EXPLORING THE WORD  



What does the Bible mean by gender-based clothing?

Evan Plante





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But Paul was saying that certain symbols were not yet fulfilled — and as such, the Christian obligation was to keep pointing to the Christ by maintaining clear gender roles — and particularly within society and within the Church. This social structure is God's "native tongue"; the Bible makes no sense without it, and as such, it is the bedrock of all communication.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:22–24, NIV

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:18, NIV
It is interesting to note that the USA's Supreme Court has just ruled against God in this matter: Same-sex couples may now marry in the USA. This is the law-of-the-land — one which even Christian must acknowledge. But it is not of God. The social tide in the USA has ebbed, and it has lowered all our boats. Is this a big deal since freedom has been preserved? Certainly. The symbolism of Christ and his Church will be lost when God's native tongue fades from the social memory — and that is what the issue of maintaining gender identity in dress is really all about: If Satan can confuse the vehicle (the symbolic vehicle — the male/female identity), then he can confound the tenor (the symbolic tenor — Christ's headship over the Church) — and that is Satan's job: he's a "big picture" kind of deceiver.
The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:9, NIV, emphasis mine
The world does have a problem regarding gender recognition, but the problem does not involve any particular culture's dress as compared to another's. The problem is one of society's abandonment of traditional gender roles within the family. When people are anything but sure as to what a "husband" might be, the biblical figures lose their punch. Where once these figures were efficient modes of speech, they will soon be considered "old and odd" — of interest to scholars, but of no practical use.


Image Credit: freeparking :-|; "vintage family on vintage car"; Creative Commons


Tags:  Biblical-Truth  | Christian-Life  | Current-Issues


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Published 8-18-15