Let me first establish the key words, with their descriptions and definitions, which I will be using throughout this article.
Identity (physically/psychologically/spiritually) is – who you really are, arguably your biological identity, and even much deeper really, your true being, your essence, your spirit which is born of God.
Self-Image – how you see or perceive yourself, how you assume others and God sees you.
Self-worth – Your true value, your true worth.
To have a sense of – alludes to the ability to perceive, comprehend, understand or be aware of.
You can have a sense of your true identity.
You can have an awareness of your self-image.
You can have a sense of self-worth.
Acknowledgment: The three-point truth around “identity, self-image, and self-worth” first became much clearer to me through Dr Jim Richards in 1997. Back then Jim still had many cassette series, and this was one of those amazing series. To me it was a most streamlined, concise, and powerfully presented truth, which became a game changer for me. I want to acknowledge Jim for that as honour should go where honour is due. For a few good years I joined Jim Richards and his Impact Ministries on this side of the ocean and helped him by organizing the translations of some of his classic books like, “Grace the power to change”, “The Gospel of Peace”, and “Satan unmasked”, into the German language. His material provided elemental insights into the message of Grace and Gospel truth.
Jim’s eschatology is of futurist character whereas I hold a full-preterist view. I am certain he does not agree with my explanation on the redemption of all of humanity either. Then again, I do not agree with his teaching on the tithe and as stated his eschatology and several other cardinal point of his Soteriologie. However, I think it is possible we agree on more things than the things we might disagree on. Even though we have not exchanged communications since around 2004, I still consider him a friend. I remain grateful for the things I could learn through his work during that time. When you have an opportunity you should check out his website. As things go with much that we may learn from others, this message on Identity, Self-Image, and Self-worth is something I spend a lot of time on and I suppose over time my comprehension of this truth evolved a little further.
This matter around the topic identity is fairly straight forward
IDENTITY: Your identity is determined by birth. If you are born of God, you are a Son/Daughter of God. This is your spiritual identity. Thus, in the spirit you are that child of God. This is an unchangeable reality. In the physical realm you are born of your parents by which you have an unchangeable pre-determined biological identity.
SELF-IMAGE: The process of the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2) is the establishing of the beliefs of the heart congruent with the Word of God, which develops your perception of how God sees you, which equally determines how you see yourself.
SELF-WORTH: Your worth and value determined by the fact that God demonstrated His love and value for you in the finished work of Christ.
This truth has always been basic and easy to understand. It must be, because training, education, and modelling of these fundamental truths must begin in the initial years of childhood. Truth be told, this topic is on the top ten list of topics which should be considered a most crucial and powerful truth every human being ought to be well established in. It is not a complex truth to comprehend. It is straightforward and simple. It is so simple we need a lot of help to not have any awareness of it, and that is exactly what happened. Humanity has been side-tracked on a path of confusion ever since the beginning. Christian religion has been no exception by hijacking this truth and replacing it with many doctrines which often generate nothing but false humility, low sense of self-worth, sin-consciousness, a poverty mentality, and an appearance of faith but without the power of it. An extreme example is the conservative Roman Catholic order Opus Dei and its use of “corporal mortification” or “self-flagellation”, which is the voluntarily punishing of one’s own body as a “spiritual” discipline. Ironically, it is not a “spiritual” discipline at all. It is nothing but a completely carnal approach by doing some sort of physical penance to earn forgiveness from God. As a result, throughout history the organised Church’s dogma on these matters had its detrimental spill over into the secular world. Only the few who intuitively know better rise up against such a toxic mindset.
The consequence is that having a healthy sense of self-worth has rarely been taught correctly anywhere in our society ever. How can we expect “teachers” whether they are teachers in schools, lecturers in the academic world, or Churches, Temples, Mosques and Synagogues teach any of this material if they themselves have never had a good foundation in this truth. What we have had are many philosophies and ideas on this topic which provide incomplete or only half truths. Many of those ideas are confusing or worse, they are blatant deceptions from the pit of the Abyss (figure of speech).
And why not? If having a thorough understanding of your true identity will cause you to become a powerful human being, it explains why Satan’s temptations presented to Jesus in the wilderness was a direct attempt to get Him to doubt His identity as the Son of God. Consequently, all attacks upon our own life’s have equally ever only been either a direct or indirect attack on our knowledge and the perception of our true identity. These attacks were intended to either obscure or to distract you from knowing your true identity. If you already had revelation of your true identity, then the attacks were purposed to try and get you to doubt this truth.
Understanding how having a correct view of the identity issue puts one in a powerful and advantageous position in life has been sorely underestimated. Knowing the truth around your own identity will set you free from the 1001 manipulative lies about who you really are. These lies have kept the masses of people under all kinds of yokes of self-projected dependency upon others and external sources hoping to get from them what they believe they do not already posses. Looking to outside sources to meet this need is the frantic attempt to try and satisfy the most basic psychological and emotional sense of purpose and worth. A maxim of principle to remember is that other people can add to your sense of worth, but if you become dependent on others affirming your worth you will also allow them to tare it down. For example, in a co-dependent relationship one feels great when the other party commends and praises them, however, the moment they are criticized by them that same person will end up in momentary depression of perceived low self worth. This is often described as the “YoYo” effect, which is the consequence of the other person operating by the “draw and then reject” syndrome. Co-dependency is the toxic and distorted version of the inter-dependency model. Healthy relationships function within this dynamic of interdependence. We see this dynamic in human developmental stages of physical/psychological/emotional maturity. A newborn baby is at first completely dependent upon their parent(s), carer(s). The adolescent or young adult often tends to go through phases of pulling away from the parental or family home and becomes independent or seeks to become independent. Providing relationships with the family are good or decent they should eventually enter the phase of inter-dependence. This is the phase of mutual support, love and care and where healthy relationships can be nurtured.
Co-dependent relationships are toxic
Co-dependent relationships are usually formed by coercive and or controlling behaviour of one party and the other being controlled yielding to the manipulative pressure of the other. Sometimes the roles reverse, and the controller becomes the one being controlled or visa versa. This is a very toxic environment where the expression of true love is very difficult, if not almost impossible. A crude example being where the one gets their sense of worth from the other person by feeling accepted of them. They literally need that other person to say and do the right things for them to keep their sense of worth intact. This is not about loving the other one unconditionally and expressing love and value for their person. This is about needing them to verify their sense of worth. But they are trying to get from them what the other cannot give. This same phenomenon operates in groups such as local churches. An insecure leader or Pastor being the controller, needs his or her sense of self-worth upheld by the amount of people who attend their services, the things people say about them, the praise and respect they get from the people or even the level of obedience from the people to the manipulative directives from that leader or Pastor. Whether in relationships, groups, or overreach and manipulative control exercised by authorities and governments, make sure you are established in your sense of self-worth which comes from your heavenly Father.
But what if people were free from all the many things that kept them bound in a co-dependant relationship with people, their spouse, partner, their boss, their Pastor, or Goeroe, the State, or their government? Millions of people across the world are protesting the latest oppressive statutory mandates by their government. They seek their freedom or seek to protect their freedoms from being taken by the tyrannic oppressive tactics to control the masses. Yet, the word freedom generally remains a political idea politicians will use as a buzzword to rally many supporters around them. For the most part freedom remains an illusive goal because most people wouldn’t know what to do with freedom if they had it, how to use it, or worse what its purpose is.
Those who conspired in the dark for thousands of years to gain global dominance in the world believe the masses are more like brute beasts. If they even had freedom but for a moment it would be lost again because no one understands to true reason for freedom. (This is one of the sinister statements recorded in “The Protocols of the elders of Zion”) Yet, for a truly enlightened person freedom is never an end in itself. An enlightened man or woman will know the essence of their being, and their true identity. From there they connect with their God-given sovereignty and consequently purposely exercise their dominion. They exercise their dominion to protect their freedom from the oppression of outside forces. They express their true identity, sovereignty and dominion to the fullest.
A free person can make decisions based on the revelation of who they truly are. A person who can make decisions based on the revelation of who they truly are is truly free.
Ok, I will get to the point.
Your identity is determined by birth. What is identity? It is the essence of your being. It is your being. You are a being. Not a doing. You do things, but you are a being. What you do does not determine your being or change the nature of your essence, which is being. Yet, we grow up in a world which conditioned the many to believe that your identity is of ever changing or transforming nature determined by what you do, what you have, what you accomplish, or whom you know, and you can even determine your own identity. What they are doing is confusing their identity with their self-image. The self-image is all about how you see yourself. People can have a self-image completely out of sync with the reality of their true identity. You do not choose your identity, you are what you are since you were born. You can except truth about your identity and develop your self-image around that truth. Or as many millions of people in this world do, they have no idea who they really are. Yet, they think they do and continue to let their self-image evolve into whatever they want to accept as true.
The mentality of this world causes people to grow ever more detached from their true essence, their true being. However, it is only by their own perception, the assumption is made they are detached from their true essence. That sense of detachment is very much akin and linked to the sense of separation from our true source of life. Not so much the Kosmos, not a universal mind, but our maker, creator, and Father of our spirits. Both the sense of detachment from your true essence and being, and the sense of separation from God is a lie. Yes, it is truly perceived as detachment, and separation, but it is not the reality. You are never separated from God, one can only perceive to be separated from God. On the other hand, a person who is in tune with their true essence and being (spirit) is also in tune with nature, i.e. the ebb and flow of cosmic energies within and without them, and most of all very perceptive to the Spirit of God.
2 Corinthians 4
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest (they shine forth) the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, [should shine unto them].
Those last words “should shine unto them” are not in the Greek manuscript. This light shining unto them alludes to the idea that this light comes from outside of us and is shining unto us or onto us. This is completely wrong. The light of the glorious Gospel is within each and everyone of us. What the Apostle Paul is really saying is that because of their unbelief they are not shining forth the light of the glorious Gospel because they were blinded to this reality within them.
The ideal state to live by then is not a perpetual struggle to do, and to achieve with the intention to determine your value and worth. Live is not a matter of trying hard to earn acceptance, and prove you are someone, a being worthy of acceptance and acknowledgement. Have you ever seen a horse trying vey hard to prove they are a horse? Or a cat? A bird? No, they just are. And though likely not with the same level of self-awareness as humans, are humans really that self-aware or largely running on automatic pilot by the subliminal programs they’ve accepted to take over their minds?
If you are a believer and you know that Christ lives in you and you are conscious of the fact that it is in your spirit where you are one with Him, you will become that vessel emitting, permeating, and radiating the life of Christ through your soul and personality. Knowing who you are, connected with Christ within your true essence, your true being, will cause you to naturally do things supernaturally which express who you truly are, yet animated by the life of Christ. Here you are not trying to be accepted, because you know you already are loved, highly valued, and accepted.
The real you can only be discovered in the knowledge that God loves you. He does not love the fake version of you because it is not you. There is no need to cover up the real you with masking behaviours to keep up the appearances. You can relax now. He is ok with your imperfections, your quirkiness, and eccentricities. He forgives your sins and has made you accepted in the beloved Jesus Christ.
The old saying “God loves you as you are” could also be understood as “He loves the real you.”
With “the real you” I am referring to the person you are in your soul and spirit. Your soul is expressed in your unique personality, but from a spiritual perspective the real you is the spiritual being (spirit) you are in Christ.
Who are you?
Let us start off again with what was said earlier. Your identity is determined by birth. If we focus purely on the physical and mental realm, then biologically your birth is the result of your parents coming together. Irrespective of whether you know your parents, or only one of them, or never met either of them. In the purely biological sense, you are the genetic progeny of a man and a woman coming together where you were conceived and born. Your genetic blueprint is carried in all of the cellular memory of your physical body. Newer studies in epigenetics show that even some psychological memories can be passed on genetically.
You will know that the first three to four years of a child are crucial for the formation of consciousness, and the awareness of self. The root meaning of the word, ”identity” comes from the Latin “idem” and means the same, or sameness. So yes, the child will have features that look similar to either of the biological parents of both. The child is born of these two people and is a direct descendant of its parent’s family tree which have identical overlapping traits in their biology and DNA. Psychologically the child normally also feels safety, and acceptance because there is a subconscious sense of “sameness”.
Human communications is dependant upon the dynamics of rapport building. A businessperson will begin with small talk with their client about some common topic of interest. This removes the sense of unfamiliarity and threat because of perceived differences between parties. Remove the sense of unfamiliarity and establish a sense of sameness between people and they will be comfortable with each others presence.
The serpent’s temptation presented to Adam and Eve was all based on the suggestion that they could do something (eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil) to become like God, to become the same as God. In other words, the serpent’s sly deception was a subliminal suggestion they were different from God, and not like Him, which destroyed the sense of being able to identify with God. This became the root cause for the sense of separation from God.
Biological and Cultural and Social Identity
The people of Israel were twelve tribes of the head of the family Jacob who was the descendant of Isaac, who was the descendant of Abraham. Someone born in the house of any of those tribes will have been raised with an awareness of their physical identity within the tribe they were born into.
This of course was a major part of the upbringing of the Hebrew child. Their education in the Torah and the Prophets, with all the history of their culture became an intergrated part of the child’s awareness regarding their physical and cultural identity by descendance. Someone born in the tribe of Judah would identify with that tribe down to the father of the household they were born into. They would see themselves as a Judahite of the Father of, for example Jesse, Hebrew Yišay (יִשַׁי). Remember David was the son of Jesse. King David who grew up as a shepherd’s boy had an awareness of his rich cultural and spiritual heritage. In 1 Samuel 16:13 Samuel the prophet anoints David as the one chosen by Yahweh to become King. His sense of identity (rather his self-image) was rooted in this rich cultural and spiritual heritage and knowledge of his calling and separation unto God. He saw himself as an Israelite, a Judahite, set apart by Yahweh to be the member of a chosen people to carry the name of YHWH before the non-Jews, the Gentiles who were predominantly followers of pagan gods and anointed to be King. Look how that boy became a powerful man of God by virtue of His sense of identity (self-image). When it came right down to it, even a giant champion warrior did not stand a chance before him.
1 Samuel 17:45
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
Because David knew who he was in relation to the God of the universe, and because this God was on his side by virtue of a covenant established between Yahweh and his people, he could have the confidence to approach Goliath with this kind of faith. His awareness of being favoured by God was the foundation of his sense of identity, self-image and self-worth. We said our identity is a static reality and is determined by birth. It is the true essence of our being. So, when a child is born, they are that being, even though they must develop the awareness of who they are as they grow up. With the right kind of environment and input from the important people around them, that sense-the ability to perceive that identity, will become established even within the deeper levels of consciousness. This is how they will come to see themselves. Note: that having a perception of something is not the thing itself. In this case the perception of “the identity and essence of our being” is not the identity or essence of being. It is really an image of our true identity. That’s why I call it the self-image.
Lets put it in simple terms. If identity is who you are in spirit, then how you see yourself is your self-image, whether your self-image is grounded on the reality of your true identity or some phantom idea of an identity.
The Self-Image
Your self image is the internal image you have of yourself. This is why parents have such a huge responsibility to help create an environment in the family home where a child can safely grow and develop their sense of identity. Albeit a sense based on the natural biological, and cultural factors only. In places in the world where modern civilisation has had less impact small villages made up of several families still live by these principles. For example, everyone in the village is involved in raising up the children. This is expressed in the day-to-day activities, household chores, and education. A child in that environment can grow up with a strong sense of their family heritage and their sense of identity within that community. It all becomes part of their self-image. A self-image based on their biological and cultural identity. An awareness of the spiritual identity come by revelation through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
In the natural then a child will carry the surname of that family. Now of course in Hebrew tradition the father’s family name was passed on to the child. In our time this has taken on a whole different dynamic where children can have a double barrel name. The name of both parents, or if the biological father is not involved in that household, the child may bear the mother’s surname. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that they are the child born by a man and a woman coming together in the act of sexual intercourse and the woman conceiving. They did not proceed from a man with another man, nor from a woman with another woman. They are the biological child of that man and woman and carry the biological DNA of their blood line.
That is their physical, biological non changeable identity.
When I say non-changeable it is fact that millions of children are not born out of a loving relationship with two parents being in a beautiful wholesome loving relationship. When you come across a truly loving family like that you have stumbled across a powerful cornerstone of a society. Sadly, many families and households struggle with serious dysfunctional characteristics. Domestic abuse in all its different forms is tragically a common daily occurrence in many households. This is not a matter of some households or families don’t have any characteristics of abuse but then others do. There is no such thing as the ideal household where everyone associated always acts out of unconditional love. Disagreements and tensions are normal in every relationship and household. Everyone manipulates at times, each in their own way. But when that crosses over into emotional, psychological, economical, sexual and physical abuse there is a clear problem.
The definition of domestic abuse
The current United Kingdom government’s definition of domestic abuse is “any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence, or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional.”
The above statement provides some explanation of the United Kingdom statutory legislation guidance and definitions. However, you and I know that small children much younger than 16 years of age are often caught in the middle of what happens at home when things go wrong again. There is legislation in place that cover this multiplicity of offences to. Many times, the children become the victim of any of the types of abuse mentioned above. Since the UK’s Domestic Abuse Act 2021, children that have been exposed to domestic abuse are now recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right, rather than just witnesses. Being exposed to patterns of domestic abuse will cause them to be traumatised again and again and they themselves end up walking around with complex post traumatic stress disorder. Or because of constant exposure to the abuse happening between their parents or carers they end up with vicarious complex PTSD.
I only bring this up to make the point that home life for a child should be the safe incubator where they can develop a healthy sense of self-worth. Destructive, abusive, or even dangerous home environments will do much to infringe upon that process. Many people who having come out of these types of homes will have a tremendous challenge to work on the issues that affect them since childhood at a later stage in life. There is grace in God for the healing and restoration for this type of psychological and emotional pain. Regrettably, when people end up in Church groups where sectarian characteristics (read the book “freedom from Christian co-dependency” by Dr Jim Richards) are prevalent it just adds insult to injury, and painful memories aren’t really healed at all. Religion is incapable of bringing healing to that broken heart. It will do much rather to suppress the pain even further. Healing only begins with the revelation and experience of God’s unconditional love towards us.
Intimate Terrorism
In his book “A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situational Couple Violence” by Michael P. Johnson the Perpetrator typology of the Violent Resistant may have actually been the long-term victim of Coercive and Controlling behaviour by their partner or spouse. Violent resistance is more the point in a Victim’s life where they snap, loose control and could end up really injuring or even killing their abuser. Often, Victim’s of Domestic Abuse especially where subjected to long – term coercive and controlling behaviour do not support the prosecution due to fear of retaliation. The statutory body i.e. the Police investigating such cases must then use hearsay evidence “Res Gestea” to conduct evidence led prosecutions proving the offence of coercive and controlling behaviour and fear of the victim. The UK government defines controlling or coercive behaviour as: acts designed to make a person feel inferior and/or dependent by keeping them apart from friends, help and support. It can include taking advantage of their money and things they have, stopping their independence, and controlling what they want to do. Also, an act or series of assaults, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten the victim.
That said the underlying issue with all victims of coercive and controlling behaviour is the fear of violence. The state of fear these victims live through is constant and is likely to develop complex ptsd in the Victim. The acts of violence, or the threat of violence causing fear in the Victim of Coercive and Controlling behaviour is what Michael P. Johnson also designates as “Intimate Terrorism”.
Think about it, the perpetrator in principle demands the Victim’s obedience, submission to their directives, to neglect everything and everyone else but remain loyal to them, and love them or else there will be consequences. Though that’s in the setting of the domestic household. Now translate that to Church groups where eternal hell and the lake of fire is a fundamental element of their doctrine. In addition to that topics such as submission to the Church leadership and the need to stay under the anointing of the man or woman of God, paying your tithes, and if anyone doesn’t keep these requirements the messages from the pulpit become laced with threats. Being exposed to that kind of message will not generate faith but fear. It is a form of Church family terrorism, where the preacher, teacher or Pastor becomes the proxy perpetrator. Consider maybe, are you a victim?
Corrupt governments and media who use fear mongering to get the general public to comply with their agendas are perpetrators of national social terrorism. Remember terrorism is officially defined as: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. Again consider, are you a victim? This is serious stuff.
In an ideal world
Parents big responsibility towards their children is of course, providing protection, food and shelter as in a home for the whole family. But beyond that I believe the biggest mission of all is to instill a healthy sense of self-worth. What is self-worth? Is it the same as self-esteem? I suppose so.
The word “worth” carries the meaning of “deserving off”, and “value”. The price tag of costly jewels will tell you what it is worth. It tells you the value of the costly stones. If the work of art is a beautiful painting it is deserving of admiration and praise. The word “esteem” carries the meaning of “high regard” and “to set a high value on”. Translate these principles to the worth and esteem of a human being now here’s something that can do wonders for that person’s healing of complex PTSD.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
The above verse was really Jesus’ address to the Jews who listened to His teaching. The Lord was exhorting them to believe on Him so they would escape the destruction and desolation of Judea and Jerusalem that would come on that generation. Nevertheless, God’s love for the world, for people is an all-encompassing truth. It is timeless and forever. Now consider this. If you love someone you value them highly. So, we can say that the word Love and value are synonymous and can be used interchangeably. Experiment with this and say, “God so highly valued and esteemed people that He gave His only begotten Son”. Now say this, “God so highly values and esteems me that He gave His only begotten Son for me”. Hmm, dwell on that for a while.
Our physical identity
So, we now established that our physical or biological identity is determined by who our parents are. This biological reality is unchangeable. Irrespective of the fact that attempts are made by some to manipulate physical changes for those who are experiencing gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people who believe their gender identity is different from their sex and gender assigned at birth. It is a believe or perception that they are of a gender different from what their physical body appears to be. Yet, no amount of gender re-assignment surgery, make-up, dress, and hormone therapy can turn a male into a female and visa versa. Sex or gender is predetermined in our chromosomes. This cannot be altered. Of course, I’m not referring to exceptional cases, for example birth defects. Even when a man can achieve looking like Miss Universe it does not change that fact. What if a man now identifies themselves as a woman? To be correct, that remains their inalienable right to do. Even if they want to use the pronouns, she/her, it is them exercising their freedom and right to choose how they want to be addressed by others. I may not agree with their decision, but I defend their right and their freedom of choice so long as it does not infringe upon other people’s rights either. Last week I heard an announcement on the radio that a revolutionary medical breakthrough was achieved by a successful implantation of a womb into another woman. What if they implant a womb into a man? Does that make them a woman? One could argue, well, the word woman is really made of two words, womb and man. Man with a womb. Yet their chromosomes have not changed. Womb or not. Biologically they are still a male. They were born a male, they tried hard to live like a woman, but they will die being male.
Matthew 19
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Of course, we all know this is Jesus talking. Jesus is the second person of the Godhead, co-equal, and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Here our creator and maker of all things is making references to the scriptures of the Torah. In modern day vernacular, and paraphrased, He is saying, “bottom line is there are two genders, male and female”. And yes, I use the word gender and sex interchangeably. They are the same thing. What sex are you? Or what gender are you? Means the same thing. At least it used to. The recent rising idea that “two gender truth” is just a mental construct of society is a vein attempt to contradict the Maker and Creator of the Universe.
The argument that the passages from Genesis 1 and 2, say that God only “began” by creating human beings of male and female sex, but – there is nothing that indicates in Scripture that God only created this binary? – is a complete unfair argument. The website where I found this statement even emphasizes the importance correct hermeneutics, yet they superimposed the idea that God began with man and women suggesting He was not finished on the sixth day and may have created more genders or sexes as time went on. I’m not even going to bother to comment further to such profound foolishness.
No, the fact is that the idea of Genderfluidity is the real mental construct, backed by compromised and hijacked media, and social, political, science and psychology institutions and universities.
On their website the National Library of Medicine quotes the following:
[Since 2011, the FDA started using sex as the biological classification and gender as a person’s self-presentation as male or female, or how a person is responded to by social institutions based on the individual’s gender presentation.]
The World Health Organisation also states:
[Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.]
And they say much, much, more about this topic which strays from the original meaning of the word gender.
[The United Nations website should not be skipped. One of their statements is as follows:
In recent years, many States have made a determined effort to strengthen human rights protection for LGBT people. An array of new laws has been adopted – including laws banning discrimination, penalizing homophobic and transphobic hate crimes, granting recognition of same-sex relationships, and making it easier for transgender individuals to obtain official documents that reflect their preferred gender. Training Programmes have been developed for police, prison staff, teachers, social workers and other personnel, and anti-bullying initiatives have been implemented in many schools.]
The United Nations really serves as a massive think tank and inspiration for this type of gender fluidity ideology. Much of their inspiration leads back to the Lucis Trust, formerly called the Lucifer Publishing Company, the main publisher for Madam Blavatsky’s luciferin and occult teachings. I read somewhere that representatives of the Lucis Trust sit on the board of consultants for the UN.
Let me point out here, although it should it almost be superfluous to say we should not hate anyone. Homophobic or hate crime against people of the LGBTQ+ community does not reflect the heart of God, and from that perspective God’s love and acceptance is secured in Christ for all. Where the UN’s training programs consist of projecting an untruth and the inversion of what God made and what God states is an evil that has nothing good in store for the future of humanity. To say that there can be an unlimited number of genders, and the male or female sex is not the same as gender, is;
1. Purporting an out and out lie, irrespective of any academic and medical papers trying to provide evidence to support this unwholesome ideology. 2. If these training programs also encourage drag queens to perform presentations on adult themes in front of underage children in schools, they have crossed a sacred line. I am getting too angry trying to write about this, so I must stop here and leave you to do your own research on what is happening in our schools, children’s programs on TV and in the movie entertainment business.
The word Gender
As per the Online Etymology Dictionary
The word Gender comes from the root word; “kind, sort, class, a class or kind of persons or things sharing certain traits,” from Old French gendre, genre “kind, species; character; gender” (12c., Modern French genre), from stem of Latin genus (genitive generis) “race, stock, family; kind, rank, order; species,” also “(male or female) sex,” from PIE root *gene- “give birth, beget,” with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups.
So, whether scientists, medical experts, professors, politicians, activists, etc, seek to change the meaning of the word gender, justifying the type of ideology that now seems to pervade our educational, political, and social media platforms, I will stick with what Jesus says about gender.
As per Matthew 18:4 there are two genres’, genders; Male and Female. Everything else is someone’s own personal identification. I checked the Greek and the Hebrew from Genesis 1:27 and the original Hebrew and Greek words for male and female remain exactly the same in the English translation and probably the German, Dutch and every other language the Bible has been translated into.
Genesis 1
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Someone said, “saying there are only two genders is not inclusive for all other groups”. No that is mixing Biblical and scientific facts with emotions and imaginations. It is not heterosexual bias. Presenting such an argument is gaslighting by overlaying a straw man argument. In Christ there is no male or female, gay or straight, or trans, what matters is that we are a New Creation, and we are all included in His death, and raised in His resurrection.
Galatians 3
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Here is a point most people will struggle with. When we get to heaven, we will not be getting married or be interested in sexual relations. Gay, Lesbian, Trans or Straight, sexual orientation will not be part of life there. Many will be shocked at this statement and worried that heaven is going to be a boring place. That is because they are thinking with a carnal mind. We will receive a life much more glorious. It will be beyond what we can imagine now. One thing is for sure. Do you know that thing called sex? We will not miss it in heaven.
Mark 12
23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. 24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? 25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
Homosexuality
Not all men with homosexual orientation are or behave in an effeminate manner. But just to point out here, scripture reveals that effeminate men or young male prostitutes was a common thing since the time of ancient Syria and Babylon right up to the time of the Apostles, especially among the affluent Romans of the Roman empire. The history of gay relations and homosexuality comes up every now and then throughout the Bible.
Leviticus 18
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
There is no denying the condemnatory language of Moses’ Torah here. It was God’s Law as part of the Sinaitic Covenant. But we must remain loyal to the context. The verses address intercourse with male shrine prostitutes at temples to pagan goddesses, or intercourse between married men and young men or even boys. Here in the next verse this practice is oddly lumped together with bestiality.
23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
The next verse reveals that the above-described sexual behaviours were the common practises of the nations who served pagan gods. It alludes to the idea that these sexual acts were part of their pagan rituals. There is more than enough extra Biblical evidence which shows that a diversity of sexual acts of the most bizarre nature was common among all ancient pagan nations. Many of these acts were comitted in their dedicated pagan temples with their pagan priests.
From his book “Sex Worship: An Exposition of the Phallic Origins of Religion” author Clifford Howard says the following: “Phallic (sex) worship was not confined to any one race nor to any particular age in the history of the world, but was the religion of all nations at all times. It was the worship inspired by the phenomena of nature in her great mystery of life and while its resultant mythologies and attendant ceremonials were carried and adapted from one nation to another, it had numerous independent originations; for the human mind, as a whole, is always affected in the same way under similar conditions, and the wondrous phenomenon of procreation has ever aroused in primitive man a deep and religious reverence for the animating powers of life. While the highest development of phallicism was reached by the ancient Egyptians, Hindus, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans, whose records and remains abound in evidence of the phallic basis of their elaborate mythologies and religious celebrations, the existence of this early form of religion is to be found in every part of the globe inhabited by man. Babylon, Persia, Hindustan, Ceylon, China, Japan, Burma, Java, Arabia, Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, Ethiopia, Europe, the British Isles, Mexico, Yucatan, Peru and various other parts of America, all yield abundant evidence to the same effect and point to a common origin of religious beliefs.”
Leviticus 18
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
Leviticus 20 further provides a list of condemned sexual behaviour.
Leviticus chapters 17 and 26, are also referred to as containing “the holiness code” because of the emphasis throughout these verses on holiness, on being holy, and on being pure. Notably this set of scriptures addresses the importance of what you may eat, what you should not eat, what you must not do, what you must not wear. All these things could affect how holy the people of Israel were and how pure they were. Eating the wrong food made one unclean [Lev. 20:25]. Having a tattoo or marking (piercing) on the body was forbidden [Lev. 19:28]. Wearing clothes from different fibres – like wool and linen together was forbidden [Lev. 19:19]. Even having a physical disability prohibited a person from coming near the Temple or certain areas of the Temple or even partake of some of the holy feasts, and if they were of the tribe of Levi they certainly could not minister as a Priest [Lev. 21:16-23]. The Torah instructed the Israelites to be pure, to be separate from, to be different from their pagan worshipping neighbours. Everyday life was therefore marked with a symbol of that purity, that standard of holiness and separation unto God. They were not to assimilate with the surrounding cultures, just as different types of fibres shouldn’t be in the same material of cloth.
The Law is abolished
If you are soundly established in the fundemental truths of grace and the New Covenant in Christ you know that we are not under the Law of Moses as mentioned above and we are not under that Old Covenant.
But I must ask you does that encourage you to burn incense or make a sacrifice to pagan gods, whom you know are really just representatives of demonic entities? No of course not. The Law of Moses also says, “thou shalt not kill”, the word “kill” really means “murder”. But we are not under that Law. Does that encourage you now to go and commit murder because we are under grace and in Christ in the New Covenant? I don’t think so.
What about homosexuality (or same-gender attraction as my word editor wants me to correctly define it), in our time? If we stay loyal to what we know about the old Covenants and the new Covenant in Christ then we must conclude that there is no condemnation for either the heterosexual, or somebody who sees themselves to be homosexual, bisexual or transexual. There is no difference. God is not angry with them. God will not punish them. God is not really interested in someone’s sexual orientation. We must however interject here though that it is completely out of order to place paedophilia and bestiality together with homosexuality or lesbianism. The only reason bestiality was lumped together with homosexuality or arguably paedophilia in the scriptures in Leviticus is as indicated that it was the practise of those ancient pagan nations. Yahweh did not want His chosen people to follow their way and so God gave them the Covenants and the Law to be separate from those nations around them. But again, and again they broke the covenant and went after strange gods. At times some of the Hebrew generations gave themselves completely over to the way of other nations and became even more wicked than they. For example, Judges 19 talks about the sons of Belial.
(The Sibylline oracles [supposed prophecies recorded by the Sibyls between AD 100 and 500] say Belial will be the Antichrist and/or a fake Messiah who deceives Samaritans) Belial as a demon has been adopted by more recent literature. In Paradise Lost, John Milton writes that Belial was the last demon to fall and the vilest—the demon of impurity and lies. Milton directly attributes evil to the individual demon. Belial is also mentioned in the Lesser Key of Solomon, a spell book that promised the user power to control demons for personal use. Though the book has nothing to do with King Solomon, as it was written in 1600s. There is also no indication from Scripture that Belial is the proper name of a specific demon. Could the Baphomet statute of modern day satanism have its link to this ancient Belial or Baal?)
I will spare you the details, but men with men and a woman lying with a beast is strictly condemned by the Torah yet was widely practiced by the pagan nations as part of their ceremonial religious observances. To be fair homosexuality outside of this pagan context does not seem to be the topic in scripture. When someone is gay it certainly does not mean they are a pedophile. I do not know how many people tend to get these things totally mixed up. Pedophilia is a crime of violence on a child who cannot give consent. It is rape and inexcusable. Bestiality falls in its own order of criminality and sick perversion.
If God is not angry with the world, which includes the LGBTQ+ community then Christians certainly have no business walking around in the streets holding up signs saying, “God hates fags!” These Christians are committing an offence by pushing their flagrant anti-Christ doctrines onto the world. God does not hate anyone. He hates evil. God hates sin, yes, that’s why He dealt with it through the cross. Any doctrine or message which denies God’s forgiveness for the sin of the world is the wrong message.
Personal view: What annoys me a lot is that media platforms, including official institutions such as schools and universities, big corporations and legislators are trying to push the LGBTQ+ rights and ideas down the people’s throat. People in general do not appreciate religious people pushing their religion in peoples face, yet in a very similar way this is now done with LGBTQ+ ideology.
Yes, God loves, forgives, and accepts all, does that mean paedophiles can just get away with their crimes against children? Or rapist, or murderers the like? No, absolutely not. But it is our responsibility to judge these crimes. God used to have a Covenant with Israel and if they or an individual among the Israelites broke that Covenant, God’s wrath was evoked, and His judgment would come upon them swiftly unless they repented. But now since the establishing of the New Covenant in Christ, God made man on earth solely responsible to judge matters here on earth. In this physical world it means that man on earth must employ their respective justice system. The fact that the integrity of many courts may be compromised is not God’s fault. People all across the world must work towards taking responsibility to re-establish integrity back into their governments, local authorities, police, courts and prison systems.
In the realm of prayer this means we take cases before God, the Ancient of Days in Heaven’s court and judge cases together with the twelve apostles as jury. We judge the crime, we judge the accused, we judge the angels and demons in the spiritual realm who were behind the evil act, and we decree the prohibition of further offending upon the spiritual forces of darkness. This is where we bind in Heaven, and then bind and forbid on earth as decreed in heaven.
Matthew 19
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
I cannot but acknowledge that Jesus clearly points out that the male and the female (two opposite genders) shall come together and become one flesh. Not man with man, or woman with woman.
This indicates that man with man or woman with woman in the beginning just did not exist. It was not the original design. Therefore, I’m going to say it. As per scriptural precedence set by the Creator; before sin entered the world same sex relationships were non existent because they are not natural by design. I heard the argument numerous times suggesting that even in the animal kingdom same sex relations occur. Yet, what people need finally get through to their thick stubborn plate of ignorance is that people are not animals nor are we members of the animal kingdom. We did not descend from animals, such as apes or monkeys or from a slimy amoeba that lived 100 million years ago. Gensis 1 and 2 should also not be downgraded as just symbolic literature. Should we take this set of scriptures literal then? Well, we should take it literal in the sense that God gave us the detail we needed. But the text must be approached with faith and asking the correct questions, not doubting and then apply massive amounts of critical thinking feeding off that doubt and unbelief. If anyone cannot accept the Genesis story by faith, they will by default also struggle to accept anything else in scripture, especially all the testimonies of the supernatural works of God and resurrection of Christ.
Sin introduced in the world significantly changed human consciousness
After mankind multiplied and spread across the earth perversions of sexual relations became rampant among the people. According to the Cambridge dictionary, the definition for the word “perversion” is: “the changing of something so that it is not what it should be or what it was”. Sexual behaviour deviant from the Creator’s original intent became common practise and very much part of a paganist ceremony – the worship of (perceived) gods of the earth and heavenly bodies (the sun, moon, the stars and planets). The many times the Hebrew people broke the Covenants and went after strange gods, they equally engaged in all kinds of sexual activities. There is ample reference to that fact in scripture. When Moses came down from the mountain and found the people of Israel dancing naked in front of the idol Aaron made, they were engaging in sexual activity. They were not just dancing and boogying to the rhythm of music. When I refer to sexual activity, I am not even emphasising same sex relations. This type of behaviour involved all kinds of sexual activity.
Satanic sex magic
When people hear preaching about sexual sin or read about it in the Bible it is often assumed that engaging in the sexual act was an end by itself alone, and that it was all about gratifying their particular sexual lust. This may have been true for David with Bathsheba but that is not really the case where a whole large number of people pursued in this kind of behaviour. What was going on here? You see, most of the time this type of activity was linked to a form of worship of their respective pagan god’s and was a conscious intention to perform satanic inspired sex magic. Simply committing adultery or having sex with anyone was not what caused the people of Israel to feel strongly attracted to the pursuit of the strange gods of the pagan nations around them and then turn their backs to Yahweh. For example, during the time of the Judges, you can clearly see it sometimes took a whole twenty sometimes forty years before a Prophet received a vision or a word from God and would finally cause the people of Israel to repent. The young people who grew up during the several decades whilst the Israelites engaged in out and out Baal worship momentarily lost the conscious connection to their history, the covenants, and the Torah. Their self-image became badly tainted and it dislodged the sense of their roots in the history of their ancestors and their covenant with Yahweh. But they repeatedly witnessed the pagan and satanic blood rituals and sex magic which to some degree released a strong dark power. This was the magnetic pull which enticed Israel and Judea to follow that evil way. It might be a shocking realisation to learn that this was common practise throughout the ages for both Jews and Gentiles (pagans). Consequently, several thousand years of many nations, people, and tribes engaging in sexual fluid activity has deepened its imprint upon the human psyche and consciousness.
God had to guarantee and preserve the seed of Abraham.
One could argue, if Yahweh had not called out a people unto Himself, a people in covenant relationship with Him, humanity could have been thus affected that there may not have been a virgin birth. For this reason, the Torah prohibited same sex relationships. Since the finished work of Christ, the way God views people in either gay, lesbian, or heterosexual relationships has significantly changed. For one, there is no judgment followed by punishment. The framework and demographics of our modern societies raised generations of millions of people who are in same sex relationships. Are you really going to believe God is going to send them all to hell, or throw them into the lake of fire? That is a seriously underdeveloped theology and psychology. Furthermore, it makes no congruent sense with what we know about God’s nature of love and the finished work of Christ. I personally know many people who are gay, or lesbian and some who are transexual. When I speak with them, I don’t engage with them thinking of these labels. I just see them for the person they are. Those that I know are just beautiful people each with their own unique graces and issues. We have banter, we cut jokes, we laugh and sometimes work together. I know some men who are gay, but we talk about the things of God all the time and they are devout believers. When I share Gospel truth with them, we sense the anointing, the presence of God and they are touched. What, you want me to tell them if they don’t repent, they will not make it to heaven?
I ask myself this question many times. If I were to Pastor a local Church again, would I allow same sex couples to attend our Church meeting? Absolutely! Would I encourage them to attend? Absolutely! Will I condemn them? Absolutely not! Will I tell them that God loves them? Absolutely yes!
Now I must be honest with you. I’m just not clear on the next set of questions. I honestly don’t know yet how to view this, but I know clarity will come, until then I’m praying for wisdom and insight from the Lord.
Would I encourage and bless same sex marriages? I don’t know. But what if the couple is already married, I will certainly not try to separate them or condemn them.
Will I encourage a gay, lesbian, or transsexual person to take on the responsibility of a leadership role withing the local Church or Ministry? I don’t know, but I’m unsure about it at this stage. In secular roles I worked with many some very good managers who were gay or lesbian and some not so good. I’m open to debate on the issues with anyone who does not approach the topic with a closed pre-set bias on either side of the topic. I do hold to Martin Luther King Jr’s most powerful statement in his speech “I have a dream”. Men (and women) should be judged by the content of their character, not by the colour of their skin, (my addition) nor by their sexual orientation.
So far, we established:
- Biological/Physical identity is confirmed by birth.
- The physical birth provides and sets the biological and genetic identity, which can never be changed.
- There are only two genders, and though people can change the way they look and even believe that they are uncomfortable with their natural born sex/gender and believe they should be other than what they are born with, their believe does not change their gender/sex.
- There is identity by birth, and then there is the self-image. The self-image is the way we determine to see ourselves, how we were taught to see ourselves, and how we were conditioned to see ourselves.
- Though same sex relationships were not part of the original design of our Creator, the behaviour of people throughout history strongly affected the self-image of humans in general and of course individually.
- God seperated a people unto Himself to guarantee the virgin birth.
- Gay relationships were strongly prohibited under the Sinaitic Covenant.
- The way God now views same sex relationships is through the lens of the death and resurrection and crowning of our King and Lord Jesus Christ.
- Does God now approve gay relationships under the New Covenant? I don’t know. What is clear though is that He does not condemn people who are of a gay, lesbian, trans or heterosexual orientation.
- Criminal behaviour of any kind of sexual abuse such as paedophilia, rape, bestiality, and if there be any other such behaviour that falls under this category, must be prosecuted in criminal courts. Notably, any kind of sexual abuse cannot be classified or lumped together under the same heading of gay, lesbian or transsexual orientation.
In the next article on this topic, I will do my best to go over some of the New Testament texts which seem to address gay relationships.
I admit that I have many questions with regards to how or where LGBTQ+ orientations fit or don’t fit in a New Covenant context. I may not be completely qualified to fully address “the LGBTQ+ and Christian faith” issue. But I am qualified to share the Gospel of Grace, Peace, forgiveness, and acceptance through Christ.
If you care to comment on this article, please contact me here.
Part 2 will be published soon