Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28.)

God made man in His image. Both male and female bear God’s image. Genesis 2 provides more dimensions to the creation account of Genesis 1. Before the creation of woman, the text says: “But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him” (Gen. 2:20). God then created woman for man as a helper. She is called woman, because she was taken out of man (Gen. 2:23). Man was not created for woman: “For man is not from woman, but woman from man” (1 Cor. 11:8). The Hebrew word for man is “adam.” Genesis 5:2 says, “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Why would God use the name of only one sex as a generic term for both? Why didn’t God use a neutral term such as “persons” to describe them? Why call them “man”? Perhaps this speaks to male headship.

Contemporary thinking balks at this concept. “Men,” “male,” and “masculine” are often used as disparaging words by certain segments of our culture. Some have sought to eradicate terms which use the masculine form to describe any person, of either sex, that is involved in an activity, profession, etc.; however, the word of God goes against the grain of today’s sensitivities. The Bible teaches male headship/leadership in the home and in the church (1 Cor. 11:3; 14:34, 35; 1 Tim. 2:8-13; 3:1-8; Eph. 5:23-33; Titus 2:4-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7). God has called men to lead, and women to help.

The Bible teaches against male domination over women. The verses just mentioned show that men are not to assert themselves over a woman’s will, nor disregard her value. Men are to be considerate; husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, instead of being bitter towards them (Eph. 5:25; Col. 3:19).

Men and women are spiritually equal in that they both bear God’s image with eternal souls to be saved (Gen. 1:27; Gal. 3:28). But this does not mean that males and females are the same. God’s intention is not to level out all distinctions between the two. Marriage is not a human custom, but rather a divinely created institution for all ages and cultures. Different roles exist in this partnership that glorifies God. While men and women are to love each other, they are not to love each other in the same way (Eph. 5:33). Men are to accept the primary responsibility of leading the home and the church to glorify God. Women are to help and support men in the effort.

Instead of following human traditions or popular opinion, Jesus pointed people to the Scriptures, God’s word, for what ought to be done in religious matters and life in general (Mk. 7:5-13). Jesus came to earth to fulfill the Scriptures (Mt. 5:17), from His birth (Mt. 1:21-23) to His death (Jn. 19:24, 28, 36) to His resurrection (Psa. 16:8-11; Acts 2:25-28). When resurrected, He said to two of His disciples, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” (Lk. 24:25, 26). The following verse explains: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk. 24:27). To the eleven, He said: “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Lk. 24:44).
When He was young, His parents found Him after three days of searching; He was in the temple talking with the teachers of the law, discussing the Scriptures (Lk. 2:46). He was determined to do His Father’s will (Lk. 2:49). When He was asked to read the Scriptures at His hometown synagogue in Nazareth, He concluded His reading of Isaiah with this statement: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Lk. 4:21).

When Jesus was tempted by the devil. His response was to quote Scripture, saying, “It is written…” (Mt. 4:4, 7, 10; Lk. 4:4, 8). If we will resist temptation to sin, we must follow in the footsteps of our sinless savior (1 Pet. 2:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:21). He was determined to follow the Scriptures instead of giving in to the tricks of the devil. Those who trust their own thought and feelings without much regard for the written word of God are susceptible to being led astray into sin (Jer. 10:23). We must hide God’s word in our hearts so that we do not sin against God (Psa. 119:11).
When Jesus healed a leper, He told him to go to the priest and make the offering Moses commanded (Lk. 5:12-14). Jesus pointed the healed man to following Leviticus 14. Many people today have an attitude in regard to the Bible that says, “Well that was written a long time ago, and we live in a different world today.” Before Jesus died on the cross the law of Moses was still in place. While Jesus walked on the earth, He told people to follow the law of Moses even though it had been written around 1,500 years in the past. We should have the same attitude toward God’s word today, particularly in following the last will and testament of Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:15).
When an expert in the law of Moses put Jesus to the test, asking Him, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”, Jesus responded by asking him, “What is written in the law?” (Lk. 10:25). The crucial question of what to do to be saved eternally must not be left to human tradition or public opinion. Only the word of God can provide a sure-fire answer. Consider what the word of God says you must do (Acts 2:37, 38; 16:29-34). Follow Jesus to Whom the Scriptures pointed and Who pointed to the Scriptures in the path to salvation (Jn. 8:24; 14:6; Lk. 13:3; Mt. 10:32; Mk. 16:16).