Is gender a social construct? And what does it mean to bear God’s image? And how are the two related? The earliest pages of our Bible begin to answer these questions, as we watch our origin story unfold in Genesis 1-3. I’m so thankful to have my friend Kelly Needham back with us to talk through some of the most weighty questions of our day. Kelly brings such wisdom and clarity to this conversation about gender in Genesis.
Guest: Kelly Needham
Bible Passage: Genesis 1:26-31
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Listen on Apple | Spotify | Other
Recommended Resources: Amazon Storefront for the Genesis Series
Mentioned Resources:
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- Let Me Be a Woman by Elizabeth Elliot (story about sailboats on the sand)
- Listening to the Language of the Bible – co-authored by Lois Tverberg (quote about king minting coins)
- True Story on the Roof – episode one with Kelly Needham
- Jimmy Needham’s sermon: Gender in Genesis
Transcript: Read the Full Transcript
Music: Cade Popkin Music
Kelly Needham
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God’s Self-Portrait
There are boys and there are girls. There are men and there are women. And something about that is tied to: We are in the image of God.
I loved this sermon sermon Kelly’s husband, Jimmy Needham, preached, using the illustration of self-portraits. Artists often create self-portraits, and add different elements into the portrait to portray themselves. They are intentionally communicating something about themselves.
So in Genesis, God is creating a self-portrait. He’s creating a representation of his likeness and the way that he does that is by creating two canvases. Since God is a plural being, he must use two canvases to portray his plurality. Those two self-portraits are male and female.
God doesn’t just create one ungendered humanity. He chose two genders that are distinct, yet complementary. Again, there is only one humanity. If you were to line up a bunch of creatures, you could easily tell that people are unique. Yet within that humanity there is diversity. So there is unity and diversity—and it’s the same with God.
God is one God. There’s unity in the Trinity. But He is also diverse. He is three persons. This is one of the key reasons that the genders are important. Together, they represent that unity and diversity of humanity. This is part of God’s self-portrait. It’s part of the way God wants to make himself known to the world.
