What does it mean when Paul says that 'in Christ, there is neither male nor female'? Does it mean gender makes no difference in access to salvation or in all areas of life? Does it mean gender makes no difference on earth or in the afterlife? Does it mean male and female are the same? Let's look at how various theologians interpret these passages.
"There is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ" Galatians 3:28
"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him." Romans 10:12
"a renewal in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, [nor between nations whether] barbarian or Scythian, [nor in status whether] slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all [so believers are equal in Christ, without distinction]." Colossians 3:11 Amplified Bible
These passages affirm the truth of justification by faith and not by who you are, your citizenship, ethnicity, or the law. All people, regardless of gender, are equally valued in God's sight. No human quality makes a person inferior. Males and females have equal status as heirs to God's kingdom. This is a core understanding most Christians share.
And that's where the different biblical interpretations begin.
Neither Male Nor Female means: Equal Value But Different Roles Based on Gender
The historically universal Catholic view of these passages is that after The Fall, sin entered the world, and as a consequence men would rule over women until Christ returns and restores the perfect world of before The Fall. This view promotes that only men may be priests or have authority in church or society. The historically Catholic view promotes mutuality in marriage. Just as Christ sacrificially serves his bride, a husband takes care of his wife; it's not about a husband dominating a wife. The partnership is by mutual agreement (1 Corinthians 7:1-6).
The Complementarian reading of these passages is that God's original, perfect design was for hierarchal relationships with men leading and women submitting.
Holding either of these views requires one to reconcile the patriarchal structures with the equality of Galatians 3:28. This is done by saying that gender differences do not restrict equality to salvation but do not impact inequality to other arenas.
One traditional interpretation is that Paul says we are all one in Christ, united with each other, and as such our human distinctions lose significance. None is more favoured than another. An egalitarian will say that passages that appear to restrict women must be more closely examined so that they do not conflict with what Paul wrote in Galatians, Romans, and Colossians.
A complementarian (patriarchal) commentator will continue to say that while men and women are equal, leadership is limited to men based on other passages. In other words, seeing the conflicting passages, they will opt to set policies according to the passage that limits women.
A narrow understanding of 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 can lead to believing that God assigned leadership and authority only to males and service and subjugation only to females. They may say both male and female roles are equal and highly valued, yet the male roles are unrestricted and more highly paid while the female responsibilities are secondary, subject to male supervision, and are chronically underpaid. It means men and women are equal but different.
To be honest, this view seem like the argument that was previously used to support segregated, inferior schools for Blacks only. The US Supreme Court ruled that segregation is inherently unequal.
Neither Male Nor Female means: Equal Value and Equal Freedoms, and Responsibilities
An egalitarian reading of these passages acknowledges that women and men are different, with unique gifts, and equal freedoms and responsibilities, but that these differences are secondary and do not determine our roles or functions.
Christian egalitarians do not believe genders are the same. Egalitarians do not ignore or forget sexual differences or distinctive traits of each gender. Egalitarians believe our identity is primarily in Christ; we are not defined by our sex, and gender differences do not define roles or functions. However, identifying as a Christian does not preclude also identifying as a woman, man, LGBTQ+ person, a wife, a widow, a red-head, or a left-handed person. You continue to have unique characteristics even as you have an identity in Christ.
Women and men both have value in all areas. The Bible does not endorse that roles or activities be determined by gender. Our calling at home, church, and society, is determined by the gifting of the Holy Spirit and not by gender. In contrast to their first-century contemporaries, early Christians attempted to surmount social divisions.
Nellie McClung, a Christian advocate for women's rights, author and member of the Alberta parliament, was one of the 'Famous Five' who petitioned the Supreme Court to have women declared as persons eligible for office in the Senate. Turned down by Canada in 1927, the British Privy Council declared women as persons in 1928. In her 1937 book "More Leaves from Lantern Lane" McClung McClung states that love fulfills the law and that we have artificially restricted our love. She referred to Galatians 3:28 in her comments on the ordination of Miss Lydia Gruchy in 1936:
"The United Church of Canada took ten years to make up its mind whether or not it could allow a woman to be ordained in its ministry. Every two years the matter came before the General Council; every two years there were speeches made, and committees appointed to look into the matter, and "ascertain the mind of the presbyteries", but finally in September of last year, the last hurdle was taken, and the matter was decided in the affirmative "by an overwhelming vote". Only one application for ordination has been before the Council meetings all these ten years, and the applicant has not said a word. She has gone on teaching and preaching. She has driven her Ford in the summer over the uncertain roads, and her little horse-drawn cutter in the winter; she has lived with the people she served, sharing their joys and sorrows. Once in a while she has been invited to speak in the city churches, and has done so with a dignity and charm which has made her friends and advocates. Miss Lydia E. Gruchy of Kelvington, Saskatchewan, has a perfect record of eleven years' country service. In July 1936 she was called to be the assistant pastor of Saint Andrew's United Church in Moose Jaw, and her ordination followed. So the United Church of Canada has at last endorsed what Saint Paul said more than eighteen hundred years ago, that there is no "male or female bound or free," but all are one in the service of God." - Nellie McClung
Neither Male Nor Female: Ancients thought Females matured to Males when they Believed
Early theologians thought that only a male brain could comprehend the new life Jesus discussed, that females were undeveloped males, and that a few females might mature to become males.
The non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an ancient that shows that first-century thinkers believed men might enter God's kingdom, and women who believed in Christ matured into men. The ancients believed women had weak logic and conceptual thinking abilities and that as they matured in Christ, they could "Act like men" (1 Corinthians 16:13).
When Perpetua, a 2nd-century martyr, described her vision, she said,
"And I was stripped naked, and I became a man."
Augustine interpreted this to mean that she literally transformed into a man and her nudity proved her physical sex change. Much of Augustine's theology is based on pagan Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, who said "The relation of male to female is by nature a relation of superior to inferior, and ruler to ruled." Domination was widely honoured in the Greco-Roman culture, while passivity was condemned as weak and feminine.
Margaret Cotter-Lynch indicates that the original language of Perpetua's vision can be translated more accurately as,
"And I as a woman, was made a thing which is male."
In other words, she remained a woman (the subject of the sentence) and at the same time was male. She was male-female at once. It means understanding Perpetua's vision with the language of a metaphorical transformation.
Another view is that women not only give up their gender, but men also give up their gender. An expert on the Gospel of Thomas understands the passage this way:
"If each gender is mutually relinquished in this way, no gender would remain. The very idea of gender is seen as meaningless." William G. Duffy, author of The Hidden Gospel of Thomas.
Neither Male Nor Female means Unity
It is possible that 'In Christ, there is neither male nor female' means that our differences are eliminated in the unity of one body in Christ: the two parts become one. Paul brings unequal pairs to unity using examples such as male/female, Jew/Gentile, Slave/Citizen.
The Bible gives many examples of unity: the vine and the branches, the head and the body, and marriage which makes two become one. These pictures demonstrate unity, mutual dependence, and mutual service.
"Religious, social, and sexual pairs of opposites are not replaced by equality, but rather by a newly created unity." J. Louis Martyn, The Anchor Bible.
The Male-Female Human in Genesis
Some view 'neither male nor female' as meaning that God gave all humans elements of both male and female.
So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 NRSVUE
Traditionally Genesis 1:27 has been understood to say that God made males and God made females.
However, the language can also be understood to say that God made humans, and each human was a male-female.
The original word 'adam' means 'human'. The individual man was not given the proper name 'Adam' until Genesis 4. God is a three-in-one being who is neither male nor female but has characteristics of both. Humans, likewise, are in God's image. Each individual becomes a union of the male and female in the image of the three-in-one God who is neither male nor female.
In 1923, Katharine Bushnell published the idea that this original human was a type of hermaphrodite who could reproduce asexually. Could it be that God blessed the asexual humans and told them to be fruitful, multiply, and rule the earth? (Genesis 1:28).
Later, the human saw the coupling of the animal kingdom and wanted the intimacy of a partner suitable to them, so God split the human, taking part of the human's side to form the woman, leaving a man delighted to have a counterpart like himself (Genesis 2:21-22). The dividing of the male and female into two counterparts is why a husband and wife desire to be united as one flesh (Genesis 2:24).
Neither Male Nor Female: in the Resurrection
The idea that there is 'neither male nor female' can mean we submit our gender to our spirituality. Gender is less important than faith. Each believer is a living spirit, neither male nor female, in god's image. Each individual is a combination of male and female.
This view of 'neither male nor female' infers that the difference between the sexes are abolished later, in the resurrection.
"In the resurrection, they will not marry... for they will be like the angels" (Luke 20:36). Luke is infurring that in the after life, believers will have new bodies. He is not saying that believers must be celibate to be angelic, nor that females must become male to gain salvation. Christ has overturned the worldly ideas of gender hierarchies and replaced them with his example of loving one another.
Conclusion
It is good to celebrate the unanimity of the belief that we are all valuable in God's eyes and all justified by faith, regardless of ethnicity or gender. After that, I hope that we can remain open-minded as to how our brothers and sisters in Christ might understand the idea that there is neither male nor female. A Complementarian may say that our differences have no impact on salvation but have an impact on our activities based on their understanding of other passages. An Egalitarian may say our differences have no impact on either our salvation or our activities, based on an alternate understanding of other passages. We have come a long way from the early centuries when Christian theologians thought women might mature into men to be saved. Christians take various views on the first human in creation, and how humans were made male and female. Christians do not have the same views on being neither male nor female in the afterlife.
Next time you read "in Christ, there is no more male nor female", I hope you will have a fuller understanding of the way Paul's readers may have viewed gender and creation. I believe it is wonderful to imagine each human in God's full image, regardless of your gender. Once you see each human as bearing the full male-female image of God, the gender of our earthly bodies becomes irrelevant to God's calling on our lives.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1
The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role
Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor