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Male and Female Created He Them
(A consideration of the God-ordained positions of man and woman.)
No.1.
Order.
pp. 89 - 93
The creation of mankind was the topstone of God's work in the earth, after which He
could pronounce upon all that He had made, "It is very good" (Gen. 1: 31). The superior
position of man over the rest of that creation was shown in that he was created "in the
image of God" and given "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1: 27, 28; Psa. 8: 4-8).
But mankind was created "male and female", and it is quite evident from Scripture
that God ordained a relationship between the two sexes, according to His own purpose,
which just as much reflected His desire for order, as did the subjection of the animal
creation under man as a whole, in God's "very good" creation.
That relationship, which far transcended any that existed between male and female of
other creatures, has alas been misunderstood, abused, degraded and challenged by all
manner of persons. The tendency of the past has been largely toward treating the woman
as very inferior to the man (this being still so in some parts of the world), but the
pendulum has now swung too far. The God-given position of the man is now being
undermined (under the much bandied about terms of "equality" and "emancipation"), and
disaster can only be the outcome.
To stand against the modern tendency is to be branded as old-fashioned,
unenlightened and denying the equality of womanhood, and the unpopularity of such a
position is inclined to influence men against their better judgment. Surely, it is
sometimes argued, if a woman can do a job as well as (or even better than) a man, then it
must be right that she should do it? But this is not the ground upon which the right
relationship between the sexes ought to be determined, at least not for the believer. There
can be but one appeal for him, "What saith the Scripture?" This then must be the sole
source from which the respective positions of "male and female", and their relationship to
each other, is judged, and it will be the only ground of argument presented in this series
of articles.
Kosmos
It is clear from a reading of Scripture, that whatever else God desires it must
include order. Disorder and lawlessness are quite contrary to His purposes in any part of
His creation, but they have come in with the entrance of sin; in fact "sin is lawlessness"
(I John 3: 4 R.V.). Such a desire for order on the part of God is seen in the word
kosmos, "world", behind which word is the idea of regular disposition and arrangement.