Genesis 1:27 - Male and Female, He Created Them

There are some conversations we cannot avoid anymore.

You will hear them at work.
You will hear them among friends.
You may even hear them in church circles.

Questions about identity.
Questions about gender.
Questions about who God is and who we are.

And if we are honest, many of us feel unprepared when those conversations come up. Not because we lack faith or a desire to follow God, but because we have not slowed down enough to let the Word of God answer the questions for us.

Genesis 1:27 is one of those verses we will encounter again and again.

“So God created mankind in His own image,
in the image of God He created them;
male and female He created them.”

This verse is often pulled into debates, arguments, and soundbites. But before it becomes any of that, it is first a declaration of truth from God Himself.

And when the questions get confusing, Scripture must remain our anchor.

In the Hebrew text, the word translated as image is tselem (Gen. 1:26). It does not describe physical appearance or nature. It describes representation. In the ancient world, an image was placed to represent the authority of the one who ruled. Wherever the image stood, it declared who was in charge.

That means Genesis is not saying God is male and female. Scripture never teaches that. God is spirit. God is holy. Sex is a biological aspect of the creation, not the Creator.

What Genesis is telling us is this. Humanity was created to represent God on the earth. To reflect His character. To live under His authority. To have dominion on earth and steward what He has made.

Male and female describe humanity.
They do not describe God.

And Scripture does not leave this undefined or abstract. It immediately gives purpose.

“Be fruitful and multiply.” - Genesis 1:28

Male and female are not arbitrary categories. They are purposeful by design. They exist so that God’s command to multiply, fill the earth, and steward creation can be fulfilled. Without male and female together, that purpose cannot be completed as God intended.

This is not about reducing people to biology. It is about honoring God’s design. In Scripture, purpose always comes before preference. Creation is ordered, intentional, and good.

This matters, because today we will hear many ideas about identity and meaning rooted primarily in personal experience or self-definition. But Scripture points us in a different direction. It tells us that truth begins with God, not with us.

That can feel uncomfortable, especially when culture tells us that love means affirmation without boundaries. But Scripture teaches us that love and truth are never in opposition.

Jesus never avoided hard truths. But He also never used truth to crush people. He used it to invite them into life.

This is why we need the Word of God. Not our feelings. Not cultural trends. Not social pressure. Only the Word of God is steady enough to carry this weight.

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:24

When we encounter these conversations, and we will, we do not respond with fear or condemnation. We respond with humility and confidence. Humility, because we all need grace. Confidence, because God has already spoken.

Genesis 1:27 reminds us that we do not get to redefine what God has created. We get to understand it, receive it, and live within it.

This is not about condemning anyone.
It is about grounding ourselves in truth.

Because when everything else shifts, the Word of God remains.

And it is enough.