 5: Glory of Man

Supplement C: The Womanliness of Deborah

Start a Class

A Five Aspects discussion leader is the key to a successful group study. She should have a thorough grasp of the Biblical and theological content of Five Aspects of Woman.  She should love the truth of this course, having found it profoundly and personally helpful. She should love the women who will be in her study and pray consistently for her class as a whole and her students individually. We may be able to help you connect with other “Aspectors” in your area.

Contact us to see if there is a study in your area.

How to Start a Five Aspects Class

• Order the Five Aspects of Woman Leader’s Set, which includes the Five Aspects of Woman Volume One, Volume Two and the Leader’s Manual. You can order at our Store on this site as a set or individually.

• Go through the course yourself, allowing six months to complete the study.

• If you would like to conduct a Five Aspects class in your church, mission group, Bible study group, or any other organized body of believers, ask the leaders of the group to approve the course. It is better not to begin, than to begin and reap confusion or undermine your leadership.

Previous Editions

Five Aspects of Woman through the Decades 

Barbara Mouser

The Five Aspects of Woman course is my major life-work as a Bible teacher. Several editions of the FAW appeared in the 1990s. My “voice” was that of an American baby-boomer speaking the Scriptures on womanhood to other American baby-boomers in the context of the feminist revolution in that time and place.

In 2010 because of encouragement from others and because of my own desire, I undertook a massive re-edit of the material, shifting its voice and viewpoint from that of an American speaking to other Americans in the heat of a particular battle to the voice of a teacher seeking to articulate the Scriptural framework for other cultures and generations. The changes can be categorized as follows:

• Stronger Biblical Content: First, the re-write allowed me to strengthen the content Biblically and theologically. With the benefit of decades of work in this area and by God’s grace, I was able to make the outlines of the chapters and the actual writing more clear. The section in helper-completer on marriage is a particular case in point.

• More Universal Application: In FAW, the 21st century version, I attempt to set the Word on a lampstand so that its light shines against every darkness, whether it is passive men and aggressive women in the West, or oppressive men and downtrodden women in developing countries. As is often stated, one recognizes counterfeits by a thorough knowledge of the genuine. The distortions and corruptions of God’s created sexuality are legion over the world. Whatever their variation, the Word of God – with its patterns and models – reproves and heals all of them.

• Classic, Not Fleeting Illustrations: I replace most references to Americanisms, passing current events, and cultural oddities with Biblical examples or illustrations that will be known worldwide. I think this is a win/win since teaching Biblical truths with Biblical examples grounds the students in Bible. Plus it leaves room for the leaders in the different cultures and generations to employ illustrations and make applications suited to their group.

• Cleaner Formatting, Fewer Errors: Needless to say when a minuscule staff attempts a work the length and complexity of FAW, mistakes, typos, and formatting errors abound. Huge efforts have been made to correct these and to improve the overall consistency, simplicity, and clarity of the book.

• Best Resources Consolidated in three volumes: For the first time, the FAW course, the Frequently Asked Questions including notes on cross-types, the outline of the Five Aspects of Man, the extensive wisdom supplement, the course Answer Guide, the facilitator helps, plus the book on Deborah—all are here updated and as cleanly and accurately presented as possible in three volumes. Volumes One and Two are student volumes and the third volume is the Leaders Manual.