Genesis 2:20-25: Male and Female He created them

Male and Female as the Image of God

Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

God created us in his own image. And he also made male and female. So, I assume that both male and female are in the image of God. However, is there a connection between the image of God and the fact that we are male and female? I think that thereHere is my reasoning.
1) God is perfect and complete.
2) Humanity is not complete (even in the garden). We need something outside of ourselves to be complete.
3a) In the context of the Garden of Eden, God provided for the limited nature of humanity.
3b) He provided himself to walk with humanity in the Garden. Even in the garden, humanity still needed God's presence and stability. Without God, humanity cannot fulfill the created purpose provided by God. We need God.
3c) Genesis 2:20 says "But for Adam no suitable helper was found." So God made Eve to complement Adam and "complete" him in his humanity.
4) Therefore, being in God's image, among other things, can mean "being complete." Thus, male and female is not just a statement of design in nature, but also an illustration that we were made for community--with God and with humanity. We are made complete by other people, and we function in his image by acknowledging both the male and female in our existence.

So, here are some questions based on the above logic:
1) Is this aspect of completeness a reflection of the Trinity, where God has three persons who make One God? Can two "who become one flesh" reflect the depth and mystery of the Trinity?
2) God is unlimited by time or space. However, humanity is limited by time and space. So, is it through male and female (procreation) that humanity reflects the ability of God to expand in, impact, and relate to the universe?

I use the term "reflect" because I think that , even though we share the image of God, we can only reflect his glory, like the moon for the sun. The sun is fundamentally different from the moon, as are we different from God.

First Corinthians 14: On women in worship

Paul, have you lost your mind?

After declaring that male and female are partners in Christ (11:11) and elsewhere that there is neither male nor female in Christ, Paul falls off the deep end in a comment that seems off the cuff and out of place.

Again within the context of worship, Paul addresses the women in the church, this time in the middle of his discussion on tongues and prophecy in worship. Apparently, the Corinthians are already struggling with order in worship (drunkness at the Lord's Supper, confusion of tongues and prophecy, and bitter divisions). Now, Paul takes on the women specifically. But why? His words have been used to alienate women from service and spiritual value in many cultures. Is this what Paul had in mind for the female who is a partner to the male? It could be that Paul is saying that women have a role to play as a partner, but it is as a silent partner. However, this is a hard teaching for me to understand or accept, especially in light of biblical examples where women play a large role in leadership of God's people--as prophets, leaders, communicators of the Gospel, and Christian examples.

Do we have any other choice here, though, than to accept the literal statement: women must remain silent?

How about these options: First of all, Paul may well be speaking specifically to the anarchy in the Corinthian church. He mentions women because of their spiritual significance in this pagan culture, and their tendency to speak in tongues in that culture for the purposes of the pagan gods and goddesses. So, Paul is calling on the Corinthian women to cease their old ways of living and listen to the Spirit of God. The one problem with this theory is that Paul says "as is the practice in all of our churches." While the issue maybe local, Paul states that silence in encouraged in all congregations. However, I imagine if things are done in order, Paul would be tolerant.

Secondly, Paul may be speaking of a formal meeting, like a business meeting, where the women must remain silent. Again, the context of the whole chapter is worship, and it is hard to see this verse outside of the worshp context.

Thirdly, maybe the silence pertains only to tongues, and not to worship or prophecy. This would make sense in light of Christian prophetesses and other Christian female leaders in the New Testament. However, one must still deal with the issue of "speaking" in general, and learning also.

Fourthly, what we have here is a Jewish model for synagogue and Christian worship, where women and men would sit separately in the worship environment. This model, while appropriate for the First Century, may not apply to today's Gentile cultures. Thus, the command is mute and of no real value, other than to emphasize the need for male and female to worship in order. Note: Within the context of Paul's comments in chs 11-12, this model is valuable for order, sexual purity, learning/teaching, and focus on God.

While this logic may be satisfying, it also is a slippery slope that has been applied from everything to slavery, adultery, and homosexuality. There must be more justification than just "it is not our culture today, and thus is of no value."

Personally, I think options 1, 3, and 4 all have merit in this discussion. Yes, the culture has changed, but I also think that Paul went to extremes in his discussion because of the extremes in Corinth. Ultimately, as long as order is preserved, and the Gospel communicated, then I think male or female is justified in worship through prophecy, preaching, and teaching--since there is neither male nor female in Christ. It may not be the Jewish ideal, but we are no longer under the law (as long as we are orderly), but under the law of grace.

Let each one interpret this as God's gives them faith.

First Corinthians 11:2-16: On Order in the New Creation

As mentioned in an earlier blog, God's order through creation takes a new shape in Christ (the New Creation).


In 1 Cor 11:11, Paul says, "In the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman." So, Paul indicates an equality in Christ that the physical creation does not reveal. Sure, Genesis notes that the woman is a helper, supplementing the man, and this may be a basis for further discussion on the egalitarian nature of the male-female relationship. However, Paul sees something new here in Christ. So, he says in Gal 3:28 "There is neither male nor female." Paul argues, then, in Christ that we are all unified as a body and gender means nothing. However, we still need each other, whether male or female. It is only in extreme circumstances, such as Corinth, he argues for order in family and worship when the ideal of "in Christ" is not met.

Ultimately we all come from God, and thus we should relate to one another in peace. If peace is not achieved, then follow the law of creation--Men lead and women support. This is God's natural law that can only be trumped by the spiritual leadership of Christ.

First Corinthians 11:2-16: On Women in Worship

On women, long hair, and shaved heads: Paul calls on Christian women to keep long hair so that they might distinguish themselves from pagan female priests who would shave their heads as a sign of submission to the gods. For Paul, their idolatry and shaven heads went together and were unnatural. He called on Christian females to dress and behave in ways that separated them from their former ways of worship. Certainly Paul is arguing from a cultural perspective that is somewhat foreign to us, but I do not think Gentiles or Jews would necessarily debate his logic concerning the natural order of things. The hair in our cultrue does not play as crucial a role in determining spiritual connections or convictions. So, while some would say that Paul's words are a command to all woman, most in the Baptist tradition would argue that as long as the actions and dress of the woman (or any of us, for that matter) do not detract from the worship of the Lord, then we are following the directives of Paul and of Scripture.

First Corinthians 11:2-16: On orderly worship and heirarchy

Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God:

Paul is simply interpreting and applying Genesis 2 to the current issues that the Corinthian church faces. The specific issue here is one of appropriate worship and prayer. Paul believes there is a created order in Genesis 2 that we should follow when approaching God. God is over all, and Christ is directly over God's creation (not in Genesis 2, but accepted by Paul as understood by Genesis 2), and that man was intended to be over woman in the created order of things. His point is that God is to be exalted in an appropriate manner, and that all of us must go through Jesus to worship.

Where applicable, in Paul's mind, the woman also must go through the husband or authority figure because this is the created order of things. He reasons that the man was made directly by God’s breath, and thus man directly relates to God. He then reasons that the woman was made from and for man, as a helper and complementary portion. In Paul's mind, the first to be created is the one who exercises authority (This is rabbinic logic). Yes, Paul is from a male-dominated society, and his perspective reflects that. However, we cannot simply dismiss it because it does not fit our egalitarian perspective. Does it mean that a woman is less than a man? No. It means, though, that there are different ways to relate to God, and that the woman and man are created uniquely. Is it necessary for a woman to have a husband so that she may communicate with God? No. However, God’s original intent was to communicate in an orderly fashion with his creation, and Genesis 2, according to Paul, reveals that order to be God, Christ, man, woman.

It would be easier to explain this line of reasoning away if Paul had not appealed to Genesis. Instead, he focuses on scripture, and thus we must deal with the fact there is a created order, an ideal, that many of us find difficult to live up to. When we do not follow the ideal, we open ourselves up to chaos in worship and family. Apparently Paul feels the need to go back to the very order of creation because the Corinthians had no order in their worship, and the women in the congregation were a big part of the problem. Can I reason, then, that Paul would not expect such restrictions if a church was living in an orderly way that reflected God’s creative purposes? We cannot have utopia, but we also should not endure chaos when it is on our power to control it. So, Paul’s strict words to men and women are an attempt to bring order to a chaotic worship experience.

I think that his words also apply to the specific circumstances at Corinth and apply to churches today that struggle with chaotic worship circumstances. If a church can have real, authentic worship within an egalitarian framework, I don’t think that Paul would mind. His issue is reverence before God Almighty. It was so bad in Corinth he appealed to the ultimate Old Testament authority: creation. You can’t trump creation when you are arguing from the Old Testament—unless you bring up New Creation.