The Bible and Gender

By Matthew Steven Bracey

Today, the topic of gender is pervasive and controversial. Where biblical Christianity roots gender in God’s creation of man and woman, today’s cultural prophets preach gender is “socially constructed.”

My aunt recently attended a function with her granddaughter. “Who’s that girl?” she asked.

“That isn’t a girl, Nana. That’s a boy,” returned the granddaughter.

Nana arched an eyebrow. “No, that’s a girl.”

The granddaughter felt embarrassed. “If someone says he’s a boy, he’s a boy.”

Nana, with no timidity, pressed: “I don’t care what someone says. A boy’s a boy. A girl’s
a girl.”

“You can’t say that!” exclaimed the wide-eyed granddaughter.

“I most certainly can.”

Perhaps this conversation recalls one you’ve experienced.

How ought we as Christians think about such cultural developments? Consider four important truths.

Our ultimate allegiance is to God and His Word. The Apostle Paul explains Christians are citizens of God’s Kingdom, not the world’s (Philippians 3:20). God has given us the “word of life” (Philippians 2:16), including His word on gender. Our ultimate allegiance is neither to family, friends, or workplace peers, nor to cultural or political leaders. We must not bow to the ever-changing whims of the present evil age. Rather, our ultimate allegiance is to King Jesus, and our values are informed by His Word.

Christians are simply different from non-Christians, whom Paul describes as “enemies of the cross” who glory in dishonor and shame (Philippians 3:18–19). Insofar as the values of these lesser allegiances are consistent with those of God’s Kingdom, we should support them. But where the two conflict, we must follow the “King of Kings” (Revelation 19:16).

This proposition is often difficult. As Jesus warned, the world could hate us as it hated Him (John 15:18-19). We must, therefore, cultivate the courage to follow Him fully. We may face genuine challenges concerning the topic of gender. However, whatever the challenges, we must not act falsely. We must be true to the character of our holy, righteous, and just God. Where others follow the spirit of the age, we follow the Spirit of Christ, revealed from Scripture’s opening words.

God created only two genders. Genesis 1–2 recounts God’s creation of the world: the stars, lands, waters, animals, and humans. Significantly, He created humans “in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (1:27). Our being man or woman is not incidental—not fluid—but given graciously by God and tied mysteriously to His image. To deny this truth is to deny God’s “good” creation (1:31).

Yes, God created only two genders. But He did not make all men the same and all women the same. Manhood and womanhood include variation according to a person’s historical period, cultural background, and personal qualities. Consider the differences between Moses and Paul, Ruth and Phoebe, J. S. Bach and C. S. Lewis, or Susanna Wesley and Flannery O’Connor—all very different, and yet, most assuredly, all men or women. John Wayne is not the sole picture of manhood, nor is Martha Stewart the singular image of womanhood.

We should celebrate our God-given differences. However, we must not confuse intra-gender distinction with inter-gender fluidity. God has created only two genders, but sin has perverted God’s good design for them.

Sin has perverted God’s good design of the genders. God created the genders—distinct yet complementary—to live and work together (Genesis 1:28). However, Adam and Eve followed the serpent’s leading rather than God’s (Genesis 3:1-7). Thus, God cursed Adam as man and Eve as woman (Genesis 3:16-19). Likewise, their sons and daughters (you and me) are not sinners only in some generic sense. More specifically, we are not the men or women God created us to be.

Christians recognize sin has impacted all men and women (Romans 3:23). Even Christians, who are being restored to Christ’s image, struggle against sin (Romans 7:19). For example, Christian husbands are not fully the men God created them to be but struggle to love their wives as Christ loves the Church; Christian wives are not fully the women God created them to be but struggle to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22-33).

Likewise, sin impacts the broader non-Christian culture. For example, transgenderism adopts a socio-cultural understanding of gender rather than a biological understanding. Thus, people identify as genders not matching their birth sex, and gender dysphoria may even lead some people to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

Transgender advocates regularly portray traditionalists (those who identify gender biologically rather than as a social construct) as bad, discriminatory, hateful people. Yet those same voices are conspicuously silent when someone having undergone reassignment surgery discovers the procedure only worsened problems. Transgender advocates sometimes point to intersexuality (individuals born with both male and female physiology) to support their beliefs. However, even the intersex person is genetically male or female.

Biblical theology helps us understand why we struggle with gender. We all live under sin’s curse, which impacts even manhood and womanhood. Thankfully, God has not left us in our brokenness.
God desires the restoration of broken people. God does not want anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). As the great hymn says, Jesus, friend of sinners. God loved us in all our sin (Romans 5:8). God’s heart has not changed, and He calls Christians to be ambassadors of His glorious Kingdom to the hopeless, including the transgender (2 Corinthians 5:20).

We represent God’s Kingdom by modeling the example of its King. In our beliefs and behaviors, we must demonstrate grace and truth (John 1:14). Whatever societal pressures, we follow the truths of God’s Word: God created only two genders, but sin has perverted God’s good design. We must not succumb to the spirit of the age that is passing away with its lusts (1 John 2:15–17).

However, this commitment to truth must never become an excuse to be rude or nasty. Instead, we should communicate to all people—including the transgender—biblical virtues like compassion, love, and kindness (Galatians 5:22–23). Play games together; enjoy meals together; see films together. Show grace but remain true to King Jesus.

A young woman recently testified against a California bill on transitioning. She had previously identified as transgender, even receiving gender reassignment surgery. She quickly regretted the transition, describing it as a “brutal nightmare.” It did not make her happy, only more miserable. She now rejects transgender ideology and embraces her womanhood. But she cannot undo her surgery.

The world is full of such examples needing truth, compassion, and hope. Adopting a gender opposite the one God gave us will not fix our problems. Healing is found in God alone who binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3). But how will people know about this great God if no one tells them (Romans 10:14–15)?

In Christ, we have a profound message of hope. We may not now be the men or women God created us to be. But we anticipate a better day. By His great power, Christ will transform the bodies of our lowly conditions—with all their struggles—into conformity with His glorious body (Philippians 3:21). Praise be to God, He is making all things new (Revelation 21:5).

About the Author: Matthew Bracey (M.T.S., J.D.) works at Welch College, where he serves as vice provost for academic administration and teaches courses in history, law, and theology. He is a co-founder and senior editor of The Helwys Society Forum.