In order to provide biblical answers to important questions of our day, we have begin a series of short FAQs. This set of articles aims to provide simple, biblical answers to some of the more difficult challenges Christianity faces today.
In this first FAQ, we answer three important questions: what does it mean to be a person? Should we distinguish between gender and biological sex? And lastly, how can we help a person whose biological sex is ambiguous?
Nothing here is meant to provide comprehensive pastoral advice. But we hope to provide starting points for personal discipleship and crisp thoughts to aid pastors in their care of the flocks whom God has given them.
What Does It Mean to Be a Person?
A person is a being made in God’s image, reflecting His glory and rule uniquely (Gen 1:26–27). All people have inherent dignity, called to be fruitful and govern creation wisely. As rational and relational beings, we can think, love, and worship. Though sin mars this image, it remains in all people. In Christ, the perfect image-bearer, we see our true calling, and through Him, we are being restored to rightly reflect God’s glory.[1]
People don’t exist only in the world of theoretical ideas; all of us are specifically men or women. When creating people, God made both male and female bodies. Everyone has a soul that is matched to a male or female body. To be a human person then means to always be a male or a female person, and with that comes specific abilities, gifts, and roles for each gender.
Should We Distinguish Between Gender And Biological Sex?
Sex refers to our biological nature as male or female, as God created us with distinct bodies and chromosomes. Gender has come to mean how one feels or expresses being male or female. Some now separate sex from gender, leading to the popularization of ideas like transgenderism. Many now believe gender identity is one’s true self, regardless of biology. But as Christians, we believe our biological sex defines who we are, for God created us male and female, as Scripture teaches (Gen 1:27). Our biological sex is our gender, given by God at creation.[2]
Having a male or female body means being part of a group, like brothers or sisters, who we can learn from and to whom we can contribute our own unique way of being male or female. Living out our gender adorns our biological sex. This includes the relationships that we have with others as well as the time and culture that we find ourselves in. So, while gender is based on our biological sex, the way we express it can vary depending on different situations and places. However, this expression is such that men and women can typically recognize each other as men and women, no matter the context. This is because while cultural expressions of gender roles may vary, the fundamental differences between male and female are rooted in creation and are universal.[3]
How Can We Help a Person Whose Biological Sex Is Ambiguous?
There are rare cases where people have an unclear biological sex. The church must respond here in compassion and care for such a trial, leaving the matter ultimately in the hands of our only wise God. The church should also carefully help such a person to discern their mode of personhood through which God has gifted them to serve their neighbours.
[1] Ligonier Ministries. (2024). A Field Guide on Gender and Sexuality. Ligonier Ministries. Pgs. 5-10.
[2] Ligonier Ministries. (2024). A Field Guide on Gender and Sexuality. Ligonier Ministries. Pgs. 24-26.
[3] “More generally, the body has great prominence in Christian thought. The story of the creation of man and woman is the story of the construction of bodies. The story of the gospel is largely a story of things that happened to Christ’s body: conceived by the Spirit, born of the virgin, baptised by John, transfigured on the Mount, symbolically distributed at the Last Supper, crucified under Pilate, died, buried in the tomb, raised by the Spirit on the third day, caught up into heaven at the Ascension. The materiality, the objectivity, and the givenness of the body precedes and grounds our self-consciousness, activity, and self-determination. The body isn’t just something that clothes the self, but is itself the self. Our bodies have been claimed by God, visibly marked out for resurrection in the rite of baptism. Our bodies must be presented to God at their root, as the limbs and organs that provide the basis for the entire superstructure of the self. We don’t just have bodies that enable us to act: we are embodied selves and our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. There is a unity between internal and external in the body, our interiority being inseparably connected with our exteriority,” Roberts, Alaistair. “The Music and the Meaning of Male and Female.” Primer. Accessed July 13, 2024. https://primerhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/primer-03-the-music-and-the-meaning-of-male-and-female.pdf.
This FAQ and others like it have had many hands contribute to it. We also used AI tools to help us ensure precision in language and clarity of expression as we cite sources.
