Are God's attributes displayed differently in man and woman?

[Bristol-H]

My questions:

- Does it take BOTH man and woman together in a one-flesh union to display the likeness of God?

- Yes a man and a woman separately are image-bearers of God, but is that made more full in the one-flesh union?

- Is it drifting too far into speculation to say that God has masculine and feminine attributes?

- The one-flesh union is a picture of Christ and His church yes, but does that one-flesh union also extend to the union of the members of the Godhead in fellowship?

- is it right to say that Adam and Eve displayed the likeness of the Triune Godhead?

These questions for the most part are just me trying to ask the same thing in different ways.

I need a little help thinking through these ideas. I have been tasked with a study on Anthropology and my tires are spinning a little in these matters looking at Genesis 1:26,27 and 2:18-24.

I am not finding much to answer these questions in my regular commentaries on these verses and the most help I could find was this article from the Moody Church (I also don't know how reliable the moody church is) I found this had some helpful insight, however, I am still unsure how exegetically sound it is to say "the woman displays God's feminine attributes"

God's feminine attributes, The Moody Church.

Articles or commentaries on the subject would be helpful.

Regards, Little brother B.

 

[C. M. Sheffield]

No. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no.

 

[Ed Walsh]

No. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no. no.

A man who has made decisions on truth needs few words.

 

[RamistThomist]

This is...no.

 

[Santiago DO]

Is it drifting too far into speculation to say that God has masculine and feminine attributes?

Yes! Because God is The Creator, we are His creation.
Are we going to categorize Him with something He made?

 

[Pergamum]

God likens himself to a nursing mother....but then again he also likens himself to a chicken, too... so that only goes so far.

 

[arapahoepark]

Please correct me if I am wrong but, I thought somewhere a renowned Reformed theologian with, I believe, the taught something like this.

 

[Polanus1561]

Brother, sorry but if you are not sure and cannot provide a name or source, then please do not state any institution's name out of charity

 

[83r17h]

Does it take BOTH man and woman together in a one-flesh union to display the likeness of God?

I think that Heb. 1:3 sufficiently answers this question with a "no."

Yes a man and a woman separately are image-bearers of God, but is that made more full in the one-flesh union?

No. Marriage doesn't display God's nature, so much as it displays the relationship between God and man. And even that is not an identity, but an analogy.

Is it drifting too far into speculation to say that God has masculine and feminine attributes?

Yes. It takes something created (sexuality) and projects it back onto God. God is simple, not genderfluid.

The one-flesh union is a picture of Christ and His church yes, but does that one-flesh union also extend to the union of the members of the Godhead in fellowship?

I don't see any compelling reason to make this connection. The point of the one-flesh picture is that two formerly separate things are being united. God was never divided, and so never "came together" into unity. That would actually be in contradiction to the Trinitarian processions.

is it right to say that Adam and Eve displayed the likeness of the Triune Godhead?

You'll need to parse this question more precisely. For example
1. "Does Adam reflect the image of the God who is the Holy Trinity, and does Eve also reflect the image of the God who is the Holy Trinity?" This question is equivalent to whether or not both Adam and Eve have the image of God. The answer is yes.
2. "Does the relationship between Adam and Eve together reflect the Trinitarian processions?" Then the answer would be no. The book Simply Trinity is a helpful read on this front.

Overall, we are prone to jump on imagined connections and leap to conclusions. But we believe that all that can be known about God is revealed by God, and so a lot of these questions can be answered simply by asking a more basic question: has God spoken anything that prompts this question? I don't know of anywhere in Scripture that prompts the idea that God has masculine or feminine attributes. Nor do I know of anywhere in Scripture that prompts a connection between the marriage relationship and the Trinitarian processions.

I also would like to observe that many views which use "Trinity" as a reason to make anthropological judgements about relationships, and that the image of God consists in relationships, often is based on a social trinitarian doctrine. Again, Simply Trinity is really the best resource here.

 

[arapahoepark]

Brother, sorry but if you are not sure and cannot provide a name or source, then please do not state any institution's name out of charity

You are correct I will edit my post.

 

[Andrew35]

Yeah, I think I would agree with most of the above, summarizing as follows:

The division of humanity into two sexes says a great deal (implicitly) about humanity;
Something (analogically) about Christ and His church;
Nothing about God as He is in Himself.

 

[Bristol-H]

You'll need to parse this question more precisely. For example
1. "Does Adam reflect the image of the God who is the Holy Trinity, and does Eve also reflect the image of the God who is the Holy Trinity?" This question is equivalent to whether or not both Adam and Eve have the image of God. The answer is yes.
2. "Does the relationship between Adam and Eve together reflect the Trinitarian processions?" Then the answer would be no. The book Simply Trinity is a helpful read on this front.

Overall, we are prone to jump on imagined connections and leap to conclusions. But we believe that all that can be known about God is revealed by God, and so a lot of these questions can be answered simply by asking a more basic question: has God spoken anything that prompts this question?

Thank you for taking the time to answer with clarity. Your input helps me think a little more biblically and a little less speculatively on these points.

as per your request for clarity on my last question, your second point was closer to it. 2. "Does the relationship between Adam and Eve together reflect the Trinitarian processions?"
This was the question.

Overall your reference to Hebrews 1:3 provides the best answer to all these questions.

Thank you for your time.