When it comes to God and the mystery of his ways, perhaps nothing is more intriguing than his reason behind the creation of man and woman. In Genesis 1, God created man as ‘imago Dei,’ or in his own image. Then, out of man he created woman so that man would not be alone. Just as God did not have to create man, he could just as well have chosen not to continue on to create woman. The fact that God created both man and woman as ‘imago Dei’ shows that there is a distinct essence at work within the Trinity as both genders are created in God’s image and of the same essence. For the Creator to have designed two, complementary counterparts as a reflection of his being illumines us to the reality that there is a more complex, special relationship between not only the Trinity but creation as well. That being said, what does this element of creation say about God’s character? How exactly is the concept of gender representative of the Holy Trinity?
The first thing that must be considered is the fact that there is a distinct difference between the Creator and his creation. As gender is a reflection of a specific type of relationship within the Holy Trinity, it would work against one’s favor to view this idea anthropocentrically. That being said, gender in this context must be viewed as the reflection and not the ideal.
Recommended for you
With the Creator/creature distinction in mind, the first aspect that will be discussed is the idea of gender as a gift from God. Scripture often refers to both men and women as image bearers for God (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 5:1-2; Col. 3:10). Therefore, just as the the Trinity works together as three parts but one entity, so do men and women complement each other. This reveals that both genders not only have a special, biblical tie to each other, but they reflect a part of the Trinitarian nature. Author Sam Andreades discusses the gift of the genders as a constituent of the image of God in his theological book, "enGendered." He analyzes the relationship between men and women in regard to the Creator’s design and how the two genders are essentially of the same spirit. More specifically, Andreades discusses concepts such as the purpose of gender being to foster intimacy. He argues that this is because God’s internal being experiences intimacy. Thus, one of gender’s main purposes is to reflect the intimate relationship of the Trinity (Andreades, pg. 154). In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul claims that intimacy is the purpose of inter gendered marriage. Along with this, Scripture also directs us to the “three in one” of God as having an intimate, connected relationship (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:13-14; Mark 12:35-37; Prov. 8:30). To go further, Scripture also reveals that God has a desire to share himself and his intimacy with his people (Matt. 11:27; John 14:23). We see this not only in passages which tell us of how God longs for us to know him in the way he intended (John 17:3), but in passages using marriage as a model for Christ’s love (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23).The fact that marriage is used as an illustration for God’s love between himself and his people as well as a reflection of the intimacy shared amongst the Trinity gives us a bit more insight regarding the purpose behind the design of two genders. It reveals the Creator’s desire for us to be closely intimate with him as well as with each other as he intended. The purpose of the two genders is to reflect this intimacy of God’s relationship with himself as well as with his people. Still, there is much more to be discussed in regard to the divine gift and purpose of gender. Before going further, it would perhaps be best to take a look back on the creation of man and woman as described in Genesis.
In regard to God’s creation of gender distinction as a gift, the circumstance of man not only being created, but matched to the likeness of a divine entity is very unique in itself. In the book, "Women, Creation, and the Fall,"the author expresses the significance of such an event. She (the author) states, “for the first time a ‘consultation’ took place regarding creation...Scripture represents God conferring with the other persons of the Godhead before going ahead with man’s creation. This in itself proclaims the distinction of humans from the rest of creation (Kassian, 1990, pg. 15).” This quote alone summarizes how perfectly unique and intentional God’s creation of man was. The Creator took what would appear to be ‘extra’ care and consideration as he deliberately designed our being apart from the rest of creation. It was intended that human beings would reflect the image of God in their moral, intellectual, and spiritual likeness to him (Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24, 1 Cor. 11:7). However, God did not stop with man as he went on to create woman soon after.
When God spoke his final judgement upon seeing creation, he described what he had done as very good. However, there is one time in particular where we see the Creator evaluating a situation which he deemed “not good.” This was prior to the creation of woman as Adam was without companionship in the Garden (Kassian, 1990, pg. 17). So God made for man a helper as it was not consistent with man’s happiness to be alone (Gen. 2:20). This leads us to ask the question, “why was it inconsistent with man’s happiness that he was alone?” As mentioned in previous paragraphs, we clearly see that prior to creating man, God “conferred with the other persons of the Godhead.” This is one of the first indications we have of the Creator as not just one, singular entity, but as being made up of three, distinct parts. Therefore, there is a relational component at work as we see God ‘consulting’ the other parts of his being. In addition, this could possibly be giving insight to the complex nature of the relationship between man and woman as both genders are distinct but still in God’s image and of his essence (Gen. 1:27). Since the Trinity is “three in one,” yet a whole being at the same time, we conclude that there is one essence but also three separate “persons.” The book of Genesis describes man and woman in a similar light as each gender has a distinct purpose and role. At the same time, they both contain the essence of God as they are imago Dei. That being said, this is just one of the possible ways gender could be seen as a reflection of the Trinitarian relationship.
In "An Interpretation of Evangelical Gender Ideology: Implications for a Theology of Gender," the author discusses the traditional model of male headship in the familial context and the domestic role of the female. He analyzes the model through the lens of critical theory, discussing why this concept is the traditional model when it comes to the identity of man and woman in family (pg. 185). In Genesis 1:27, Scripture describes both male and female as created in the image of God. Still, there are direct implications from certain passages in Genesis that give us insight regarding the male headship and the role of the female.
Genesis 2:21-22 describes the process by which God created Eve from Adam. Not only was Eve intended to be a helper for Adam (Gen. 2:18), but she was created directly from him. This leads us to question, “why did God create Eve out of Adam as opposed to creating her from dust as well (Gen. 2:7)?” She was created from man, after man. Therefore, we can conclude that God had a specific design when it came to gender roles and male/female relationships. While both genders are of the same spirit (as illustrated in Gen. 2:18), the female was created second and out of the male. That being said, it is clear that according to the Adam and Eve model, the male was intended to be the head of the relationship while the woman was to be the complementary helper. Just as woman is described as man’s “helper” in Genesis, there are instances when the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the same light (John 15:26). Just as there is a headship and complementary role when it comes to man and woman, so is there a similar dynamic between the different parts of the Trinity. In both the male and female relationship and the Trinitarian relationship, there is a difference in role but identical essence in Spirit.
