The gender you were born with is the handiwork of God, and no matter what you declare or do, you can’t change it. But there is another gender battle being fought in our culture and churches: What is true masculinity and femininity? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: Genesis 2:18-23
TITLE:   Equal Yet Different: True Masculinity and Femininity
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: True masculinity and femininity are experienced when men and women cherish and embrace their God-given roles in the home and church. 

POINTS:
1. God created Adam before Eve
2. God formed Eve out of Adam
3. God created Eve for Adam

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”The gender you were born with is the handiwork of God, and no matter what you declare or do, you can’t change it. But there is another gender battle being fought in our culture and churches: What is true masculinity and femininity?”

“[However] you choose to say it, our culture has a one-word response—TOXIC! Sadly, we live in a society actively erasing, not blurring; blurring is yesterday’s news, erasing any sense of gender differences. To even consider differences is increasingly intolerant and intolerable. Even in the church, the glorious truth of Complementarianism is rapidly becoming extinct.” 

“Our website says: We believe it was God’s glorious plan to create men and women in His image, giving them equal dignity and value in His sight while appointing differing and complementary roles for them within the home and the church. I pray we will never loosen our grip on our Complementarian Convictions. That is the focus of our current series and our text today: men and women are equal yet different.”

“This Created Order matters. In the OT, the firstborn assumed the leadership role in the family for his generation. In general, that pattern remains today.”

“In verse 7, we read that God formed Adam out of dust and breathed life into him. But Eve was created differently. Woman originated from man. God fashioned her from Adam’s rib. That matters for two reasons. First, they had equality in nature and personhood. Look at Adam’s description of Eve in verse 23—bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Unlike the animals, the woman shared Adam’s human nature, created in the image of God. Second, being fashioned differently than Adam highlights the difference in roles.”

“Up to this point in the creation narrative, we are used to hearing, and it was good. God creates, and it is good. So it is a bit jarring to hear God say—It is not good. In this case, the ‘not good’ is man being alone. It’s not that God miscalculated or underestimated Adam’s ability. God’s design was always man being completed by woman.”

“Adam was lord of the earth, created and called by God to represent and glorify Him through the stewardship of His creation. But he needed a helper. God brought all the animals to Adam, but none of them were fit to help. None were his equal. None shared his nature. None caused affections to grow in his heart. Dogs may be a man’s best friend, but they don’t complement us.”

“God put Adam in a deep sleep and formed Eve out of his rib to be his helper. This is the first description of the woman’s role in the Bible. It implies Adam was lacking something. Being alone was not good for him; he needed someone to assist and support him. He needed a helper, notice the end of verse 20—fit for him.” 

“Eve was not a male. She was not a clone. Her biology and body were different. Her psychology was different. Her physiology was different. Yet, the woman was not inferior to Adam. She shared his nature as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. She bore the image of God. She was what no other living creature could be—his perfect helpmate. The first woman was created FOR the first man.”

“God is redeeming gender differences through the gospel. This reality reflects the relationships within the Trinity, where we find an eternal equality of personhood and deity, yet with different roles, particularly in redemption.”

“As we allow our minds and hearts to be shaped by Christ’s loving sacrifice for us, we will increasingly embrace that we no longer belong to ourselves but to Jesus, commissioned and empowered to live for his glory, and our gender roles in marriage and the church will follow. Jesus is our authority, our hope, our strength.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
1 Timothy 2:12-13
1 Corinthians 11:8
1 Corinthians 11:9

QUOTES:
John Piper - “At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships….At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a women’s differing relationships.”

Alexander Strauch - “Since the dawn of human civilization, men, not women, have primarily ruled society. Is this by chance? Or is it by design? Why are women seeking liberation and not vice versa? Genesis 2 provides the answer: from the beginning, the Creator shaped the human clay in patriarchal form, not matriarchal or egalitarian form. Adam was the first patriarch.”

Danvers Statement - “Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse. In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husband’s leadership. In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men.”

APPLICATION:
Husbands, the gospel calls you to lead your wives and families with diligence, understanding, initiative, and gentleness, working hard to support and provide for your families. Wives, the gospel claim on your life is to willing and joyfully submit to your husbands with respect, responding to their leadership as you help him build a godly home. When you think gospel mission—this is part of it. It is the fruit and effect of allowing Jesus’ love for you to pour out into your relationships as a light in the darkness.

As men, we stand in grace to lead, protect, and provide. As women, you stand in grace to help, strengthen, and complement. This is True Masculinity and Femininity.

Friends, take courage. Stand in grace. Remain firm in your faith. Model biblical gender with joy. God has clearly spoken. While heaven and earth, culture and governments will all pass away, The Final Word of God remains forever. It’s good. It’s right. It’s beautiful. It’s loving.