Does God Have Gender? -- By: Aída Besançon

Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 24:2 (Spring 2010)
Article: Does God Have Gender?
Author: Aída Besançon


Does God Have Gender?

Aída Besançon

Aída Besancon Spencer is Professor of New Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She is founding Pastor of Organization of Pilgrim Church, Beverly, Mass. She has written many books and articles, including, most recently (with others), Global Voices on Biblical Equality and Marriage at the Crossroads. This essay is also available as a CBE conference recording.

To speak about God is a dangerous venture. On the one hand, the Bible warns us that God is beyond our comprehension. As Elihu explains to Job, “Surely God is great, and we do not know him” (Job 36:26a).1 Or David exclaims, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable” (Ps. 145:3). The Lord tells Isaiah, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9). Paul tells the Romans, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33), and he tells Timothy that God is “the King of kings and Lord of lords” who alone “has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). God is immortal; we are mortal (e.g., 1 Tim. 1:17, 6:16). God is eternal; we are limited (Gen. 21:33). God is all mighty or all powerful; we are limited in power (Job 36:5, Jer. 32:17,1 Chron. 29:11-12, 2 Chron. 20:6). God is all loving; we love only partially (1 John 4:8-16). God is all grace; we offer grace only partially (Exod. 34:6-7). God is all just; we are just only partially (Exod. 34:6-7, Deut. 32:4). God is creator of all; we only subcreate (Isa. 44:24, Jer. 32:17). God deserves an exclusive love; we love in a limited way (Exod. 20:5-6,34:14). God is always compassionate; we are compassionate sometimes. God is always holy; we are holy sometimes (Lev. 19:2). Nevertheless, we have been created in Gods image as beings who are relational and have domi...

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