Original Design

Genesis 1:27 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:15–18 ESV

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Genesis 2:20–24 ESV

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. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

There is some needed context and clarity that needs to be brought to one of the topics that came up last week in our teaching from Romans 5.

I in no way believe that women are inferior to men, or that men in general have authority over women. I believe that Scripture is in alignment with that premise.

Galatians 3:28 ESV

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 31

Women had a prominent role in Jesus ministry.

Luke 8:1-3

They also had prominent roles within the early church.

Acts 12:12

Acts 16:14-15

Romans 16:1-16 Ten Women

The Bible places great worth on the role of women in the world, the family, and the church, especially considering the cultural context in which it was written.

However, I do believe that in Scripture we have a specific order of creation and different roles that are particular to men and women.

Difference in roles does not mean difference in value.

The best place to see this is in the trinity.

John 4:34 ESV

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

John 6:38 ESV

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 14:26 ESV

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 16:13–15 ESV

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The difference in roles between men and women are rooted in the very character of God.

The difference in roles, only has to do with God’s purpose for each, respectively.

Since the goal of this life is to fulfill God’s particular purpose for us, it should be of great concern for us to understand God’s purpose and strive to live out that purpose.

We miss the whole point when we, like the disciples begin to argue about who is greatest, when we should be much more concerned with understanding God’s purpose for me and living out that purpose.

God’s original design and purpose, is primarily focused on the family.

Husbands, wives, and children are those we see most often addressed in Scripture because the institution of the family has always been God’s most significant concern for His creation.

And why is that?

Our biggest problems in society today can be traced back to the breakdown of the family.

The most effective way to restore a society back to health, is by restoring the family back to health.

This you must be preparing for now!

Even if you remain single, you still need to understand what God says about the family because you have been united together with the family of God and you need to know how to relate as family.

Romans & Ephesians were both written by Paul, who was never married and had no children, yet he understood the importance of these things for every believer, young and old.

Ephesians 5:22–33 ESV

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

How we relate to one another tells the world something about who God is.

That is what it means to be an image bearer of God.