Many news stories, instances and discussions concerning gender have come up on the internet these days, things such as this, that and also this. The topic of gender and gender roles are on people's minds, and minds are valuable. We, as believers, are told that our minds and the renewing of them are what allow us to understand God's will and how we ought to live (Romans 12:1-2). We should not waste our minds on anything foolish, and we should make sure we spend our time thinking about what is worthwhile. So, do the topics of gender and gender roles matter enough that we should think about them, and if so why do they matter?
Gender matters, because it is part of God's design. In the beginning God made a man and from that man God made a woman (Genesis 2:7,21-22). Before sin entered the world, while everything on earth was pleasing to our Creator, God made gender, male and female (Genesis 5:2). He is delighted that both men and women have the honor of bearing His image (His likeness) on earth (Genesis 1:27), for when He finished creating everything, he looked upon it and called it good (Genesis 1:31). Know that no matter what gender God has created you as, you are a good creation, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world
Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold
So hold your head up high, it's your time to shine
From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold
- Britt Nicole
We should not disregard what God calls good, or much worse decide for ourselves what is and isn't good. This is what Adam and Eve did, when they disobeyed God and chose for themselves what was their understanding (their knowledge) of good and evil (Genesis 3:6-7). How could we, as created human beings, possibly know what is good or evil better than the one who created us? God is not only the Creator of everything, but He also sustains it (Colossians 1:17). One way He sustains His creation is by letting what is good prosper and making what is evil perish. We can "be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free," (Proverbs 11:21). If we want to "trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm 37:3), then we need to understand what God considers good and acknowledge it as such. God says gender is good. That is why gender matters.
Not only does gender itself matter, but so do gender roles. This should be especially true among believers, because believers have received words from God on this matter. Paul wrote that one role women have that men do not have is the role of child bearing (1 Timothy 2:15). Peter wrote that a husband (a married man) must treat his wife (a married woman) with respect and grace bearing in mind the physical difference between himself and her (1 Peter 3:7). A husband is also called to lay down his life for his wife (Ephesians 5:25). Paul even writes about specific roles for men and women in church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35), and some of us, even as believers, may be inclined to want to ignore what Paul has said on such things. We should not do so, because immediately after what Paul writes on such gender roles, he writes in 1 Corinthians 14:36-38:
Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.
Gender roles, especially in marriages and in the church, are not simply Paul's opinion or even his best advice. Gender roles are a command from God. That, truly, is why gender roles matter, and why we, as followers of our Lord, must do our best to understand them and live by them well. We, as believers, love God, and "this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome," (1 John 5:3).
You may be wondering at this point what my thoughts on Scripture's determination of gender roles are. I will not tell you what my beliefs on gender roles are, because my personal beliefs don't matter. I will, however, direct you to some sources that have influenced my Biblical understanding of gender and gender roles. Those sources can be found here, there and also here. It is far more important for you and I and everyone to not simply find out what others believe concerning gender and gender roles, but to truly understand what the Bible (God's Word) says about it.
It may seem a daunting task to read the Bible and interpret its true meaning. Remember, though, God does not want to confuse us (1 Corinthians 14:33). He wants us to be like minded, for it joyous when we have "the same love, being of one accord, of one mind," (Philippians 2:2). We do not go into the important work of understanding God's will all on our own. God has always made it so for Christians to come alongside other Christians to help them better understand His Word (Acts 18:24-26). We have been placed together in the Body of Christ which is the church (1 Corinthians 12:27), and we never do God's good work alone.
No man is an island, we can be found
No man is an island, let your guard down!
You don't have to fight me, I am for you
We're not meant to live this life alone!
- Tenth Avenue North
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- Britt Nicole: Gold
- Tenth Avenue North: No Man is an Island
I agree with you that we need to take the Bible seriously and submit to it. I also think we need to take our culture seriously and use its language...we translate the Bible into our language so we can understand it. Our language does not use "gender" and "sex" interchangeably, and hasn't for a decade at least. God did not make two genders; he made two sexes.
ReplyDeleteThere are some very important things to note about the creation of man and woman that you have missed.
1. Men are not made in God's image. Women are not made in God's image. Men and women--together--are made in God's image. The image of God is incomplete if only one sex is present. (Reread Genesis 1:27 Note: most translations omit "the" from "so God created the man in his own image," but it's there in Hebrew and man should be "human" because the word "adam" refers to all of humanity, male and female.)
2. One Hebrew way of reading Genesis 1-2 is that God made a human (adam) in Genesis 1 and then split the adam into ish and ishah, man and woman in Genesis 2. https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/splitting-the-adam/ Even Genesis 5:2 that you mention calls both the male and female "man" (adam) so it is not right to say that God made a "man" and then a "woman" because we don't really know if the person created in Genesis 1 was male, female, or neither or both. If that sounds too much like an acronym, I'm sorry, but this is actually ancient Hebrew interpretation of the passage (midrash), nothing modern.
3. If 1 Cor. 14:34-35 is talking about gender roles in church, as you say, why does Paul give very specific direction for women prophesying in Chapter 11? He's talking about prophesy in church in ch. 14 when he says women should be silent. There are a couple ideas, one of which is that he is quoting some teachers from the church that want to exclude women. (No quotation marks back then...) Which brings an interesting different interpretation to the part you quote: "Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?" Is Paul scolding them for acting like the women don't have important things to say? This passage deserves further study and where Christians are not agreed and the text is hard to understand, perhaps having a strong opinion (especially if it affects others and not ourselves) is not charitable.