Male and Female

Please stand as you are able as we read God’s word:

Genesis 1:26–28 NRSV

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 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 air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

If one word would be used to describe sex and gender in our current moment, it would be “confused”. My generation grew up with Bruce Jenner, the celebrated Olympic decathlon winner, on the box of Wheaties (pic). This generation has grown up with Bruce Jenner - now going by Caitlyn Jenner - on the cover of Vanity Fair (pic).

Since 2015 sociologists have recognized a sharp rise in the phenomenon known as gender dysphoria - the experience of having a biological sex that does not match your gender identity. It might be helpful to define some terms:

Sex - biology, reproductive organs

Gender - roles related to sex, often culturally determined

A recent report by the news agency Reuters states that there was a three-fold increase in gender dysphoria among teenagers between 2017 and 2021. The most obviously outworking of this phenomenon is what was seen in Bruce Jenner’s transformation - transgenderism. But even for those who don’t go to the extreme of outwardly changing their gender, they can experience crushing confusion and depression.

I want to say at the beginning, while much of the rise of gender confusion could be motivated by attention seeking, there is and has always been a small segment of society who truly experience this condition. It’s been an observable phenomenon long before Jenner began his transformation. As a church we will always stand on the historic, orthodox beliefs of the church regarding human sexuality without compromise. But we will also extend grace to those who experience this painful condition. What they need is not our judgment, but our love and care. They need a loving community that can help them bear this burden - not one that shuns or shames them.

And it’s not just gender dysphoria. We are society struggling with sexual brokenness of every kind. The sexual revolution of the 60s has led to the sexual enslavement of our present time. 60% of young adults look at pornography on a monthly basis. Almost 30% of children 15 or younger report being sexually active. 70% of sexually active 12-21-year-olds reported having had uncommitted sex within the last year. According to the Journal of Sex, our predominate hookup culture is contributing to greater and greater symptoms of depression and anxiety. I could go on, but you get the point. Our culture is experience great sexual confusion, shame, and pain.

In spite of our current culture’s confusion regarding sex and gender, God is not confused. And the way through our current confusion is not to decide that we can just switch our identity willy-nilly to suit our feelings or to come up with a third way of being human, but to embrace the good news of what it means to bear God’s image as male and female.

Pray...

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Let’s look at our passage from Genesis...

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;… So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them;’”

You are made in God’s image.

Three times in this passage we’re told that humans are made in God’s image. A better translation would be that we bear God’s image. But how? Do we look like God? Or is it bc of our intellect or self-awareness? How is it exactly that we bear God’s image?

Bottom line: we bear the image of God in order to represent him. We act as angled mirrors reflecting the praise of creation to God and represent God to creation. We represent God. Theologian Marc Cortez writes that, “We need to view the imago Dei [image of God] as a declaration that God intended to create human persons to be the physical means through which he would manifest his own divine presence in the world.” To say it another way, God has created you and me to remind creation and one another of his presence.

What this means practically is that human beings are priceless. Every time you look in mirror you see God’s priceless image. Every time you look in the face of another human being - whether they are a saint or terrorist - you see the priceless image of God. This means also that we must resist the devaluing any human. Whether they are currently living into their image bearing vocation or not, they are the image of God worthy of honor. This is why we will continue to serve the poor and homeless even it they are living hard on the streets with a needle in their arm.

I begin with this bc, while our gendered identity is important - and we will get to that - it’s not of first importance. What is of ultimate importance is our identity as image bearers. You are made in God’s image.

Continuing, we read...

“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

We bear God’s image - as male and female.

God decided from the very beginning to represent himself as both male and female. This is our embodied reality, and these realities are physically grounded, not psychologically determined. Our gender identity is not something that we search for in our feelings; it is something we find in our body.

In describing us as male and female we also discover that we are binary. Only two biological sexes are mentioned, however we might experience them. This is obviously important for those who wrestle with gender dysphoria. They may be born biologically male but feel female. Or vice versa. Some feel somewhere in between or neither, giving rise to a new identification of non-binary. But it’s important to understand that whatever our experience may be telling us, we need to evaluate our gender in light of what we see in scripture rather than trying to change scripture - and reality - to fit how we feel.

I’ve mentioned before that I am a little red/green color blind. Fortunately, for the most part I can work around it. But just bc I struggle to distinguish red from green does not mean that the colors red and green don’t exist. They do and are objective realities. That I and others can confuse one from the other does not change the fact.

Similarly, when it comes to sex and gender, this is not a place where we can adopt a “third way” or change objective reality. There are rare cases where ppl are born with aspects of both reproductive organs, but this is a biological anomaly, not an additional biological sex. Sin has impacted us all the way down to our genes, and so we find all kinds of ways ppl are born with handicaps or imperfections. But we don’t normalize these things; we wait in hope for God to redeem and restore them in the new creation.

We’ve all seen the forces that want to normalize and legalize hormone replacement therapy and reassignment surgery among children. They are not our enemy; yet we must resist these influences. Young lives are being used for a great social experiment that will leave them devastated in the end. While we will love unconditionally those struggling with gender dysphoria, we cannot cave to the current social impulse to redefine the meaning of male and female, for it is in our very maleness and femaleness that we bear God’s image.

Going to the beginning of our passage we read...

“Then God said, ‘Let us ...and let them...’”

We image God in partnership - as male and female.

While the discussion around who the “us” is in this passage is fascinating, the point is that God, though he has ultimate power, chooses to share his power and invite participation from those he created. God exists in community and has birthed us in the community of male and female as partners. Together we are God’s image, and where only one gender is present something of God’s image is lacking.

There’s much confusion, debate, and contention around the issue of roles played by men and women. Some of the confusion comes from Genesis 2 when it says: Genesis 2:18 “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.””

In our modern context, “helper” designates someone who is secondary or inferior. They are not the boss, they are the assistant. Many read the creation account as if God put man in charge of leading creation, and the woman was given to assist him - to make sandwiches and rub his feet at the end of a long day.

However, this is a mistake. “Helper” in Hebrew is the word ezer. Ezer is used elsewhere in the OT. Most of the time is describes God as Israel’s ezer - helper. Clearly, God is not subservient or inferior to Israel. At other times ezer is used for a military ally that comes to fight beside someone to defeat an enemy. Again, ezer is a position of strength, not weakness.

In describing woman as man’s ezer, God is not saying man is primary. He’s actually saying man is deficient in and of himself. He needs an ally. A counterpart, not servant.

Women have unfortunately bore the brunt of this interpretation for mos of human existence. And while I may find myself in hot water, I think its important that we resist any kind of patriarchy that assigns a lesser value to one gender over another. I’m not saying there isn’t differences in the roles men and women play in a home; I am saying there is equality in their worth, dignity, role.

The great Catholic theologian, G. K. Chesterton, wrote:

“If I set the sun beside the moon,

And if I set the land beside the sea,

And if I set the town beside the country,

And if I set the man beside the woman,

I suppose some fool would talk about one being better.

We can only image God best as male and female in partnership.

Finally, we read...

“Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion… God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion...”

We image God to rule - as male and female

Perhaps the way we most bear God’s image as male and female is in our calling and capacity to rule. This is what “dominion” means - to rule as God’s representative over creation. Not independently of God but on God’s behalf. To rule in the same way God would rule.

The rule we manifest is to be one that is fruitful. The passage is certainly talking about sexual reproduction, but not only sexual reproduction. Our fruitfulness is also in multiplying God’s image into every aspect of creation. To use our gifts and talents to bring order and blessing to places of disorder. One of our priorities in the Vineyard as ppl who lean into kingdom theology is an understanding that we are to multiply God’s kingdom on earth. To bring about Jesus’ prayer that things would be “on earth as they are in heaven”.

This means that we must always be on our guard against passivity. Against the lie that something “is not my responsibility”. Bearing God’s image - representing him to creation - means that all things are technically your responsibility. Some things are obviously beyond you ability to change - like the war in Ukraine - but where there is something you can affect you have permission.

God calls each of us to do the work of the kingdom. Whether you are male or female, you are given kingdom permission to bring about God’s rule and reign.

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In the Bible, human sexuality and gender are not hindrances. They are celebrated. There is much confusion in our time regarding sex and gender. Again, we must be ppl of compassion for those who struggle.

As I said last week, to be embodied was God’s plan for us all along. It is his plan for eternity that we exist bodily. In coming to earth, Jesus took on a body so that he might redeem our bodies. And right now a human body reigns at the right hand of God.

But not just a body; a male body. Jesus did not slough off his body when he ascended. Neither did he stop being male. That Jesus is still a male is good news for both sexes. In redeeming our bodies he is also redeeming our sexuality. I don’t know what our sexuality will be used for in eternity, but I know that it will exist and will still be essential to what it means to bear God’s image. And I know that in that day our sex and gender will be fully redeemed to be what God always intended for it.

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Response

Resist the cultural confusion. Even if this is an area of pain or struggle, embrace what God says is true about your sex and gender.

Celebrate your male and femaleness. These were never to be hindrances or burdens. They were never supposed to be sources of shame or devaluing.

Bring your sexual brokenness to Jesus. The devil wants us to hide our broken bits. He wants us to wallow in shame. But God already knows. He sees you. And he loves you in spite of those broken places. One of the most profound moments I ever experienced with God was when I realized I could bring all of me to him - even the parts I was ashamed of. Bc this is the only place we can experience healing.

I heard this the other day: “Pain that is not transformed is transferred.” I don’t know what it may look like for you, but if sex and gender, if male or femaleness is a place of struggle for you, would you be brave enough to bring it to Jesus?

If identity is a struggle, encourage to read/memorize first part of Ephesians 1…

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Communion

Come Holy Spirit and overshadow these elements. Let them be for us your body and blood so that we can participate in your redemptive work for us. May we find mercy, healing and salvation through the finished work of the cross.

Amen.