Man and Woman From the Beginning

Becoming a follower of Jesus includes honoring God’s vision for sexual relationships, whether through opposite sex marriage or in a life of sexual integrity through singleness. In Mark 10, Jesus reveals how He thought about human sexuality:

“...from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark:10:6-9 [6] But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. [7] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; [8] And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. [9] What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
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Within Jesus’s words “God made them male and female… two” are the Biblical mandate for sexual identity. No matter where we identify ourselves within the LGBTQ spectrum, before God we are none of these. He sees us as we are—the way He made us as a man or woman. Because God knows us as we truly are, we trust Him to renew our minds and our understanding of ourselves so that we may fully enjoy what He placed within us. Our identity as God’s sons and daughters enables us to fully belong within His family. We no longer need to identify ourselves by cultural labels.

In this passage, Jesus points to creation itself—not the Torah law—to understand marriage. He discloses that sexuality, expressed within a covenant only between a man and woman, is a vital part of human creation that uniquely reflects the Divine Image. This sexual union reflects something of God’s identity and personality, and hints at the nature of the Trinity. Marriage is not merely a “Law” or social construct. The theme of marriage is used throughout the Bible to help us understand God’s desire for an unbroken and purehearted relationship with humanity, and is highlighted at “the beginning” to demonstrate God’s particular care and concern about our sexuality.

The binary division of the sexes and the intimacy of “two” are vital parts of God’s message to us. By these, humanity reflects God in the miracle of creating human life. This is a profound mystery of reciprocal communion and fellowship with God. Christopher West points out in Our Bodies Tell God’s Story that men and women are complete, independent entities physically in every way except one: our sexuality. A woman cannot bear children by herself, apart from the reproductive system of a man, just as a man cannot bear children apart from the womb of a woman. They must have each other to be fully expressed.

—Anon. (Former LGBTQ+)