Is God’s Design For Men and Women Still Good?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Again, typically at South Gate we’re walking through a book of the Bible verse by verse, but a few times throughout the year we take some short breaks from our main series. This month we’re looking to God’s Word in order to answer questions that our culture is asking. We began by asking the question, “Can I Trust the Bible?” and we saw how all Scripture is breathed out by God, which means that Scripture is true and our authority as believers. Last week we asked the question, “Is Jesus Really the Only Way to God?” and John 14:6 answered this for us as Jesus explains that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one can come to the Father except through Him! This morning we’re looking at a question that our world can’t answer and many in the church wrestle with - is God’s Design for Men and Women Still Good?
We live in a day and age where even defining what a man is and what a woman is can be difficult, if not impossible for some people. A world that says the labels men and women don’t matter in the first place. These are questions that are asked not only in colleges and on social media, but things that are discussed around dinner tables and at churches. We live in a culture that is deeply confused about our identity, what marriage is, and what God’s design looks like.
Some of you are here this morning, and you’re looking forward to this because you’re eager to hear what the Bible says… others are here and maybe you’re a little nervous because many of these conversations get divisive. Some of you are here and you’ve been hurt by people who have not followed God’s design in the first place . Some of you may have genuine questions about why this matters and why Christians care so much about this in the first place? Wherever you’re at, from the get-go this morning I want you to know where we’ve gone for all of these questions to this point. The God of the Bible is good and has a good design for His Creation!
Every question about marriage, leadership, the church, masculinity, and femininity all come back to a deeper question: Can I Trust the Designer? This morning, I pray that we leave this time with a resounding YES to that question as we see that God is good, loving, and wise. And because God is good, loving, and wise, we can trust Him and we must submit to His Word. Some might say that Scripture is outdated on these issues, they are free to have that opinion, but as we saw a few weeks ago, God’s Word is Living and Active. It is breathed out by God. It is true and it is profitable for His people! This morning, let’s go back a long way… before sin… before brokenness… before pain… before shame. Let’s go back to the Garden in Genesis 2 and rediscover God’s good design and see how that design leads to our flourishing as His people!
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him.
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place.
22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.
23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man.
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
God created Adam and Eve in His image. God created Adam and Eve for a reason. God’s creation is GOOD. This morning, remember that the same God who created them, created you in His image, for a reason, and that all that God made was Good. Let’s thank Him for that this morning, let’s pray!
Again, we’re answering this question: Is God’s Design for Men and Women Still Good? We’re not going to culture for this answer. We’re not going to Washington or Hollywood. We’re going to the beginning of the Bible - before Genesis 3. Before sin. Before conflict. Before confusion. Before battle. Before abuse. Before passivity. Before shame. Before any of these problems. We see God’s original design and we see, first
God’s Design Was Good! (Gen. 2)
God’s Design Was Good! (Gen. 2)
Whenever we think of the Garden of Eden, we think of Paradise. Perfection. A place where God walked with Adam and Eve and there was no sin. Can you imagine that? Everything God made was good. No brokenness. No confusion, or conflict! It’s all great. God’s Design Is Good, friends. But then we see in verse 18 that something is not good.
Now, some struggle with verse 18 - and maybe this has been confusing to you. If God knows everything and if God is good, how could something be “not” good so early in Eden? Adam was alone, we’re told. It wasn’t that Adam was lonely with just himself and God. Adam wasn’t lonely in that he didn’t have a purpose or a job or an identity. He had all of those things! Adam was alone in the sense that he couldn’t accomplish his purpose by himself. Adam had a need - he needed someone corresponding to himself. He needed someone to complement him. Someone to join with him on pursuing and fulfilling God’s mission for him! This is why the text says that God made a helper corresponding to him. Now, sometimes we hear the word helper, and our mind shifts to a negative place. We think that maybe one person is more important and the other person is less important. Someone is the boss and the other person is the assistant. Here this: That’s not God’s good design, at all! In fact, Scripture often tells us that God is the “helper” of His people
20 We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield.
26 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.
The God of the Bible is the helper of His people. We don’t mean that God is our assistant who helps us do whatever we want because we are the boss. That’s not true at all, and it’s not true of Genesis 2:18! Eve isn’t Adam’s administrative assistant. Eve is Adam’s necessary ally who is perfectly designed to accomplish alongside him what Adam could never accomplish by himself.
God gave Joel Hayworth the greatest necessary ally in Lindsey Hayworth. If you have children, basic biology reminds you that you wouldn’t have that family by yourself. I praise God every day for the gift of Gabriel and Isaiah in our family, and I also praise the Lord that my wife was the one who carried them and gave birth to them! I couldn’t do that. God didn’t design men to… He designed women to. My family, my entire life wouldn’t be the same without my wife. She is my greatest supporter. Sounding board. Sermon critic. And friend.
Look at the text, all the animals that God made came to Adam in order to be named. Can you imagine how long that process took? Do you have some questions about some of those names? Like, why a Platypus? Do you think that Misquito’s were a thing in Eden? I’m confident in saying they were a result of the Fall! Besides the point, we see that God gave Adam a divine assignment to name all the animals. To work his job. Notice this, friends, work exists before the Fall. Before sin, there was work. Work is a good thing! And God gave Adam authority to name all the animals - guess what we discover about the Second Adam, Jesus Christ? He also gives us a name - a new name, sons and daughters of God! This is good news. But, Adam discovers that there is no helper corresponding to him. We see a problem - and whenever we see a problem, God provides a solution. Look at the text, Adam falls asleep. Guess what there was before sin? Working and napping - praise the Lord!
He sleeps and God takes a rib and creates Eve. There is something unique about Eve. Look at what Adam says, “At LAST, this one is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” This is MY helper! This is MY person! Can you imagine the joy that went through Adam’s head? Wives, you know when your husband gets a little too excited about something that’s not really that exciting? That’s Adam - but this is a BIG deal and it’s the first words from a human in the Bible! Matthew Henry put it like this, “Not made out of his head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”
Not a business partner - a life partner. God provides the covenant of marriage here in the Garden that we continue to reference during marriage ceremonies today! We enter into this covenant - not a contract, as companions and partners. This is something that our culture struggles to see. Our world often see’s marriage as a contract. You promise to do X and I promise to do Y. When both parties do their job, the contract works… but what about whenever one of the parties fails? In a business contract, that’s a breach of contract and you’re free to opt out. If they don’t pay, you don’t have to provide services. Many marriages are built on that foundation of a contract and the moment that other person doesn’t make you feel the way they used to, that’s cause to press the Red button. But marriage isn’t intended to be this way. The design is to be partners entering into a covenant for life.
Scripture teaches equal dignity and different design in this covenant. Both men and women are equally made in the image of God. Both men and women are of equal worth and value before God. One gender is not more important in the eyes of God. We have equal dignity before Him… even though in our culture things haven’t always been that way for a variety of sinful and shameful reasons, Scripture doesn’t hold this in tension at all. Scripture reminds us that we are coheirs with Christ and adopted children into His family! We are equal. And we’re also different. Is anyone else thankful that you are different than your spouse? Hear this: Difference is not a defect, difference is God’s design!
We celebrate differences everywhere else.
An orchestra needs different instruments.
A body needs different members.
A football team doesn't need eleven quarterbacks.
Difference doesn't diminish value.
It produces beauty - husbands and wives have the same objective to glorify God and different obligations along the way.
Adam was given responsibility in the Garden. To guard the Garden. Gen 2:15
15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.
But also the man is to leave his father and mother and hold fast or cleave to his wife. This isn’t the responsibility of the woman… but of the man. There is a word for this called headship. Depending on the voices you listen to, you’ll get a whole lot of thoughts about this word. But it’s something that we see in Scripture - not that Adam is more important than Eve, that’s not true. Not that he is smarter than Eve, that’s not in the text either! But that he is given responsibility to lead in 3 key ways: Loving Responsibility, Sacrificial Initiative, and Humble Leadership. This is God’s design, before sin, for the man. To love and to lead. And Eve is created to come alongside her husband as his helper. Not that she is less important. Not that she can’t make decisions herself. God’s design reminds us that together, Adam and Eve do things that they could never accomplish alone - and that’s the point. Adam had a need - Eve was God’s answer. I hear people sometimes say that they don’t need a man or they don’t need a woman… and, yes, God does call some people to be single, absolutely! But if you are in a marriage, God designed you to be different from and to be dependent upon your spouse. You are allies. You are partners. You need one another - and Scripture tells us here that you literally become one flesh.
This is marriage. Church, the state didn’t seal the first marriage. The government didn’t generate the first marriage. The devil doesn’t get to define marriage. God has spoken. And God gave us His definition - and Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 19 to affirm that God’s design is one man, and one woman, united together as long as they’re alive. That’s Genesis 2’s picture. This picture also points us thousands of years ahead to a greater marriage. See, the first Adam fell asleep and his wife came from his side… 2,000 years ago, we see the Second Adam fell asleep, and His side is pierced and through His sacrifice, He purchases His bride, the church! God’s design of marriage is for His glory and for our good. His design isn’t up to our interpretation. It isn’t oppressive. It isn’t outdated. It is wise. It is good. It is life-giving!
But we know that design is under attack today. We know that there are marriages that are broken. We know that there is much confusion about gender. We know that there are men who have abused their responsibilities in the home and in the church. We know that there are deep seeded wounds when it comes to submission. So why is this the case? Some say it’s because there’s a problem with God’s design. That it needs an update or two… thankfully God’s Word spells this out for us in the very next chapter, Genesis 3.
God has a design for Gender | Family | Church
Sin Distorted God’s Design! (Gen. 3)
Sin Distorted God’s Design! (Gen. 3)
God’s Design couldn’t be improved upon. He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were one flesh - they were in a perfect relationship, with no sin and no shame. But this isn’t where the story stops. After Genesis 2 comes Genesis 3. We know that things are no longer perfect… we live in a broken world. We live in a world full of confusion regarding men and women. A world marked by brokenness and abuse. God’s Design is presented in Genesis 2, but God’s Design is perverted in Genesis 3. But it’s important to note something here… God’s Design didn’t change. God didn’t change His mind and go back to the drawing board. See, the problem is not with the Designer. The problem is that sin distorts His design. The enemy can’t create anything, he just tries to capture what God has already created. This is true even today as our relationships, jobs, health, and finances are all negatively impacted because of the Fall. Here in Genesis 3, we see a simple conversation bring about serious consequences.
Satan never attacks God directly. He never goes after His creation of gender or marriage. He simply undermines God’s character. Verse 1 - “Did God really say…?” Those 4 words change everything, friends. Satan is planting a seed of doubt that will grow into a tree of distrust. He gets Eve to question God’s actual words, God’s wisdom, and God’s way. See, this isn’t about fruit. This isn’t about a meal. The serpent preaches a sermon in a few short sentences and the main idea is simply this: God’s Design Isn’t Good.
Guess what, friends? That sermon is still believed and preached thousands of years later. We hear this sermon each and every day! It doesn’t matter if the topic is marriage or gender or sexuality or pride or murder, the temptation is the same today as it was back then. We are told that we need to get with the times and rewrite God’s design instead of receive God’s design. But what this shows us, just like with Eve in the Garden, we first fall with our heart before we fall with our hand. Do you see that? Eve stared at the fruit. It was delightful to look at. She desired its wisdom - meaning that she had a longing for something God commanded that they not do - what do we call those ungodly desires? SIN. Before fell with her hand, she fell in her heart. Hear this today: Before we fall on the outside, we always fall on the inside! We doubt God’s goodness and we believe in our rightness. Look at the second part of this verse, though.
6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Eve often gets a bad wrap from people today because she ate the fruit… but the New Testament paints a different picture. The person who gets the blame isn’t Eve, it’s Adam. Do you see this here? Genesis 3:6 tells us that Adam was with her when this happened. He wasn’t somewhere else in the Garden. He wasn’t working hard by the river. He wasn’t unaware. He stood by and watched this happen. He watched his wife wrestle with temptation… and stayed silent. He saw her take and eat the fruit, and did nothing.
Adam was created by God and commanded by God to work the Garden and watch over it. To protect it. He knew what God had commanded in Genesis 2. But whenever the serpent slithered by, he rejected his God-given responsibility, and remained quiet. He followed where God called him to lead - and this is the point with God’s design. God gave Adam the responsibility to protect and to provide. This is headship. Not being a tyrant who says, “My way or the highway!” But being someone who loves and leads those God calls you to protect and provide for. Adam didn’t fall short here because he wasn’t capable or able… he fell because he didn’t even try to lead. Men, this is our greatest problem. We live in a world that believes that leadership is about whose voice is the loudest or whose voice is last. But Genesis doesn’t depict leadership this way! Genesis reveals that leadership first means accepting responsibility for what God has called you to do. Adam’s greatest failure wasn’t that he ate the fruit, his greatest failure is that he was passive and allowed his wife to be deceived - get this, that story happens in 2026 too. I do not believe the greatest problem facing the Church today is hell’s schemes. I do not believe the greatest problem facing the Church today is government lies and conspiracies. I do not believe the greatest problem facing the Church is social media or a changing generation. I DO believe the greatest problem facing the Church is THIS Genesis 3 problem. We have a world full of Passive Adam’s. Sure, there are Abusive Adam’s out there too - they have a reckoning coming. But so many guys are physically present and mentally and spiritually absent. They work hard to provide, but they never open God’s Word to point their families to Christ. They love their wife, but they fail to lead her to love her Creator. They love their children, but they gladly leave spiritual leadership to another voice.
Passivity is just as unbiblical as domination. Today, husbands and dads, God has entrusted your family to your care. Likewise, ladies, our culture often tells you that dependence, submission, or being a helper/ally to your husband are signs of weakness. Scripture says the opposite. God Himself is called our helper. Biblical femininity is not a weakness - it is strength willingly placed under God’s good design!
And whenever these things are abdicated and neglected, the consequences are catastrophic. Look in our text in Genesis 2 - they were naked and unashamed, now in Genesis 3:7 they were naked and full of shame. They fear the Lord instead of fellowship with Him. They blame others for their sin. God’s original design was for the man to protect the woman and for them to exercise dominion over creation as they follow God. Do you see how Genesis 3 flips this completely? Creation leads the woman. The woman leads the man. And that means that there was no one there to follow God - and whenever no one follows God, that always leads to problems! We do the same thing today. Instead of owning the fact that we sinned, it’s so much easier to play the victim and blame someone else. Eve blamed the Serpent, Adam blamed Eve, but ultimately, Adam blamed God - the woman “YOU” gave me… this is us. It’s so much easier to blame our upbringing, our parents, our spouse, our boss, the economy, the church. Anyone but ourselves. Those things might have hurt you, but the chief culprit for the problems that you face in your life is none other than yourself because we all have sinned.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.
See that. God holds Adam responsible - not Eve. 1 Timothy 2 says that Eve was deceived but Adam sinned. God doesn’t ground responsibility and roles in education or age or the Temple of Artemis… He grounds this in creation order. Because Adam had God-given responsibility and he dropped the ball.
We can’t confuse God’s design with sin’s distortion.
God designed life - sin leads to death.
God designed marriage - sin leads to abuse and brokenness and unfaithfulness.
We have to remember that we live in a Genesis 3 world today.
Imagine buying a brand new grand piano. It’s beautiful. It sounds wonderful. But then someone comes in with a sledgehammer and, after a couple swings, leaves the piano with serious scars. Some time goes by and someone walks by and sees this piano and how broken and messed up it looks and they say, “Man, the manufacturer must have made a mistake with this piano!” But that’s not the truth. The manufacturer didn’t ruin it. The manufacturer made a perfect piano that sounded beautiful and was used to bring joy into the world… but someone else came in and broke it. Church, don’t judge Genesis 2 by Genesis 3. Don’t judge God’s design based on sin’s distortion! Our world looks at all these problems - abuse, brokenness, Passive Adam’s, and Rebellious Eve. And our world says, “God’s design must not work!” That’s why over the last 60 years there have been SO many attacks on this and different ideas that try to fit the Church with the Culture. Hear this as clear as possible: The Word doesn’t conform to the World. We can’t get our views on Scripture from a society that rejects our Savior. If you’re not willing to hold positions that are unpopular in our culture, you’ll eventually give on everything - including the Gospel. God’s Complementary Design isn’t popular in a broken world that wants to flatten everything… but God doesn’t leave us in this world. Aren’t you thankful that your Bible isn’t 3 pages long? If you struggle to see God’s design for your life, for your family, inside the church, understand this: That’s why God sent His Son. To straighten what sin broke.
"The Fall doesn't erase our differences; it corrupts them. Men and women don't stop being men and women after Genesis 3. They simply become sinful men and sinful women. Adam rebels as a man. Eve rebels as a woman. Both need redemption. Both need the Second Adam."
Christ Restores God’s Design! (Eph. 5)
Christ Restores God’s Design! (Eph. 5)
God designed it. Sin distorted it. But we see in the New Testament that God has a perfect plan in a broken world. Genesis 3 makes a promise in verse 15 that from the seed of the woman would come a snake crushing Savior - and we celebrate that at the right time, Jesus Christ was born. In Ephesians 5, we see Paul reference Genesis 2:24 as a man leaves his father and mother and bonds to his wife, and they become one flesh. It’s easy to read the Bible and think that this marriage thing is like beating a dead horse… the Bible over and over talks about marriage and men and women and there are all these rules and things. But Ephesians 5 shows us one of the most glorious truths in Scripture
32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Today, your marriage is not just about yourself, your spouse, or your family. Your marriage points people to the love that Jesus Christ has for His bride, the church. What was Jesus willing to do for His Church? He was willing to die for her in order to rescue her… and his church loves Him and follows Him. As we think about what husbands and wives do, we can get so caught up in traditions and man-made regulations that we can miss God’s design. Your marriage today is meant to showcase God’s Gospel! That’s why God created marriage in the first place!
Whenever we think of headship (the husband is the head), our minds can quiver because we think of authority and we all know that authority can be, and often is abused. But look at the ultimate picture of marriage. Christ’s love for His Church. How does Christ exercise authority? Not by manipulating. Not by stacking the deck in His favor. But by giving Himself for His bride. Brother’s in the room who are married, this is heaven’s call for you
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her
Jesus told His disciples that the son of man didn’t come to be served but to serve. Husbands, this is a summons to die to self. To die to selfishness. To die to pride. This isn’t about getting your way, it’s about giving yourself away for the glory of God and the good of your spouse. This is what Jesus did. He washed feet. He carried a cross. He laid down His life - that’s leadership.
Ladies, this speaks to you too. If Christlike headship has been distorted by sin, so has biblical femininity. Genesis 3 didn't only corrupt masculinity; it corrupted femininity as well. The same serpent who tempted Adam toward passivity tempted Eve to believe there was something better outside of God's design. Our culture still preaches the serpent’s sermon today. It tells women that God's design is restrictive, that submission is weakness, and that fulfillment is found through autonomy rather than trust. But that is simply the serpent preaching his ancient sermon with modern language. The Fall doesn't just produce Passive Adams. It also produces women who are tempted to believe there is something better outside of God's good design. The answer isn't simply stronger men or stronger women. The answer is Jesus Christ, the better Adam, who restores both men and women to God's original design. Don’t let the world convince you that God’s design limits your flourishing or freedom. The God who designed you is the God who loves you and His design has always been your flourishing, His glory, and your joy in Him!
Church, the call of the gospel is the same for every one of us. Whether you're a husband or a wife, a man or a woman, Christ calls us to die to ourselves and trust Him. Men express that through sacrificial leadership. Women express that through joyful trust in God's design. But both are acts of faith in the same Savior.
But we live in a Genesis 3 world - don’t we? Some of you grew up with dead beat dads. Some of you grew up with passive Adam’s. Some of you experienced abusive Adam’s. Some of you watched marriages fall apart. Some of you have watched women reject God’s design and pursue a path that only led to more hurt and brokenness.. Some of you have seen authority be weaponized to tolerate or even promote abuse, and if that’s your story, I’m sorry. Don’t judge God’s design based on how sinful people have failed time and time again… judge God’s design based on Jesus Christ. This is why the Gospel is such good news today, friends.
Maybe today, you’ve dropped the ball. Maybe you haven’t led like Christ. Maybe you have had a difficult time trusting the Lord. Maybe you’ve walked through brokenness and that’s left you feeling broken and you’re hurting. Remember that we have a Savior who heals. He didn’t just come to forgive our sins, He came to restore what sin destroyed! Jesus restores marriages - amen? He restores husbands. He restores wives. He restores father and mothers and families and churches.
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
So what is the solution to a world hellbent on distorting God’s good design? It isn’t less masculinity or more femininity. It’s redeemed people fulfilling their God-given responsibilities in their lives, their homes, and in this church. And everyone has a role to play!
Recently I saw a social media post telling all the women in the SBC to leave. I couldn't disagree more. My own mother, my wife, and countless faithful women have shaped my life and this church. When I read the New Testament, I don't see women sidelined. I see women advancing the kingdom. Our church is immeasurably better because of the faithful ministry of so many women in our body who faithfully teach children, counsel others, and pray for this church. They organize ministries and welcome guests. They serve behind the scenes and they sing on our praise team. They encourage and, yes, they evangelize too! They teach other women as Titus 2 commands. I see women advancing the Kingdom and our church wouldn’t be where it is without hundreds of women who have gone before us.
I saw a long social media post gain traction about a month ago saying that with the new direction that the SBC has taken, all the women need to walk out. If my mom had listened to that advice when she was in seminary, I wouldn’t be here. I probably would’ve been adopted by another family and ended up in a situation far, far worse than the one God providentially placed me into. If my wife listened to that advice, I know of multiple young women who wouldn’t have been discipled by a godly young women herself and hundreds of people who wouldn’t have been blessed and encouraged by her sweet voice and gentle spirit. If we didn’t have women serving and leading in a host of places in this church, South Gate wouldn’t be here. That’s the truth.
Our church is immeasurably better because of the faithful ministry of so many in our body. Women faithfully teach children, counsel and pray for our church. They organize ministries and welcome guests. They serve behind the scenes and sing on praise team. They encourage and evangelize. They teach other women as Titus 2 commands churches to do. Sometimes whenever we look at texts like this, all you expect to hear is all that women can’t do. I pray you don’t see or hear that today. When I read the New Testament, I don’t see women sitting on the sideline. I see women advancing the Kingdom of God. I see women opening up their home and making disciples and praying and supporting missionaries. I see a beautiful partnership in Gospel ministry.
Pastor Jonny Arvandis made this observation in one of the greatest sermon’s I’ve heard, “if Scripture hadn't specifically qualified the office of pastor, elder, overseer, many passive men would have gladly abdicated that responsibility and faithful women would have stepped in to fill the vacuum too.” The problem isn't faithful women serving; the problem is passive men refusing to lead.
So often whenever we talk about God’s design for leadership in the church, when we talk about God’s qualifications for pastors and elders - which we joyfully embrace in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and I’m thankful to stand on the shoulders of men who came before me at this church and those are and will serve alongside me in this office here - we can fail to mention a painfully obvious truth. Not everything that happens in the life of the church is done or CAN be done by the pastors/elders. In fact, it is the job of the pastors to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Eph 4:11-12
11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,
This means that we need both men and women eager and hungry to serve. To lead. To teach. Because the God of the Bible designed His Church to be a body that works together… and in a body there is an order. A body with two heads is deformed and a body with no heads is dead. There is an order to the local church and there is a role for each of us to play - this is God’s design and whenever we work together in our homes and in this church, we don’t preserve a tradition, we proclaim a Savior! Our difference are not a defect; our differences are God's design!
Each time a husband sacrifices for his wife. Every time a wife supports her husband. Every time faithful pastors preach the Word. Every time gifted women serve in the body - the world see’s the glory of the Gospel and the love that Jesus has for His bride. That’s our task. One final time - is God’s Design for Men and Women good? Genesis 2 says, YES, because God Designed It. Genesis 3 reminds us, YES, even though sin distorted it. Ephesians 5 declares, YES, because Jesus is restoring it. So our response today is to trust the Designer. Follow the Savior. Rejoice in the wisdom of God’s good design. Because whenever our lives, our homes, and our churches reflect His design with JOY, the world doesn’t simply see healthy churches and godly families, the church see’s the Gospel - and that’s what our world needs today. Our world needs Jesus!
