In the heaven where God dwells there has always been divine fullness: perfect purity, divine love and eternal happiness. In that home of light and love, God delighted in the sons of men from eternity, even “before the mountains were settled ... while as yet He had not made the earth” or appointed its foundations. In accordance with His eternal purpose, some among the children of men will not only enter and enjoy the bliss of this divine habitation, but also “joy in God” Himself (Rom. 5:1111And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11)). Because of Calvary, this can and will be so.
God’s Favored Creation
Man is God’s favored and special creation. Though angels excel in strength and inhabit spiritual realms, only man is said to be made after His likeness, fitted with a capacity to interact with God in a way the rest of creation cannot, with intelligence, with a curiosity to understand abstract things, and with the ability to experience common thoughts with Himself.
The six days of creation are marked out with the momentous words, “And God said,” wonderful precursor to that future day, when the Word Himself would become flesh and dwell among us, expressing in His own Person all the fullness of the Godhead. Unique to God’s creation of man, in contrast to other created things, was His communication to man (“And God said unto them ... ”), communicating to man what he should be and what he should do.
A New Creation
Alas, as we know, how quickly man’s goodness departed in the fall, “as a morning cloud, and as the early dew,” it went away (Hos. 6:44O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. (Hosea 6:4)). Yet the Potter had formed the vessel, as was His free right to do, in order that in His counsel the first man should be displaced on the potter’s wheel by the second man, the Lord from heaven, in fullness of time. This is made good by resurrection from among the dead; there is a risen, glorified Man in heaven today, Himself the beginning of a new creation and He alone there, for the present, the firstfruits of a coming harvest.
Male and Female Genders
Another unique aspect of God’s creation of man is the declaration that there would be male and female, each different from the other and complementary to the other so that they would be, in a certain sense, one. “Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created” (Gen. 5:22Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. (Genesis 5:2)). Though we know, from Genesis 6:1919And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. (Genesis 6:19) and from observation, that animals were also created with these two complementary genders, it is only upon the announcement of the creation of man that this distinction is immediately brought out: once after the statement of man’s being made in the image of God (Gen. 1:2727So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)) and then again after the statement of man’s being made in the likeness of God (Gen. 5:11This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; (Genesis 5:1)). It would seem from this that God has chosen to display the natural glories of His created beings, and mankind in particular, with this polarity of man and woman. As the Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians, a man is “the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man” (1 Cor. 11:77For 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. (1 Corinthians 11:7)). God could have created mankind with a single gender and perpetuated the race of men in accordance with such a system; He could have created mankind with multiple genders. He did neither; He created us male and female. It is man’s glory to acknowledge and receive light from One higher than himself and to order his thoughts and ways accordingly. This is excellence in man. The life of the believer in Christ “adorn[s] the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:1010Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. (Titus 2:10)), as he happily learns to behave himself in the house of God and walk in an upright manner in this world, in accordance with the Word of God (“And God said”).
Gender Confusion
God is not the author of confusion; it is His delight to see moral order and the happiness it affords man, as the Apostle Paul could say to the Colossians, “joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ” (Col. 2:55For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. (Colossians 2:5)). Because of the importance of such a display, there is Satanic opposition even to the natural order of man and woman. The church itself has been subjected to “seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:11Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1)), which seek to introduce that which dishonors God and creates confusion and unhappiness in man. The Western world, once steeped in the light and blessing of the revelation of God in Christ, seems to be at the forefront now of (so-called) gender confusion and moral depravity, darkening men’s minds to natural wholesomeness and spiritual light. It is in such a world that we now live and raise our children, and therefore it is more important than ever that we set before them the path of faith and the wisdom of assenting to all things as they are presented in the Word of God. The outward, observable contrast between the path of the children of the light and those of darkness is becoming greater in the Western world, with evil called good and good evil, and darkness for light, and light for darkness (Isa. 5:2020Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)). “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:44God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. (Romans 3:4)).
Gender Choice
It is in vogue today to think one may just choose to change one’s gender as one might change one’s residence or occupation, as if God got it wrong in one’s case. To hold out choice to the young when there is no choice, with institutional support of such folly now protected by government edict, perpetuates confusion with devastating consequences on the young that are so led. Fallen men continue to profess themselves to be wise, and thereby show that they have become fools (Rom. 1:2222Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:22)) with hearts darkened. “It is a shame even to speak of those things done of them in secret” (Eph. 5:1212For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. (Ephesians 5:12)), only now the massive shift in public opinion that sways the actions of the men of this world has brought these things out from secrecy into the light of day.
Moral Degradation
It has been stated that the moral ways of God do not change with dispensations, as from the days under law to the present day of grace. As a young person reading through the books of Moses, one could ask oneself, “Who would ever do such a thing that is here prohibited?” Yet sadly, as we go on in life, we see or hear that such things are done. When man chooses to give up God, so that God is not in all his thoughts, God in His governmental ways gives man up to moral degradation. It is helpful in our minds to call things what God calls them, rather than the glib designations used today. Those who engage in intimate relations with others of the same gender are called “abusers of themselves with mankind” in the English Bible, a genteel translation of Greek words that are quite direct. This morally condemned behavior is placed in a list along with numerous other unrighteous activities that are contrary to the kingdom of God and to sound doctrine (1 Cor. 6:99Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (1 Corinthians 6:9); 1 Tim. 1:1010For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; (1 Timothy 1:10)). This matter is not subtle, nor a mere “shade of gray”; it is a moral baseline that warrants reinforcement from the Word of God in our homes and in the assembly. There is often the objection that some are “wired this way” or predisposed to such behavior. The flesh in us may present itself differently in one than in another, but “that which is born of the flesh is flesh,” and it is our duty and discipline to judge ourselves that we “should not be condemned with the world.” God is not the author of any moral confusion, and we cannot say that God tempts any man with evil (James 1:1313Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (James 1:13)). It is “from within, out of the heart of men” that these things proceed (Mark 7:2121For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, (Mark 7:21)), but “He giveth more grace,” and the wonderful liberty of the gospel is that grace empowers the believer to walk in holiness, no longer to be held under the dominion of sin (Rom. 6:1414For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)). We sympathize with each other, as each of us deals with the warfare of the flesh against the Spirit in one way or another (Gal. 5:1717For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians 5:17)).
Cultural Distinction
Another challenge felt by believers in the Western world today is the deliberate attempt in the surrounding culture to obliterate almost every semblance of distinction between men and women. Indeed, to refer in speech to the uniqueness of femininity and masculinity is often to incur scorn and censure. We read in Deuteronomy 22:55The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 22:5) that “a woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment.” Aside from the immediate directive to the Israelite, we may apply this passage figuratively to character and as an exhortation to encourage female character in our girls and young women and male character in our boys and young men. Paul had the same thought in mind when he exhorted the Corinthians to “quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:1313Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13)).
God’s Word Is Sure
It is in the face of this cultural headwind that we and our children must resort constantly to the clarity and refreshment of the Word of God. The God who has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:1717Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (1 Timothy 6:17)) has graciously ordered man’s life for his blessing, for He is good and desires even in a natural sense to fill our hearts “with food and gladness” (Acts 14:1717Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. (Acts 14:17)). The Western culture, which once largely aligned with the natural order and propriety shown in the Word of God, increasingly disdains such order. Nevertheless, the Word of God is sure, forever settled in heaven, and transcends and will outlast all the cultural norms of men.
The destiny of redeemed men and women is to be “as the angels of God in heaven,” neither marrying nor given in marriage. But God has ennobled the relationship of man and woman as a figure for the highest and sweetest relationship of all, that of Christ with the church as His heavenly bride. Meanwhile, in this world as children of light and children of the day, it is clearly our privilege to honor the Lord by properly occupying the places assigned us as men or as women.
It is characteristic of those possessing life in Christ to have an implicit confidence in God’s wisdom and goodness. “Wisdom is justified of all her children” (Luke 7:3535But wisdom is justified of all her children. (Luke 7:35)), and “her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Prov. 3:1717Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (Proverbs 3:17)). Those who have this sense that God is for them and that the path of wisdom in accordance with the light of His Word is the best and the happy path will walk by faith in His precepts.
B. Conrad