Gender and the Church Pt. 2
As we continue in our series through Gender and the Church, we are going to pick up by talking about Genesis 2 and 3. Before we go any further, let me encourage you, if you are interested in reading more about this, feel free to reach out. I (Pastor Daniel) have recently finished a much longer and more technical paper on this topic. What we are going to cover here is the Practical Theology aspect of Genesis 2 and 3, rather than the exhaustive theology of it.
Genesis 2 records a historic event; the creation of Eve. It is told in a poetic way that engages us as readers. The passage is true and should be interpreted literally. In Genesis 2, we see something known as the Created Order, or Creation Order. God made Adam and then God made Eve. Eve was made as a “helper.” This word ezer, is used throughout the Bible and even is used often to describe God! So, the idea of a “helper” should not be understood as “less than.” Instead, we should understand this idea to be referring to “one who comes alongside.”
In Genesis 3, we see this created order violated by sin. Adam, who has been tasked with leading and who speaks directly to God, gives up his responsibility in favor of passively standing by Eve while she sins. Adam gives his tacit approval of her actions and in this case, he sins also. In Genesis 3:14-19, we see that God directly judges the serpent, then man and woman.
The judgements have two purposes. They lay out the consequences for this sin and they also foreshadow the way that we will be saved. See, the serpent is told that it will move on its belly. But verse 15 is where things get interesting. God is talking to the serpent still and we read, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” I know that it can be easy to read that and think, “well yes, snakes do bite and we step on snakes,” but there is something far deeper going on! God is actually giving a promise that is completed on the cross! The serpent’s head, or sin, is struck (or crushed as some translations say) while the serpent strikes Jesus’s heel. Yes, Jesus does die, but Jesus reigns victoriously despite this!
God then continues on and addresses women and men. In verses 16, God speaks to women and then in 17-19, God addresses men.
For our purposes, our focus will be on verse 16. Genesis 3:16 says, “He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.” God gives a clear and direct judgement towards women. Labor pains will increase and bearing children will be painful. In addition, the desire of women and men will not always line up. That is very important when it comes time to analyze what role gender plays in the Church.
What should our practical takeaway be from Genesis 2 and 3? Simply put, men and women are different! God created men and women to be different. Both men and women are made in God’s image and are of equal value. But, the role of men and women is different!