However, if we are willing to consider God as Creator and examine what the Bible teaches, we can gain great insight into what it means to be a woman.
The first woman we encounter in the Bible is Eve. In Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we are given an account of her creation:
“Then God said, ‘Let Us [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over 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” (Genesis 1:26,27).
These verses tell us something foundational about what it means to be a woman and reveal the true dignity inherent in womanhood.
God made man in His image: “male and female He created them”.
Man and woman were created equal; both were made in the image of God.
This means that the stamp of God was upon them. They reflected God, having been created to represent Him on earth.
Every woman, therefore, has intrinsic worth – not because of what she does, but because of what she is.
They were not only made in God’s image, but also in His likeness; they shared some attributes of God.
In creation we see the incredible wisdom and mighty power of God. Adam and Eve were not endowed with the same wisdom and power, yet they were created as intellectual beings, with minds capable of thinking, reasoning, and making decisions. They had the agency to make choices.
They were also created with emotions and the ability to feel deeply. The God we see revealed in the Bible is One with feelings and emotions. We read of God being “grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6), rejoicing “with gladness” (Zephaniah 3:17), and of the Lord Jesus being “moved with compassion” (Matthew 9:36).
In this way, Adam and Eve were made as a tiny reflection of who God is and what He is like.
Another important aspect of their nature was that Adam and Eve were built for relationship – this is intrinsic to who God is. There has been relationship within the Godhead eternally. The Lord Jesus could say when praying to His Father, “for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). In 1 John 4:8 we read “God is love”. This is one aspect of who God is. Being made in the image of God meant that Adam and Eve were deeply wired to give and receive love. As a God of relationship, He knew this, and declared that “It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18).
The finer details of the creation of Adam and Eve are also instructive to us. Having declared that “It is not good that man should be alone,” God went on to say, “I will make him a helper comparable to him” (v.18).
“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’” (vv.21-23).
Adam’s declaration was one of joy!
It was not a shout of superiority; it was the delight of discovering oneness!
God had created one who was intrinsically the same as Adam; sharing the same substance and nature, “bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh”.
The method of their creation was different, their form was different, but their substance was the same.
Adam rejoiced in the creation of the woman. Here was one like him – one with whom he could communicate and share a deep relationship.
Adam and Eve were the pinnacle of God’s creation. God had made a beautiful world filled with lush vegetation, a vast array of animals, birds and sea creatures, and He had set Adam and Eve over all His creation.
“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28).
Adam and Eve were given a joint purpose. They were instructed to have children; God desired a world filled with people!
They were told to subdue the earth, to take control of it in a productive way. The earth held the potential to yield an abundance of fruitfulness. God gave Adam and Eve the intelligence and creative thinking skills to learn and discover the ways of vegetation – plants, grains, fruits. They were to be active and take pleasure in cultivating the garden God had placed them in.
Thirdly, they were to have authority over the other creatures God had made. They were responsible to God for the care of the animals, birds, and sea creatures. They were not to abuse them, but to ensure their wellbeing so that all creation would work together in harmony for the blessing of the whole earth.
This was God’s design: Adam and Eve ruling over creation – together, standing side by side.
The woman was not lower than the man. She was not created to be his slave or made merely for his pleasure. She was created to help him fulfil his God-given responsibility.
Eve was formed by the hand of God and made in the image and likeness of God!
What inherent worth and value!
She was placed alongside Adam to rule over creation.
What dignity!
In Part 2, we will look at the specific role God created Eve to fulfil, and how she was to help Adam.
