“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).
Genesis teaches us that God created both Adam and Eve in his image, meaning that he intended for them to imitate him as they exercised authority over the Garden of Eden. And although Adam and Eve were created with equal value, God endowed both sexes with different strengths and weaknesses, and he gave them distinct yet equally significant roles to guide them as they tended creation.
It is through these God-created sex distinctions that we witness one facet of God’s good design for humanity. Men and women reflect God’s glory in beautiful and different ways.
But when Adam and Even dragged all of creation into the curse of sin through their disobedience, every aspect of human life became marred by brokenness. One such example is gender confusion.
Gender confusion is nothing new. One passage in the Mosaic law speaks directly to this issue: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deut. 22:5).
Clearly, God wants men and women to express their gender in a manner appropriate to their respective biological sex. When they don’t, they rebel against God in fundamental ways, radically rejecting his design for sexuality and society.
Many individuals who struggle with gender dysphoria end up pursuing extreme, harmful, and irreversible hormone therapies and sex reassignment surgeries, hoping to better resemble the appearance of the other sex.
But the fact remains that no number of cosmetic procedures can erase God’s handiwork. With the sole exception of our red blood cells, every cell in the human body bears either XX or XY chromosomes, and nearly all physiological differences between male and female remain even after surgical intervention is completed. Surgeries can’t change your biological sex; instead, such procedures simply feminize men or masculinize women.
No one denies that some individuals really do struggle with gender dysphoria, which is both a mental disorder and a spiritual battle. As Christians, we can’t affirm a person’s chosen gender identity when that identity conflicts with God’s design.
So how should Christians respond to the challenge of gender dysphoria? With biblical truth voiced in a spirit of love. Instead of condoning our sin, God promises to regenerate us. As he sanctifies us in his truth, he calls us into righteousness. In Christ Jesus, there is hope, redemption, and deliverance—and that is something to celebrate.
PRAYER. Good and gracious God, we praise you for creating male and female in your image, allowing each sex to reflect your glory as they express either masculinity or femininity. Even still, we realize that the curse of sin has given rise to disorder in gender expression and sexuality. Help us to affirm your good design as you renew our minds through the Holy Spirit, and liberate those who are held captive to false gender ideologies. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.
