God created humanity, both male and female, in God's image. Some argue this implies hierarchical gender roles, but the text's focus is on equality and mutual responsibility between men and women. Marriage should reflect the equal, mutual, and reciprocal relationship between the Son, Spirit, and Father, with husband and wife becoming one flesh as Christ and the church are one.

1. He, She, Three:
Theological Reflections on
Gender Relations

2. Philip B. Payne
“Although nothing in Gen 2-3 teaches
this directly, [some] argue that certain
elements in the story imply that God
put man in a position of authority over
woman.”

3. Philip B. Payne
“Various proponents of this view give
eleven arguments to support it, just as
feminists point to various elements in
the text that might suggest that God
put woman in a position of authority
over man … neither assertion is
justified.”

4. Philip B. Payne
“Instead, the dominant focus of the text
is on the equal status and mutual
responsibility of man and woman.”
[emphasis added]
Philip B. Payne, Man and Woman: One in Christ, p.43

5. The “Big Idea”
God intends the relationship of male and
female in marriage to reflect the
equal, mutual, and reciprocalrelationship
of Son and Spiritas they together reveal
God the Father in the world.

6. Gen. 1:1
“In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. …”

7. Gen. 1:26-28
“Then God said, „Let us make humankind in our
image, according to our likeness; ….‟
So God created humankind in his image,
In the image of God he created them,
Male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, „Be
fruitful and multiply, ….‟”

8. Gen. 1:26-28
“Then God said, „Let us make humankind in our
image, according to our likeness; ….‟
So God created humankind in his image,
In the image of God he created them,
Male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, „Be
fruitful and multiply, ….‟”

9. Joseph Campbell
“Marriage is recognition of a spiritual
identity. … By marrying the right
person, we reconstruct the image of
the incarnate God, and that’s what
marriage is.” [emphasis added]
Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, p.6

10. Gen. 1:26-28
“Then God said, „Let us make
humankind in our image, according
to our likeness; ….‟”

11. Henri Blocher
“So what can „us‟ and „our‟ mean in the case of
God? … The answer to that, from the text, is the
mention of the Spirit. … God addresses
himself, but this he can do only because he has
a Spirit who is both one with him and distinct from
him at the same time. Here are the first
glimmerings of a trinitarian revelation.”
[emphasis added]
Henri Blocher, In the Beginning, p.84

12. The Trinity of God
Father
GOD
Son
Jesus Spirit

13. The “trinity” of Marriage
GOD

14. Gen. 2:24
“Therefore a man leaves his father and
mother and clings to his wife, and
they become one flesh. And the man
and his wife were both naked, and
were not ashamed.”

15. Allen P. Ross
“God decided to make a helper suitable for the
man. „Helper‟ is not a demeaning term; it is
often used in Scripture to describe God Almighty
(e.g. Ps. 33:20; 70:5; 115:9). The description of her
as „corresponding to him‟ means basically that
what was said about him in Genesis 2:7 was also
true of her. They both had the same nature. …
The culmination was one flesh (v.24) – the
complete unity of man and woman in marriage.”
[emphasis added]
Allen P. Ross, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Vol.
1, Genesis, p.31

16. Mark 10:6-9
“But from the beginning of creation, God made
them male and female. For this reason a man
shall leave his father and mother and be joined
to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, let no
one separate.”

17. Eph. 5:25-32
“…‟For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two
will become one flesh.‟ This is a great
mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the
church.”
The church is indwelt
by the Holy Spirit!!!

18. Two Triangles
Father God
Godhead Marriage
Son Spirit Man Woman
“The greatness of the mystery refers to the two becoming
one flesh.” –Harold Hoehner
from The Bible Knowledge Commentary Vol. 2, Ephesians, p.641.

19. Trinity and Marriage
God intends the relationship of male and
female in marriage to reflect the
equal, mutual, and reciprocalrelationship
of Son and Spirit as they together reveal
God the Father in the world.

20. Matthew Henry
“Observe that the woman was made of a rib out of
the side of Adam; not made out of his head to
rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled
upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with
him, under his arm to be protected, and near his
heart to be beloved.” [emphasis added]
- From Matthew Henry’s commentary on Genesis
www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc1.Gen.iii.html

21. Further Reading
Henri Blocher. In the Beginning. Inter-varsity Press;
Downer‟s Grove, IL; 1984.
Joseph Campbell. The Power of Myth. Anchor
Publishing; Harpswell, ME; 1991.
Harold Hoehner. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary.
Baker Academic; Grand Rapids, MI; 2002.
Madeleine L‟Engle. The Genesis Trilogy. WaterBrook
Press; Colorado Springs, CO; 2001.
Philip B. Payne. Man and Woman: One in Christ.
Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; 2009.
Allen P. Ross. Creation and Blessing. Baker Academic;
Grand Rapids, MI; 1997.