~ Is Your God Male or
Female? ~
In
some Christian circles there is confusion about the gender of God. This has been accentuated with the feminist
movement of the last few decades. What can we learn about God’s gender by
looking only at Scripture without adding personal desires? First, we must recognize that the Word of God
pictures God as masculine, as feminine, and as gender neutral. We need to come to a reasonable conclusion
based entirely on what God’s Word says while understanding the culture at the
time the Bible was written.
Male Images of God ~ When
the Scriptures speak of God in gender terms it is most often in a male
image. A well known example is the
Father image. Perhaps the best known
example is the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples (often mislabeled The
Lord’s Prayer). “In this manner,
therefore, pray: Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9). Another example is God as a bridegroom. “As the bridegroom
rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5b). “Jesus said to them
[speaking of Himself], ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them? But the days will come
when the bridegroom will be taken
away from them, and then they will fast’” (Matthew
9:15). One of Scripture’s metaphors for
the church universal is as Christ’s bride.
Female Images of God ~ Sometimes
the Scriptures speak of God in terms of a female image. For example in Isaiah we
find God comparing Himself to a woman giving birth. “I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and
restrained Myself.
Now
I will cry like a woman in labor, I
will pant and gasp at once” (Isaiah 42:14). Furthering this image we see God as a nurturing mother. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and
out of Egypt I called My son. As they
called them, so they went from them; they
sacrificed to the Baals [false gods], and burned incense to carved images. I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by
their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them
as those who take the yoke from their neck.
I stooped and fed them” (Hosea 11:1-4). In these passage we see
a tender and loving God raising His children—who incidentally in this passage
are referred to in a masculine gender.
While on earth the Messiah uses the feminine gender of a
hen with His chicks. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to her! How often I
wanted to gather your children together, as
a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37-38).
Cultural Factors ~ Why does
Scripture present some images of God to us with gender connotations? The economy of the time was primarily
agricultural. The fertility of the soil
was paramount in thinking and many false gods arose out of the focus on
fertility. The pagan culture of the time
created many gods and goddesses. An Old
Testament example was Ashtoreth, a goddess of the Canaanites, and is found in
many passages (i.e., Judges 10:13; 1 Samuel 7:3-4, 12:10, 31:10). A New Testament example was the goddess Artemis
(Acts 19:27). Given the culture of the
day we should not be surprised at the use of anthropomorphisms (describing what
is not human in human terms) in Scripture.
Describing God’s masculinity and His feminine qualities differentiated
the one true God from all others. In
other words, the key issue involved here is God effectively communicating to
mankind.
Gender-Neutral Images of
God ~ Scripture
also speaks of God as a Spirit—not just as the Spirit of God being one member
of the Trinity. The Messiah said, “God
is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
Key Factors ~ First,
we know that “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them” (Genesis 1:27). Second, we know that there will not be sexual differentiation in heaven. We read, “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are
mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry
nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in
heaven’” (Matthew 22:29-30).
Third, it is worth noting that the masculine images of God are quite
definite (i.e., Father) whereas the feminine images are less sharp (more like
similes: prefaced by words such as “like”).
Conclusion ~ (1) We should not think of God as either male or female in the same
sense that we consider mammals as male or female. Rather God’s characteristics resemble both
sexes. (2) In no way does the Word of
God imply that men are more like God than women are. (3) The word pictures we have of God are meant
to allow us to relate and communicate to Him more effectively.
don’t miss this ~ Do you marvel in the fact that you were
created in God’s image?
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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