{"id":5804,"date":"2016-03-05T16:12:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-05T22:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/?p=5804"},"modified":"2016-03-05T16:12:22","modified_gmt":"2016-03-05T22:12:22","slug":"session-4-recap-strachan-gender-manhood-and-womanhood-in-christ-as-our-true-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/2016\/03\/session-4-recap-strachan-gender-manhood-and-womanhood-in-christ-as-our-true-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Session 4 Recap: Strachan, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gender: Manhood and Womanhood in Christ as Our True Identity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Dave Bruskas is the Lead Pastor at North Church<\/a>, Albuquerque, NM.\u00c2\u00a0He is a member of the Albuquerque Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. This post is a summary of Owen Strachan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s message from Saturday morning at Clarus<\/a>, March 5, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gender: Manhood and Womanhood in Christ as Our True Identity.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n

We are in a confused age.\u00c2\u00a0 Facebook has over fifty gender options, and as Christians we know that\u00c2\u00a0God has not left us to wonder what or who we are. He has given two very clear realities: we are created either male or female. The two gender distinctives are owed to the very mind of God as he has designed and given us gender complementarity as a good gift to be embraced and celebrated. Owen Strachan gave seven thoughts regarding biblical complementarity in the fourth session of Clarus 16.<\/p>\n

First, complementarity shows us what we were made for.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 Genesis 2:5-9; 18-25 provides this framework. God creates the woman out of the lack of Adam.\u00c2\u00a0 She is needed. The man and the woman have separate roles as identity markers, and these distinctive roles and identities are foundational to the biblical understanding of gender.\u00c2\u00a0 These roles are different but complementary. \u00c2\u00a0Before the Fall, there is no competition between the genders, as they are interdependent.\u00c2\u00a0 There is harmony and joy, and God declares this good. We\u00c2\u00a0are not a man or woman because of a bio-evolutionary fluke–we are a man or woman because God made us that way.<\/p>\n

Second, complementarity helps us understand our sinful instincts as men and women.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 Genesis 3:1-7 reveals that Satan has always been about destroying womanhood.\u00c2\u00a0 He is repeating his scheme from the garden in our culture today.\u00c2\u00a0 He does so by tempting Eve to disobey the Word of God.\u00c2\u00a0The ground for all gender dysphoria, conflict, and sexual brokenness begins at the Fall in Genesis 3.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Women, like Eve, are tempted to disobey God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Word, and yet God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inquiry found in Genesis 3:8-13 makes it plain that the man is responsible to lead the woman.\u00c2\u00a0 Men, like Adam, will be tempted to refuse responsibility.<\/p>\n

Third, complementarity provides us a script for our lives.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Women are called to have a uniquely feminine spirit. \u00c2\u00a0While women are not precluded from working outside of the home, their vocation is that of raising children and helping their husbands. Women have a green light to use their gifts to serve the church in alignment with God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s design. \u00c2\u00a0Likewise, God does not want men to waste away their 20s; he wants most men to courageously win a woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heart and start a family. A good and godly father does not ask the culture, or even a great youth pastor, to raise his child. A good and godly father leads his family to the glory of God. True manhood is all about drawing near to God and treating women respectfully in absolute purity.<\/p>\n

Fourth, complementarity tells us what our marriages most need.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 Because of Adam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fall, none of us are compatible in marriage.\u00c2\u00a0 Complementarity revealed in Ephesians 5:22-33 paints the purest picture of Jesus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 love for his church.\u00c2\u00a0 Differences between married partners are best worked out through this framework.<\/p>\n

Fifth, complementarity drives us to invest in the church\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It teaches us that men are to be elders in the church.\u00c2\u00a0 Scripture requires complementarity standards be satisfied by church elders ( I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9).\u00c2\u00a0 The preparation for eldership begins with boys and girls learning to be what it practically means to be biblical men and women. If we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t teach our children what it means to be a man and a woman, the culture will gladly step in.<\/p>\n

Sixth, complementarity speaks a better word about sex than secularism<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 We are living in a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fifty Shades of Grey\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sexual culture that causes confusion and leads to abuse. \u00c2\u00a0This results in tremendous social and psychological damage.\u00c2\u00a0 The biblical vision of sex is grounded in complementarity and good pleasure as a gift from God.<\/p>\n

Seventh, complementarity helps us appreciate the God-given gift of singleness.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 Jesus Christ is the example par excellence<\/em> as he was a fully-fulfilled human being who also remained single.\u00c2\u00a0 Single people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become complete or full-fledged Christians through marriage\u00c2\u00a0becuase Christians are\u00c2\u00a0already completed through his or her identity in Christ.<\/p>\n

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Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:\u00c2\u00a0Dave Bruskas is the Lead Pastor at North Church, Albuquerque, NM.\u00c2\u00a0He is a member of the Albuquerque… Continue Reading ›<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[68],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5805,"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5804\/revisions\/5805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desertspringschurch.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}