Man and Woman by God’s Design | Voddie Baucham

Genesis 1:26 – Understanding the Creation of Man and Woman

As we conclude today, please open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 1. I want to begin by expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of this conference. I would also like to commend the founders for organizing this exceptional event, especially after facing the challenges brought by the hurricane. The hurricane caused a significant delay in preparations, but despite losing months of planning, they regrouped and made this conference happen. We should be thankful to God and to the team for their hard work in making this possible.

A couple of days ago, Tom and I reminisced about my first experience at a Founders event. At that time, I wasn’t sure if I’d be invited back, but thankfully, I was—and it was an incredible experience.

In this final session, I want to revisit Genesis 1 and examine the foundational truth about humanity as male and female. As Brother Paul mentioned during the Q&A, Genesis 1 is where God establishes key truths about our identity, His nature, and the world He created. These foundational truths are under attack from multiple angles today. I will explore at least one of these attacks, and I warn you that it may be uncomfortable. However, it is crucial to understand who our adversary is and what he is trying to undermine. We will conclude with some practical implications.

Genesis 1:26-27
In Genesis 1, starting at verse 26, we read:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the livestock, all the Earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them.”

This verse may seem simple, but it is far from non-controversial in today’s world. The idea that God created us as male and female is often challenged, but it remains an essential truth.

Genesis 2:15-25
Moving to Genesis 2, we read more deeply into the creation of man and woman:
“God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.’”

Then God said, “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him.” God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens, bringing them to Adam to see what he would name them. But for Adam, there was no helper found. So, God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took one of his ribs, and made it into a woman, bringing her to the man. Adam said, “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.”

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother, hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Meaning of Marriage and Gender
While the Bible does not require every man to be married, it does emphasize that understanding what it means to be a man and a woman cannot be fully comprehended without recognizing the significance of marriage. God introduces the concept of male and female in this foundational context of marriage, establishing it as an essential part of our identity.