Before the fall, in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, the first man and woman flourished in their understanding of their own distinct and beautiful gender. They did not doubt their gender, nor grumble against it, for they were entirely content and joyful in who God made them to be; one male, one female, perfectly complementing one another in beauty, righteousness, and holiness within the sacred covenant of marriage. 

The world is confused about many things, not the least of which is marriage and sexuality. Why? The world does not know or submit to God. Romans 8:7 says, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” Many people set their minds on the flesh, often on several specific parts of the flesh, and their obsession with it proves their hostility against God. They desperately need heart-transforming grace as we all do.

Researchers at The Queensland University of Technology asked the following question in their sex survey: “Which of the following terms do you feel best describes your gender?” [1] They listed 33 different options. Healthline.com reports that there are 64 terms that describe gender identity and expression. [2] This kind of thinking about gender is foreign to both God’s Word (special revelation) and science (general revelation). See, when the mind is not set on God and His authoritative truth and is instead set on the flesh, hostility against God is manifested in surprisingly aberrant ways. Discontentment with God’s good design and order of gender and sexuality bring increasing angst to the soul. We need to repent of our sinful innovation and trust Christ to reform our views of identity, marriage, and sexuality. Only Christ can restore the beauty and order of identity, marriage, and sexuality. 

In Genesis 1:26, in Moses’ account of creation, the Triune God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” God was freely choosing and creating according to His divine intent, beauty, and goodness. Man is the Hebrew word “adam” which generally refers to human beings and more specifically became the name of the first male. So, when God says, “Let us make man,” he was referring to both male and female human beings, to both beautiful genders. God didn’t continue past these two beautiful sexual distinctions with additional ones.

Then Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God, in His divine wisdom, chose to gift some human beings maleness and others femaleness, and this was good, in fact, it was very good (Gen. 1:31). The complementary physical categories of male and female are sacredly assigned realities, and to adjust them in any way, whether physically or psychologically, is to contest God’s wisdom, creativity, and goodness.

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