Gender Roles: Recovered in the Gospel

Our churches have debated it. Our school refuses to take a stance on it. Why then be so out-spoken about gender roles? We (the Gender Matters Club) are passionate about this issue, because we want the Gospel to define every area of our lives—including gender.

Most people are only aware of gender roles in the New Testament, leading to many accusations of these roles (“cultural regulations” they say) as being restrictive on our freedom in Christ. A fuller teaching, however, and a correct understanding of the redeeming work of Christ, will reveal God’s beautiful design in gender roles.

When Moses writes, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gn 1:27), he accomplishes two things. First, he establishes the equality of men and women. Since each are made in God’s image, both enjoy the benefits of knowing and enjoying God forever. Second, he not only clarifies that we glorify God as a race of “man,” he implies something very distinct in our being created “male and female.” This distinction is manifest in different roles.

God created Adam first (2:7), put him in the Garden (2:8), and gave him his primary roles: “to work and to keep it” (2:15). As God called mankind to “have dominion over . . . all the earth” (1:26), he gave man these roles of leadership and responsibility, duties summarized in provision and protection. Because God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone, he created “a helper fit for him” (2:18): Eve. She was to come alongside Adam, to support and encourage him, as they together obeyed God’s command: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (1:28).

Gender roles are assigned to men and women in creation, in a world without sin. Therefore, when God looked upon these assigned roles on the sixth day, he declared them “very good” (1:31). When Paul wrote Ephesians 5 with the Genesis account on his mind, he calls the husband the “head” in part because he is to provide for and protect his wife as a servant leader. He calls the wife to “submit” in part because she is to help and encourage him, affirming his leadership.

Adam and Eve, however, did not fulfill their roles. As Satan tempted Eve, Adam stood passively by her side (3:6) and did not protect the Garden from sin. Eve also, rather than affirming Adam’s role to “keep” the garden (2:15-16), usurped his headship and took the fruit.

Subsequently, the curse twists these very roles, as God addresses Eve, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (3:16). This verse is illuminated by God’s address to Cain just before he killed Abel: “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (4:7). Just as sin desired to control Cain like a puppet, so too, joyful submission in women is now supplanted by coercion and manipulation. In the same way, as Cain was to rule over sin, so too, loving headship in men has given way either to passivity or to unloving authoritarianism.

Even though gender roles are twisted in Genesis 3, and the whole world becomes enslaved to sin, the Messianic hope dawns as God addresses Satan concerning an offspring of the woman: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (3:15). This hope grows (12:1-3; 22:18; Jer 4:2; Gal 3:16) and becomes manifest in the God-man Jesus Christ (Acts 3:26). Through his atoning sacrifice, he not only pardons all who come to him in faith, he also ushers forth his sons and daughters to once again regain loving headship and joyful submission in marriage. This is evidenced by Paul each time he addresses gender roles (1 Cor 11, 14; Eph 5; 1 Tm 1), when he also references the creation account (1 Cor 11:8-9; 14:34; Eph 5:31; 1 Tm 2:13-15).

Fellow students, let us glorify God as men and women, freed by Christ to live in the Genesis 2 world. Take your gender seriously and submit to the authority of Scripture on this issue.