Not So Little Women: Week 1
The Female Man

When reading the scriptures, some people walk away feeling like women are shown to be less than men in their worth or calling. There is much division today about how gender, roles, and God’s calling all intersect. We can see that before the Fall, however, men and women were called to complement each other instead of be in competition with each other. Even in Christian circles, many have lost sight of what the Scriptures actually say about women.

In the Genesis creation account, even though man is created first, we see some startling truths:

1. By himself, the man was insufficient to display God’s image and likeness.

God is so holy, wondrous, and glorious that one created gender alone was inadequate to bear His image. Neither the man nor the woman alone could display the image of God—they were created to do this together as an entire humanity, in unity. Gen 5:2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. Rather than dismiss gender, we are to celebrate it!

2. By himself, the man was unable to rule God’s creation as a worshiper.

Genesis 2 tells us that part of man’s work was to be a priest, to represent who God is, in the garden sanctuary; the man is unable to fulfill this purpose alone. Imaging God to creation was something only men and women could do together. It was God’s intent that a man and a woman correspond and help each other; to be priests to/for God we need one another.

3. By himself, man is not fully “man.”

When Adam says in Genesis 2:23, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” it essentially means, “She is made of the same stuff I am! She is what I am!” The man emphasizes that she shares his essence and nature—she is fully human, she is the image and likeness of God.

There are differences between male and female…but the Bible doesn’t begin with the differences—it begins with sameness. In Genesis 3 we see “the fall,” where humanity ran from God and rebelled against Him. Since that moment, humanity has been at war not just with God, but with itself. This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so important, because Jesus came to rescue us from all of our rebellion and what separated us from God and each other. This series hopes to speak of and show the transforming work of God in the world, as well as the restorative work He does in HUMANKIND.