Man and Woman
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” - Genesis 1:27
Men and women are equally important to God, equally valuable to God. You will never find Scripture belittling women. You will never find Scripture demeaning women. And you will not find Scripture belittling or demeaning men either. You find the Bible gives value and worth and significance to both men and women, created in the image of God.
You are probably aware that there are those in our culture today who say that there are no real differences between men and women, except for the obvious physical differences. Now, when it comes to this whole issue of manhood and womanhood, we want to look at it from a Biblical perspective, not just what we think. We need to start with the understanding that God’s plan is good. God’s design for men and for women—and for marriage and for human relationships—is good.
Who knows better about how life should function than the Creator and Designer of life Himself? God is the One who designed us. He made us; He knows how we function. We need to look at His plan to find out how we are supposed to work. Everything works best when we function according to His design. How is God glorified? When we function according to God’s plan, God’s purpose, and God’s design in relation to our womanhood or manhood, God is glorified. Today, let us meditate three important concepts of God’s design.
The Concept of the Image of God
The Scripture affirms that men and women were both created in the image of God. Men and women were both created. That means we did not evolve. We did not just happen. We are not the result of chance. We were created by God and created in the image or the likeness of God. Genesis 1:27. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” As such, this means that men and women have equal worth, equal value, and equal dignity as people before God. The Scripture teaches this type of equality. That we all are equal in the sight of God; equally in His image. All are precious in His sight.
Everyone can read about equality in the way Jesus treated women in the scriptures. In the culture where He lived, they did not respect women and considered women, at many times, as nothing more than a piece of property. In some cases, in those cultures, women were not allowed to teach or were not allowed to preach. But Jesus exalted the status of women. Jesus showed respect and kindness to women. You see Him treating women in a way that reflects His belief that they are created in the image of God.
In the New Testament, during the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit formed the church by pouring out on both men and women. In Acts 2, Peter quotes from the Old Testament book; In the last days, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons, and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams. -Joel 2:28. And Peter said, in his first sermon, ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Acts 2:17-18.
God poured out His Spirit on men and women equally. We also read in the New Testament that men and women have been equally baptized into the body of Christ. Those who repented of their sins and placed their faith in Jesus Christ have been equally made a part of the body of Christ. And they share equally in the privileges of salvation, the privileges of redemption. Men and women have equal access to God.
In Galatians chapter 3, the apostle Paul says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” He is speaking to men and women. If you are in Christ, you’ve been baptized into His body. And then he says, “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” (Galatians 3:27-28).
Paul does not mean that there are no differences between men and women. But that we have an equal share in the privileges and the blessings of redemption and equal access to God through Jesus Christ. We see in 1 Corinthians 12 that, as members of the body of Christ, we have all been given spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:7: “To each”—who is each? Every member of the body of Christ, which we know already is men and women—“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
I would like to explore several questions during this sermon. The first is: What does the Scripture teach about manhood and womanhood—about gender?
The Concept of Gender
The Scripture also affirms that there are God-created differences between men and women. Equality does not mean sameness. Now, everyone knows about the obvious physical differences between men and women. But I think it’s important that we realize that those external or physical differences are merely a reflection of deeper, more profound, fundamental differences that God has created between men and women.
In Genesis 1:27, there is something different about male and female. They are alike and created in the image of God. They are alike and created to bear or reflect the image of God. But there are differences. There is something different between male and female. And those differences are far more important than the obvious physical ones.
And being different is not a bad thing. We need each other’s differences. Our differences are intended to complement each other and to strengthen each other. And again, those differences are not just the obvious physical ones. They are far more fundamental than that, because they are God-created differences. Those differences were intended to balance each other.
This is a silly illustration, but think of a knife and a fork. They are both eating utensils, but they are different. They are intended to complement each other. Try eating with two knives, or try eating with two forks. You need both the knife and the fork. You need the things that are different about them. There are things that are the same about them, but you need the differences.
But does this all really matter? What do we have to lose, and what do we have to gain from seeing our manhood and our womanhood from God’s perspective?
The Concept of God’s Design
And in the differences between men and women, God intended that we should not be independent from each other. God intended that we should not be rivals with each other, but that we should be interdependent with one another, that we should complete each other.
So the man and the woman were created to have complementary purposes—not identical, but complementary. In Genesis chapter 3, we see the different consequences that God imposed on the man and the woman after they sinned. Their consequences were not identical (verses 16-19).
In the different consequences, you get a glimpse of how God created men and women differently. To the woman, God said, “Here’s the consequence of your sin. “I will multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children.” Genesis 3:16. The consequence that was given out to the woman was given to her in her distinct, unique realm as a bearer and nurturer of life. God designed the woman to have her primary realm of life as a bearer and a nurturer of life, a life-giver, giving birth to the next generation. That is the woman’s primary field or calling, which also means that is where she experienced the consequences for her sin.
To the man, God said, “Cursed is the ground because of you . . .both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you . . . by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” Genesis 3:17-19. So where was the man affected as a consequence of his sin? He was affected in his primary sphere of responsibility, as a provider for his family.
Now, this does not mean that men are not nurturing. And it does not mean that women do not work outside the home. But it does speak to the primary spheres or realms of responsibility for the man and the woman which are different. A man can build a house, but a woman makes it a home.
Conclusion
We come to the conclusion of it all in Genesis 1:31, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” That included male and female. It included the fact that it was good that they were created in His image, that they were alike in many aspects, but also different in many aspects. Those differences are very good. Those differences are a gift from God. They’re something to be received, to be cherished, to be protected rather than denied or rejected. Amen.
