Male and Female He Created Them

A number of years ago, I recorded the Westminster Shorter Catechism for Ligonier. The recording was done on a Saturday morning, but lying in bed on the Friday night, I realized I had a problem—not a theological problem but a rhetorical one. Most of us know the first question and answer of that catechism. My problem was, How am I supposed to ask the question? Is it, “What is the chief end of man?” Or, is it, “What is the chief end of man?” Or, “What is the chief end of man?” Or should it rather be, “What is the chief end of man?” In a sense, the answer to my question was surely all of the above. So, my musings underlined for me just how rich this question really is, and the answer is even richer: our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

These words are actually earthed in the opening chapters of the Bible. God, we are told in Genesis 2, made man from the dust of the earth. Incidentally, that’s why it shouldn’t surprise us that we humans have much in common with the other living creatures God brought forth from the earth. But that statement about our origin is set in a larger and more fundamental context.

What God did in the creation of man, as we’ve seen, was to make His image and likeness in a miniature form. And we saw yesterday how vital this truth is, not only for ourselves, but perhaps especially for our young Christians today. But not only does Genesis 2 explain that man was made from the dust, it tells us that God also created the woman—and the story is exquisitely told.

The only “not good” that God noticed in the original creation was that Adam, the man, was all on his own. Why was that a “not good”? Perhaps the reason has already been hinted at, in Genesis 1:26, when God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” God does not dwell in solitude, but in the personal relationships of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The one God is a lone God, but not lonely as God. And so, God made companions for Adam.

First of all, He made wonderful animals. I wonder if you’ve ever played the game, “Name That Tune?” Well, God seems to have had a little fun with Adam in the garden. They had a game of “Name That Animal,” and Genesis 2:19 tells us how God brought the animals and the birds to Adam and asked him to name them. What fun that must have been. But as Genesis 2:20 says, none of them was really a perfect fit for Adam.

And so, God made a woman. The text actually says He built a woman for him. It wasn’t haphazard. She was carefully created, Genesis tells us, out of Adam’s rib. Bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, she was perfectly fitted for him. And when Adam saw her, he knew immediately she was different, but she was just what he needed. Unlike the animals, she was just like him, made, we might say, in his likeness—not identical to him, but like him.

I think that’s one of the things Paul meant when he said, you may remember, in 1 Corinthians 11:7, that man is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. Now, he’s not demeaning women here, as though only men were made as God’s image. No, Genesis teaches us that male and female are made as God’s image. But he’s saying that just as God made Adam to reflect Him as His image and likeness, and therefore to be an expression of His glory—although that is also true of woman—within the special relationship between Adam and Eve, she reflected him, just as, in Adam, God reflected His glory. God showed how marvelous He was by making this man as His image, so, as far as Adam was concerned, Eve was his glory. She was the one who showed his dignity to him.

And this is actually the foundation for all of the biblical teaching on the relationship between a man and a woman. In a way, it’s a description of the first romance, and all romance since then. The man saw the woman and he knew in this woman’s friendship, he would find glory.

I think I’ve mentioned before the Ewan MacColl song sung by Roberta Flack and others: “The first time ever I saw your face, I thought the sun rose in your eyes.” You maybe think that’s the only pop song I actually know. But that’s what Adam must have felt when he saw the woman who was to be his glory. No wonder he wanted to be with her and one with her.

Well, yes, there’s a lot more to say about this, but today, let’s just linger on the wonder of our creation as the image of God, male and female. That difference in unity is basic to our humanity. That’s part of what my friend Glenn Harrison has called our better story. And whether you’re married or not, it’s a difference we were all created to enjoy. That’s why the church, where male and female are one in Christ, is such a glorious place to be.