Man

God created man, male and female, in his image. Adam was the first human and the first male created by God, and the first female was Eve, created by God from Adam. A person’s gender, male or female, is determined by God and is not determined by desire, feeling, or a decision of the will. A biological male is referred to as a man, and a biological female is referred to as a woman. Marriage was created by God for men and women and is an exclusive relationship in which one man and one woman commit themselves to each other in covenant for life. Husband and wife become “one flesh”. Marriage is for believers and non-believers, but a believer should only marry another believer. Christ’s relationship to the church explains Christian marriage. The husband is to love, lead, and protect his wife, and the wife is to respect and submit to her husband. The differing roles do not mean that the wife is inferior to the husband since both are made in God’s image and Christ died for both. God made provisions for divorce because of sin, but these provisions for divorce are just that, provisions, and not commands. Reconciliation is always preferable. God made man, male and female, as sexual beings for the purpose of mutual enjoyment and procreation. However, sexual activity should only occur between a man and a woman and only within marriage. A sexual relationship between a man and a man or a woman and a woman is sinful. Also, in God’s sight there is no such thing as marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. Children result from the sexual activity of a man and a woman and are gifts from the Lord. While children are sinful from the moment of conception, they also have God’s image from conception and should be protected from harm. Abortion at any stage of pregnancy is the killing of a human being created in God’s image.