Defining Gender Identity God’s Way
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Introduction
Introduction
This morning I invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians 11. We are starting a new section in our study of this great book. However, before we do, I want to remind you of our overall purpose. When we first began this study, you might recall that I identified 1 Corinthians as “God’s Blueprint for the Local Church.” God gave us this excellent book so that we, as a local church, might know how we are to operate. It is the blueprint by which we are to conduct ourselves before Him. The great thing about God’s Word is this. Though each book of the Bible might deal with something or someone, it gives explicit and practical instruction for individuals. For instance, in Corinthians, the main topic is the local church. Yet, as we know, local churches are constructed of people, not buildings. For that reason, there is a lot of information about how we, as believers, must live our lives each day as we walk before the Lord. So, over our study, we have learned some things about the local church and our daily spiritual walk.
Here are a few things we have learned.
In the first section, which encompasses chapters 1-4, the Holy Spirit warned us about the dangers of division within a local church. We are to be united around obedience to His Word, sensitive to the leading of His Spirit within us, and determined in our effort to spread His Gospel at all costs.
In the second section, chapters 5 and 6, the Holy Spirit turned our attention to moral issues. As a local church, we must not tolerate open sin within our local assembly. Additionally, all matters between believers should be handled in the confines of this church. We must confront one another. We must be on guard against unrighteousness and anything that would hurt us spiritually.
In chapter 7, marriage was the topic. The Holy Spirit warned us about the sin of adultery, gave us advice concerning marital relationships, and even spoke to us about the joys of a single life verse a married life.
The last section, chapter 8-10, focused on individual liberty and personal rights. We learned that we must be careful about what we say and do before others. Our purpose as we live each day must be about glorifying God. We can do that by treading lightly where others are concerned. Never are we to do something which causes another believer to stumble or cause an unbeliever to question our loyalty to Christ. The Holy Spirit warned us about temptations. We were given God’s viewpoint on temptations and how He is faithful in helping us overcome them.
Now, today, we move a new section. The following four chapters deal primarily with the order within the local church. The key verse in this section is the very last verse of the entire passage. It is 1 Corinthians 14:40
40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
With that in mind, we go to our text for today which is 1 Corinthians 11:2-3
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The Holy Spirit transitions to this new section by offering some praise to the believers at Corinth. Note that He literally says, “I praise you.” He commends them, which is a welcomed change. Up to this point, these believers endured quite a bit of chastisement from God. There were a lot of negatives surrounding this local church. However, here, we see some positives. There are two. One, they were faithful not to forget all they had been taught during Paul’s time with them. Yes, there were problems. Yet, they were also faithful not just to remember the teachings given to them but also to practice them. That is the second positive. The word “ordinances” here means traditions or instructions passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. They were to be commended for keeping and passing down many things learned.
Unfortunately, there was much still to be learned. Yes, these believers were to be commended, but much needed to be corrected. In fact, if you recall, the leadership of this church initially contacted Paul asking for his help in several matters. They should be commended for doing so. This new section then addresses some of the problems in their worship and service to the Lord. It shows their desire to fix these problems so that they might please the Lord.
Thus, the Holy Spirit in this new section deals with unbiblical traditions, some unwritten laws concerning behavior, church customs, practices within the local church, and how to deal with people’s preferences and long-established patterns. Now, as we get into this new section, there is one thing we must keep in mind. Each local church is different. As each of us has personalities different from others, local churches also take on personalities. The character of each local church is a product of its people, its leadership, and the community surrounding it. For instance, the local church of Corinth dealt with worship and customs within the early church and the society of its day. They faced dangers and issues similar to what we face today; however, these dangers were unique to their day and age, just as ours are today. However, as we will see, the principles laid down in this great book of the Bible apply to any day or age and to any local church committed to following Christ. So, as we continue to move forward, we will learn several principles given by God designed to help us as a local church be all that He wants us to be.
So, let’s start by understanding a fundamental principle governed by God’s decree that is the foundation for all entities, including the local church.
Look at 1 Corinthians 11:3
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Here is my first point.
God Created Gender
God Created Gender
We currently live in a very mixed-up world. For example, just this week, I saw this headline.
Disney Can’t Stop: Series Features a Robot Getting Tampon Advice from a Transgender Man
Now, stop and think about that for a moment. Here is Disney, supposedly a family-oriented company, using their media to teach kids that a woman who is really a man how to use a tampon. I am not trying to be vulgar here, but this is the world we are living in. It is a crazy, mixed-up world filled with sinful people increasingly becoming wicked in their thoughts and actions. There is no doubt that we moving closer to the description given to the generation when God brought about a worldwide flood as a judgment in Noah’s day. Listen to how Scripture describes that generation.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Is that not an adequate description of American society? Every day there is more and more evidence in our news media of how quickly the minds and hearts of people are morally declining.
My objective today is not to get up here and bemoan our living conditions or even provide reasons for how we got here. Essentially, people are sinners and live according to their sinful nature. If you want an explanation, look no further than Romans 1. Romans 1 tells us how man became pagan in their worship, perverted in their desires, and prodigal in their relationship with God. Scripture says:
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Man’s “vile affections” have led us to where we are today. Thus, it is no wonder we have men desiring sex with men and women with women. Adding to that is the increasing amount of confusion over whether a man is really a man or a woman is really a woman. All of which stem from people:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
What then is my objective today? It is simply to teach you God’s Word. And, in our text, God re-establishes a very rudimentary actuality that people so desperately want to deny.
God CREATED only TWO GENDERS! Nothing more and nothing less.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
God created males with male parts. He made females with female parts. Thus, a male or a female is born when a male and female reproduce. The male is born with male parts, and the female is born with female parts. The fact that I must stand here as a pastor and tell you that is the most ludicrous thing in the world. It is a testimony to the moral depravity of humanity. However, here we are, and I find myself stating the most obvious biological reality ever known to man since God created us.
Let me go a little further but not in a crude way. To be born biologically male or female is no incident. It is a gift given to you by God.
As believers, our bodies, whether born male or female, are vessels given to us by God so that we might be His temple.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Yes, we are human, and all of us are created in God’s image. God created us so that we are much different from the rest of His creation.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
Yet, even within all of His creation, He created males and females just as He did us. We are all humans, but we are created anatomically differently.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
I always find this story somewhat humorous. Adam falls asleep. God takes a rib. He creates a woman who is anatomically different. Adam wakes up. As Adam’s eyes begin to clear and he sees this perfectly designed person standing near him, the only thing he can say is “WOOOOOOMan!” Now, I am being a little facetious. Adam clearly named his wife “woman” because she was quite different from him as a man. She was indeed a woman. God’s creation of man and woman was quite distinct. Only men can provide the raw material required for procreation. And, it is only a woman who can bear children and nurse them. No amount of surgery can change the genetic makeup of a man or woman.
In the end, men and women complement one another. It is all part of God’s original design. Go back to Genesis 2 for a moment and note something important.
18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
After God created Adam, God knew that Adam needed a “help meet” - someone who could assist him with all God had planned. Thus, God, in His great love, mercy, and kindness, created Eve, the first woman. As we know, Eve was an instant delight to Adam. He proclaimed, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” She, Eve, captivated Adam.
It has been Satan’s plan from moment he fell out of God’s grace to usurp all that God has created. However, in the process of creating humanity, God’s enemy lurked in the background. However, before I get there. Let’s go back to our text.
Thus, we find in our text that the Holy Spirit clarifies a fundamental principle God ordained at the moment of creation. There are only Two Genders - Male and Female. Also, remember that Satan seeks to destroy, ruin, and usurp all things related to God. What follows in our text is this.
God Clarifies Relationships
God Clarifies Relationships
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The Holy Spirit says, “But I would have you know...” The word “know” here is essential. It means to “have seen” something in the past that becomes factual knowledge in the present. The idea is that you not only know it, but you understand it. Thus, the Holy Spirit desires that you and I know and understand something important. It is fundamental and foundational to all areas of life, including the order and worship within the local church.
So what then is so important that He desires so deeply for us to know and understand?
Relationships are valuable to God. He wants us to know proper relationships, which He determined when He created us. He made us in His image with a longing to have solid relationships. Unfortunately, sin ruins relationships. We will get to that in just a bit. However, for now, note the relationships given in our text.
Look again at verse 3.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The word “head” is used here metaphorically to represent relationships. Our head works with our body. Physically, our head contains our brain, which, in turn, tells the rest of our body what to do. For that reason, the “head” or authority of every man is Christ, who is God. Subsequently, the “head” or authority of every woman is men. Those are the words of God, not mine. Don’t get upset with me. I am just His messenger.
Yet, this verse goes deeper than just authority. It is about relationships. Let’s dive into this a little deeper. However, before we do, I want to warn you that Satan seeks to undermine this fundamental principle of God’s Word. In fact, Satan began undermining this principle right from the start in the Garden of Eden. We see it effortlessly in the story of Genesis. God gave “dominion” over all His creation which specifically included all beasts, birds, and fish. Do you recall the form Satan takes in his approach to Eve?
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Snakes were, at the time of God’s perfect creation, the smartest animals of all the animals created. That is what Scripture teaches here. Satan utilizes this smart animal in his efforts to cast doubt on the promises of God. What were Adam and Even instructed by God to do? Were they not instructed to have “dominion” over all the animals including the snake? Yet, they allowed an animal to undermine their spiritual responsibilities given to them by God. They worshipped the creature instead of the Creator in a sense. In doing so, they fell prey to Satan’s advances and out of God’s grace.
Now, I share that with you before we do our deep dive here for one reason. We must do everything just as God instructs. There is no room for compromise, or we run the risk of failing God once again. Remember, we are moving into a section of this book covering some crucial aspects of the local church and its ministries. Every part of a local church from its leadership to its functionality, must be based on the foundational principle of God-ordained relationships. The Holy Spirit starts with this basic understanding of relationships, establishing a foundation for what is about to follow.
In our text, we find three primary relationships.
There is the relationship between a man and woman,
the relationship between men and Christ, and
the relationship between Christ and God.
Look at our text and note how the Holy Spirit utilizes the word “head.”
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The Holy Spirit’s analogy of a person’s head gives us two meaningful ideas.
A person’s head, in the physical sense, speaks to harmony.
A body without a head cannot function. However, in the same sense, the head unites all body parts together, creating harmony as the body functions as one. That is the first idea.
The second is this.
A person’s head also speaks to inequality.
There is inequality in our physical bodies. The head is essential. It holds our brain, our nerve center, which sends out neurological impulses commanding other parts of our body to act. The brain tells the hand to “Pick up that book.” The hand, in turn, reaches out and picks up the book. Without the head, the hand could not function.
The head creates harmony within the body, and, at the same time, there is a sense of inequality as the head exercises authority over the entire body.
So it is in each relationship give to us in our text.
There is harmony and inequality in marriage!
In marriage, there is harmony as husband and wife become “one flesh.” However, at the same time, God created men to be strong, leading and guiding their wives and children. He made women receptive and dependent elements who help their husbands and nurture their children.
There is harmony and inequality in our relationship with Christ!
In each person’s relationship with Christ, our faith enables us to “commune” with God. As we trust in all He has done, we again live in fellowship with Him. There is now a sense of community or oneness. In fact, does He not place His Spirit within us, consummating that “oneness” with Him? Our body then is not our own, for we are bought with a price. Yet, within that relationship, Christ is the guiding element actively leading us to the things of God. We, in turn, are to have receptive, humble spirits submitting to His leadership in all areas of our life.
We even see these same elements in Christ’s relationship with God the Father. They are one. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one. They are the same. Yet, as evidenced by Christ’s ministry on earth, He willingly submitted to the authority of the Father. God the Father directed and guided His way as He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the cross.
What then does this teach us about relationships and order within those relationships?
Relationships Were Created for Congruence!
Relationships Were Created for Congruence!
Let me explain by using God’s creation of man in Genesis.
When God created man, God and man were in perfect fellowship. There is no doubt that God had a plan for man. We see this through His instructions to man.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
For a while, everything worked exactly as it was meant to work. Adam and Eve tended the garden, ruled over the earth, and were one flesh working in complete harmony with one another. The concept of “loving thy neighbor” was the norm. Additionally, their relationship with God was one of complete harmony as well. It was paradise in every sense of the word until the events recorded in chapter 3. As we know, Satan, God’s enemy, enticed Eve to violate God’s explicit instruction not to eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve both sinned. In doing so, their harmonious relationship with God and each other was destroyed. Everything changed, not for the better, but for the worse. Man’s decision to listen to Satan and to do things their way wrecked their relationships.
By the way, that is the primary problem of all people today. We are all born with a sinful nature.
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Adam and Eve’s sin was passed to all men.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Therefore, each person, including you and me, is already born in a contentious relationship with God and others.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
People are born physically into this world already at odds with God. It is why people seek their own way and often refuse to accept the things of God.
People are also already born with the intent to please themselves and not others. Thus, they are born already at odds with other people.
7 Yet man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
1 Man that is born of a woman Is of few days, and full of trouble.
The wonderful thing about God is this. God made it so people can be restored to a harmonious relationship with Him again. That is the essence of why Christ came to earth.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is the path back to God. Many people realize that something is missing in their life. Unfortunately, Satan works to keep it hidden from them by blinding them. It is why we must proclaim the gospel to as many as possible. In doing so, we afford them the opportunity to know the one thing that can fill the void in their life. That one thing is a renewed relationship with the God of the Universe, their Creator. Once a person recognizes their sin, repents their sinful ways, and places their complete faith in Christ’s finished work proclaiming such profession with their mouth, their relationship with Him is fully restored. He places His Spirit within them, becoming the seal of that restored relationship. And, as they continue in obedience to Him, they experience a spiritual harmony with God that completes them.
But know this one thing!
Harmonious relationships only happen when both parties submit to God’s authority and His way of doing things.
Relationships Were Constructed to Teach Submission!
Relationships Were Constructed to Teach Submission!
Look again at our text.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Now look at verses 11-12.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
Note that both men and women are “all things of God.” In other words, God is our ultimate authority to whom we are to submit. It is a principle found throughout Scripture.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Unbeliever
You can have a personal relationship with God. In fact, God desires to have that relationship with you. It is the whole reason that He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, here to earth. He came so that you can live spiritually again.
Believer
Please know that all relationships are important to God. Your relationship to Him, to your spouse, to the local church, and to others in our community are opportunities. They are an opportunity for you to learn important lessons about your relationship to God. One of the biggest lessons to be learned is submission. Our biggest issue in our relationship with Him is our struggle to humble ourselves and live a submissive and obedient life before God. God know this. Consequently, God gives us ample opportunities to practice submission so that we learn how to submit to Him. When we do, our relationship with Him work in total congruity with His plan for our lives. Not only that relationship, but any relationship we have experiences congruity. For example, a church full of people who submit to God and submit to one others is like finely tuned machine empowered by God’s Spirit doing great things for Him. What though is the key in all this? It is submission. Believer, are you submitting to Him? Have you come to a place in your life where say, “Lord, here am I, use me. I humbly give my life and my will to you. Help, Lord, to live each day in humble submission to you.” Have you made that commitment? If not, I would encourage you to do so today.