Genesis and Gender Dysphoria
At the climax of creation as the crowning achievement of all He had designed, God created the human being—male and female—to image and represent Himself.
The pattern for the male and female genders came out of God Himself—completely original, perfect, and pure.
Do you remember from Chapter 2 that Moses was not to take his pattern for the construction of the tabernacle from anything around him or from his memory of architecture in Egypt? God took him to a mountain, apart from any other influence, and gave him the pattern for the tabernacle. In the same way, the pattern for the male and female genders originated with God but was far more sacred and unprecedented.
When Jesus was questioned on the subject of marriage, He didn’t go back to the law for His standard. He went back further yet—to creation. In the same way, for clarity regarding sex and gender, we need to follow Jesus’ example and go back to creation.
Separating the Sexes
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
What was the beginning for the male and female sexes? True, they were created on the sixth day, but is there more to be understood about their creation?
As we read above, Genesis 1:27 gives the final outcome of God’s creation of male and female. However, Genesis 2 reiterates and adds a few details to the creation story. Then, verse 4 begins to break down the process for creating man and woman.
To gain more insight about this process, let’s take a look at the Hebrew language that gives us intriguing clues. There are two Hebrew words translated man in the scripture we’re studying. The first one ha’adam [1] means the human or humanity. Humanity, as we know, includes both sexes. The other word, Ish, is translated man and means a male. Another word that is marked in the scripture below is the Hebrew word ishsha [2] or isha which is translated woman.
Now, let’s read in Genesis below in light of this.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all his work which God had created and made. This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in He Made Them Male and Female the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man [the human] of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man [the human] became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man [the human] whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. Then the Lord God took the man [the human] and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man [the human], saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man [this human] should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, brought them to Adam [the human] to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam [the human] called every living creature, that was its name. So Adam [the human] gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam [the human] there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam [the human], and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man [the human] He made into a woman [ish], and He brought her to the man [the human]. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman [ishsha or isha], Because she was taken out of Man” [the word here is not ha’adam but ‘ish]. (Genesis 2:1-23)
Basically, what stands out from reading the text with these words marked is that the being God initially created was a human that contained both male and female. After this human had named the animals, it was evident that among the animals there was nothing compatible to the human. So, God performed an operation on the human and separated the female from the male—creating two distinct sexes.
It may be noted here that the sex chromosomes support this “separation.” Male is XY while female is XX. God obviously took the X chromosome from the first human to form an XX counterpart—Eve.
Actually, separating the female from the male was not the first time God separated something while creating. Separation was a part of God’s creative process on three other days as well. Let’s take note of the separation that happened on the first, second, and fourth days of creation that perhaps are overlooked. While reading these verses, look particularly at the italicized words.
Day 1 – “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness ‘night.’ And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5 NLT).
Day 2 – “Then God said, ‘Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.’ And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space ‘sky.’ And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day” (Genesis 1:6-8 NLT).
Day 4 – “Then God said, ‘Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.’ And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19 NLT).
On day six after God performed an operation on the human He made, separating the female from the male. Then God brought the woman to the man, who says this:
“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ [ishsha or isha] because she was taken out of ‘man’ [the word here is not ha’adam but ‘ish].” (Genesis 2:23 NLT)
Again, quite literally, the woman had been bone [3] of his bone and flesh of his flesh until woman was taken out of man. God took one human being and made two distinct sexes. Now notice the next two verses:
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man [the human] and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:24-25)
Sexual intercourse makes them one again. Even though the act of sex can be expressed in a myriad of ways other than exclusively between man and woman in marriage, it still remains that it is only when male and female come together in intercourse that the human race continues naturally—without medical assistance and intervention.
The Genesis Pattern
Think about this from the devil’s standpoint. If the devil’s goal was to deface and desecrate the image of God that he saw in the human, he would need to begin by spiritually separating man from God. Then the devil went on to fracture what is essentially the epicenter of our human identity: the male and female genders. (I’m not referring to sexual orientation but only to the way a person identifies with and expresses his or her particular sex.)
Going all the way back to the Creator and His divine pattern for the male and female He designed is the only way to have real clarity regarding sex and gender identity without prejudice, bias, and bigotry.
What was in the mind of the Creator when he made humans in the first place?
Genesis 1:27 says, “He made them male and female.” That’s all. Just male and female.
The sex chromosomes—either XX or XY—are given at conception, and how the baby develops before birth determines the sex identified when the baby is born.
Of course, like every other area, the fall made way for fractures in this area to God’s original pattern, and there are numerous chromosomal and developmental anomalies that impact the development of the sex organs. These are commonly called intersex [4] conditions or disorders in sexual development. They happen either at conception or during the baby’s development during gestation and are not at all the same as transgenderism and homosexuality and don’t in and of themselves affect sexual orientation.
Even considering these anomalies in sex development, by the time a baby is born the sex of the child is established. The appearance of a person’s sex can be surgically altered and hormonally modified to change specific physical development and functions. Even the paths in the brain can be forged and developed to express another gender. [5] Still, that person’s sex, determined by their DNA [6] at the time of their conception, is stamped into every cell of their body and remains the same in spite of all modifications.
Male or Female Identity
Apart from a person’s spirit, there is nothing more core to his or her identity than his or her sex. At birth, a baby’s sex is sometimes even more apparent than the baby’s race and is usually the first thing identified—even before eye color and which parents’ hands, nose, and ears the babe has. A person’s age, health, state of mind, personality, talents, education, environment, social standing, and financial status are marks that characterize them. But all of these can fluctuate and none even come close to the way that a person’s sex and gender define their identity.
When a person’s thoughts and feelings don’t portray their sex, it causes a horrible internal conflict, often heightened at puberty. When the body and soul are at odds with each other, there is gender confusion or dysphoria. [7] It is not surprising that people who suffer the confusion of a body that is one gender, but have feelings and thinking of the other gender, can be so tormented they don’t even want to live. Perhaps you or someone you know has experienced this. Misunderstanding and ignorance in this area opens the door to shame and fear, which are perfect ingredients for the devil to torment and bind a person.
There can be a variety of reasons why a person becomes disoriented regarding the sex he or she was conceived and born as. Many of those reasons are intimate, some even tragic, while for others it is a temporary phase. We must delve into God’s original plan for man and woman before the fall—before anything tragic happened. What did the Creator intend for us to look and be like? How can knowing this help?
Personal opinions and experiences may be impacting, but they don’t shine light on the subject. Psalm 119:130 says that the entrance of God’s Word gives light. The absolute truth that is free from bias and prejudice can only be found in the One who is the Truth and in His words. To experience redemption and reconciliation to God’s original intent, a person must first know what it is and then accept it as truth. Truth confronts but never condemns or binds. It makes a person free.
Sadly, the sinister plan of the devil against God and His image on the earth—male and female—worked really well. However, God also had a plan for redemption. As clever as the devil’s plan was, God’s plan to redeem mankind in every way he was damaged was even more brilliant.
Redemption truly means so much more than simply being saved so you go to heaven when you die. Let the scope of redemption include everything that was broken in the fall and everything that required redemption so it can be returned to its original intention. If you can find something in any area of life—spirit, soul, and body—that doesn’t image or represent God, there’s redemption for it. Total redemption!
Second Corinthians 5:17 says all things become new for the one who is a new creation in Christ. Do you suppose God really means all things? And if so, wouldn’t that include any challenges regarding gender? Yes! Redemption even includes something as core as any fractured characteristics of our sex and gender as well.
Notes:
1. Adam can mean human and humanity. The Hebrew word adam can mean human being and not necessarily a male human being. For instance, in the Hebrew of Genesis 5:2, humankind—both men and women—are referred to as adam by God. In Genesis 1:27, it says, “God created humankind (ha’adam) in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” In Genesis 2, the first human is fairly consistently referred to as ha’adam (הָאָדָם ,(especially before the “operation.” https:// margmowczko.com/human-man-woman-genesis-2/
2. Was the first human being male? In Genesis 2 we read the creation account of the first human being. In many English translations of Genesis 2, the first human is simply called “man”. This “man” is understood by most people as referring to a male human rather than to a generic human. However, in the Hebrew text, the first “man” is not specifically referred to as a male human (ish) until after the “operation” mentioned in Genesis 2:21-22 when a part, or side, is taken out of him. After the “operation,” the now undoubtedly male human sees the female human and says, “This one is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh! She will be called ‘woman’ (ishshah) because she was taken out of ’man’ (ish) (Gen. 2:23). The first woman (ishshah) and the first man (ish) may have both been a part of, or one side of, the first human being (ha’adam). http://margmowczko.com/human-man-woman-genesis-2/
3. Strong’s Concordance: rib, side. Original Word: צְלָעֹת – NAS Exhaustive Concordance: rib, side. NASB Translation: boards (3), chambers (1), hillside* (1), leaves (1), one...another (1), rib (1), ribs (1), side (15), side chamber (1), side chambers (10), sides (5), walls (1). http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6763.htm
4. intersex – What does intersex mean? A variety of conditions that lead to atypical development of physical sex characteristics are collectively referred to as intersex conditions. These conditions can involve abnormalities of the external genitals, internal reproductive organs, sex chromosomes or sex-related hormones. Intersex was originally a medical term that was later embraced by some intersex persons. Many experts and persons with intersex conditions have recently recommended adopting the term disorders of sex development (DSD). They feel that this term is more accurate and less stigmatizing than the term intersex. American Psychological Association. http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex
4.B. Katie Baratz – Growing Up Intersex HC: Can you tell us what intersex is not? KB: Intersex, as the name disorders of sex development implies, is a medical condition. Intersex is not the same as transgenderism or gender dysphoria and has very little correlation with sexual orientation. https://www.haverford.edu/college-communications/news/growing-intersex-going-oprah
5. “The surprising truth is that every single thought—whether positive or negative—goes through the same cycle when it forms. Thoughts are basically electrical impulses, chemical reactions, and neurons. They look like a tree with branches. As the thoughts grow and become permanent, more branches grow, and the connections become stronger. As we change our thinking, some branches go away, new ones form, the strength of the connections change, and the memories network with other thoughts. What an incredible capacity of the brain to change and rewire and grow! Spiritually, this is renewing the mind. Who Switched Off My Brain, Dr. Caroline Leaf. Distributed by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Copyright ©Dr. Caroline Leaf, Southlake TX, 2009, pp19 -20. Used by permission.
6. People had long philosophized about the observed differences between males and females of a species. If one considers sex a trait, or set of traits, then it followed that sex is inherited. In 1905, closer study of meiosis revealed the chromosomal basis of gender. Scientists noticed an oddball pair among the homologous chromosomes lined up at the cell equator during reduction division. One chromosome (X) was much bigger than the other (Y). In human beings, this mismatched pair of one X and one Y chromosome is seen exclusively in male cells. A matched pair of X chromosomes is found in female cells. Thus, XX chromosomes determine femaleness, and XY chromosomes determine maleness. Females produce only eggs with X chromosomes; males produce sperm with an X or a Y chromosome. http://www.dnaftb.org/9/
7. Gender Dysphoria – Gender dysphoria involves a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify. People with gender dysphoria may be very uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned, sometimes described as being uncomfortable with their body (particularly developments during puberty) or being uncomfortable with the expected roles of their assigned gender. People with gender dysphoria may often experience significant distress and/or problems functioning associated with this conflict between the way they feel and think of themselves (referred to as experienced or expressed gender) and their physical or assigned gender. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria