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Genesis chapter 2 is where we 
will be this morning. 

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And I will just say we're going 
to cover a lot of ground this 

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morning. 
A lot of ground partly because 

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the goal is to finish get up 
through chapter 3 before we 

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begin Advent. 
So, so we're having to tear off 

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some some fairly lengthy 
sections and really what I'm 

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doing this morning could be two 
or three messages actually. 

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So we're going to cover a lot of
ground. 

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And I'm just going to say this 
morning is not politically 

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correct. 
I'm going to say some things 

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that culture at large would 
disagree with things that they 

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would frankly and offensive. 
But scripture is our authority. 

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And if scripture is our 
authority, then it informs our 

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beliefs and stances on cultural 
issues. 

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And I will also say, I think 
this is probably if I was the 

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MPAAI would rate this PGI think 
if I'm thinking correctly about 

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it, I think it's PGI. 
Don't think we're in 13 

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territory this morning. 
I'm, I'm going to be vague on, 

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on a number of things because 
there's no need to be specific, 

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but just a fair warning that 
this is APG message. 

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So parents, my apologies for any
conversations that may, that may

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come up this afternoon. 
So if you are able, would you 

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stand as we read from Genesis 
chapter 2, beginning at verse 18

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through the end of the chapter, 
Then the Lord God said it is not

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good that the man should be 
alone. 

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I will make him a helper fit for
him. 

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Now out of the ground the Lord 
God had formed every beast of 

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the field and every bird of the 
He would call them, and whatever

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the man called every living 
creature, that was its name. 

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The man gave names to all 
livestock and to the birds of 

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the heavens, and to every beast 
of the field. 

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But for Adam there was not found
a helper fit for him. 

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So the Lord God caused deep 
sleep to fall upon the man, and 

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while he slept took one of his 
ribs and closed up its place 

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with flesh. 
And the rib that the Lord God 

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had taken from the man he made 
into a woman, and he brought her

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to the man. 
The man said This at last is 

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bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh. 

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She shall be called woman, 
because she was taken out of 

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man. 
Therefore a man shall leave his 

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father and his mother and hold 
fast to his wife, and they shall

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become one flesh. 
And the man and his wife were 

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both naked. 
And we're not ashamed. 

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You may be seated. 
We've backtracked. 

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If you notice, we backtracked 
from where you would expect us 

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to be is last week. 
We cover with these verses a 

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little bit, but I wanted to 
backtrack because there's a few 

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points that I want to draw our 
attention to. 

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First of all, here at the 
beginning of the text, we see 

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that the man is alone. 
Verse 18 said it's not that he 

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should be alone, I'm going to 
make him a helper. 

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And then verse 20 reiterated 
that again that they're not 

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found a helper fit for him. 
The man was alone. 

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There was no one else like him 
around. 

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God created the man to have 
fellowship with him as well as 

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with other human beings. 
And only when the man is able to

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love and give himself away to 
another human is he able to 

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fully experience personhood. 
Verse 20 told us there was no 

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helper for the man. 
How did Adam arrive at at the 

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conclusion? 
How does he know he needs a 

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helper? 
Well, he'd spent time with all 

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the animals. 
He'd survey what kind there were

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around him, both in the garden 
as well as out in the field. 

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And these were all of a 
different sorts than he. 

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They were most definitely not a 
Dom that is human. 

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There was nothing among the 
animals that could partner with 

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him in in the functions that he 
was serving of and reproducing. 

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This naturally leads us to the 
next verse where we find the 

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human exercising authority. 
Verses 19 and 20 told us God had

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formed all the animals and birds
from the dust of the ground and 

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then brought them to the man in 
order to be named. 

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And the man's very first act of 
exercising authority and ruling 

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was each of the animals. 
Each kind was brought before 

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him, examined, probably spent 
some time discerning their 

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qualities, their traits, who 
came up with a name for each 

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kind of animal. 
And the relationship between man

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and the animals was likely 
stronger than the relationship 

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that we experience with animals 
currently today. 

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This is the garden, remember? 
Man and animals weren't yet at 

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odds. 
Animals had no need to fear man,

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and man didn't have any need to 
fear animals yet. 

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Now the central focus of our 
text this morning begins at 

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verse 21. 
I'll reread it here. 

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So the Lord God caused a deep 
sleep to fall upon the man while

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he slept, took one of his ribs 
and closed up its place with 

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flesh. 
And the rib that the Lord God 

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had taken from the man he made 
into a woman and brought her to 

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the man. 
The man said this at last. 

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His bone of my bones, flesh of 
my flesh. 

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She shall be called woman 
because she was taken. 

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It's important to clarify that 
man isn't naming the woman when 

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he says she shall be called 
woman. 

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He's not giving her a name. 
She doesn't get a name until 

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actually in chapter 3 here he's 
actually categorizing the woman.

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She's not one of those other 
creatures. 

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She's she's like him. 
The word for man is ish and the 

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word for woman is Isha. 
It's kind of like how we have in

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English, you have man and woe. 
Man, man and the animals were 

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all formed from the dust of the 
ground, but not the woman. 

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See, God took the flesh from the
man and he fashioned woman out 

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of it, creating the very first 
pair of humans. 

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Now here we see the woman's 
source is the man. 

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The woman's source is the man, 
not the dust of the ground like 

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Adam and the animals. 
The man and woman are alike in 

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that they are both nefesh, that 
is to to breathe the air of 

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life. 
They are soulish creations. 

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However, they're not like the 
other nepheshes that that 

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existed, the other creatures, 
the animals, and that's 

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immediately apparent. 
They're instantly able to relate

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to each other in special ways as
they connect over emotional, 

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intellectual, and spiritual 
dimensions. 

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These are areas that are 
specific to personhood. 

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Now, it's helpful to remind 
ourselves that our culture is 

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quite different from that of the
ancient Near East. 

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We gloss over the references to 
the woman's creation. 

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One, because we've heard it a 
lot, so we've kind of become a 

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little numb to it. 
And secondly, because we live in

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a post title 9 world void of 
understanding the cultural 

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context of the Israelites. 
The telling of the woman's 

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creation is unique among the 
cosmogonies the the foundational

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stories of the ancient Near 
East. 

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See, it's clear from the text 
that the woman is important in 

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the mind of God. 
God is intense and sets on 

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creating this new creation. 
Verse 18 it says the Lord God 

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said and remember from last 
week, the Lord God means Yahweh 

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Elohim, that is that is His 
personal revelation as he enters

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into this realm of creating and 
forming humanity. 

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The Lord God said I will make 
him a helper. 

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Verse 19 the Lord God formed. 
Verse 21 the Lord God caused a 

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deep sleep. 
Verse 22 The Lord God made the 

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rib into a woman. 
Here we see that God is very 

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active in these verses that talk
about the creation of the woman.

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Now this is contrary to the 
ancient cultures who often 

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oppressed women and the emphasis
God gives to the woman sets her 

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up as equally as important as 
the man in fulfilling God's 

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purposes. 
Now, it probably goes without 

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saying, but alone the man is 
incapable of fulfilling the 

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command to be fruitful and 
multiply. 

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Only with the woman by his side 
is Adam able to be fruitful and 

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to do what humanity was intended
to do. 

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Actually, I think we could go so
far as to say that Adam and Eve 

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are interdependent on each 
other. 

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They're interdependent on each 
other. 

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The woman makes it possible for 
the man to achieve the the 

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blessing that he could not 
possibly accomplish on his own, 

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and neither could she accomplish
it on her own. 

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Even more than that, her 
importance is further 

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underscored and in chapter 3, in
chapter 3 tells us that the 

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woman's a seed, her, her 
offspring, which is a prophetic 

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reference, a future reference to
Jesus. 

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It says the woman's offspring 
will defeat the enemy. 

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So the woman is indispensable in
the story of humanity's 

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redemption. 
Now, in light of what this text 

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communicates about gender, it's 
important for us to consider 

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gender in our own cultural 
context. 

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For the next few moments, I want
to look at gender through the 

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lens of science, culture, and 
the word. 

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First of all, what makes someone
biologically male or female? 

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While there are a lot of 
similarities, all those 

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qualities I mentioned earlier 
that men and women share in 

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common, there are some 
significant differences. 

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They each have different 
reproductive roles. 

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The male contribute sperm in the
female's egg is the receptor of 

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that sperm. 
Men and women have of course, 

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different external anatomy. 
Men and women are differentiated

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by their chromosomes. 
A female has XX chromosomes and 

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a male has XY chromosomes. 
Yes, I understand that there's a

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a small segment of the 
population that is born intersex

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with both male and female parts.
However, the majority of 

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intersex people first of all are
not even identified as intersex 

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at birth, as only one in 2000 
newborns has genital variations 

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that involve consultation with a
sex differentiation specialist. 

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Intersex people are a genetic 
anomaly, not a third gender. 

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It used to be that gender 
dysphoria was considered quite 

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rare, but in the last decade it 
has dramatically increased the 

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DSM Five that is the Manual for 
Psychiatric practice. 

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It defines gender dysphoria as a
condition characterized by a 

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marked and persistent 
incongruence between one's 

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experienced gender. 
Maybe I would say how they 

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present and their assigned sex. 
Feelings of being trapped in the

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wrong body tend to pervade the 
thoughts of the person who 

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experiences gender dysphoria. 
They feel like they belong to 

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the other sex, not the sex that 
their genitalia would indicates 

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their their birth sex. 
It's estimated that .6% of 

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American adults experience 
gender dysphoria. 

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And for teens, the numbers trend
higher at 1.4%. 

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From 2017 to 2021, there was a 
nearly threefold increase in 

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reported gender dysphoria among 
children and adolescents in the 

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US. 
And I think we could explain 

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some of that issue. 
It is interesting for me to also

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tell you numbers are now 
starting to decrease. 

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Increasingly, our culture has 
fallen into a state where it has

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actually served to uphold gender
stereotypes while simultaneously

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trying to tear them down. 
When people talk about living as

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trans, they're usually talking 
about affirming the gender 

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stereotypes of the opposite sex,
and they usually present that 

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way. 
When a girl is interested in 

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sports or cars, does that mean 
she's actually a boy trapped in 

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a girl's body? 
When a boy is into music? 

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00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:17,400
In the arts, does that mean he's
a girl trapped in a boy's body? 

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The answer is no. 
Nonconformity to gender 

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stereotypes does not make one 
the opposite gender. 

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When we don't conform to gender 
stereotypes, that doesn't make 

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us the other gender the other 
sex. 

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00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,680
Gender stereotypes are not the 
same as gender stereotypes are 

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culturally and socially 
constructed and gender is 

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biologically identified. 
The doctor didn't assign sex at 

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birth. 
The doctor identified the sex at

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00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:13,520
birth. 
Sometimes when people are asked 

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about gender, they'll say it's a
social construct. 

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What's they should be saying is 
gender stereotypes are social 

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constructs. 
Culturally, we expect boys to 

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wear blue, be tough and play 
sports. 

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00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:41,600
We expect girls to wear pink, 
dance, be into music, and look 

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pretty. 
These characteristics don't 

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determine gender. 
So we need to keep our heads 

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00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,400
screwed on and not jump to 
conclusions that neither science

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nor scripture supports. 
Furthermore, there is objective 

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truth. 
Objective truth exists and 

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gender complementarity is 
affirmed by science. 

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00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:13,320
I know this is kind of a big 
word. 

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Gender complementarity is 
affirmed by science. 

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00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:21,120
It means that the genders 
complement each other. 

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00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:27,120
The truth is that scientific 
scientifically there are only 

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two genders, male and female. 
That is XY and XX chromosomes. 

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Male and female anatomy support 
this as well. 

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The parts fit and function 
together. 

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The male part was designed to 
coordinate with the females. 

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00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,840
The females incapable of 
conceiving without a male 

230
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contributing sperm to fertilize 
the egg, Right? 

231
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,040
This is science. 
There's no sperm, there's no 

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00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:08,600
fertilization. 
So gender complementarity, 

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00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:15,920
genders complementing each other
in reproduction is affirmed by 

234
00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:21,240
science. 
Genesis 127 tells us God created

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00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:27,800
them as male and female. 
So our next question is what 

236
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:32,160
does the Bible say about being 
male and female? 

237
00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,680
Well, Jesus was a Jew, and as a 
Jew the question of sex was 

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00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:45,960
settled in the Torah. 
No, the Torah does not contain 

239
00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,040
other genders. 
If you listen to this 

240
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,280
conversation, you may hear 
people try to say that it does, 

241
00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,320
but it doesn't. 
The Mishnah and Talmud are 

242
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,920
reported to have other genders 
as well, but. 

243
00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:08,240
What we see reported in the 
Mishnah and Talmud is basically 

244
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:15,240
descriptions of what is or isn't
present. 

245
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,440
It describes a condition of 
somebody rather than another 

246
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,840
gender. 
Also, it's worth noting that the

247
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:30,920
Mishnah and Talmud were not 
written anywhere near the time 

248
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:38,880
of when Moses writes the Torah, 
so the Torah does not affirm 

249
00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,360
another gender outside of male 
and female. 

250
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,880
The question of someone's sex 
wasn't a topic of debate in 

251
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,640
Jesus time, so he didn't 
specifically comment on it. 

252
00:20:54,240 --> 00:21:00,800
What Jesus did do was he quoted 
Genesis in an interaction with 

253
00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,320
the Pharisees. 
The Pharisees were looking for 

254
00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:08,960
excuses to to divorce their 
wives for any reason. 

255
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:15,200
So in Matthew 19 verses 4 
through 6 Jesus said this. 

256
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,920
Have you not read that He who 
created them from the beginning 

257
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,360
made them male and female, and 
said therefore man shall leave 

258
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,560
his father and his mother, and 
hold fast to his wife, and the 

259
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:33,080
two shall become one flesh. 
So they are no longer 2, but one

260
00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:34,560
flesh. 
What? 

261
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,800
Therefore God is joined 
together, Let not man separate. 

262
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:46,360
Here Jesus reaffirms the 
original order of creation. 

263
00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:51,240
Of course he would, since he was
complicit in creation, right? 

264
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,760
He he was the one creating. 
But he affirms the original 

265
00:21:54,760 --> 00:22:00,760
order laid down in the law by 
quoting Genesis 127 and 224, and

266
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,520
he demonstrates himself to be in
alignment with the Torah's 

267
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,400
teaching and the fact that 
there's only male and female. 

268
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:15,480
In that same exchange, the topic
of eunuchs was brought up again.

269
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,880
If you're online and you're 
listening to some of these 

270
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:28,480
conversations, transgender 
proponents will tell you, oh, 

271
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:31,200
look at the eunuch, it's another
gender. 

272
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,800
No, that is not what is 
happening here. 

273
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,520
When, when Jesus is talking 
about eunuchs in Matthew 19, 

274
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,040
he's not talk. 
He's not talking about another 

275
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,920
gender. 
That is what we would call 

276
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,480
isagesis. 
Isagesis is where we take our 

277
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:55,880
own biases and we start to read 
into the text what we want the 

278
00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,680
text to say. 
And with isagesis, you can 

279
00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:04,160
basically make the text to say 
anything you want. 

280
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:12,240
When Jesus talks about eunuchs. 
And eunuchs are men who had been

281
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:16,560
castrated in order to prevent 
them from sexually abusing the 

282
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,840
queen or in order to protect a 
King's harem. 

283
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:26,000
They were castrated. 
So when he talks about eunuchs, 

284
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,720
he's only describing their 
physical condition. 

285
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:38,000
He's not creating and advocating
another gender. 

286
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:45,280
So how else might Scripture 
speak to us on this topic? 

287
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:52,680
First of all, Psalm 139, verses 
13 through 14. 

288
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:59,440
It tells us who God created. 
For You formed my inward parts. 

289
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,960
You knitted me together in my 
mother's womb. 

290
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,880
I praise you for I am fearfully 
and wonderfully made. 

291
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:17,640
God formed you and knew you from
the moment of conception and 

292
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:22,520
that is why we are also 
pro-life. 

293
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:31,800
You were wonderfully created and
can trust God's good design in 

294
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:38,360
who you are. 
Also, Scripture tells us that 

295
00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,560
you're loved by God. 
Just one example. 

296
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:42,680
Psalm 36. 
Seven. 

297
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,160
How precious is your steadfast 
love? 

298
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:50,920
O God, the children of mankind, 
take refuge in the shadow of 

299
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:56,600
your wings. 
We're loved by God now 

300
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:03,600
unfortunately though, because of
sin, this world is is broken. 

301
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:08,120
This world does not function the
way that God intended it to 

302
00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,400
function. 
So if we look at Romans eights, 

303
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,600
there on the screen, for the 
creation waits with eager 

304
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,440
longing for the revealing of the
sons of God. 

305
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,760
For the creation was subjected 
to futility, not willingly, but 

306
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:27,240
because of him who subjected it,
in the hope that the creation 

307
00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,560
itself will be set free from its
bondage to corruption and obtain

308
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:33,720
the freedom of the glory of the 
children of God. 

309
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,320
For we know that the whole 
creation has been groaning 

310
00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,200
together in the pains of 
childbirth until now. 

311
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:49,520
All creation is groaning, 
longing for the day when when 

312
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:56,000
things will be made right. 
It's not just the trees, 

313
00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,600
everything out there. 
That means humanity as well. 

314
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:08,800
Right now, confusion reigns in 
this world as Satan does all he 

315
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,960
can to pull people off course 
and keep them from seeing God's 

316
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:19,320
truth. 
And as we speak to truth, I 

317
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:24,880
think it's important to say that
changing one's gender, 

318
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:30,560
transitioning doesn't bring 
clarity. 

319
00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:36,000
Rather, it only serves to bring 
confusion. 

320
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,560
Transitioning doesn't bring 
clarity, it only brings 

321
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:46,440
confusion. 
When people transition, they 

322
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:53,120
expect things to magically get 
better, but there's a long list 

323
00:26:53,120 --> 00:27:02,280
of people now who expected 
things to magically be right and

324
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:08,640
only found themselves 
disappointed and saddened 

325
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:15,000
because they'd done irreparable 
damage to their bodies. 

326
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,440
Culture doesn't want you to hear
those stories by the way they 

327
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:30,440
they suppress those stories. 
But when you hear these people 

328
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:38,320
talk, the stories are are sad to
hear what they have experienced 

329
00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:48,040
and what was pushed on them. 
I think Romans 121 through 25 

330
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:53,800
applies here. 
For although they knew God, they

331
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,640
did not honor him as God or give
thanks to him. 

332
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,320
But they became futile in their 
thinking, and their foolish 

333
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:06,520
hearts were darkened. 
Claiming to be wise, they became

334
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:10,640
fools and exchange the glory of 
the mortal God for images 

335
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,720
resembling mortal man and birds 
and animals and creeping things.

336
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,840
Therefore, God gave them up in 
the lusts of their hearts to 

337
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,280
impurity, to the dishonouring of
their bodies among themselves, 

338
00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:27,760
because they exchanged the truth
about God for a lie and 

339
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,080
worshipped and served the 
creature rather than the Creator

340
00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:34,000
who was blessed forever. 
Amen. 

341
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:40,280
Satan's goal is to bring 
confusion. 

342
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,480
He darkens the hearts of people 
who are just trying to figure 

343
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,600
out who they are and they fall 
into his lies. 

344
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:52,400
They think they've got it 
figured out. 

345
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:58,440
They profess to be wise, but in 
actuality they've lost touch on 

346
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,200
reality and have have chosen to 
glorify their bodies and and 

347
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:07,400
self above the creator. 
This is what's happening in the 

348
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:12,600
transgender movement. 
Mass confusion brought on by the

349
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:18,280
enemy. 
Before we leave this topic, and 

350
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:22,440
this has just been intended to 
be kind of a primer to this 

351
00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,040
topic, but before we leave this 
topic, there are a few things I 

352
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:32,640
want to say. 
Parents, family member, friend. 

353
00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:44,680
I know some of you us have 
relationships with people who 

354
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:50,320
are going through this right 
now, people who experience 

355
00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,240
gender dysphoria or who want to 
transition. 

356
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:05,760
It's everywhere. 
Love people well, love them 

357
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:13,840
well. 
Don't abandoned them, of course.

358
00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:18,360
Treat them with the utmost 
respect and dignity as image 

359
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:28,360
bearers of our God. 
But also remember, love does not

360
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:35,120
equal affirmation. 
Loving someone well does not 

361
00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:41,040
mean that you have to support 
their choices and affirm where 

362
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,680
they are headed. 
Sometimes love means saying the 

363
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,320
hard thing. 
You can love people without 

364
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,080
affirming their decisions and 
choices. 

365
00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:00,320
It's also worth noting that our 
brains don't stop developing 

366
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:06,080
until we're in our mid 20s. 
Thoughts and values can 

367
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:10,160
significantly shift during this 
time and it's completely normal 

368
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,240
for youth to feel weird and and 
to not like their bodies as they

369
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:18,200
change and grow. 
Guess what? 

370
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:27,320
These feelings don't mean you're
broken, they just mean you're 

371
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:31,440
growing. 
So when questions about gender 

372
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:36,240
and sexuality arise, there's 
usually something else under the

373
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,720
surface contributing to to that 
thought pattern. 

374
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:52,240
Because gender dysphoria, I 
believe, is a symptom and not a 

375
00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:57,000
root cause. 
Secular psychologists would not 

376
00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:03,560
agree with that assessment, but 
gender dysphoria is a symptom, 

377
00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,160
not a root cause. 
Whenever we see gender 

378
00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:14,440
dysphoria, we can know that 
there's something going on, 

379
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:19,640
because this is not how God 
designed people. 

380
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,360
This is a product of a fallen, 
broken world. 

381
00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:34,880
Lastly, the focus of scripture 
is on our behavior, not our 

382
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,240
desires. 
Focus of scripture is on our 

383
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,280
behavior and not our desires. 
Now I wanted to be careful with 

384
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:46,000
how I said this because our 
desires do matter to to some 

385
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:47,240
extent and I'll explain that 
here. 

386
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:54,480
But desire in and of itself is 
not a sin, but rather what we do

387
00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:57,960
with that desire is what makes 
it a sin. 

388
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,680
Not all feelings and desires are
intended to be acted upon, and 

389
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:08,480
bad desires become a sin when 
you act upon them. 

390
00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:12,920
When someone chooses 
transitioning, they're moving 

391
00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:16,760
away from God's desire for them.
When someone continues to 

392
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,960
entertain ideation of being the 
opposite gender, they need to 

393
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:26,400
take those thoughts captive, 
take those thoughts captive, 

394
00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:30,080
surrender them to God, and fix 
their minds on thoughts that are

395
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,560
true, honorable, just, pure, 
lovely, and commendable. 

396
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:41,960
As it says in Philippians 4/8, 
actions are what matters most, 

397
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:45,920
but the battle starts in our 
minds. 

398
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:54,080
The last item we see in this 
passage is marriage. 

399
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:59,520
Verses 24 through 25 revealed to
us the very first marriage. 

400
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,160
Therefore a man shall leave his 
father and mother and hold fast 

401
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,640
to his wife, and they shall 
become one flesh. 

402
00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,960
And the man and his wife, we're 
both naked, and we're not 

403
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:12,159
ashamed. 
There are a few points I want to

404
00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:19,120
draw our attention to here. 
First is leave and cleave. 

405
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,920
Leave and cleave. 
This saying is taken from the 

406
00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:27,199
King James Version where it 
actually says, therefore shall a

407
00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,880
man leave his father and his 
mother, and shall cleave unto 

408
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:35,000
his wife. 
Now I know we don't use the word

409
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:40,280
cleave in our in our normal 
everyday language, but leave and

410
00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,360
cleave. 
Leave and cleave rhymes. 

411
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,719
And so when we talk about 
marital commitments, those are 

412
00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:49,800
the words we use. 
I think it's weird, but it makes

413
00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,679
sense. 
We may have to change that 

414
00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:54,639
someday as people get further 
and further removed from that 

415
00:34:54,639 --> 00:34:58,480
word cleaving to something, 
because then you when you have 

416
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,440
to explain it, it just is a 
little awkward. 

417
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,720
But that's the that's the way we
talked about it. 

418
00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:08,280
Leaving and cleaving in marriage
prior familial commitments are 

419
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:16,160
are superseded by our commitment
to to our spouse and this 

420
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:20,880
commitment to each other, even 
parents, especially if you have 

421
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,840
little ones. 
This commitment to each other 

422
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:31,200
even supersedes our commitment 
to our children. 

423
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,160
Our marriages are not to be 
centered on our children. 

424
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:49,280
Next marriage is to be 
heterosexual in nature. 

425
00:35:56,700 --> 00:35:59,780
Doing my best to get us 
cancelled here. 

426
00:36:03,180 --> 00:36:05,180
Am I doing a good job? 
I think so. 

427
00:36:09,220 --> 00:36:14,620
It's absolutely appalling to me 
when people try to say scripture

428
00:36:14,620 --> 00:36:19,300
endorses and affirms same sex 
marriage. 

429
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:26,720
The interpretational gymnastics 
one has to do in order to arrive

430
00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:31,520
at this conclusion are deserving
of a gold medal, if not even 

431
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:36,040
better than that. 
Not to mention ignoring clear 

432
00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:39,160
teachings of scripture. 
But I'll address that sometime 

433
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,080
this winter so you can look 
forward to that. 

434
00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:47,080
You absolutely cannot say 
scripture endorses a lifestyle 

435
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:52,520
of same sex attraction. 
The prescription here is that 

436
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:55,800
marriage involves a husband and 
wife. 

437
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,400
Not only does it call out the 
husband and wife, but it even 

438
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:04,040
goes so far as to speak to the 
one flesh union that they 

439
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:10,520
experience. 
Humans experience this one flesh

440
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:16,800
union in a way that is 
different, and the true one 

441
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:22,960
flesh union only happens within 
the context of a male and female

442
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:29,640
sexually uniting. 
The next characteristic of 

443
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,080
marriage is that it's 
monogamous. 

444
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,120
Marriage involves one man and 
one woman. 

445
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,640
You might be asking, well, what 
about all the polygamous 

446
00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:49,120
marriages in the Old Testament? 
Well, there's an important rule 

447
00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:53,280
in apologetics. 
It's important for us to 

448
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:58,440
understand the difference 
between descriptive passages and

449
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:03,800
prescriptive passages. 
The Bible contains much that is 

450
00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:07,280
descriptive in nature. 
In fact, I think it's probably 

451
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:10,360
safe to say that most of the 
Bible is descriptive. 

452
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,760
It's telling us what has 
happened is happening or what 

453
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:18,760
will happen. 
Just because something is in the

454
00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:24,200
Bible doesn't mean it's a 
prescription for how to live. 

455
00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:30,520
Many men in Scripture had 
multiple wives, but that is not 

456
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:35,600
God's design. 
His design is seen here at the 

457
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:39,360
beginning when He created the 
man and the woman. 

458
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:50,000
Everywhere we see polygamy in 
Scripture, we see problems the 

459
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,960
very first instance in scripture
of someone having a second wife 

460
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:59,480
was lamech, and we will see that
he was an evil man in chapter 4.

461
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:04,640
The Polygamy was always 
problematic in Scripture, but 

462
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,960
it's possible. 
It's possible God allowed 

463
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:12,680
polygamy to exist, since in the 
ancient Near East it was nearly 

464
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:19,480
impossible for an unmarried, 
uneducated woman to survive on 

465
00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:22,040
her own. 
Women had to rely on their 

466
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:25,640
fathers, brothers, and husbands 
in order to not end up 

467
00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:31,560
destitute. 
It's also significant that in 

468
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:36,200
the New Testament, one of the 
expectations of an elder, a 

469
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:40,840
church leader, is that he's the 
husband of one wife. 

470
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,720
This phrase has been interpreted
in various ways, but an 

471
00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:48,440
interpretation allowing for a 
church leader to be polygamous 

472
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:52,320
is most definitely not an 
option. 

473
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:59,880
And if it applies to our church 
leaders, then of course it would

474
00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:04,200
be good for everyone else to 
follow suit right now, why would

475
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:07,320
I even take time to make this 
point in a culture that is 

476
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:13,200
driven towards monogamy? 
First of all, Mormonism's 

477
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,360
polygamous roots are well 
documented and even celebrated 

478
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:23,600
with shows like Sister Wives, 
which has now had, even though 

479
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:29,920
it's in its last season, has now
had a 15 year run. 

480
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:38,280
And that polygamy is problematic
is well documented in the show 

481
00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:41,440
if you have any idea what's been
going on with it and what has 

482
00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:48,320
brought the show to an end. 
Dissolution of the marriages. 

483
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:53,640
Also, earlier this year, I was 
surprised to hear that one of my

484
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:58,920
favorite apologists, Mike 
Winger, had to address the issue

485
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:03,640
of what has been called 
Christian polygamy as it began 

486
00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:07,840
surfacing online due to a man 
promoting Christian polygamy and

487
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,720
online articles and on his 
YouTube channel. 

488
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:18,080
Now, you think this idea 
wouldn't gain traction in our 

489
00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:24,720
western culture, but I wouldn't 
be surprised to see it catch on 

490
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:31,880
in a society like ours that has 
distorted sexual mores. 

491
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:41,080
Yes, the tide is turning, but 
our culture has gone so far with

492
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:47,920
their distortion of sexuality 
that the doors open for 

493
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,120
something like polygamy to be 
mainstreamed. 

494
00:41:54,400 --> 00:42:01,560
The last point I want to draw 
our attention to is that of male

495
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:08,200
leadership. 
Even before the curse of sin 

496
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:13,760
corrupted the world, God's good 
design included male leadership,

497
00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:18,080
male headship with female 
support. 

498
00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:25,200
The complementary roles of 
husband and wife aren't a result

499
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:31,520
of the fall. 
Rather, this is God's good 

500
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:38,240
design for the whole. 
We need not apologize for the 

501
00:42:38,240 --> 00:42:42,480
stance, but rather seek to 
understand what it truly means. 

502
00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:49,400
Yes, Ephesians 522 does call for
the wife's submission to the 

503
00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:54,280
husband's leadership, but don't 
stop reading there. 

504
00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:02,840
Verse 25 tells us what that 
relationship is really to look 

505
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:07,280
like as as the husband is called
to love his wife in the same way

506
00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:13,440
that Christ loved the church and
sacrificed himself, gave himself

507
00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:19,240
up for her. 
The authority structure in a 

508
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:27,400
godly marriage is not that of 
the husband as a dictator. 

509
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:35,520
The picture we have is the 
husband being like Christ, 

510
00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:49,520
sacrificing himself, serving the
wife as he leads the whole today

511
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:56,920
marriages to consist of a 
husband and wife, just the two 

512
00:43:56,920 --> 00:44:01,960
of them in a sense, forsaking 
their familial obligations and 

513
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:04,600
committing wholeheartedly to 
each other as the man 

514
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:09,640
spiritually leads the home to 
follow after God. 

515
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:17,840
That that's God's design. 
Fourth season. 

516
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:23,040
That first marriage was 
everything God had intended. 

517
00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:29,920
They were naked and unashamed. 
Life was easy. 

518
00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:31,920
The work was easy, the 
relationship was easy. 

519
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:37,120
The sex was easy. 
They were two souls united 

520
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:43,360
together as one, ruling and 
reigning as God intended. 

521
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:54,920
But then chapter 3 happens. 
We'll pick that up in a couple 

522
00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:58,480
weeks. 
Let's bow our heads and close 

523
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:12,060
our eyes. 
God, we thank you for Your word 

524
00:45:12,060 --> 00:45:18,380
to us, Your word that is 
guidance to our lives. 

525
00:45:18,900 --> 00:45:27,140
It is not cumbersome. 
Your word is actually freedom. 

526
00:45:28,720 --> 00:45:32,720
Freedom from the world's ways of
thinking and doing things. 

527
00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:39,680
Freedom from the ways that do 
not fulfill, the ways that leave

528
00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:54,200
people wanting. 
And God, may we honor you with 

529
00:45:54,240 --> 00:46:03,920
all aspects of our sexuality. 
May we honor you with the 

530
00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:06,320
marriages represented in this 
room. 

531
00:46:12,540 --> 00:46:21,900
May we be a people who hold your
ways above cultural desires and 

532
00:46:21,900 --> 00:46:28,020
preferences. 
It's in Jesus name we pray these

533
00:46:28,060 --> 00:46:30,540
things. 
Amen.