God Created Male and Female #2362

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:27, NKJV).

God’s creation of humans in His image was the crowning jewel of His creation (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:4-9). Nothing else He created bears His likeness, not gold, silver, stone, or animals (Acts 17:29). Tragically, people distort God’s beautiful creation of male and female into gender images bearing no resemblance to the order He designed. God created two genders, but now people have imaged and invented gender neutrality and gender fluidity. These offer illusions of one’s identity in place of one of the most distinguishing traits God gave us, our gender. Biology (i.e., science) determines gender, not emotions. (Chromosomes are sticklers that way.) I’m no scientist, but I know the XY chromosome is unique to males, and the XX chromosome is unique to females. God created them to assign gender to each new life formed at conception (Ps. 139:13). Declaring that your gender is different from your chromosomal assignment does not make it so. Suppressing or increasing hormones does not change this basic fact. Instead of such artificial manipulations, let us see God’s wisdom and design in both genders. God made male and female unique yet complementary, each completing and needing the other (Gen. 2:20-24; 1 Cor. 11:11-12). A willingness to accept one’s gender involves, to some measure, acknowledging God who created male and female. Being content with one’s gender implies contentment with God (and vice versa). That gets to the underlying issue. When one does not honor God, it becomes increasingly difficult to accept being made in His image, whether male or female (Rom. 1:21-22). And so, the truth is exchanged for the lie (Rom. 1:24-25).

Wives, Husbands, Children, and Gender Truth #2167

18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. (Colossians 3:18–21, NKJV)

A growing number of educators, societal-influencers, and politicians are vigorously engaged in undermining the God-given family structure with their transgender ideology. One writer noted, “Nancy Pelosi and her fellow gender-inclusive enthusiasts have taken a bold and much-disparaged move to erase language that expresses the reality of familial relationships. In the name of inclusivity, words like “father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law” have been targeted for erasure from House proceedings” (Kimberly Ells, “The endgame of transgender ideology is to dismantle the family,” mercatornet.com). Wives (feminine gender) and husbands (masculine gender) form marriages, not the fornication of same-sex unions (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Gender is natural and biological; it is not a person’s fluid, personal perception of themselves. Children are the natural result of marriage’s union of male and female (Gen. 1:28; 2:24; 4:1-2). It is not bigotry to recognize these fundamental truths. Sin and moral chaos result when God’s truth is discarded, not the utopian unity offered by refusing to retain God and His truth in our knowledge (Rom. 1:21-32).

A Spirit of Courage #2010

6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:6–7, NKJV)

Even with a miraculous spiritual gift from God, Timothy needed to be encouraged to be courageous to kindle its use. Although such gifts have passed away, we still need boldness to speak the truth and stand for righteousness. The cancel culture would silence voices of reason and faith. They tried to silence early Christians with threats, imprisonments, beatings, and death (Acts 4:17-21; 5:40; 8:1-4; Heb. 10:32-34). Power, love, and soundness of mind are attributes of faith that embolden sincere hearts to speak the truth in love, and with all boldness speak the words of truth and reason (Rom. 1:16; Eph. 4:15; Phil. 1:20; Acts 26:25). Being the salt of the earth and the light of the world requires that we speak out against sin in all of its forms. Any system that oppresses minorities should be called to account for its prejudicial sins (Jas. 2:1; Rom. 13:8, 10). Any system that legalizes killing unborn babies should be called to account for facilitating sin (Rom. 13:9). Any system that legalizes same-sex marriages and other forms of fornication should be called to account for sanctioning sin (Matt. 19:4-6; Heb. 13:4). Any system that teaches children they are not their biological gender should be called to account for such corruption (Gen. 1:27). People form systems of government, economics, education, etc. When people choose to live in sin, their societies become corrupt, too. God’s people must not call evil good and good evil (Isa. 5:20). We must abhor evil and cling to what is good (Rom. 12:9). That takes virtuous courage (2 Pet. 1:5; 1 Cor. 16:13).

Let Us Make Man #465

26  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)

At least three things are learned about our creation here. First, humans have been created in the image of God (v. 26). We, above all of God’s creation, bear the marks of the divine image. We are dual beings of flesh and spirit, possessing intellect, emotion, volition, conscience and immortality. These things distinguish us from the animal kingdom. Second, humans have been created to fulfill God’s purposes (v. 26, 28). Among these is the God-given right to rule over His creatures, big and small. As we “fill the earth” we have the right and responsibility to “subdue it” for the blessing and benefit of humanity. Third, humans have been created male and female (v. 27). God established gender identity to enable human procreation and to accomplish the purpose of filling up and subduing the earth.