God’s Design for Men and Women (Genesis 1:1-3:24)
“God’s Design for Men and Women” is a four-sermon series examining what the Bible has to say about manhood and womanhood.
Why a sermon series on manhood and womanhood? The world’s views on sex and gender have been shifting significantly over the past few decades. Here’s a sampling of the issues: To what extent are men and women the same, or different? What are the roles of men and women in the family and in the church? How do we address gender inequalities and injustices? Is gender merely a social construct? Should individuals get to determine themselves in any way they wish, including their own gender? With the rise of radical feminism and toxic masculinity, men and women seem as far apart as ever. What hope do we have of truly getting along?
Whether we are conscious of it or not, the culture’s views of masculinity and femininity will affect how we think of ourselves as men and women. Amid growing cultural confusion, we face conflicting messages and expectations about how we are to live as men and women — as singles, as husbands and wives, or as fathers and mothers. In grappling with such issues, where do we turn?
Some feel the pull of the world, the pressure to conform to the culture. Some dig in their heels and turn to traditionalism— to just keep doing what they’ve always done, without reflecting on the reasons why. Some adopt a pragmatic approach — to just do whatever they think works, whether in the family or in the church. But if we are to remain faithful as God’s people, we must not look to the world, to tradition, or to pragmatism for answers. We must look at manhood and womanhood through biblical lenses.
So, in this sermon series, we will be hearing from four passages of Scripture over the next few weeks. These passages speak to how God wants us to live as men and women, particularly in two key spheres of life: marriage and the church.
Biblical manhood and womanhood matters because it concerns how we follow Jesus. Men and women are equal and one in Christ, yet we also live out our discipleship in gendered ways — in different, but complementary ways. Men: How should we follow Jesus as singles, husbands, fathers, and members of a church? Women: How should you follow Jesus as singles, wives, mothers, and members of a church? Knowing what the Bible says about manhood and womanhood will help us pursue godliness together.
God is gracious and wise. His word is truth and the truth sets us free; it is not limiting. For this reason, we need not be embarrassed, apologetic or defensive about what God’s word says, even though it will go against the grain of what the world thinks about manhood and womanhood. The good God, who saves us through His Son, invites us to trust Him. He calls us to embrace the goodness of His design for our joy. At the heart of the question of manhood and womanhood is whether we will take God at His word.
God made men and women equal and different.
So, we begin where the Bible begins — in the beginning, at creation. In the first sermon of the series, we will be looking at Genesis 1-3. This is the big idea: God made men and women equal and different. We will unpack this in two points: (1) Men and women are equal in their God-given image; (2) Men and women are different in their God-given roles.
It is my prayer that all of us, both men and women, will be encouraged to pursue godliness together as we live out God’s design as His image-bearers, complementary to one another in our relationships and roles.
Men and women are equal in their God-given image (Gen 1:26-28)
These verses come towards the end of the account of creation. In six days, God made the heavens and the earth and all that dwells in them. On the sixth day, God made man and woman. They are the final act in the epic of creation, highlighting humanity’s prominence in all that God has made. Humanity is the crown of creation. Different language is used to describe the creation of man and woman, emphasising how it is a special event. Look at Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” The plural “us” reveals that the creation of man is the work of the Triune God — Father, Son, and Spirit. This points to how it is a plurality of persons being made in God’s image. We are not meant to be alone; we are social beings.
What does it mean to be made in God’s image and likeness? Basically, we reflect and represent God. We reflect what God is like: thinking, knowing, speaking, doing. We share in aspects of God’s nature: His intellect, will, character. It also means we represent God’s rule on earth. Look at the second half of Genesis 1:26 — “And let them have dominion…”. Humanity is meant to rule on God’s behalf, for the good of creation. This is not a harsh, greedy rule, but one marked by responsible care and compassion.
Who is made in God’s image? Genesis 1:27 switches from prose to poetry, perhaps to match the majesty of the subject matter. In all creation, humanity is uniquely made in God’s image. Only humanity is given the privilege of reflecting and representing the Creator. And, it is humanity as male and female that is made in God’s image: “Male and female he created them”. The world’s view of gender is changing. But whatever it may say today about there being a spectrum of gender, the Bible is clear that it is binary: male or female. Man and woman are distinct, but also equal as God’s image-bearers. Thus, they have equal value and dignity. Both are worthy of the same honour. Both are entrusted with the same task of ruling by reflecting and representing their Creator.
Throughout history, women have been thought of as “lesser”. For example, society tends to view the contribution of women in the home as less significant. Or, the views of women may be overlooked or discounted. Sexist attitudes have degraded and objectified women. May we repent of attitudes or actions that undermine the worth and dignity of the other. Because men and women are equally made in God’s image, we ought to honour one another. One writer said: “Christians don’t have to be feminists in order to believe in social justice. Feminism is not something that must be added to Christianity in order for the church to honour women. The gospel itself is pro-women.”
Some years ago, a popular book entitled Men Are from Mars, women Are from Venus observed differences in how men and women communicate. For example, women are emotional, while men are logical. So, this is a typical scenario: A wife, seeking empathy, pours out her heart to her husband, only for him to tell her how to fix her problems. While many of us can relate to this, we should be careful not to make too much of gender stereotypes. We should not pigeonhole one another in reductionistic ways, such as saying “men protect; women nurture” as a hard and fast rule. This creates extrabiblical expectations of what masculinity or femininity look like. For example, why should we be surprised if a man serves in the children’s nursery?
As God’s image-bearers, we are all meant to reflect His character. The Bible does not give us one set of qualities for men and another set for women. For example, we typically view being gentle and hospitable as “female” qualities, yet both characteristics are expected of church elders, who are male. In fact, Jesus Himself was gentle and meek. And Paul describes his ministry among the Thessalonians in this way: “We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” (1 Th. 2:7). The apostle nurtured other Christians, helping them to grow up in Christ. On the flip side, we may think it is only the man’s job is to provide. Yet, the hardworking “Proverbs 31 woman” is full of entrepreneurial drive in meeting her family’s needs: “She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household… She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard… She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.” (Prov 31:15, 16, 18).
Regardless of our gender, we share a common goal: godliness.
Regardless of our gender, we share a common goal: godliness. We are to glorify our Creator, who made us to display the beauty of His character. Our worth is found in who we are — we are made in God’s image. Knowing that we are fundamentally God’s image-bearers is freeing. This means our value is not based on how well we live up to societal expectations of masculinity or femininity. We have dignity because God made us in His image for His glory.
The man and woman also share a common task. Look at Genesis 1:28. They are to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion. Both man and woman are to serve God’s agenda, not their own. Neither the man nor the woman can accomplish God’s purpose alone — they need each other. Together, they are to procreate to multiply image-bearers and fill the earth with the glory of God. This grand and awesome work cannot be done alone. The man and woman must depend on each other.
Brothers and sisters, we are to work together to fill the earth with God’s glory. Our ambition is the same: We long for the earth to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Notice how God blessed them— both man and woman. There is no partiality or favouritism. God’s design in creation is “very good” (Gen 1:31). It brings blessing on male and female alike. This encourages us to trust God and His plan for us. He desires our good. Submitting to God and joyfully embracing what His word says to us is how we truly flourish and thrive as men and women.
Men and women are different in their God-given roles (Gen 2:15-25)
If Genesis 1 is the wide-angle view, then Genesis 2 takes a close-up look at how God makes man and woman. We see that while God makes man and woman in his image, He does not make them identical. Equal does not mean exactly alike. God designed man and woman to be complementary — different in their God-given roles.
Genesis 2 reveals that God created the man first: “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen 2:7). There is an order to God’s design: the man was created first, then the woman. Look at Gen 2:15. God puts the man in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. This means more than employment and gardening.
At creation, the garden was God’s dwelling place on earth, where God was present with His people. The tabernacle and temple would come to represent this later in the Old Testament. To “work” means to “serve”, just as how the Old Testament priests served God. To “keep” means to “guard”. Again, this is what the Old Testament priests did to protect the sanctity of God’s holy place. The man is God’s appointed priest-king. His responsibility is to worship God by growing and guarding the holiness of God’s dwelling place. Man is to serve God’s agenda, not his own. So, he must obey God’s word not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17). Man is not autonomous but dependent on God.
The man is to take the lead in working and keeping the garden. But he cannot do this alone. After hearing that creation is “very good”, Genesis 2:18 comes as a bit of a shock: “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone’”. This doesn’t simply mean the man is lonely. The point, rather, is that man is unable to fulfil his God-given role by himself. He needs community. He needs help. Therefore, God says, “I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Man needs a suitable helper. But as man exercises his rule over creation by naming the animals (Gen 2:19-20), he realises there is no helper fit for him. God intends for the man to see his need to depend on another. The animals are unsuitable, this helper must be “fit for man”, meaning that the helper must correspond to man — to be his equal, yet different in such a way as to complement him. The man and his helper must fit together like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They cannot be identical, but equal and distinct. Where is such a helper to be found? The generous God must provide.
Look at Genesis 2:21-22 — “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” The man, who is asleep, is passive throughout the process. God performs the world’s first surgery to create the woman. She is the sovereign Creator’s gift to man. Husbands: How are we cherishing our wives? Describing how God created the woman, the old Christian writer Matthew Henry said: “Not made out of his head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”
How the woman was created forms the basis for how man and woman depend on each other: Man was created first, then woman was made from man. The man is the head of his wife. Yet, man needs the woman’s help. And, man will be born of woman. The term “helper” does not mean inferior. As we have seen from Genesis 1, the man and woman are equal in God’s image, task and goal. What’s more, God Himself is known as the “helper” of His people (e.g. Ps 33:20). The point is that man needs help, and not just from any helper, but from one who is “fit for him”. God must create the right woman for the job. Together, the man and the woman fulfil different, complementary roles. The man, as the husband and the head, loves and leads his wife. The woman, as the wife, helps and submits to her husband.
God designed man and woman to be different in their roles. Different does not mean unequal. Instead, it means that men and women are equal partners with different roles to play in the shared task of serving God. God created the woman to help the man fulfil his God-given task of working and keeping the garden for the glory of God. It is important to be clear that neither the woman nor the man is serving their own agendas; both are serving God’s agenda together. Like the different instruments in an orchestra, they may not be playing the same notes, but they make beautiful music together. The result is mutual joy and affection. Look at Genesis 2:23. The first words out of man’s mouth are a love song: This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Marriage, in God’s good design, is the one-flesh union of one man and one woman. The man is the head of his wife, and is responsible for the health and holiness of the marriage. Male headship does not mean male domination. The husband lovingly takes the lead in ensuring they serve God together, filling the earth with his glory. The woman is her husband’s helper, assisting and encouraging him to glorify God. Together, the man and the woman reflect and represent the One in whose image they are made.
The Bible speaks of male headship in two specific areas: marriage and the church. In the next few sermons, we will hear more about how we live as men and women in marriage and the church. The rest of the Bible builds on Genesis 1 and 2, which are foundational for how we understand and live out our manhood and womanhood. These chapters present us with two foundational truths: First, God made man and woman equal: Men and women are equal in their God-given image. Second, God made man and woman different: Men and women are different in their God-given roles.
Godliness is our common goal, but men and women will express it in different ways appropriate to their relationships and roles.
Putting all this together, there are two dangers to avoid. The first is the blurring of gender, where male and female are seen as identical and interchangeable. Although men and women all share in God’s image, we reflect and represent God in gendered ways. Godliness is our common goal, but men and women will express it in different ways appropriate to their relationships and roles. For example, what a godly husband does and what a godly wife does will not look exactly the same. For this reason, gender-specific ministries can be helpful. Men and women need to be discipled and equipped to follow Jesus in ways specific to their gender. In Titus 2, for example, Paul exhorts the older women to “teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children” (Titus 2:3-4). Titus, on his part, is to encourage the older men “to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness”, as well as to urge the younger men “to be self-controlled”.
In general, women and men have different traits, abilities, and preferences. Instead of flattening or denying these differences, we should be thankful for them. I am grateful that my wife, Claire, is not like me. I would not want to marry me! Her different traits, strengths, and abilities make our marriage all the better. She is an expert at multitasking and getting things done; I can do one thing at a time. Similarly, in the church, men and women might do ministry in different ways. We may notice different needs and build relationships in different ways. “Different” does not mean unequal or inferior. We should honour such differences, recognising that God has brought us together for our common good. The differences between men and women enrich our life together as a church.
We are not so distinct as to require completely separate tracks for our discipleship. We are to pursue godliness together.
The second danger is to see both genders as completely different. We are not so distinct as to require completely separate tracks for our discipleship. We are to pursue godliness together. In fact, one of the striking characteristics of the early church is that both men and women gathered together for corporate worship and sat under the same preaching of God’s word. For example, take the traits of provision, protection, nurture, and care. Though we can typically associate these traits with a particular sex, each one is regularly displayed by both men and women.
Therefore, while gender-specific ministries can be helpful, they should not be the only avenue of our discipleship. Jesus Christ has made us one. The gospel creates unity in diversity, as Paul reminds us in Galatians 3: “There is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In Christ, we are brothers and sisters belonging to the same spiritual family. We are to love one another and build one another up, for the good of the whole church and the glory of God. As we learn from and encourage one another, both men and women together, our discipleship is deepened and enriched. Do not separate ourselves from our brothers or sisters-in-Christ. Build spiritual friendships with one another that span the breadth of the whole family of God. This is what Paul urges Timothy to do: encourage older men as fathers, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity (1 Tim 5:1-2).
God’s design for men and women is good. But where did it all go wrong? In Genesis 3, we read about how the serpent successfully tempts the woman to sin. Look at Genesis 3:6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Did you notice the little detail about the husband: He was with the woman. Why, then, didn’t he say anything? As we saw in Genesis 2, the man heard God’s word. The man was entrusted with the task of working and keeping the garden. He should have kicked the serpent out of God’s holy place. But the man failed in his God-given role to love and lead his wife. God in Genesis 3:17 pronounces judgement on the man “because you have listened to the voice of your wife”. It is not that husbands should not listen to their wives, rather that the man failed in his headship.
The fall is fundamentally a rebellion against God and a rejection of His created order. Instead of the man being the head of his wife, the women submitting to her husband, and both of them ruling over creation, the exact opposite occurs. The fall turns God’s created order upside down: The serpent deceives the woman who, in turn, leads the man into sin. And, the man is passively silent throughout. He even blames the woman, and ultimately God (Gen 3:12): “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
The fall did not create the different gender roles, but sin has corrupted them. Look at Genesis 3:16. God says to the woman, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”So begins the battle of the sexes. Sin sunders the unity of the one-flesh union. Because of the fall, women will try to undermine or usurp the headship of their husbands. Instead of loving their wives, men will become proud and domineering, or they will abdicate their headship by becoming passive and absent.
But there is hope. And, it will come through the woman’s God-given role. Look at Genesis 3;15. God will judge the serpent through the woman’s offspring. She will give birth to the serpent-crusher. The man in Genesis 3:20 reaches out in love to his wife and they are reunited in faith and hope. He calls her Eve, because she was the mother of all living. This name expresses trust in God’s promise of salvation. And, God shows grace and mercy to the man and woman by covering their nakedness (Gen 3:21).
Sin has corrupted God’s design for men and women. In Adam, we have all sinned. We have all failed to live according to God’s good design. Like Adam and Eve, we too have rejected God’s ways. But our hope is in the promised offspring of the woman — the perfect Man whom God will send. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, to save sinners like us. Unlike Adam, Jesus perfectly obeyed God, even to the point of dying on the cross in the place of guilty sinners. He took God’s judgement against sin, so that we can be forgiven if we trust in Christ alone to save us. God raised Jesus from the dead, to give us life. Jesus redeems and restores manhood and womanhood to what God intends. Jesus redeems how men and women relate to each other in marriage, and renews our relationships with one another in the church. In Christ, he makes us one. Therefore, we are to put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. May we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.