God’s Design is Good
Foundations Series • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsGod designs with good purpose, every time.
Notes
Transcript
Define gender and sex.
We believe in the biblical teaching of God’s original and ongoing design for humanity as two distinct sexes, male and female, determined by genetics. The basis and the intent for this is the conviction that the matter of human sexuality and gender is fundamental to biblical anthropology, not merely biblical morality. Due to human sin and brokenness, our experience of our sex and gender is not always that which God the Creator originally designed. In light of this foundational understanding of creation, fall, and redemption, we will avoid any behaviour or alignment with identity that contradicts the biblical teaching. We do not affirm the resolution of tension between one’s biological sex and one’s experience of gender by the adoption of an identity contradictory with one’s birth sex. - PAOC Positional Statement on Gender.
God designs with good purpose, every time.
The Bible On Sex & Gender
The Bible On Sex & Gender
To start, let’s dive into God’s Word and consider what it says about gender. Not so much gender roles, but the creation God designed in two genders, why two genders, and how the Bible presents that.
To start, let’s go back to the beginning - to creation. In Genesis 1, here’s what we read about the creation of the human race:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We learn a few things from this passage right away:
Genesis 1:26-28 Lessons:
Humanity is made in God’s image.
Humanity is designed in two sexes, or genders: male and female.
Both male and female are equally made in God’s image.
Why would God do this? Well, let’s again take a look at the creation account. In Genesis 2 20
The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.
So Adam goes around doing his job, naming the animals. He’s looking for his counterpart, as he observes that the animals seems to have ones. None is found for him. It is at this point that God decrees that He will make a helper suitable for him. Does that mean Eve was the afterthought? Certainly not! I think it was important for Adam to realize that he needed an equal counterpart - that he wasn’t designed to go at it alone, but needed someone who would compliment him. So God created Eve.
Does this also mean that women are universally subordinate to men on account of their creation order? Not at all. Helper in this case doesn’t denote subservience, but partnership. So we see in these passages that God’s intention all along was to create two genders. Did God randomly choose to make Adam a man, and Eve a woman? No! This was His divine purpose. He knew how He had gifted them, exactly how He had made them, and how they would compliment each other. And He said his creation was very good.
Shift over to the New Testament for a minute, and we encounter Jesus in Matthew 19 again confirming this Biblical design of two distinct genders:
Jesus again affirms the created order in Matthew 19:
He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
This understanding of gender is fundamental, not just to the moral implication of the Bible, but to Biblical anthropology: how God has designed the human race to function.
God didn’t create three genders, or no genders, or a fluidity between genders. He equally created no natural way for us to switch our gender, regardless of how we feel. He created two: male and female, and blessed them together, giving them dominion and telling them to fill the earth.
Man and woman are meant to work together - in partnership - for God’s glory. Both show certain aspects of God’s character. This is not to say that God is somehow both male and female, but rather that God - as Spirit - has no gender at all. Yet, in His sovereign plan, God chose to create 2 genders to reflect Himself and compliment each other. They are interdependent on each other. And while their roles are distinct, their personhood and importance is not. 1 Corinthians 11 helps us understand this well (and I’d love to get into that more, just not today for time’s sake.) This means that whether you are born a man, or a woman, you should see God’s creative hand at work, and His purpose for your life fundamentally tied up in how you were created from birth.
We realize this as the first part of our consideration of Scripture on gender. That when God created, he did not make 4 genders, or 10, or simply none. He created just two: male and female. Together they compliment each other in showing God’s character. Together they are made in the image of God. Together, they are given dominion over the earth.
The Second thing that the Bible shows us concerning Gender and creation is that each and every person is created with purpose, is designed by God, and is fearfully and wonderfully made.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
We need to explore this idea of “fearfully and wonderfully,” because this grounds out so much of our understanding of how God superintends the creation of new life. In short, these words lend to the idea of “awesome.” God, in his creating work, is awesome. His creation of each new human is awesome. It is a miracle, right from the moment of conception. The Word of God shows us that the miracle of new life goes far beyond just sperm and egg meeting. Each new life is a gift - something that God knits together in the womb. Did you know that at the moment of conception there is a burst of light? How cool is that?
In today’s world, we are told many messages that conflict with the Biblical picture. “Oh, it’s just a clump of cells.” Or we consider conception and the development of new life nothing more than random chance and observable science. Yet God does exercise sovereignty over this process as well, and is involved in the creation and development of new life. As we read through Psalm 139, we discover quite quickly that David praises God because God knows him intimately. Even to the point that God knows the words David will speak, before they were spoken!
Why do I bring this up? Because when it comes to gender, we are told today that it can be fluid, that it can be something that is different from what you were born as. Unfortunately, we are being told something that is fundamentally different from how the Bible demonstrates gender, and demonstrates God’s creative work - not just at the beginning, but even in the conception and development of each new human life. Every new life is from God. Every new life is put together by God. God creates with good purposes. God cannot make mistakes. To do so would make him fallible, finite, human. But God is not fallible. Ps 145:3 says:
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
Our God is so great that we cannot fully understand it! This could not be said of a fallible being. To make one mistake would mean that God’s greatness could be measured. There would be a limit. But it is infinite. This can only be said of the One who is infallible. And yes, God is human in Jesus yes, but Jesus was the perfect, sinless lamb that died for our sins. Only He - the sinless one - could purchase us back when we had sold ourselves into slavery to sin, the devil, and death. Thanks be to God for how He has saved us! But if he made mistakes or if he sinned, he would have to be fallible, and unable to purchase redemption for us. This, the Bible shows clearly in the sinless life of Christ, is not possible. Instead, we know our God is sovereign. He was sovereign in creation. As Job says in Job 1 21.
And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job recognized with humility God sovereignty over life, death, and all of creation. So must we, and realize that God creates just the way He wants it, each new life. He does not make mistakes, but instead has a plan for each of our lives and knows even before we do who we are and what we’re about, as we are told in both Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 29:11.
This is the Bible’s perspective on both gender, and creation. God created gender. God creates each one of us. His creation is good. He creates with purpose.
God designs with good purpose, every time.
Our Response
Our Response
Here’s the problem we face: In our world today it isn’t taken for granted that God designs with good purpose, every time. In fact, life, and how you are designed is more considered random chance than anything else. How sad this is. Because when we know the truth: that, God has a plan for your life. He knows every fibre of your being, sees your strengths and weaknesses, and knows what you struggle with. He has created you with purpose, with meaning, and the trials and struggles you face are not in vain. When we consider these things: consider that Christ died for each of us, because of His great love for us, we are set free.
In our world, people can get confused very quickly about gender, about sex, and about why it is that they were made the way they were in the first place. The god of this world - Satan - will do anything to convince them that it doesn’t matter. That God didn’t design with purpose, and that they can choose to change whatever, whenever. But, these decisions come with dire consequences. Paul, in the book of 1 Corinthians, tells the Corinthians this about who they are and their purpose:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
When we choose to change the good design God has made, altering parts of ourselves that are healthy, we are essentially telling God that we don’t like His design, that He made a mistake, or that we know better. Instead of walking down these paths, we must remember the truths of Scripture, like this one from Jeremiah 29:11:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Finding healing and hope when you struggle with tension between how you were made when you were born, and how you experience gender, is not easy. But the only true way to cut through this and find hope and healing is in Jesus Christ. It’s not about rule following, but about relationship. Our relationship with God is what makes the difference. The Holy Spirit can break chains, heal, restore, and guide. I appreciate this question from Rob Jackson, who serves as a counsellor with Focus on the Family:
Lean into God’s presence right where you are instead of trying to fix your behaviours first. Even if you can’t find rest in your sexuality yet, will you dare to find rest in God’s love?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
God’s love is enough to cover all of your sins and our broken experience. It is enough to heal you, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. In Jesus Christ, you are being made new, freed from the power of sin and the lies of the enemy.
So, this leaves you with a choice: You can choose to stay stuck in asking “why?” when you are frustrated with how God has made you. Or you can choose to go deeper, into close personal relationship with God. Doing so will bring a peace that passes understanding, and strength to combat the tensions you may face. But only a relationship with Jesus can truly restore.
Church, our response to those who struggle with tensions between their birth sex and gender needs to be one of grace. It might be hard if someone you love expresses that they are struggling with this, or taking steps to change their bodies to better align with their gender experience. It might scare you, or cause you great anxiety or sorrow, but it isn’t the end. Pray for those who are experiencing this kind of tension. Pray for God to heal and restore them. Walk with them in the love Christ has shown to you. Gently, but firmly, communicate the truth:
God’s love for us
God’s good design
God’s plan for man and woman
A high view of Scripture, marriage, and sex.
To quote Rob Jackson again:
The message our kids (and the world) really need to hear is that forming your spirit in deep friendship with God is the only way to peace, salvation, and your true identity. - Focus on the Family, Rob Jackson
This is part of what it means to be disciple-makers. To proclaim Jesus Christ to everyone, including those who struggle with their gender identity.
Conclusion
Conclusion
God designs with good purpose, every time.
That’s a hard thing in our world to accept. Harder still to communicate to a world that hates God, and the message about Jesus. Yet, sin has marred God’s creation. The enemy has blinded the minds of those who are not saved. One such way this happens is through gender. Many people experience conflict between how they were born, and their experience of gender.
Scripture clearly communicates that God made humanity as male and female. Both equal in personhood and importance. Both in the image of the creator. They are supposed to work together, with both having different characteristics that demonstrate God’s character. God declares His creation from the start ‘very good.’ Lest we think that now God no longer has a part to play in this, Scripture affirms that each new life is a gift from God, literally knitted together by God in the womb. Based on these things, we can affirm that God designs with good purpose, every time. He doesn’t screw it up, He doesn’t make mistakes.
So, even when it feels like God has messed it up, we must remember that God has a good plan for your life! You have the choice to follow that plan or not.
In our world today, it is presented in culture, in our schools, and in our media that people can live however, do whatever, and be whatever. Our world has decided that you can change your body to fit your experience of gender. Scripture does not affirm this, but instead calls us to something much higher and deeper: a relationship with Christ in which you can find healing and the power to overcome. Again, I want to repeat this question:
Lean into God’s presence right where you are instead of trying to fix your behaviours first. Even if you can’t find rest in your sexuality yet, will you dare to find rest in God’s love?
If you have accepted Jesus Christ here today, and you struggle with gender dysphoria (define?), I want to encourage you to remember that your body is a temple. Honouring God with your body means accepting that, “this is the way God has made me, and I will rejoice in this.” Only a deep relationship with Jesus Christ is going to properly give you a firm identity, and give you peace.
Perhaps you have a loved one who is experiencing gender identity issues. Communicate the truth of God’s Word with them. Not in a legalistic, condemning way. But in a way that communicates the deep love of God for that person. It can be hard to know what to do when your loved one or friend expresses this kind of struggle. But we know the truth, and we can extend the same love to them that was extended to us by Jesus.
If you don’t know Christ here today, I pray that you have heard the truth of His love for you. And the message that without Jesus, you will not be able to find lasting peace, hope, and identity, no matter what you do. You can change your mind, wear different clothes, change your name even. But without Jesus, you will not be filled. I want to encourage you to take some time to explore the book of John. See Christ’s love for you in his life and death, and realize there is hope for you as well. If you’d like to talk more about these things, you are welcome to call, text, or email the church. We’d be happy to talk with you.
To end today, I want to take time to commit to prayer everyone who has experienced struggle with gender identity. This is a deep, person struggle that is not easily overcome. Yet we affirm that in Jesus, there is hope. Let’s take some time now to pray for our friends, loved ones, neighbours, anyone who might struggle with these things. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can break these chains, and bring freedom for them, and for us!
