To approach a subject so profound and delicate as gender and sexuality, particularly within the Christian understanding, one must begin at the very origin of human history: the creation of the first people by God. The account of this creation is found in the opening chapters of Genesis.
After recounting the formation of the heavens and the earth, verse twenty-seven declares: "So God made man; in the image of God He made him; male and female He made them" (Gen. 1:27). In Hebrew, the verse reads:
וַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם׃
Within this passage, two terms demand our careful attention:
First, נְקֵבָ֖ה — neqebah — signifies "female" or "woman".
Second, זָכָ֥ר — zakar — signifies "male" or "man".
The latter term, zakar, will feature prominently in debates surrounding Scripture, though here it simply refers to Adam, the first human. It is a term closely linked to biological reality, applied in the description of animals (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3) as well as young boys. In Jeremiah 20:15, for example, it is used of a "son": "A child is born to you, a son!" Similarly, neqebah denotes females in both human and animal contexts.
The term zakar is used to denote adult men in the Scriptures, whether warriors departing Egypt (Joshua 5:4) or priests performing sacred duties (Lev. 7:6). It is applied to matters of lineage, firstborns, and census. Likewise, neqebah is used for women in contexts of family and moral responsibility, as in Jeremiah 31:23 and Numbers 31:15–16: "You have kept alive every female? Behold, these women caused the Israelites, by the word of Balaam, to be in apostasy against YHWH..."
These terms are rooted in biology, in the observable distinction of the sexes, yet Scripture at times allows their meaning to overlap with what we might now call gender. The two are intertwined, intimately linked, and in the biblical worldview, they are inseparable.
This intertwining is reflected in the commands regarding conduct. Deuteronomy 22:5 declares: "A woman shall not wear a man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God." Here we see a clear boundary between the sexes. If gender were merely a matter of expression, such a command would have no foundation. It is the biological reality that undergirds the moral instruction: one sex does not assume the garb of the other, nor can one exist in a liminal state between the two.
The early Church Fathers understood this distinction. St. Cyprian of Carthage, writing in 246 A.D., observed: "Men are emasculated, and all the and vigour of their sex is effeminated in the disgrace of their enervated body; and he is most pleasing there who has most completely broken down the man into the woman."
Consequently, the Church regards cross-dressing or transitioning contrary to biological sex as sinful. Yet the Church also recognises the inner struggle, the feeling of dissonance that may arise in the human mind. Experiencing gender dysphoria, harbouring desires or thoughts at odds with one's physical sex, is not itself sin. Sin arises when one acts contrary to the sex God has granted. The Church addresses such persons individually, with pastoral care aimed at salvation rather than condemnation.
Returning to the design of God in matters of sexuality, Genesis chapter two elaborates upon the formation of Eve from Adam's rib. She is taken from him to serve as his companion. Adam proclaims: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Gen. 2:23).
The narrative continues: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). Here, the Hebrew ishshah denotes "wife" or "woman", while iysh denotes "man" or "husband". These terms are often interchangeable in Scripture (Gen. 3:6; 3:16; 16:3; 29:32; Lev. 21:7; Num. 5:19), emphasising the intimate link between sex, marital union, and human vocation.
Biologically, the woman was taken from Adam, named according to her sex, and became his wife when joined with him as "one flesh". This union foreshadows the institution of marriage: the coming together of male and female, the fruitful and multiplying of humanity, something only achievable within heterosexual union.
Our Lord Jesus confirms this pattern, responding to questions regarding divorce: "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Mk. 10:5–9).
Human sexuality, designed by God, is inherently ordered toward the opposite sex. St. Paul echoes this in Romans 1:26–27: "For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." The nature of woman is to be with her husband, and the nature of man with his wife.
The Old Testament similarly affirms this: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination" (Lev. 18:22) and "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination" (Lev. 20:13a). Here, the use of zakar, iysh, and ishshah highlights the moral order: deviation from God's design in sexuality and sacred matrimony is condemned.
Attraction itself, whether homosexual or otherwise, is not sinful. Sin arises when these inclinations are acted upon, in mind or body, whether in fantasy or in deed. The Creator's design for humanity is to be honoured, not altered at whim, and the covenant of sexuality is fulfilled only in accordance with that design.
This chapter, therefore, lays the foundation for understanding God's intention in creation, gender, and sexuality. Subsequent chapters will explore related matters in greater depth.
Afterword
I anticipate that some readers may wish to point to laws concerning shellfish or fabrics. These matters will be addressed in a separate chapter. For now, I ask you to follow the argument here, withholding judgment until the full exposition has been presented.
Sources
"Strong's Hebrew: 376. אִישׁ (iysh) -- Man, Husband." Bible Hub.
"Strong's Hebrew: 802. אִשָּׁה (ishshah) -- Woman, Wife." Bible Hub.
"Strong's Hebrew: 2147. זָכָר (zakar) -- Male, Man." Bible Hub.
"Strong's Hebrew: 5347. נְקֵבָה (neqebah) -- Female, Woman". Bible Hub.
Ambrose of Milan. Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, Book VI. Translated by Robert Ernest Wallis, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
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LGBT+ and the Church
SpiritualThis book will be addressing the LGBT+ issues and the Church. The primary chapters will discuss God's design, the sin and reasoning, and more, and will eventually begin going into a question series. In the question segment, it will address questions...
