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Bible Studies/Gods Essence - Male and Female?

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Expert: - 4/24/2007


Question
I have heard that God's essence is both Male and Female.  What are your thoughts on this?

Answer
Dear DJ,

This question cann ot be settled unless one accepts God's owen testimony about Himself, and that is recorded in the Bible. It teaches several things that resolve this question:

Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16).

Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

Jesus Christ is the express image of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3).

The Word was God and became flesh as Jesus Christ (John 1:14).

God always refers to Himself in the masculine.

We also understand that God's being is without all the limitations of created beings.  It is this which causes questions like this one.  But, it also means that our understanding of God is limited to accepting His testimony about Himself.  When God defined Himself so creation might know Him (John 1:1), He stated that He is Holy.  He did not decide to be Holy, but expressed the reality of His being.  So also it is with the matter of gender.  He defined Himself as male, but never as female.  He defined Himself as Father, but never as Mother.

Certainly we can acknowledge that maleness in reference to the transcendent Deity may not be limited to the definitions that apply to human beings, we must accept God’s own definition of Himself.  He has clearly established in the Bible that He considers Himself to be male, and when He manifested Himself as a human being, it was as Jesus Christ, who certainly was not a female.

I hope this helps you think about the question with a broader perspective.

Yours for Truth,

CR

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Clifford H. Readout, Jr.

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Expertise: Preferred subject areas: Biblical doctrine, problem texts, and application of Bible teachings in daily life. Willing to consider questions concerning other aspects of Christianity, as well. Experience and qualifications: Converted to Christianity in 1970 while a student at Indiana University; active in Christian ministry since 1971; President, 1971 - 1973, then Chaplain, 1973 - 1975 of a campus ministry at Indiana University; Director of Campus Ministry for North Central Region of the U.S.A. and Canada, 1975 - 1976; director, dean, and teacher for a Bible College in Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1977; Pastor of the same church since 1978; founder and director of The Foundations Forum (Christian think tank), 1991 to present; District Foreign Missionary Director, 1981-2000; District Superintendent, 2000-2009; Founding Coordinator of Friendship International, a ministry to college and university students around the world, 1997 - 2001; Special Advisor to Friendship International, 2001 to present; Secretary and member of the Board of Trustees for a Graduate School of Theology, 1999 to present; Chairman of the Board of Directors and faculty member at the Apostolic Leadership Institute, 2000 to present; internationally known and requested Bible teacher, ministering by missionary and other official invitations in more than forty nations, and at least thirty-three of the United States; and other minor functions. Husband to the same wonderful lady since 1970, father of three college graduates, and one delightful Down Syndrome son born in 1994.

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