He is not a she and never will be.
An article popped up on my radar this morning, and I couldn’t help but believe how farfetched it would have sounded just a few short decades ago. The whole piece centered on “acceptable” pronouns we can or can’t use for others. A professor at the University of Toronto prefers to be called “they” instead of he. And the article used nearly 900 words to defend that position. Talk about eye-roll content. Well, the male professor is a man. He is not a she or a they or even an it. Although I’m more tempted to use “it” because of how ridiculous it is to know this guy is an actual “professor”.
And this all relates to why I actually started writing this post today. Because of how many Christians use the wrong pronoun to describe the Church.
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The Church is the Body of Christ. And He is not a she.
There I said it. And that should be enough, right there, to stop using pronouns like “she” and “her” to describe the Church. Sure, I know it’s popular to call the Body of Christ “The Church” these days. And it isn’t wrong. But it’s clearly evident how that neutralizes who the Church is. It is the Body of Christ. And is Christ a woman? (you should be able to immediately and emphatically say “No!”)
I saw a link, from a guy I’m connected to on a social media channel, that led to a YouTube video. The title was “Rethinking Church”. So, I clicked the link and watched the video…which was a repurposed podcast recording. Somewhere in the middle of the recording a glaring contradiction jumped out. The guy was giving a speech or a sermon to a church (he mentioned it was about 10 years ago), and he kept referring to the Church as “she” and “her”.
But then he pointed out how the Church can’t be separated from Christ because He IS the Church all Christians are a part of. We’re all part of His body. If He cannot, and is not supposed to be, separate from the Church, how can the Church be a “she” or a “her”. (bonus points if you wanted to shout “He can’t!” just then)
He is not a she and He tells us that over and over again.
If you’re a Christian, you know the Bible is God’s word. Right? So, if God expressly says Jesus is a man, we can accept that, no questions asked. Right? And if God says Jesus is His Son, we can know, without a doubt, that God had no daughters. Right? And if God describes Himself as “he” or “him” or “the Man“, there’s no way He can be a “she”. Right?
Right.
Why is this important to you and me?
Because Jesus designed everything. And He made things dependable. He wants us to know how we work and how our world works and how our universe works. You’re not an accident. Not the product of random chance. Time and dirt did not make you. Jesus did. And He wants you to grow and learn…forever. But you can’t do that when even the simplest things perplex you.
Like what pronoun to use for a man or a woman.
Are you uncertain whether a man is a man or a woman is a woman? Or what pronouns to use? Then, you might be in danger of eternal existence apart from your living, loving Creator. If that doesn’t scare you, it should. Because you’ll be a universe of one where you’ll forever wish you had acknowledged you were either a he or a she who trusted Jesus.
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In each episode of the FunderCast, Tony Funderburk shares how life makes sense because God made you. He’s the author and publisher of 34 books for adults and kids and a songwriter with hundreds of songs to his credit. Get some free songs and a book for kids by jumping on the <a href="https://www.tonyfunderburk.com/">The FunderFlash</a> today.