Gender & Glory

Our culture is deeply confused about gender. Many believe it is fluid, self-defined, or irrelevant, leaving people to search for identity in shifting feelings rather than in God’s design. But from the beginning, Scripture teaches that gender is not arbitrary — it is intentional, good, and part of how humanity images God.

God created both male and female with equal dignity and distinct purposes. The differences between men and women are not flaws to erase but features to embrace, crafted to bring flourishing in family, community, and the church. When we diminish or distort those differences, we reject not only His design but also His wisdom and goodness.

For the church, the challenge is twofold: we must not echo cultural confusion, nor should we respond with crass caricatures. Instead, we hold firmly to the truth that God’s design is good, while extending compassion to those who wrestle with questions of gender.

1. Trends – What the Culture Is Teaching

• Gender as Self-Defined – Culture insists that gender is not fixed but chosen, rooted in personal feelings rather than biological reality.
• Blurred Purposes – Distinctions between men and women are portrayed as outdated stereotypes, leaving confusion about roles in family, church, and society.
• Cultural Backlash – Those who affirm biblical gender design are often labeled as intolerant, pressured to conform to shifting norms.
• Identity Disconnection – By separating gender from God’s design, many are left searching for meaning, leading to rising anxiety, broken relationships, and instability.

2. Truths – What Scripture Says

• God created male and female – Mark 10:6: “But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.” (Jesus affirms creation order as an enduring truth.)
• God declared His design good – 1 Timothy 4:4: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.”
• God designed distinct purposes – 1 Corinthians 11:11-12: “In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God.”
• God affirms equality and worth in Christ – Galatians 3:28: “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
• God created male and female bodies for union and fruitfulness – Malachi 2:15: “Didn’t God make them one..? What is the one seeking? Godly offspring.”

3. Transfers – How to Communicate Truth to Others

• Affirm God’s goodness – There is nothing wrong with how God made them.
• Speak with both clarity and compassion – Hold firm to biblical truth on gender while showing patience and kindness to those wrestling with confusion.
• Highlight gender as a gift, not a burden – Show that male and female roles are not restrictions but God’s way of bringing flourishing in family, church, and society.
• Celebrate complementarity – Teach that men and women reflect God’s glory most fully when their differences are embraced and honored.

Ask heart-level questions – “What would it mean to see your gender as a gift rather than a struggle?” “How can we glorify God together as men and women in His image?”