Journal: Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Volume: JBMW 21:1 (Spring 2016)
Article: Gender-Specific Blessings: Bolstering A Biblical Theology Of Gender Roles
Author: David Schrock

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JBMW 21:1 (Spring 2016) p. 15

Gender-Specific Blessings:
Bolstering A Biblical Theology Of Gender Roles

David Schrock

Pastor of Preaching and Theology
Occoquan Bible Church
Woodbridge, Virginia

Throughout the Bible there is great discussion about “blessing.” In Genesis 1 God made man and woman in his image. He called them to have dominion over creation and he “blessed them” (Gen 1:26-28). After death reigned on the earth (Gen 5) and God brought waters of judgment on all the earth (Gen 6-8), God promised to bless Abraham and all the nations through him (Gen 12:1-3). Ultimately, through this patriarch and his “seed” the whole world would be blessed. The rest of the Bible tells the story of this blessing, how from Abraham’s descendants came an offspring who died and rose again to secure blessing for all who call upon his name.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13-14)

In short, it is impossible to understand the storyline of the Bible and what God is doing in the world without a biblical understanding of “blessing.” Therefore, as we consider what it means to seek God and what is his blessing, we should not only define our terms by the saving work of Jesus Christ (instead of the sham promises of the prosperity gospel), but we should be aware of how blessing throughout the Bible is at times gender-specific.1

JBMW 21:1 (Spring 2016) p. 16

Larger books have detailed the biblical truth of biblical complementarity.2 These books ground gender roles in God’s good creation; they identify the way the curse afflicted men and women in ways unique to men and women; and they show how redemption restores gender roles through Christ’s death and resurrection. What follows depends largely on these larger works, but aims to read redemptive history with an eye towards the unique way God designs to bless men and women—hence, a gender-specific biblical theology of blessing.

Creation

In the beginning God created mankind in his image, male and female he created them (Gen 1:27). Like the one God in th...

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