Gender Roles: The Image of God and the Sin of Unisex
Ken Clark 1/2/2008
Summary
The
REAL God of
Jesus Christ, of the entire Cosmos, and of the Bible, is inherently,
intrinsically, innately, masculine in his very essence AND HES NOT GAY. He created men ONLY in his same gender, that
is, in his IMAGE and women in the COMPLIMENTARY gender. TRUE masculinity, which God is the absolute
definition of is NOT GAY SO God created women in the COMPLIMENTARY
gender. Manhood is the IMAGE of God
womanhood is the COMPLIMENT --thus illustrating that God, is masculine, and not
gay. Gender purposes proceed from the
very nature of Gods person, must be followed to obey and honor God, and do not
change with time. They do not change
with the New Testament.
Discovery
after discovery with a myriad of modern high tech devices shows the natural
world to be intricate beyond imagination.
This World is clearly, SPECIALLY CREATED not accidentally
evolved. I emphasize the TREND better
microscopes and numerous other high tech gadgets lead to discovery of more and
more intricacy. Thus, the Bible is
literally correct God just plain created everything. IT IS TRUE THAT GOD IS REALLY HE.
Introduction
The Creator's
purpose defines manhood and womanhood. This purpose allows us to correctly
understand God's will in this time of blurring of gender roles. This blurring
violates God's will. I ask the reader to bear with me in this essay since I
will work for good balance in this subject.
Bible references
are to the King James Bible. This is because it precedes the more recent,
secularism, naturalism, and unisexism, etc., which influence modern bibles, and
because it was not published "for profit." Modern versions "tone
down" or falsely represent some passages on the subject of gender. Also,
the KJB is public domain.
The origin of
gender
In the beginning
God ordained manhood and womanhood. These are not just sexes, but lives and
roles. Manhood and womanhood are defined by the creator's intent and purpose
and are expressly stated and clearly illustrated in the Bible. God ordained
manhood and womanhood to be clearly, distinctly, and publicly different, noncompetitive,
and complementary to each other. To confuse or blur these roles is an insult to
the Creator, a smear against his Holy Person, and a sin against his express
will. An insult because God is a perfect, wise, and beautiful Creator. A smear
because manhood and womanhood represent aspects of His holy character. A sin
because He expressly created according to his perfect will; His creative act
embodies His express will. Manhood and womanhood are neither afterthoughts nor
sideline purposes of God, but are absolutely central to his greatest purposes.
Manhood
God expressly
created the man to be the image of God, and the woman to be a "help
meet" (a helper exactly suited for - Genesis 2:18) to, and for the man. Proper
male and female roles result from God's perfect creative act, NOT FROM THE FALL
in the Garden of Eden. Thus, they are NOT changed with the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the New Testament. Feminism is not womanhood. It is rather the
rejection of womanhood. It is the refusal of the Great Creator's will.
Genesis 1:31: And
God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the
evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Revelation 4:11: Thou
art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created
all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
God is a totally
masculine being. Jesus, who is God incarnate, the "brightness of God's
glory and the express image of his person" (Hebrews 1:3), is a male
person.
Hebrews 1:3, is the
only Bible verse where the Greek word "charakter" underlies
the English word image. This word means an exact copy. Jesus
Christ is the exact representation of God. HE IS VERY GOD.
Luke 2:7: And she
brought forth her first-born son.
Thus, it is proved
that God must be a masculine person.
John 1:18: No
man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of
the Father, he hath declared him.
John 14:9: Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that
hath seen me, hath seen the Father.
Colossians 2:9: For
in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Thus, we should
plainly observe that Jesus Christ is Very God. Who could possibly be the
"express image" of God except God Incarnate? Furthermore, it is
impossible that he be the "express image" of God without being,
himself, also masculine; because God is masculine. Since Christ is the
"express image" of God, God must be a masculine being because Jesus
is a masculine person. We cannot come to properly know, nor fittingly worship
God except as the masculine being that He really is. This should not be
understood in some abstract or technical sense. The Apostle John was perhaps
the one who was closest to Jesus during his lifetime. He said of Jesus:
1 John 1:1-2: That
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life...
This was a
hands-on, true-life, experiential knowledge of this supreme man. Scripture
continually and invariably speaks of God the "Father" and God the
"Son," not of the "mother" and "daughter." Christ
is our only pure, visible, "role-model" of manhood.
Womanhood
The woman is
certainly a full member of Adam's race. Adam himself said in Genesis 2:23; "This
is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man."
How easy to
overlook, that to the woman alone, God granted that very special privilege of
childbearing. On her alone God bestowed this most precious and miraculous gift.
Genesis 3:20; And
Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
It is terribly
wrong to charge God with inequity and to say that he has endowed men alone with
unique privilege.
The woman is also
like God in that she is a personal, rational, and moral being. She is triune
too, as is God, being body, soul, and spirit. Nevertheless, because God
Almighty is intrinsically, and unchangeably a masculine being, the Holy Bible
teaches us that it is the man alone who is created, in the full sense, the
image of God. Womanhood is the complement to God's masculine
personality, not the image of it. God is heterosexual, not homosexual.
Homosexuality is an abomination to God. I hasten to add, that in marriage the
woman completes the image of God. The "missing rib" of Adam is
restored to its appropriate place. As the Lord mentioned in the Gospels, and as
the Apostle Paul also remarks:
Ephesians 5:31,32: For
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto
his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the church.
Further
discussion
Let me continue to
explore the meaning of the term "image of God", and its relationship
to the life of manhood.
Genesis 1:27: God
created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female
created he them.
Genesis 5:1,2: In
the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female
created he them;
The following
passage is an inspired commentary on the two preceding Genesis passages.
1 Corinthians 11:7:
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image
and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man.
Together, these
Scriptures succinctly show that the Creator made the "them"
male and female, but only the "him" in the image of God.
Genesis chapters 1
through 5 plainly show us that when God was finished creating the man in the
"image of God" that Adam and only Adam was there. The woman
did not yet exist. Then, God made the woman, Eve, to be a "help
meet" (a helper exactly suited) for the man. He did not create her
to be another image of God. Let the reader carefully consider this with reference
to the last verse quoted above. That if the woman is the image and glory
of God also, then she should not cover her head either! But, the
passage teaches that she should be covered in certain circumstances.
The word
"image" should not be regarded as a technical term. It simply means a
likeness. If you look in the mirror, you see an image of yourself. If you
photograph a person, you get an image of that person. On the other hand, mere
similarity between objects does not always mean Imagery. A truck has wheels and
an engine, but that does not make it the image of a car. Although a woman is a
personal, rational, and tripartite being, this does not make her the image of
God, because she lacks masculine nature which is an inherent, intrinsic, aspect
of God's person and being.
To diminish or
slight manhood or to confuse it with womanhood is an insult to, and a smear
against God himself. Deuteronomy 22:5 warns us against confusing the sexes even
in respect to clothing.
Deuteronomy 22:5: The
woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put
on a woman's garment; for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
Reading Isaiah
3:12, in its context, we see God clearly regards it a national dishonor to have
women in leadership positions. Why? Because the man represents God's image.
Isaiah 3:12: As
for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them.
Ephesians 5:33 says
a woman is to have "fear" or "reverence" toward her husband
as toward God. This is appropriate because he is the "image of God."
She is showing her true reverence for God himself. Furthermore, this fits the
context as it makes the comparison with Christ and his Church.
Ephesians 5:33: Nevertheless,
let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the
wife, see that she reverence her husband. Note: Some modern versions
"tone down" this and other passages.
Although the man is
not perfect, the wife's reverence is due the image of God that he bears. In
passing, note carefully the differential and complementary nature of God's
commands for the two sexes. The man's deep, and sincere love encourages his
wife's obedience, while her wholehearted obedience inspires her husband to an
even deeper and more intimate love for her. So, God's instructions are
differential and complementary, and will produce harmony.
In 1 Timothy 2:12
Paul speaking, as an apostle, and under the direct commission of Jesus Christ,
states that he does not allow a woman to be in a place of authority over a man
because of God's deliberate order in creation, nor to teach, because of a
greater or more general proneness to deception on the part of women. The old
English word "suffer" meaning to allow.
1 Timothy 2:12-15: I
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in
silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but
the woman, being deceived, was in the transgression. Notwithstanding, she shall
be saved in childbearing.
Observe that the
context does not limit itself to religious situations only. God (through Paul)
bases his teaching on the very nature and purpose of God's creative act, and on
events in the Garden of Eden. The King James word "usurp" correctly
connotes the illegitimate nature of this kind of situation. This is the only
place in the Bible it is used.
Let the reader
note, also, from chapter one of Matthew that the royal bloodline of Jesus
Christ, heir to the throne of Israel, passes from King David, generation to generation,
only through male persons. There were no legitimate female monarchs on the
throne of Israel.
1 Corinthians
14:34-37: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not
permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as
also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their
husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. What?
came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? If any man think
himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that
I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
But why is it a
shame? Why should she ask her husband at home? Again, I believe we must see
that the "image of God" the man bears, is far more important than
other considerations. For the woman to speak, would be as though she presumed
to teach God himself. It also openly demonstrates independence from, and
insubordination to her "head," the man, and thus to God himself. The
reader may also review I Corinthians 11, and Ephesians 5.
Does the woman's
subordination imply that she is inferior? Many people equate these two words,
but God does not! The Bible tells us Jesus, "God the Son," is
perfectly subordinate to God the Father. AND EQUAL!
John 5:17-18: But
Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the
Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
John 10:30: I
and my father are one.
Hebrews 1:8-10: But
unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of
righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and
hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the
foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
Here in Hebrews 1
we find God the Father directly addressing God the Son as "O God"
and as "Lord."
Hebrews 5:8: Though
he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
None of us has
anything that he has not been given. It may be talent, intelligence,
motivation, skill, birthright, nationality, race, sex, means, looks; they were
all given to us. There is no justification for pride nor for some superior
demeanor on the part of men. We did not invent, nor create ourselves, nor
indeed anything that we have. If I am male or female, that is God's perfect
will, his wise choice, and his good pleasure.
Realize that God
takes his "image" very seriously. He prescribes capital punishment
for murderers. Why?
Genesis 9:6: Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the Image of
God made he man.
Apparently God
views the murder of a man as an attack against Himself. What about women?
" Yes, it violates God's will to murder women also. See 1 Timothy 1:9 and
other passages.
One aspect of this
"image of God" is prominent in human fatherhood. In the lovely and
well-known "Lord's Prayer" in Matthew 6:9-15, Jesus teaches us that
we should begin our prayers with "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name." How should my children come to know this invisible,
infinite, holy Lord God? Primarily from me, their earthly father.
Perhaps the most solemn responsibility of an earthly father is to faithfully
represent God the Heavenly Father, to his child's impressionable young mind.
Surely in dealing with his children, the spiritual man must first ask himself,
"how does God deal with me as one of his own children?" A
human father bears the image of God the Father to his children, and provides
the experiential basis for their concept of God.
I recall hearing a
very sad story from a man who used to minister in the California prison system.
As he would begin to pray with some of the men, "Our Father.. .etc.,"
he found that some of these men were loath to view God as their
"father." For many of these men the only father they had ever known
had been a horrible man who came home drunk, and beat them, beat their mothers,
and deserted them. We see how tragically God's image was hurt. We can only
imagine how handicapped these men must have been in their early conception of
God.
This doctrine that
I am teaching is by no means hung on the interpretation of a few Bible
passages. Throughout the entire Bible, God is "he" and Israel is
"she." Likewise, Jesus, "God the Son," is "he,"
and the Church, the bride of Christ, is "she." God the Father
and God the Son are totally masculine as are any Father and Son. There is no
part of either one that is feminine. The same is true of God the Holy Spirit
although that is harder to demonstrate. The great love stories of God the
Father and God the Son for their respective women (Israel, Church) occupy huge
portions of the Bible. They give us great insight into God's purpose in the
institution of manhood, womanhood, marriage, family relationships, and many
other subjects. They provide the Biblical context in which every unclear
passage dealing with men and women's gender roles must be correctly
interpreted.
I am convinced that
the woman surely plays a most crucial role in this representation of God the
Father and his great purposes. It is her contrasting, and complementary, life
of true womanhood that gives relief to, and perfects God's image. An artist
employs the principle of contrast in colors and shades to project his great
thoughts to the canvas. Similarly, the playwright employs the contrast and
interaction of his created characters to introduce his great ideas. And, the
Creator, himself, employs the contrast of two distinctly, publicly, different,
kinds of lives to perfect his purposes. If these proper gender roles be
neglected or perverted, then the Creator's special purposes may be damaged or subverted.
Our dear God is the consummate artist and master playwright.
As previously
noted, the Bible plainly states, "In the image of God created He Him."
Then almost immediately:
Genesis 2:18: It
is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
Genesis 2:21-23: 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; And the rib, which the
LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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.
This tells us
something rather intimate about God Himself, and explains his own pursuit of an
appropriate "her." The woman is fashioned from the man's rib, a
place very near and dear to his heart, and an item indispensable if he is to be
complete, happy and whole. She is, in a sense, the image of the missing rib in
the side of God. She represents, that is, true womanhood represents,
that precious and special being that God himself could fall in love with and
marry. The "Pearl of Great Price" in Matthew 13, takes on new
meaning. John 3:16, and a myriad other passages assume so much greater
significance.
Matthew 13:45,46: Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly
pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that
he had, and bought it.
John 3:16: For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We may begin to
understand the reason for, or nature of, this deep love, by contemplating the
significance of this missing rib. The woman completes the image of God; She is
the missing rib. Throughout the Bible are verses that hint of this great
significance. Example:
1 Peter 3:4: The
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price.
Surely womanhood
embodies that which God, being the masculine person, treasures in his
"her." What a very high calling and great privilege for the man to be
the image of the Living God. And likewise, what a very high calling and great
privilege for a woman to be the complement, the help meet, and to reflect this
precious "missing rib" aspect of God's Holy character. How vile and
dark the unisex philosophy and lifestyle which refuses and rejects these
beautiful callings, and mocks at God's perfect, holy, and lovely ways. May God
give us the will, and grant us the courage to use every opportunity to speak
out for his most precious truth.
Some related
thoughts
At this point I
would like to express some personal thoughts on the practical outworking of
these principles. From our studies in natural science we recall that opposite
poles of magnets attract, while the like poles repel. God created male
and female bodies to be different, complementary, and of course, naturally,
sexually attractive. Certainly the Creator did not intend that men and women be
just sex machines. He intended that manhood and womanhood, also, be different,
complementary, noncompetitive and mutually attractive as well. He meant them to
live together harmoniously, not just sleep together. This must encompass the
spiritual, intellectual, emotional, domestic, and occupational realms. By way
of illustration, a certain man was heard to say, "I respect the women's
movement, but when I come home I want dinner, not an empty house!
Things have to be different
to be complementary. Nuts and bolts fit together. They must be different to
be complementary. But, just being different is not enough; they must be
designed for each other. Dogs and cats are different, but they are not
complementary. Tea, lemon, and sugar go together in a summertime drink. They
are complementary. But tea and tea are not complementary. They must be different
to be complementary. Sand and tea are different, but not complementary.
Male and female are complementary, because they are different, and designed by
our Creator to be so. Manhood and womanhood as specified by the Creator, in
Scripture, are different and designed to be complementary in purpose and life.
But, if God's operating instructions are disregarded, then the lives that any
particular male and female, just happen to choose to live, may not be very
complementary. Making the two lives as identical as possible, as is the modern
unisex scheme, insures that they will not be complementary, but
competitive. Competition destroys intimacy. You just don't share your deepest
thoughts, hopes and desires, with a competitor. Unisex is sabotage to
marriage.
Suppose, for sake
of argument, that Congress were to repeal the Law of Gravity. Now that would be
absurd you say! Yes, and I agree, ridiculous indeed. But suppose they did.
Suppose that a bill duly signed by Congressional authorities and by the
President, repealing the Law of Gravity, really did go into full legal effect.
Then, suppose that some people believed the government and actually stepped out
of upper stories of buildings, or out of flying airplanes. Obviously they would
suffer great harm, because this act of Congress would be just a lie. So it is
with the current situation. The distinction between sexes is a natural, God ordained
fact. Any law attempting to negate God's natural laws is a lie. But some people
are believing it to be true. One popular female writer and speaker, commenting
on the problem, said, "The rules have changed, but men have not." But
truth is that God has NOT changed the rules! Congress has no legitimate
authority nor power whatsoever to alter God's rules! It may be perfectly legal,
but it is simply a lie.
Unfortunately our
public schools, forced by just such a law, and sadly even some Christian
schools, through shameful ignorance, have badly erred in rearing boys and girls
identically. With God's purposes firmly in mind, we should rear boys to
manhood, and raise girls by distinctly different customs appropriate to their
special calling of womanhood.
Satan has laid a
trap for us. He knows that if he can make men and woman as identical as
possible, he can destroy or damage marriages, homes, and churches. Like poles
of magnets repel. Opposites attract. You have sexual opposites, but social
unisex. A male, man, unwittingly marries a person who is a female,
"man." She is a female, but has been bred, groomed, and conditioned
to he a man on the inside. The pathetic result is a confusing, frustrating, and
conceivably failing marriage. We hear of the love-hate relationship. Satan
knows that like things repel. God made opposites to attract. In the
modern movies boy meets girl, they may even sleep together, on the first date
of course, but they just cannot seem to live together. Roles must be different
to be complementary and attractive.
Competition
destroys intimacy. You simply don't share your deepest thoughts and secrets
with a competitor, because he or she might use that information against you. I
heard, some years ago, in the news media, regarding a Hollywood movie
production; that it was difficult to find an actor and actress these days who
still knew how to play the dramatic, truelove, role that this movie required.
It seems they have played that old love-hate relationship too long.
To raise boys and
girls identically makes them naturally competitive, rather than
complementary in life, purpose, and personality. This ruins intimacy. I
fear that competitive athletics for girls ingrains a competitive spirit rather
than a complementary ability. And our schools, as major social engineers of the
unisex philosophy, actually program children for DIVORCE. Like poles of repel,
opposites attract.
The concurrence
of Christian writers of the past
In checking several
"Brethren" writers I detect substantial concurrence with the
doctrinal stance I have taken.
H. A. Ironside in
his Addresses on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, states:
"For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the
image and glory of God." God had said, "Let Us make man in Our image.
But the woman is the glory of the man."
Before I comment on
his statement, please reconsider the following two verses of Scripture:
Genesis 1:26: And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have
dominion...
1 Corinthians
11:7-9: For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the
image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is
not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the
woman; but the woman for the man.
Notice how lronside
associates these two verses. He regards 1 Corinthians 11:7 as an inspired
commentary on the Genesis 1:26 passage. The revealed truth is: it is the man
only who is created in the image of God. Please notice, also, that he is
interpreting both Bible passages in a very literal manner. This is refreshingly
typical of Brethren expositors! It is also the interpretive method of Jesus,
Paul, Peter, etc.
In his Notes
on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, William Kelly states,
regarding the same passages:
"Thus the
apostle points out man's standing directly as God's image and glory: woman is
man's glory, having no such place of public representation of God (my
emphasis). Whatever she has relatively is mediate and derivative. Creation is
the proof, not of course the ordinary course of things since. It is impossible,
therefore, to form a right estimate without looking to the beginning. If verse
seven then refers to the origination of man and woman respectively, verse eight
sets forth the making of the woman for, and subsequently to, the man, as
grounds of woman's subordination to man. It is easy to see that, where creation
is denied, or even ignored, men naturally reason and labor for their
equality."
Please note his
view that the woman does not publicly represent God as does the man, his
stress on the fact of creation as determinative, and his consistently literal
approach to Biblical interpretation.
Conclusion
Manhood and
womanhood represent the deliberate creative purposes of a wise, wonderful and
loving Creator. They are differential and complementary. As nuts and bolts fit
together and form a completed purpose, so do manhood and womanhood. The Unisex
movement sabotages God's great purposes making these roles identical and competitive.
My Methodology
My methodology in
arriving at the views expressed in this paper was to pray on the basis of God's
promise in 1 John 5:14,15, asking God to show me the answer to the gender roles
question. This promise states:
1 John 5:14,15: And
this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according
to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
God did answer me
in and through the pages of the Bible, as I thought about the gender roles
question.
Now there are two
qualifications in using this New Testament promise. First, it is clear from the
immediate context that the "we", means those who are in fact
Christians. Since I have personally taken, that Jesus Christ of the Bible, as
my own Lord and Savior, I do qualify in this regard. Secondly, one must really
pray "according to HIS will." This means that the objective one is
seeking must be in God's will. It also means that one must be willing to
accept, in advance, God's answer, like it or not. One cannot say,
"God give me your answer, and then I'll see if I want to accept it or
not." I accepted God's answer, in advance.
The Bible tells us
that it is very definitely God's will that we should know what he is like and
how to properly serve and worship Him. Thus, I am sure that I prayed
"according to his will", thereby qualifying myself for the promise in
1 John 5:14 & 13. I was very happy as I saw God begin to faithfully keep
his part of this bargain in giving me "the petition that" I
"desired of Him." In the past 20 years God has given me some dozen or
so, solid Biblical answers to my petition. He continues to add more. Not mere
human mental ideas mind you, nor feelings, but always as the Holy Spirit has
guided me through the pages of the Bible.
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