God Created Male and Female Gender Distinction in Ministry

“From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). The words are so simple yet so profound. The wisdom, the forethought and the grandeur they represent are astounding. God, in His infinite knowledge and love, created, by His Divine power, a two gender race. Why? Why not a single gender that can self-replicate? The answers are as amazing as the design itself. From the beginning of creation, God announces his purpose for male and female. “The LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18). Man and woman are uniquely suited for each other. Two men are not so suited, two women are not so suited, but a man and a woman are. Men and women are, therefore, designed differently, yet complimentary to one another. The human thumbprint is easy to recognize: either it is forced uniformity and a monotonous sameness or else disjointed chaos. The brushstrokes of God, however, are rich with diversity and variety, and, at the same time, amazing harmony and coordination. Scriptures which teach specific gender roles in the marriage, the family and especially the church have become offensive to many Bible believing Christians. Two Scriptures stand as the prime battleground: • “Let your women remain silent in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak” (1 Corinthians 14:34). • I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:12). The apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God, says “be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:8). Could it be that some believers are actually ashamed of these verses? How about you? Would you prefer they never were written? Or can you cry out with the apostle, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”? There are two ways in which culture and the Word of God can collide. The first, and the one most generally relied upon during gender related topics, is using culture as a means to interpret/judge the Word of God. The second, and the approach used in this book, is using the Word of God to interpret/judge the culture.