egalitarianism

Why did God make woman so opposite of man?

/ biblicalgenderroles / 15 Comments

CompareManWoman

In my last post in my series on Christian Egalitarianism, we showed why I believe KENEGDO in Genesis 2’s “help meet” means that woman was made “opposite or different” than man.

Just look around you today and you will see our culture trying to minimize or deny the significant differences between men women, both physiologically and psychologically. They deny God’s natural design and order as Paul speaks about in Romans 1:

“18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Romans 1:18-20(NASB)

How can anyone say with a straight face that men and women are equal outside of their common humanity and their souls? Let me remind you of these differences I stated in the last post:

Men have external sex organs Women have internal sex organs
Men’s bodies are built for strength and endurance(they have more muscle mass, tougher skin, more red blood cells and experience less pain because have fewer pain receptors in their skin) Women’s bodies are built for beauty, comfort and caregiving and they are more sensitive to pain than men are.
Men are systemizers Women empathizers
Men have tougher skin Women have softer skin
Men see less colors Women see a broader range of colors
Men have faster reflexes and can track moving objects better Women are better at multitasking
Men are competitive Women are cooperative
Men are task oriented Women are relationally oriented
Men are risk takers Women are more cautious

 

It can be “clearly seen, being understood through what has been made” (Romans 1:20) that women and men were designed for very DIFFERENT purposes and roles. To deny this is to deny a self-evident truth.

I believe based upon Romans chapter 1 that we as Christians should not stand silently by as groups claiming the Christian name, seek to minimize or deny God’s distinct design of and his roles for men and women. We should be angry at such a perversion of God’s purposes, just as he shows he was angry when men perverted what he had made.

As an American, I believe in the right of every person to believe what they will. But as a Christian we are called to defend the truth, and call out false teaching where we see it. Most Christians, and especially Bible believing Pastors, need to stand up and call out this teaching for what it is – heresy pure and simple.

I believe the answer to why God made woman so opposite from man can be found in this verse:

“Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”

I Corinthians 11:9(KJV)

We can see from both Genesis 2 and I Corinthians 11 that God created woman for man. When we understand this principle, then we understand that God created a helper for Adam, who was not just his mirror opposite, but someone whose opposite attributes would complement Adam.

Adam needed someone who would be able to bear and care for his children, he need someone to care for his home while he hunted and worked the fields. God not only made woman with the natural ability to become pregnant and after birth be able to feed the child from her breasts, but he also gave woman the emotional ability to empathize and work with children in a way most men are incapable of doing.

A woman should never be mocked for being emotional (as some men do), because this a gift from God which enables her to be the perfect mother, as well as great caregiver to the sick and elderly.

But God did not just give women breasts for feeding children, he gave them breasts for the pleasure and comfort of man. Human females are the only mammals who have constantly protruding breasts, even when they are not pregnant or nursing children.

Because men are so visually wired by God, he made a woman’s body for beauty, not for toughness and endurance the way a man’s body is built.

But besides these practical differences, God also created woman for spiritual and symbolic reasons. God created man in his image, to exercise God’s leadership, provision and protection qualities. But man needed a person, not just some animal, which would allow him to exercise these traits. Woman was perfectly designed by God to fulfill this role as the recipient of man’s leadership, provision and protection, and to provide him with the perfect helper and companion.

God could have made men and women much more similar than he did. He could have made women just as strong, and with the exact same nature and abilities, but he did not. God purposefully made woman weaker and more fragile (both emotionally and physically) than man, so that she would need his leadership, protection and provision.

In my next post in this series on Christian Egalitarianism, I will talk in more detail about the Bible calling woman “the weaker vessel”.

Next article in series on Christian Egalitarianism

Why does the Bible call woman the weaker vessel?

Previous article in series on Christian Egalitarianism

What did God mean when he called woman a help meet for man?

What did God mean when he called woman a help meet for man?

/ biblicalgenderroles / 5 Comments

wife gives her husband a meal 

Previously we discussed Egalitarian beliefs surrounding the word “Ezer”. This word is used in the Hebrew language that the Old Testament was originally written in. Most English translations of the Bible translate the Hebrew word Ezer as “helper” or “help”.

Ezer occurs 21 times throughout various Old Testament books. In most of these instances, Ezer is referring to God as man’s “help” or “helper”. Here are a few examples:

“But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help [EZER] and my deliverer ; O LORD, make no tarrying .”

Psalm 70:5(KJV)

“My help[EZER] cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 121:2(KJV)

In both of the above passages, as well as most of the other passages where Ezer is used, we can see that Ezer seems to be referring to help coming from God. However there some passages where Ezer does not refer to God’s help, but to man’s help.

Isaiah 30 is a prophesy talking about Israel looking to Egypt for help, but this would be a futile attempt according to the prophet:

“They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help[EZER] nor profit , but a shame, and also a reproach.”

In this case, EZER is referring the fact that the Egyptians would not a “help”, or EZER, to the Israelites.

So while most instances of EZER refer to God’s help, it sometimes also refers to men helping other men. But for the Egalitarian, the most important use of EZER in the Bible comes at the very beginning, in the creation account when God created woman:

“20 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help [EZER] meet [k’enegdo] for him… 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;

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.”

Genesis 2:20-23(KJV)

The Egalitarian interpretation of Ezer from Genesis chapter 2

Below are some typical Egalitarian interpretations of Hebrew word Ezer:

“Ezer is used 20 times in the Old Testament: seventeen times to describe God and three times to describe a military ally or aide. “Help” or “helper” is an adequate translation, but English has different nuances than the Hebrew does. In English “helper” implies someone who is learning, or under a person in authority. In the Hebrew “help” comes from one who has the power to give help—it refers to someone in a superior position. That is why God can help Israel: he has the power to do so. God helps Israel because they do not have the power to help themselves.”

Source: http://www.cbeinternational.org/blogs/does-it-really-mean-helpmate

“Adam was regarded by his Creator as incomplete and deficient as he lived at first without the benefit of a proper counterpart. He was without community. God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen 2:18). So, as Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 expressed it, “Two are better than one….” Accordingly, in order to end man’s loneliness, God formed “for Adam [a] suitable helper” (Gen 2:18)-or at least that is the way most have rendered the Hebrew word ‘ēzer.

Now, there is nothing pejorative about the translation “helper”, for the same word is used for God, but it is also variously translated as “strength”, as in “He is your shield and helper [=strength] (‘ēzer)” in Deuteronomy 33:29; 33:26.

But R. David Freedman has argued quite convincingly that our Hebrew Word ‘ēzer is a combination of two older Hebrew/Canaanite roots, one ‘-z-r, meaning “to rescue, to save,” and the other, ģ-z-r, meaning “to be strong,” to use their verbal forms for the moment.”

Source: http://walterckaiserjr.com/women.html

 

A Complementarian response to the word “Ezer” in Genesis chapter 2

The Bible tells us that woman was created as an EZER KENEGDO, or a “help meet” for man. Modern translations often translate this as “helper suitable” for man. For Egalitarians this phrase is one of the cornerstones of how they interpret the entire Bible as it relates to God’s intention for men and women.

Let’s first address the “Ezer” in the room. I agree that “help” or “helper” does not always mean the person doing the helping is a subordinate. For instance, maybe someone is new cashier at a store and they need their manager to come over and “help” them with something that does not make the manager any less their authority because he is helping them.

So when God called Eve Adam’s helper, that in and of itself did not mean she was his subordinate. Ezer does not refer to position, it refers to function. The person helping someone may be an authority, an equal or subordinate.

But what is the full context surrounding the “help meet” of Genesis chapter 2? Context and Scripture interpreting Scripture are critical. While “Ezer” does not tell us Eves position (as an authority, an equal or a subordinate) to Adam, the surrounding context DOES tell us her position.

In Genesis 2 Adam names the animals, an act of authority given him by God. Then he names his wife “Eve”, another act of authority.  In the Scriptures while mothers sometimes named their children as Leah did with Issachar(Genesis 30:18) we see that fathers always had the final say in naming and sometimes overrode the names their wives gave to their children as in this case:

“And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.”

Genesis 35:18 (KJV)

So when we look at mothers naming their children – the naming of their child was in essence a suggestion which had to be validated and finalized by the father.  The father always had the final say in the naming of a child because of his authority over both his wife and his children.

Furthermore, in Genesis 3:16 God said:

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

Egalitarians are quick to say that Genesis 3:16 proves that Adam and Eve were meant to be equal originally, and that him ruling over her was only because of sin in the garden and was temporary until Christ came, this where they try and use Galatians 3:28 to say Christ “restored” what they believe was the original equality between men and women:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:28(KJV)

The problem with the Egalitarian interpretation of Galatians 3:28 is that it written by the same Apostle Paul who wrote these words:

“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. “

I Corinthians 11:3(KJV)

“22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

Ephesians 5:22-24(KJV)

And one of Paul’s fellow Apostles (Peter) wrote:

“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands… Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”

I Peter 3:1 & 6(KJV)

So in one passage Paul says there is no male or female in Christ, yet in all these other passages he says men are the head over women, and wives are to be in subjection to their husbands. Some Egalitarians have actually said Paul was simply being inconsistent with his own teachings – a direct attack on Biblical inerrancy.  Others explain away the phrasing in these passages, write parts of them off as scribal additions that were added many years after the Apostles died.

So going back to Genesis 3:16 where God said Adam would rule over Eve, he also mentioned Eve conceiving children in pain. It is clear from the context that “the pain” was the curse, not Eve’s ability to bear children. So it is an incorrect interpretation of Genesis 3:16 to say everything in it, including man ruling over woman is all part of the curse.

In fact Ephesians 5:22-24 shows that man’s ruling over woman is meant as a beautiful picture of Christ ruling over his Church, not as part of the curse of sin.

So if Galatians 3:28 does not get rid of God’s distinct roles for men and women, what is it referring to?

When we look at Galatians 3:28 in it’s larger context, we can see what is really is talking about:

“7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[ 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith…

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.“

Galatians 3:7-9 & 26-29(NIV)

Rather than obliterating God’s gender roles as Egalitarians suggest Galatians 3:28 does, it is a statement referring to the oneness of all those of faith from Abraham to Christ.  We are all the children of faith, if we believe as Abraham did. God fulfilled his promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by his seed(Christ).

So spiritually speaking, there is no difference between a man and woman, a Jew and a Gentile, a slave or a free man, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  However physically speaking, while we live in this world these differences still exist. You have to write off a lot of Scripture to say this passage gets rid of God’s divinely created gender roles.

What does KENEGDO mean in Genesis 2?

But what does KENEGDO really mean? This word when transliterated is “Neged” and generally means “in front of, or opposite to”. We can see other usages of this word these passages:

“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite [Neged] him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”

Joshua 5:13(NASB)

“I will set no worthless thing before [Neged] my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.”

Psalm 101:3(NASB)

“There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against [Neged] the LORD.”

Psalm 54:3(NASB)

Nothing in KENEGDO translates to a “helper equal to man” as Egalitarians often preach. Nothing in KENEGDO means equality.

I believe the best interpretation of EZER KENEGDO is “a helper who is man’s opposite”. That translation makes a lot of sense when you really think about how God made man and woman as I have mentioned many of these differences on this site many times.

Look at all these opposite attributes of men and women:

Men have external sex organs Women have internal sex organs
Men’s bodies are built for strength and endurance(they have more muscle mass, tougher skin, more red blood cells and experience less pain because have fewer pain receptors in their skin) Women’s bodies are built for beauty, comfort and caregiving and they are more sensitive to pain than men are.
Men are systemizers Women empathizers
Men have tougher skin Women have softer skin
Men see less colors Women see a broader range of colors
Men have faster reflexes and can track moving objects better Women are better at multitasking
Men are competitive Women are cooperative
Men are task oriented Women are relationally oriented
Men are risk takers Women are more cautious

I could go on with the many ways that men and women are indeed opposites, but you get the point.

But then you have to ask the question, why did God make woman so opposite of man? Was it just to give some variety to the world? In my next in this series on Christian Egalitarianism post we will discuss some reasons why God made woman so opposite of man.

Next Article in series on Christian Egalitarianism

Why did God make woman so opposite of man?

Previous Article in series on Christian Egalitarianism

What did God mean when he called woman a help meet for man?

Why Christian Egalitarianism is not Biblical or Christian

/ biblicalgenderroles / 4 Comments

EgalitarianWomanShakesFists1

Egalitarians reject the historic and literal reading of the Word of God where it shows distinct roles and purposes for which God made man and woman. Those who embrace the historical Christian view of the roles of men and women are in modern times called Complementarians.

What do Complementarians believe?

Complementarians believe that God designed man and woman to “complement each other”, like two opposites that when they come together form a whole, thus the term “Complementarian”. These are Christians who believe that the traditional gender roles that men and women have had throughout history are not only “traditional”, but also by the design of God as seen in the Scriptures. Complementarians believe that men and women are equal in their souls, their humanity and their worth to God, but this is where their equality ends and their differences begin.

For instance, Complementarians do not believe that men and women have equal responsibility (opportunity or right) to exercise leadership in the home and the church. They believe God gave clear direction that men are to exercise authority over women in the home and in the church, and that women are called to graciously submit to the authority of the men over them, as well as accept the boundaries that God has place them within.

What is the difference between “two part” Complentarians and “full” Complentarians?

Complementarians generally believe in a hierarchal view of marriage, sometimes called Patriarchy (male lead marriage and family). While there are many variations between Complementarians, the biggest difference that Complementarians have amongst themselves is on the role of women outside the home and church. “Two part Complementarians” are those who believe that man’s authority over woman is limited to the Home and the Church. “Full Complementarians” believe that in all three areas of life – in the Home, the Church as well as society in general, women are to be under the authority of men.

An example of this would be, full Complementarians (also called Patriarchalists) would believe it is unbiblical for a woman to be President of the United States, whereas most two part Complementarians would believe it would be ok for a woman to be President.

I am a full Complementarian.

What do Christian Egalitarians believe?

Probably one the best representations of Christian Egalitarianism is found at http://www.cbeinternational.org/content/cbes-mission. Here are few excerpts from their mission statement:

Believers are called to mutual submission, love, and service.

God distributes spiritual gifts without regard to gender, ethnicity, or class.

Believers must develop and exercise their God-given gifts in church, home, and world.

Believers have equal authority and equal responsibility to exercise their gifts without regard to gender, ethnicity, or class and without the limits of culturally-defined roles.

Restricting believers from exercising their gifts—on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, or class—resists the work of the Spirit of God and is unjust.

Believers must promote righteousness and oppose injustice in all its forms.

How do Christian Egalitarians use the Scriptures to support their beliefs?

Christian Egalitarianism starts first and foremost with an idea, that there are no boundaries upon people based upon their gender, and that God did not design specific roles for men and women. In the Egalitarian view, aside from their reproductive differences, men and women are equal in every way and both men and women can fulfill any role in the home, the church or society at large interchangeably. Marriage is partnership of equals, with no earthly head, but only Christ as it’s leader.

It is with these ideals in mind that Christian Egalitarians chose to reinterpret the Scriptures. These are the three primary Biblical sources through which Egalitarians reinterpret all the Bible:

  1. The “help meet” of Genesis chapter 2 is not Adam’s subordinate because the Greek word “Ezer” is usually used of God’s help toward man in the Old Testament and God is not man’s subordinate. In the Egalitarian view, Eve was no more Adam’s helper, than Adam was Eve’s helper, they were in fact equals made for each other. Egalitarians see Adam’s rule over Eve as part of the curse of sin, not the original design of God.
  2. They believe that the phrase “there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” in Galatians 3:28 means that God abolished all gender roles and boundaries for Christian believers. If man ever was the head of woman, this no longer exists in the Christian world.
  3. Whenever the Bible speaks of man being the head of woman (I Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 5) it does not mean “authority” in their view, but instead means “source”. “Head” in these passages is simply referring to the fact that God created woman from man when he took the rib from Adam’s side.

Egalitarians sacrifice the Scriptural teachings of Biblical inerrancy in their allegiance to their Egalitarian views and they write off whole passages of Scripture as being “scribal additions” where they cannot explain away the phrasing. Some of these passages include Ephesians 5:22, Ephesians 5:24 and I Peter 3:6.

In my next post in this series on Christian Egalitarianism, we will explore the “help meet” of Genesis chapter 2 and differing beliefs between Christian Egalitarians and Complementarians.

What did God mean when he called woman a help meet for man?

When men were men and women were women

/ biblicalgenderroles / Leave a comment

MansWorld

I love this ad.  I saw it posted by a Feminist on another site.

The feminists were of course railing the sexist nature of the ad.  They were sad to see that it ever happened.  I am sad to see that that time period in America has gone.

It is no coincidence that not long after such ads were seen as sexist that divorce rates sky rocketed, cohabitation sky rocketed and kids started getting dumped in daycare when they were 6 weeks old so mommy could have a more “fulfilling life” than just caring for her husband, her children and her home.

Homemade cooked meals were replaced by microwave meals and ready made oven meals.  Husbands and wives would then come home from their jobs and fight over who had to do the dishes and laundry. Wives started fighting with their husbands over whose career was most important.

Yes sir – the times of this ad were a much better time for not just men, but the American family and women as well.

But the women may ask – how was it better for us?

It was better because you could didn’t have the stress having to provide for your home, your husband could take care of that.

It was better because you didn’t have to fight about your careers, your husband had the career and there was nothing to fight over about jobs.

You didn’t have fights over who would do what in the home, because you knew your roles, they were well defined.

You could depend on the security of marriage, because men did not file for divorce very often then, or now, as women do today(70 percent of divorce filings today are by women).

You would be happier, because your children would be happier to have a mom around to take care of them.

When it was a man’s world, it was a better world.

 

Rebellious Wives and Slacker Husbands

/ biblicalgenderroles / 6 Comments

MenYelledAtByWoman

““Should a wife obey her husband? Be in subjection to him? Should she submit to him
as if he were God? Should a husband have authority over his wife as a master does
over a servant? Should women even reverence their husbands, obeying them, and
calling them Lord? The Bible does command a woman to do all of this, as we will show
from many scriptures! But the modern woman says, “NO!” The feminist movement has
insisted on woman’s equality with man in every respect. Women have invaded fields of
endeavor once given over entirely to men. Women, aided by preachers and reformers,
sought and secured the right to vote and hold office. Many religious denominations
have women preachers. Church work from singing in the choir to financing the church
and doing the Bible teaching is done principally by women. Men sit passively in an
occasional service, help pay the bills, and are politely indifferent as to whether the world
goes to hell or not!”

-Dr. John R. Rice,  Rebellious Wives and Slacker Husbands

I grew up in Baptist Churches hearing preaching exactly like that of Dr. John R. Rice.

RiceJohnR

Dr. John R. Rice(1895 – 1980)

He saw the softening of gender roles and he called it out for what is it – sin, pure and simple.

He published a book in 1971, called “Rebellious Wives and Slacker Husbands” and its words could not be more needed today.  I don’t agree with everything he taught as I am sure some people agree with some things I teach and disagree with other things I teach.  I would not even necessarily agree with everything he wrote in this book.  But where he is preaching God’s Word, clear an plain – I say AMEN.

These are some other notable statements Dr. Rice made in this book:

“If women knew and cared about what God expects their attitude to be toward their
husbands they would be much more careful in accepting him, and marriage would last
longer and be happier. God’s word uses stronger language than any man would dare
use of his own choice on the same subject. In fact, God’s language is so strong that
most preachers, in their cowardly submission to modern tendencies, ignore it or explain
it away as fit only for other times or only under ideal circumstances. We preachers must
answer to God for the way we preach his word, so I give you what he says about a
wife’s duty toward her husband.

1. Wives, Submit ‘As Unto the Lord’
Study and scriptures given carefully and remember that the words are God’s words, not
mine, nor any man’s. Ephesians 5:22-25,28, 33 is one of the clearest passages on the
duty of a wife:

‘22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23. For the
husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the
savior of the body. 24. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives
be to their own husbands in everything. 25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it;…..28. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself……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.’

Wives should submit themselves to their own husbands ‘as unto the Lord’ (vs. 22). A
woman should obey her husband as if it were the Lord she were obeying, for in truth it
is. That means a cheerful obedience which comes from a loving and an obedient heart.
To obey her husband should be a part of a Christian wife’s religion. She submits to him
‘as unto the Lord.’

2. Wives to ‘Be Subject…in Everything’

Verse 24 quoted above says that ‘as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives
be to their own husbands IN EVERYTHING.’ It is true that every man, woman and
child, every servant and citizen are to put God first and obey him first. But here the
scripture seems to take for granted that there will never be a case where God will call
upon a wife to disobey her husband. Women are to be subject to their husbands just as
the church is subject to Christ even in everything! A woman is to be subject to her husband even in church and in religious knowledge, as we learn in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.
Wives sometimes think they please God by spending time in routine church work
when their husbands want them to attend to duties at home. I have known numerous
cases where wives sought to give money to the Lord’s cause without the husband’s
consent, sometimes stealing the money from his clothes to tithe. This was wrong
according to Numbers 30:13-15.
If the husband forbids it, he is responsible, not she.
Wives are to be subject to their own husbands in everything, says the word of God. In
her body the wife is to be subject to her husband, even as she is to have the freedom of
his body (1 Cor 7:35).
A wife is to be subject to her husband in the way she directs the
house, spends the money committed to her, controls the children, the way she dresses,
the company she keeps in everything.”

This message needs to be read by every Preacher and Priest in this country and our churches need to once again start preaching the Word of God in regarding one his most important teaches, the doctrines of Biblical manhood and Biblical womanhood.

Every husband and wife need to read God’s Word, and accept it and live by it.  Only by following God’s design for men and women can we truly find peace.

A larger excerpt of his book can be found at this here

 

Call it Complementarianism all you want, but this is what it looks like.

/ biblicalgenderroles / Leave a comment

Anarch[Egalitarian]ism: a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups

“Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”
I Corinthians 11:9(KJV)

“…teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Titus 2:4-6(KJV)

“I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”
I Timothy 5:14(KJV)

“ 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.”
I Corinthians 14:24-25(KJV)

What has Egalitarianism given us? In a word anarchy. Since Egalitarianism abandon’s God’s order and design in creation they embrace what Israel saw when “there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”(Judges 17:6).

What is the result? A complete confusion in our society when it comes to gender roles. Men lead, guide and protect as God designed them to do, and women don’t submit to their husbands or care for their children and their homes as God designed them to.

While divorce peaked around 50% in the 1980’s and has decreased slightly since, marriage rates have dropped and cohabitation rates have skyrocketed. While less and less children are born each year, more and more of these children our born out of wedlock.

Government dependency has skyrocketed and poverty increased due to the decline of the nuclear family. All of this lies at the feet of Egalitarianism and its evil sibling, Feminism.

Removing the cultural lenses

/ biblicalgenderroles / 2 Comments

bible

Over the last 20 years I believe God has slowly taken me through the process of removing the 20th century American lenses from my eyes. Each of us is affected by the culture we live in, the trick is to recognize the cultural influences. Not all cultural influences are bad, but at the same time not all cultural influences are good.

As Christians we have to check our cultural influences by the only perfect measuring tool and that is the Bible. For instance, the Bible talks about freedom, but freedom in the Bible is not the same as how American culture views freedom. Biblical freedom has boundaries established by God, whereas American freedom has boundaries established by our Constitution. Many of our forefathers were Christians and there is a lot of Christian influence on how our government was formed. In the declaration of Independence our forefathers talked about the equality of man and rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that come not from men, but from God.

But at the end of the day – our Constitution, and by extension our culture, will allow us freedoms the Bible does not.   The Bible talks about not using our liberty to engage in sinful (unbiblical) behavior:

Galatians 5:13(NASB)

“For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.”

I Peter 2:16(NASB)

“As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.”

So no matter what freedoms our country or culture allows us, we must check that freedom with God’s Word. Let me give an example that I think Christian Feminists, Egalitarians, Complementarians and those who believe in Biblical Patriarchy.   Our culture allows men and women the freedom to live together and have sex outside of marriage, the Bible does not allow this freedom.

So how does this relate to gender roles? Many egalitarians and feminists ask today as these questions:

“How is it fair that man gets to pursue a career and woman must stay home to take care of her small children?”

“Why can they not share the duties of provision and care taking? Is she not as free as he is to pursue a career?”

The answer to both these questions is that woman does not have the same freedoms and responsibilities as man. She does not have the same freedoms, or responsibilities her husband has. She does not have the freedom to usurp authority over her husband, or man in general. She does not have the freedom to leave her responsibilities of caring for her children and her home to others so she can pursue a career.

Likewise, a man does have the freedom to leave his responsibility to provide and stay home and be a Mr. Mom. I know Mr. Moms exist, but this is completely and utterly unbiblical for man. It just as wrong for man to do this as it is for a woman to leave her infant child with others (even her husband) to pursue a career.   A man does not have the freedom to abandon his responsibility to lead the home to his wife. Even if his wife is more intelligent and talented then him, he must still exercise leadership. He should lean on his wife for advice like any other man should, but at the end of the day the leadership of the home is always his, he is not free to give this up.

A man does not have the freedom to not protect his family. If his family is threaten, he is to be the first line of defense in front of his wife and children, God hates cowardly behavior.

I am not against a woman working, woman have worked since the beginning of mankind.   But women in the Bible only worked outside the home for small amounts of time and their focus was always on their home, not what they did outside their home. If they had a business, like making clothes and linens, this was done from the home while they care for their children and home, they did not have careers outside the home like women today.

Speaking of freedoms, not only does the Bible sometimes not allow something that our cultural may allow, but sometimes it allows or grants rights or freedoms that our cultural does not allow. For example, I have the right to worship God as I believe he would have me do, and no Government has the right to stop me from worshiping as I will. Daniel prayed to God even though it might mean his death, we are called to do the same. We are told in these instances, that we are to obey God rather than man.

I believe God has given man the right of self-defense. So I have the right to defend my family, with firearms or whatever I think is right, even if the government tries to take those things away.

I was hesitant to reveal this next freedom I believe we have to this site. The reason is I don’t want it to be a distraction and I know a lot of Christians(most modern Christians), even complementarians and many Biblical Patriarchy advocates will disagree with me this. What I am talking about is Polygamy, or more specifically Polygyny. This is when a man has more than one wife. I realize just the discussion of this brings up all kinds of feelings in both men and women, but I would strongly argue that this is because of the culture we have been brought up in. In other cultures this is perfectly acceptable to both men and women.

As I said previously culture does not determine what is right or wrong, God does. The point of this site is not to promote polygamy, I am in monogamous marriage and intend to stay that way. My wife and I talked about my views of marriage, sexuality and even polygamy before we were married. She knows my views, and she agreed with them. We just agreed we were not going to practice polygamy, but that the practice itself is not wrong. We do not condemn the Biblical Patriarchs for their polygamous lifestyles and we believe it was allowed and even blessed by God. It was regulated in the Law of Moses.

The reason I bring up polygamy, even knowing the extremely negative connotation it has in our society, because you cannot have an honest discussion about how God has designed men and women, and more specifically man’s nature, without bringing up man’s polygamous nature.

Do I think a Christian man can successfully live in monogamous relationship even though I believe God designed him with a polygamous nature? Of course it’s possible and I and many other Christian men who live in monogamous Christian marriages are proof of that. But Christian men need their wives to understand their polygamous nature, in order to help the husbands have a successful monogamous relationship.

I will have more to say on this in a separate post. I truly hope and pray, that those of you reading this will not write off everything I have to say because you believe polygamy to be disgusting and against God’s design for marriage. I hope you will read what I have to say on the subject and hear me out first.

Even if you still disagree in the end, there is still a lot of Biblical truth on this site about God’s design for man and woman. Much of the struggles we have in our culture today is because we refuse to accept how God had designed man and woman. We tell men they should be more like women, and women they should be like men. We infuse our cultural values on the Bible and we refuse to take off our 20th century American lenses and see the Bible as it is, not as our culture would have it. I hope and pray you will open you mind and be able to recognize some of these truths.

All Men Are Created Equal — But What About Women?

/ biblicalgenderroles / Leave a comment

TC is right that the Bible records a lot of wrong activity along with right activity. But the Bible does condemn things like “adultery, idol worship, unbelief, lies, and murder”, either in the actual passages where these things occur, or in other passages.

The Bible NEVER EVER condemns Patriarchy, it actually prescribes it. The Law of Moses forbids women from owning property, and it actually regulates how polygyny may occur.

In Genesis 1:27 we see that God created “man”, not woman in his own image. Some try to argue that the phrase “male and female created he them” implies both and woman were created in God’s image. That phrase is simply saying that man and woman were both made by God, not that woman was also made in God’s image.

The Apostle Paul confirms that this is the correct interpretation of Genesis 1 when he writes in I 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.”

TC asks how woman could be created in man’s image because that would mean man would have to have both feminine and masculine qualities. This would not necessarily have to be the case. When God created man in his image he started out with himself as the template. He gave man many of his qualities (but not all) and he gave man some qualities he does not have. For instance God does not have a sex drive, but God gave man a sex drive because it was part of his design for creation.

When God created woman, as opposed to starting out with himself as the template, he started with man as the template. But he did not give woman all the qualities of man, just as he did not give man all the qualities of himself. He made woman physically weaker than man, he made her more emotional and thus prone to depression easier (women have less serotonin than men). Instead of designing woman to lead as he did man, he designed woman to follow. He modified her design from the template of man to make her able to bear his children and be his helpmeet. He made her softer and gentler than man. But make no mistake, all the differences that God added in woman was to make her compliment man, to make her a perfect helper for man.

TC gets bogged down in the order of creation while ignoring clear passages of Scripture that clearly teach patriarchy. TC briefly alludes to I Corinthians 11 about man coming woman and woman from man – but TC misses one of the clearest statements in the Bible in the beginning of that passage that supports God’s design of patriarchy:

But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

I Corinthians 11:3(KJV)

This is certainly not the only passage in the Bible where God orders patriarchy, but it is the best summary of the order established in God’s world.

So TC, we can see that not only from Genesis, but all throughout the Bible and culminating in the final writings of the New Testament that the egalitarian position actually looks pretty unbiblical.

Why did God make woman?

/ biblicalgenderroles / Leave a comment

To answer the question of why God made woman we must first understand the Biblical concept of progressive revelation.  Progressive revelation has to do with how God reveals both history and his plan.

Have you ever watched a movie or television show where they start the story at the beginning, start moving forward in the story only to then reveal flashbacks to what happened at the beginning that you did not know? And then as you watched the story you began to see a larger plan unfold? That is what God does in the Bible through progressive revelation.

In the first chapter of Genesis, we have the first mention of woman in the Bible.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

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.”

Genesis 1:26-28 (KJV)

So, in this first chapter of Genesis we see God making man and woman.  The setting is that God has just created all the animals and other living creatures on the earth.  Now he comes to the crown of his creation which is man.  Man will be made differently than all the other living creatures he has made.  Man will be made in God’s image and his likeness.

We then see God giving his first command to man and woman for them to be fruitful and multiply.  He then follows that up with his second command for them to take dominion over the animals and every other living being on the earth.

But when we come to Genesis chapter 2, we get our first flashback, our first progressive revelation from God, showing us more detail of what happened when he created man and woman.

Genesis chapter two reveals that man was made first, and that man took dominion over the animals and named them before God made woman.  We then see the more detailed account of God’s creation of woman:

“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 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.

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. 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. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Genesis 2:18-23 (KJV)

In Genesis chapter one we did not really get any information as to how or why God made woman, only that he made her.  Genesis chapter two reveals to us how and why God made woman.  God saw among the animals that no suitable helper for man could be found.   Why? Because man needed a helper that was of a similar nature to himself.  He could not find the true companionship he needed with any animal.  So, God created woman from man so that he would have a companion with a similar yet very different nature.

What do we mean by man and woman’s natures being similar, yet very different? Well if we were to compare a man to a dog would we not say their natures are radically different? The answer is yes.  But if we compare a man and woman’s natures against that of a dog the man and woman’s nature look far more similar to each when compared to that of a dog.  Yet if we compare only the man and woman against each other then we see that while they share a very a common human nature, they actually have very distinct versions of that human nature.

Genesis chapter 3 ends with God performing the first marriage bringing Adam and Eve together as husband and wife.

So, what have learned thus far about woman’s purpose in creation? We have learned that Eve was specifically created after man and for man. She was created so that he would not be lonely (for companionship) and also to be his helper.  But what kind of companion did God design her to be to him? And what kind of helper did God design her to be to him? Did God intend for her to be an equal partner with her husband and equal helper with him? Or did he intend something else?

What Kind of Companion and Helper Did God Create Woman to Be?

For the answers to these questions we must move to the book of Exodus.  In the 10th commandment we read the following:

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”

Exodus 20:17 (KJV)

A man’s wife is included in a list of all the things he owns including his house, his manservants, maidservants, cattle and donkeys.  This shows us that God did not make woman to be man’s equal companion or helper, but rather he made her to be man’s subordinate companion and helper whom man he would have ownership over.

The fact of a man’s ownership over his wife is further enforced by the Hebrew word for “owner or master” being used to reference a woman’s husband.  See the following command about the punishment for adultery:

“If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.”

Deuteronomy 22:22 (KJV)

The phrase translated in English as “married to an husband” in the original Hebrew literally states “owned by and owner”.  So, God is saying if a man be founding lying with a woman owned by an owner, then both the man and woman should be put to death under the civil laws of Israel. In other words, adultery was a property a crime against the husband of a wife whom another man had sex with.

In fact, the Hebrew word for marriage was “owned” as in a woman being owned by a man.

If we look to the book of Numbers the subordinate role of the woman to the man is shown in his right to override any decision she makes:

“If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth; And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.

But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.

And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;  And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.

But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the Lord shall forgive her.”

Numbers 30:3-8 (KJV)

So, we see here that while a wife can make decisions, any decision she makes can be overrode by her husband further demonstrating her subordinate position to her husband as her owner.

Why Did God Make Woman to Be a Subordinate Helper to Man?

It is an undeniable fact of the Old Testament that God made woman for man as subordinate companion and helper.  The Biblical evidence is overwhelming that women are seen as the property of men, first as the property of their fathers and then as finally as the property of their husbands.  Marriage was literally a property transfer from the father to a husband.

Some Christian Egalitarians will not try and get around these Biblical facts as I have laid them out but instead, they will claim that man’s ownership was not God’s original plan, but that it only happened because of sin.  Many of these same people claim that when Christ came, he freed women from the ownership of their fathers and husbands and once again restored women to the equal status with men that God intended in the Garden of Eden.

Christian Egalitarians base this theory that women were only put under men because of sin on the follow passage:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:28 (KJV)

The problem is that nothing in this passage is speaking of marriage or gender roles.   The subject matter is that our salvation and position in Christ.  Both Jews and Greeks, men and women, slaves and free can be saved.  And when we reach the eternal state all these distinctions will be gone.

But then we come to a big problem for Christian Egalitarians.  The same Apostle Paul who wrote their favorite Galatians 3:28 passage also wrote the following passage from Ephesians:

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

Ephesians 5:22-24 (KJV)

Up to this point we have seen that God gave man ownership over woman and that women were designed to be subordinate helpers to their husbands.  But we have not seen why God did this.  Ephesians chapter gives us part of the answer as to why.

God created marriage to be a picture of the relationship of God to his people as seen by the entirety of Ephesians 5:22-33. That is why God pictures himself as a husband to Israel in the Old Testament and it is why Christ is pictured as the husband to his Church in the New Testament.

Ephesians 5:22-33 annihilates the Christian Egalitarian theory that woman was only temporarily put in a subordinate position to man because of sin.  It shows us that this was God’s intention from the very beginning.

But Ephesians 5:22-33 only shows us part of the reason God made woman.  Again, the same Apostle Paul who wrote the favorite Galatians 3:28 passage of Christian Egalitarians wrote another passage which actually gives us God’s master plan regarding man and woman.  In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church he writes the following:

“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.

4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. 5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

“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. 8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”

I Corinthians 11:3-11 (KJV)

It is apparent that Paul was asked by the Corinthian Churches why women must wear head coverings during worship and prayer.  This was his response to that question.  In answering the question Paul goes back to the creation account and gives us divine commentary on that account.  This is yet another flashback and this passage contains the big reveal as to God’s master plan for man and woman in this world.  If we look to verse 7 of I Corinthians 11 we see God’s plan:

“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.”

Why was woman created? Why did God make woman a subordinate helper for man? Why is man the head of woman and why is the husband the head of the wife in marriage? I Corinthians 11:7 gives us a very clear answer.  Because man was made to image God and thereby bring him glory.  Woman comes from man as man comes from God and woman was made for the glory of man just as man was made for the glory of God.

The sad reality is, you will rarely if ever hear any churches today teach on this passage as it so conflicts with our culture’s egalitarian views. The idea that half of humanity was created by God to serve the other half is probably the most repugnant teaching of the Bible to our modern western culture.

Every Part of Woman Was Made for Man

I Corinthians 11:7 states the following truth as to why God made woman:

“Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”

Every part of a woman’s being was created to compliment and meet the needs of the man and to help him fulfill his mission to image God.

  1.   Man could not fully image God without being a husband. He needed someone weaker than him who would depend on him for his leadership, provision and protection as mankind must rely on God for his leadership, provision and protection.   Therefore, God created woman as the weaker vessel. (Ephesians 5:22-33, I Peter 3:1-7)
  2.   Man could not fully image God without being a father. So, God equipped woman with the ability to bear children and care for their needs. (Psalm 127:3-5, 1 Timothy 5:14)
  3.   Man could not fully image God by going out and working in the world and making his mark on the world without someone to care for the needs of his home while he is away. So, God equipped woman with the drive and ability to make a home and care for it so the man would have no worries for his home while he was away. (Psalm 104:23, Proverbs 31:10-31, Titus 2:3-5)
  4.   Man could not fully image God without also having a strong desire for beauty and pleasure because God desires beauty and pleasure. So, he made woman to be beautiful and to desire to be beautiful for man. He designed her with the ability to give man great pleasure as God finds pleasure in his people. (Psalm 45:11, Psalm 149:4, Proverbs 5:15-19, Revelation 4:11)

Conclusion

The Scriptures clearly tell us why God created woman.  Woman was created for man to help him fully image God as a husband and father.  So God created the woman to be the wife for man and the mother of his children.  He made her weaker than man because man must image God’s strength in his leadership, provision and protection.

God wanted man to be a worker, builder, inventor, warrior and all the other things he is and to make his mark on the world as God made his mark on the world.  So while man was out making his mark on the world he would need someone to care for the needs of his home.  So God created woman with a desire to nest and to make a home for her husband.

God made woman beautiful and to desire to be beautiful for man because God desires the beauty of his people.  God made man to desire to take pleasure in woman as God desires to take pleasure in his people.  Therefore he made the woman and her body capable of bring man great pleasure.

Just as all the attributes of man were made for God’s glory, so too all the attributes of woman were made for “the glory of the man” as I Corinthians 11:7 tells us.

Finally, I will leave with you several interesting facts about a woman’s physiology and psychology that God placed in her to help her fulfill her role helping man to fulling image God.

  1. Estrogen in women causes them to have softer and more delicate skin than men. This makes a woman’s touch very soothing in her role as caregiver. It also makes a woman have finer, more delicate facial features than a man.
  2. A woman’s body purposefully retains more fat than a man’s body does. Her body does this for several reasons. Her fat is first distributed to her breasts, buttocks, hips and legs. This gives a woman that “curvy” look that God intended her to have. Scientists have recently discovered a special fat called DHA that is the crucial building block for infant brain development. A woman’s body pulls heavily from the fat in her hips, buttocks and legs to help her baby develop and after the baby is born the body continues pulling from this fat storage to produce breast milk. This also gives a woman’s body a more “cushy” feel than a man’s more typically muscular body. So this extra fat storage serves two purposes: one for reproduction and child rearing, and at the same time God has wired men to find the curvy look and cushy feel of a woman attractive.
  3. Human females are the only mammals whose breasts stay large (relatively speaking) even when not pregnant or nursing. Most other female mammals only have protruding breasts when they are filled with milk for nursing; human female breasts, however, are mostly filled with fat. The human female breasts always being present serves God’s intended design for them to be a place of comfort for children as well as a place of comfort and sexual pleasure for husbands.
  4. Women’s brains are wired for more emotional intelligence than men. Men tend to be more left-brain dominant which makes them more task-oriented. Women use both sides of their brain which helps them to be more intuitive and relational than men.
  5. Because women are better able to understand, and pick up on emotions, this makes a woman much better suited to dealing with children (who can be extremely emotional). Her emotional intuitiveness helps her to better understand the needs of her infant child well before the child can actually speak.
  6. A woman’s emotional intelligence also helps her in her caregiver role, which is why most day-care workers are women, and most nurses are women.
  7. Women are typically less likely to take risks or do risky things than men and God designed this cautiousness in her to help protect her and her children (who are physically weaker than adult men).

Update 1/17/2019

This article has undergone a major rewrite since I first published it in April of 2014.  Doctrinally it is essentially the same. The vast majority of changes have just been in wording and style.

 

Why did God make man?

/ biblicalgenderroles / 1 Comment

Before we can answer the question as to why God made man we must clarify the question.  The “man” in the question we are going to answer here is not referring to mankind or humanity.  The question we are going to answer is why did God make male human beings?

Some might answer right away “for the glory of God”.  And that is absolutely true.  God created all things for his honor, glory and pleasure according the Scriptures.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.“

Revelation 4:11 (KJV)

But all things do not glorify God in the same way.  Does a deer eating grass glorify God in the same way that a human being does in praying to God? The answer is no. Does a bear eating honey from a bee’s nest glorify God in the same way that someone sharing the Gospel with another person does? The answer is no.

So yes all of God’s creation was created for his honor, glory and pleasure but all of his creation was not made to honor in him the same way.  Each thing he made was designed to bring him glory in a particular way.  And male human beings are no exception to this.  Male human beings were made to bring God glory in a very special way.

The Creation of Man

Before we continue on to the creation account we need to once again come back to the word “man” to clarify its use in the Bible.

In the Bible the word “man” can be talking about four different things.  The first way it is used is to refer to the first man, Adam.  A second way it is used is refer to mankind or all humanity. A third way it is used is to refer to male human beings in general.  And a fourth way it is used is to refer to a particular man but not Adam.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and many times when we see the Hebrew word for “man” it literally is the word “adam”. So when you see Adam or man in the OT, it may be the same Hebrew word in the sentence. The context of the sentence determines whether we translate it as “Adam” (using it as a name) versus “man” meaning either mankind or male human beings. The Old Testament also uses another word for man – (iysh), and woman (ishshah).

With all that as an introduction, let’s look through some of the most popular passages in the Bible describing God’s purpose for making man:

“26 And God said, Let us make man [adam] in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man [adam] in his own image, in the image of God created he him [eth haa-‘adam]; male and female created he them.”

Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV)

In the quote above from Genesis I have added in brackets with the Hebrew words that the English words are translating.

So in verse 26 we see that God says let us(a reference to the trinity) make man or “adam” in our image, after our likeness” and then in verse 27 it tells us God created man, again “adam” in his own image.

Remember that we just said adam can refer to the first man Adam, to male human beings, to all of humanity or to a particular man but not Adam. The popular interpretation of man in these three verses has been that it is referring to all mankind.

So the popular reading understanding of Genesis 1:27 is as follows:

“So God created humans in his image, in image of God made he them, and he made two variations of humans – male and female“.

But the phrase “in the image of God made he him” contradicts this interpretation of the word adam in Genesis 1:27. The exact Hebrew phrase here is eth haa-‘adam. “eth” means “this same”, and “haa” is similar to our English word “the”. Literally this phrase means “this same man”. It refers very particularly to Adam, not mankind in general. This is why it is correct that that translators accurately add the phrase “created he him”. The “him” here, refers to a particular person – to Adam.

The phrase “eth haa-‘adam” determines for us how adam is being used when it comes to God creating man in his image.  It refers particularly to adam and more generally to male human beings as we will point out from other Scripture passages.

So the correct interpretation of this passage would be:

“So God created Adam in his image, in the image of God create he the same man, male and female created he them.”

So it was Adam and not Eve what was created in the image of God.

Now I know that what I just showed you goes against what most people have heard and been taught from the Bible.  We are taught in our culture that God created man and woman equally in his image to be his image bearers.   And those who teach that man and woman were equally created in God’s image to be his image bearers base their belief on the word “them” as we will now discuss.

But what about “them” in Genesis 1:26-28?

Let’s look at this same passage from Genesis 1 and now we will highlight a different portion of it:

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

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.

Genesis 1:26-28 (KJV)

Those Christian teachers who reject the fact that God only made male human beings as his image bearers will use the word “them” in these three verses to say God was saying he made “them” – both man and woman – in his image.

I do not dispute that the word “them” in these verses refers to both Adam and Eve and all mankind by extension.   But what is God saying about “them”?

He is saying two things:

1. “male and female” – he created “them” both.  But that does not mean he created in them in the same way or created them both in his image. In fact we know from Genesis chapter 2 that God did not even create them at the same time or even in the same ways.  Man was created from the dust of the ground and woman was created from the rib of man.

2. God gave “them”, male and female, all humans dominion over all the living things on earth.

And giving both men and women dominion over all living things did not make them equals either in nature or in position. Let’s look at parents. The Bible is clear that both the father and mother have authority over their children.

20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Proverbs 6:20 (KJV)

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Ephesians 6:1-3 (KJV)

So there is no question that parents are both given authority and dominion over their children, and they are both to be obeyed and honored by their children.

But while both have dominion over the children, the father is the one who retains ownership of them and the mother’s authority over the children operates under her husband’s authority over her.

Bringing this back around to the Genesis account – yes man and woman are both given dominion over creation, but we must remember Genesis 1 is a summary of the creation account, not the detail. Genesis 2 tells us the detail of how God gave man dominion over nature. God gave Adam the primary dominion and he exercised this authority by naming the animals according to their kinds:

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the earth; 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.

Genesis 2:19-20 (KJV)

Adam even exercised his authority over woman by naming her type as well:

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.

Genesis 2:23 (KJV)

So on this issue of the dominion that was given to “them” we agree that it was given to both men and women. But we see based on Genesis 2 that Adam was given the primary dominion over nature and Eve’s dominion was given only under the authority of Adam in the same way that both parents (a father and mother) have dominion over their children, but the father retains primary authority.

But in NO WAY does the fact that all human beings (both men and women) having dominion over nature take away from the order that God established with man being the head of woman. It also does not support the claim that both man and woman are equally made in God’s image.

Paul’s Divine Commentary on the Creation Account

One of the most neglected Scripture passages in all of Christianity today is found in 2 Corinthians 11:3-11:

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.

4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

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. 8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 11:7-11 (KJV)

After reading this passage it is obvious why this passage is completely left out of the teachings of most Christian ministries today.  Because it directly conflicts with our equality obsessed culture.

Americans are obsessed with equality in every way.  We worship it.  Everything we believe in must bow to this American idol.  And unfortunately most Christian churches today have changed their Christian faith by neglecting these portions of the Scriptures which don’t fit with our culture.

The Scriptures tell us this regarding our culture:

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.“

Romans 12:2 (KJV)

How many Christians today are obeying Romans 12:2? How many Christians seek to conform the Bible to our culture instead of seeking to conform our culture to the Bible? I would argue that most Christians in our time are doing the former rather than the latter.

Now let’s return to 1 Corinthians 11:7-11.  This passage teaches us five important truths:

  1.  Man is to be head over woman in all things, just as Christ is always head of man in all things. This includes in the home, the church and all other places of society. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
  2.  The reason man is to be head over woman in all things is because he is the image and glory of God but woman is the glory of man.  God made man to image him and thereby bring him glory. (1 Corinthians 11:7)
  3. Man was not created for woman, but the woman for the man. (1 Corinthians 11:9)
  4. Woman is to wear a head covering for worship, prayer and teaching other women spiritual things to show the fact that God has placed a spiritual authority between himself and woman and that is man. (1 Corinthians 11:5 & 10, Titus 2:3-5)
  5. Although God made woman for man and from man, God also designed an interdependence between man and woman so that they would need each other. (1 Corinthians 11:11)

Is Woman Less Human than Man?

When we reveal the truth of God’s Word that it was man and not also woman that was made in God’s image charge will immediately be brought.  “You think women are less human then men”.  But that is not what God’s Word is teaching it all.

Men and women are equally human because God took woman from the man.  But we must realize that God’s nature is not some unisex human nature or a blending of the male and female natures as so many Christian teachers falsely teach today.

But rather God’s nature is most directly reflected in the masculine form of the human nature.  Male human beings are God’s image bearers and female human beings are not.  This is why God is referred to as in the male form throughout the Bible as a king,  father,  husband and son.  This is why the priests in the Old Testament had to be male and why Pastors and Deacons in the New Testament must be male.  It is why Jesus picked 12 men as his Apostles and even the Apostle Paul who was chosen after his ascension was male.  It is why God made men the heads of their homes.

So the correct view of the comparison of men to women would be this.  While man and woman are equally human they do not equally image God.  Only man is the image bearer of God.

Why Men and Women Both Have Attributes of God

Woman in her shared humanity with man has many of the attributes of God.  But the most important thing we must understand regarding the shared attributes between God, man and woman is WHY men and women have the attributes they have.

Man was given his core human attributes as part of his purpose to image God with his life.  He was of course given additional attributes, masculine attributes, to further help him reflect the image of God.

Woman on the other hand, was not given her shared attributes with God for the purpose of being his image bearer.  She was given her shared attributes with God so that she could be a companion to man as God’s image bearer.  Remember what God said:

“ 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.“

Genesis 2:20 (KJV)

No animal had a human nature.   God saw that man needed a companion with a similar, yet different nature than his own.  And so he created woman.

But woman was not just given her shared attributes with man and God for companionship with man.  She was given these shared attributes for a much greater  spiritual purpose to help man image God as a husband and as a father.

Throughout the Bible, the woman is symbolic of mankind, and the man is symbolic of God. This is why in the Old Testament and the New Testament God’s relationship with man is pictured as that of a husband to his wife, or father to his children.

The New Testament confirms this symbolism:

23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.…31 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.

Ephesians 5:23 & 31 (KJV)

The eternal and spiritual reason why God made man was to make an image of himself for his glory and honor and the woman was made for man to help him fulfill his purpose to image God with his life. God wants man and woman to marry to symbolize the relationship between him and his people. The husband symbolizes him, and the wife symbolizes his people.  He not only wants them to marry, but he also gave them his first command to “Be fruitful, and multiply“(Genesis 1:28) so that man can have children and image God as a father.  It really is that simple.

The temporal reasons and roles for which God has made man

 This brings us to some other reasons why God made man. As we said previously, the eternal and spiritual reason why God made man was for man to image God in his life and thereby bring him glory. But there are some temporal reasons why God made man as well, that actually tie back into his more eternal reason for making man. In order to symbolize God’s leadership of his people, his provision for his people, and his protection of his people, God has given man these roles during this life.

When I talk about temporal reasons, I mean before God does away with this earth and makes a new heaven and new earth. For the short time that we are born and live on this earth, God has placed us in temporary bodies and given us temporary roles to fulfill during this life. In many ways it is like a test. If you are born in a man’s body, you have a man’s test to take. If you are born in a woman’s body, you have a woman’s test to take.

Men Are to Image God By Being Leaders

 God designed men to lead in society, the church and the home. Some men may be able to exercise leadership in all three of these areas. Some men may or may not exercise leadership in society and the church. But all men are called to exercise leadership in the home.

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.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)

23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Ephesians 5:23-24 (KJV)

 One note on I Corinthians 11:3. Some have tried to argue that the phrase “the head of the woman is man” could also be translated as “the head of the wife is the husband“. This is because the Greek word for “woman”, Gune, can also be translated as “wife” and the Greek word for “man”, Aner, can also be translated as “husband” as they appear in Ephesians 5:22-33.

The problem is that the context of I Corinthians 11:3 is very different than the context of Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5:22-33 is specifically speaking about marriage and the relationship between a husband and wife. I Corinthians 11 is speaking of the reasons for a woman to wear a head covering during worship. Paul begins his discussion by showing that woman is under the authority of man, just as man is under the authority of Christ, and Christ is under the authority of God the Father. He goes into creation to show that woman was made for man, not man for woman, and that because she is under the authority of man, a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.

There was absolutely no distinction made by Paul between married and unmarried women in regards to head coverings. All women are under the general authority of men, and need to wear head coverings for worship, prayer or teaching other women.

Men Are to Image God By Being Protectors

 God designed men to protect in society and in the family. Men are uniquely built and qualified for law enforcement and military service. But even if a man does not serve in these types of roles, all men are called to protect their family. Men are called to sacrifice themselves for those who are under their protection.

14 …Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Nehemiah 4:14b (KJV)

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it…28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Ephesians 5:25 & 28-30 (KJV)

In modern times we look at the word “cherish” as a more romantic word. A lot of faulty Christian marriage advice has been poured into this old English word “cherish”. But the English word “cherish” is actually translating the Greek word Thalpo that has the idea of protection and care, the way a mother hen would sit on her eggs to warm them and protect them.

Men Are to Image God By Being Providers

 God designed men to provide for their society, church and family. Men are designed to work and produce to help society (through payment of taxes or public service), provide offerings to their church, and most importantly to provide food, clothing and shelter for their family.

  29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

 Ephesians 5:29-30 (KJV)

The word for “nourisheth” has the idea of providing food for one’s wife (and by extension family).

The Old Testament speaks of this provision that a man is responsible to his wife for:

10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. 11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

Exodus 21:10 (KJV)

God expects men to provide their wives with food, clothing and sexual relations which is what “duty of marriage” refers to.

But men do not just image God by leading, providing for and protecting their wives and children.  They also image God by other ways that we will discuss next.

Men Are to Image God By Washing their Wives With the Word of God

Many churches today have no problem preaching on the following verse:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;“

Ephesians 5:25 (KJV)

Most churches today teach that this verse means husbands should not live for themselves, but instead they should live to please their wives and make them happy.  This is how many Christian churches teach this passage.

But this is a false interpretation of this passage.  Look at that same verse again within its full context:

“25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Ephesians 5:25-27 (KJV)

Now we get a very different picture than the one given in most churches today.  How did Christ love his church and what was the reason for his sacrifice? Was it to make his church happy? No! It was to make her HOLY.  Christian husbands should not live for themselves or their wives.  They should live to glorify God by imaging him with their lives.  And part of a man imaging God as a husband is to wash his wife’s spiritual spots and wrinkles with the Word of God as Christ does his church to help make her holy.

This passage reveals a fundamental truth of the Scriptures that not only is a husband a spiritual authority in his wife’s life, but he is also used by God to help her in her progressive sanctification.

But what does this washing with the Word by a husband toward his wife look like? The answers are found in the following two passages of the Scriptures:

“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.“

1 Corinthians 14:35 (KJV)

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.“

Revelation 3:19 (KJV)

I Corinthians 14:35 tells us that men are to teach their wives the Word of God.  It is during this teaching process that they begin to wash their wives with the Word.  But teaching his wife is not the only way a husband washes her with the Word.  Revelation 3:19 shows that some types of spiritual washing by husbands toward their wives requires some scrubbing so speak. That scrubbing comes in the form of a husband having to sometimes rebuke and discipline his wife for her sinful actions towards him or others.

So husbands are called by God to image him in the lives of their wives by teaching them, rebuking them and disciplining them.

Men Are to Image God by Training Their Children

The Scriptures give men these admonitions to instruct and discipline their children:

“4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.“

Ephesians 6:4 (KJV)

“For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.“

Proverbs 3:12 (KJV)

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.“

Proverbs 13:24 (KJV)

Men Are to Image God in Grace, Mercy and Compassion

Not only are men to image God by leading, provide for, protecting, teaching, correcting and disciplining their wives and children but they also have another very important area that they are called to image God in the lives of their family.

The Scripture tell us this about God:

“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.“

Psalm 86:15 (KJV)

As men we image God in the lives of our wives and children by showing them compassion, being gracious toward them, being patient with them and showing them mercy while all the time speaking the truth in love toward them.

Men Are to Image God In their Work

Men are not just called to image God as husbands and fathers.  They are also called to image God as as workers.  God loves to work.  God loves to make his mark on the World and so should men.  The Scriptures tell us the following things about a man and his work:

“Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.“

Psalm 104:23 (KJV)

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.“

Proverbs 22:29 (KJV)

“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.“

Ecclesiastes 2:24 (KJV)

“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.“

John 5:17 (KJV)

Men are to Image God in their Sexuality

Probably the two biggest errors of the modern church are in the areas of equality which we have already mentioned and then this area of male sexuality.  And really the church’s condemnation of physically based sexuality is a very old error going back to just after the Apostles died.

The male sexual nature which is more visually and physically based is regularly condemned while the female sexual nature which is more emotionally and relationally driven is often uplifted as the better sexual nature.

But the Bible tells us that God desires beauty and pleasure just as men do.

“So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.”

Psalm 45:11 (KJV)

“ For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.”

Psalm 149:4 (KJV)

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Revelation 4:11 (KJV)

God compares a man’s desire for the sexual pleasure woman to his desire for water:

“15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.

18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.”

Proverbs 5:15-19 (KJV)

Part of the issue is the demonization of seeking any kind of pleasure by churches.  The Bible condemns lasciviousness which we call today sensuality.  But lasciviousness is not simply seeking out things that bring us pleasure but instead it is when we make pleasure the central focus of our life.  As long as we are doing our duties that are required as husbands, fathers and workers there is no reason that we as man cannot nor should not seek out sexual pleasure in our wives.  In fact God commands us to do so.

Men should not be embarrassed or ashamed of the pleasure they seek or get from female beauty.  They should not be ashamed of their desire to feel the pleasures of a woman’s body.  These desires in them as men reflect the very image of God and his desire for beauty and pleasure.

Conclusion

We have shown from the Scriptures the answer to why God made man.  He made man to image him and thereby bring him glory.  Man images God by being the kind of husband and father that God is and also by leaving his mark on the world by being a diligent worker. He also images God as a lover of the beauty and pleasures of women.

Finally I would like to leave you with a list of interesting traits about men that help them to image God as husbands, fathers and workers.

  1. Testosterone causes men to have a lot more muscle mass on average than women, where men have 50% or more upper body strength than women most of the time. The typical man is much more suited to physical labor, athletics and combat than the typical woman.
  2. Men have a higher red blood cell count than women, which gives men far better physical endurance than women.
  3. Men have thicker and tougher skin than women (about 25% thicker) and more hair on their skin. A man’s extra body hair (including facial hair), in addition to the thickness and toughness of his skin, makes him better suited to brave the elements than a woman. Also because of the thickness and toughness of his skin, he is better suited for combat than a woman.
  4. Most studies show that men and women have the same average intelligence. However, they also show that men have much more variation in intelligence than women. What this means is there are more below average-intelligence men than women, but at the same time there are more highly intelligent and genius-level men than highly intelligent and genius-level women.
  5. Men are generally much bigger risk takers than women, which is why men often do better in the business world, in science and in war than women do.
  6. Men are often better able to compartmentalize their emotions, which oftentimes makes them better in leadership positions, or in high-stress situations.
  7. Men tend to be more left-brain dominated, which makes them more task-oriented. Together with their other qualities of higher endurance, more muscle mass, and thicker skin this makes a man well suited to work, protect and lead as God has designed him to.

Update 1/17/2019

This article has undergone a major rewrite since I first published it in April of 2014. Doctrinally it is essentially the same. The vast majority of changes have just been in wording and style.