Considerable discussion has occurred in secular society in the last 50 years concerning gender – from the Feminist Movement of the 1960s to the more recent attention to transgenderism. The Bible speaks very precisely and definitively on the matter of gender. The phenomenon of gender is the result of God’s own divine determination when He created the first human beings on the sixth day of Creation week: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

When God created gender, He clearly intended to set the stage for all of human history. He sought to convey for all time the interrelationship between men and women. In the New Testament, this interrelationship is discussed in considerable detail in 1 Timothy 2 where Paul explains gender roles as they relate to worship. However, Paul also discussed gender in one of his letters to the church at Corinth. His pronouncements on gender are clearly tied to how men and women in the church are to interact with each other. The respective roles of male and female in the church are affected and informed by gender.

Paul’s remarks demonstrate that gender, as it relates to role function in the church, is a matter of Creation – not culture (as some have alleged). He explains the origin of gender as it was instigated by God at Creation:

For man is not from woman, but woman from man…. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of the woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.  For as the woman was from the man, even so the man also is through the woman; but all things are from God (1 Corinthians 11:8,11-12).

The bolded words represent prepositions in the original language. The term rendered “from” is the Greek preposition “ek” which means “out of.” The man was not “out of” the woman, but rather, the woman was “out of” the man. He is referring very specifically – and literally – to the origin of the first woman on Earth. Her body was constructed from a portion of the man’s body. Her physical origin was literally dependent on having been taken “out of” the man’s body. No wonder Adam declared: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23). In Hebrew, the word for man is “ish.” Adam employed a play on words by building on the word for man to indicate a woman: “ish-ah.”

Three verses later, Paul further clarifies gender by stating that though the woman was “from/out of” man, nevertheless, the man is also “through” the woman. Here the Greek preposition is dia meaning “by/through.” Once again, Paul is speaking very literally. All men throughout human history (except for Adam) have come into this world through a woman. Women are the designated child bearers. Men have no reason to consider themselves – or their role – to be superior to women. God intends for the male to fulfill very precise responsibilities in and out of the church, and He likewise has created the female to do the same. Their respective roles are, indeed, rooted in the creation of gender by God at the very beginning of time.¹

-by Dave Miller as submitted by Jerry D. Sturgill

¹ For a discussion of gender roles in the church, see Dave Miller (2014), “Male and Female Roles: Gender in the Bible,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=5007&topic=389

Parents of children should be ready to give time to promote the spiritual welfare of the little ones in their care (Deut. 6:7-9; Eph. 6:4). There are so many evils in the world, that we should not only pray that the Lord will deliver us from evil (Mt. 6:13), but we should also place the lives of our children into the Lord’s hands and pray earnestly that He will deliver them and bless them in the way of righteousness throughout their days. Little children were brought to Jesus that He would lay His hands on them and pray for them (Mt. 19:13). Jesus took time for children, but His disciples on this occasion wanted none of it. The disciples rebuked them. They thought Jesus had more important things to do than to be bothered by these children.

Jesus, however, placed importance on children, reversing the conventional values that the disciples had learned in their day. Jesus said to His disciples, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 19:14). While children have much to learn, they often possess simple trust and dependence that adults often lack. They also lack the pride, self-assertion, and brooding revenge that are often in the hearts of adults. In the previous chapter of Matthew, the disciples were wondering who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:1). Jesus taught them an object lesson. He placed a little child in their midst and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Mt. 18:3-5).  While the child must have seemed small and insignificant in the midst of grown men, it is this very quality of humility that Jesus highlights as key to entering His kingdom. Each of us must possess humility if we are to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5-8). A child possesses the humility to learn and grow that a self-sufficient adult often does not have. Children can be taught the gospel and can grow to become like God. Solomon said, “Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished” (Ecc. 4:13).

The church, Christ’s kingdom, values children. Sadly, many homes do not provide the environment where the welfare, especially spiritual welfare, of children is promoted. If the church is to practice pure religion, then we must care for the fatherless (Jas. 1:27). God’s righteousness includes being a father and helper to the fatherless (Psa. 10:14; 68:5). Those without natural affection, i.e. love for their own children, will meet God’s judgment (Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3). Some of the worst forms of harm in our world today are inflicted on children. God’s kingdom of light must overcome this evil darkness with doing good (Rom. 12:21; Phil. 2:15). We must open our mouths and stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Prov. 31:8). Let’s do all we can to provide a way for precious souls of little ones to come to Jesus and be blessed in this life and the life to come.

-Mark Day

Setting aside our numerous and significant differences in doctrine for a minute, let’s take a look what American Catholics have been up to and see what we can learn.

For some time now an issue has been brewing concerning the inclusion of pro-abortion Catholic politicians in their church’s communion. With a Catholic now sitting in the Oval Office, they’ve realized the time has come to develop an official policy on the matter. A delegation of bishops are currently working to hammer out a formal statement about communion and its place. A number of Catholic leaders have gone on record to recommend denying communion to such members, and one New Mexico state senator was recently denied communion by his priest.

Again, we don’t share their views on priesthood, communion, salvation, and a number of other things. But this dustup is a rather interesting situation which provides us with a chance to discuss some important concepts.

First of all, we should note they are absolutely right to say such a clear, plain-to-see sin separates one from God and the fellowship of the church. It might sound harsh, but just change the analogy to something broadly considered to be both sinful and morally repugnant and it gets a lot easier to understand.

Let’s say your local state senator, a church member, came out as a vocal proponent of race-based slavery. I don’t think there would be any controversy if a church decided to censure such a member. Endorsing something so abhorrent would obviously be grounds for confrontation and potential removal from fellowship.

Between abortion and slavery, both are obvious, egregious sins. The only difference is that one has cultural approval and the other does not. If openly supporting slavery would be grounds for censure, so should openly supporting abortion.

Second, there’s something to be said for a doctrine of exclusivity in a time of near universal inclusion. Yes, God does not want any to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but that doesn’t mean He’s going to save everybody. Jesus turned away literally thousands in His ministry (Luke 9, John 6, for a couple of examples).

We do not need to be unnecessarily harsh gate keepers, pushing people away from the church with arbitrary standards or a holier-than-thou attitude, but neither should we lead people to believe that God’s church has no boundaries. If we aren’t embodying any definable set of beliefs, we offer little reason for anyone to be interested in belonging.

Third, the big question here is this: if this action and other difficult, controversial ones like it are right and necessary for church leaders to undertake, do the leaders in our congregations have the strength to carry them out?

Though we might not be in that situation right now, the determining factor is the same as always – faithful in little, faithful in much (Luke 16:10). If I can’t preach boldly on a truth which the world will hate or some in the congregation might reject, then the answer is no. Those of us who preach must possess the fortitude to say what needs to be said, regardless of what anyone thinks. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Elders likewise must be committed to do uncomfortable but crucially important things like confronting sins where necessary.

On the other side of the table, if you’re a church member, are you willing to follow the lead of Godly men when they make those hard decisions? Have you truly submitted yourself to their lead as those who care for your souls?

It’s a beautiful thing when God’s church has one heart and one mind to follow Him and let Him handle whatever comes our way. In that scenario we’re showing God we believe in Him and that He will reward us for seeking His way (Hebrews 11:6).

Thank God for those leaders who fear God rather than man (Matthew 10:28) and will do that which is difficult but necessary. Pray for those who preach and teach that they will have boldness, pray for those who lead that they would be strengthened and built up as God’s shepherds rather than hired hands, and pray for our congregations that they will follow such men and not be burdensome to them.

—by Jack Wilkie, July 28, 2021

Jack Wilkie is editor of focuspress.org and author of  “Church Reset: God’s Design for So Much More.” He also preaches for the Forney church of Christ in Forney, TX, where he, his wife, Allison, reside with their two children.