Foundations of Truth
This is the podcast of Firm Foundations ministries. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's Word, rooted in Scripture and anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each episode is designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding, and encourage you to stand firm in a shifting world.
Foundations of Truth
Divine Design: The Creator's Good Design
Where does human identity come from? In an age of increasing confusion about gender and sexuality, Dr Timothy Mann returns to the foundations of Biblical truth with a powerful message on divine design.
Starting with a compelling illustration of an airplane manufacturing plant, Dr Mann demonstrates how intentional design requires following a precise blueprint—just as God created humanity with purpose and intention. Drawing from Genesis 1 and 2, he establishes that God's declaration of creation as "very good" wasn't casual approval but the Creator's affirmation that everything—including gender distinctions—was purposefully designed.
At the heart of this message is the revolutionary concept that humans are creatures with a Creator. Our value doesn't stem from social consensus, government authority, or self-perception, but from being made in God's image. This gives every person inherent dignity that can't be granted or taken away by human institutions. As Dr Mann powerfully states, "Our value and worth doesn't come from anywhere except the fact it is God-given."
The message tackles head-on the fundamental question underlying today's gender debates: Who has the authority to define human identity? "This isn't a debate between cisgender and transgender individuals," Dr Mann explains. "This is a question of whether a creator has the right to speak about his creation." By establishing God as Creator and humans as creatures, he frames the discussion not as a political or cultural battle, but as competing claims to authority.
Dr Mann challenges both materialist philosophies that reduce humans to collections of atoms and spiritualist views that see bodies as temporary vessels. Instead, he presents the biblical perspective that we are integrated beings whose bodies are not accidental but intentional. "Our bodies do not lie to us," he states, offering a powerful counterpoint to the narrative that internal feelings should override physical reality.
What happens when we reject divine design? According to Dr Mann, attempting to redefine ourselves contrary to God's blueprint puts us at odds not just with Him, but with how we were created to flourish. The promise of joy through self-definition ultimately leads to confusion rather than fulfillment.
Ready to explore these challenging truths about identity, purpose, and design? Listen now to discover the freedom that comes from embracing how you were intentionally created.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Timothy Mann and Providence Church, ormond Beach, florida. Providence Church is a local assembly of followers of Jesus Christ dedicated to helping people become committed and mature followers of Jesus Christ. Today's message is from the Divine Design series on gender, sexuality, marriage and the Bible. Now here's Pastor Tim Mann with today's message.
Speaker 2:Well, turning your Bibles to Genesis, chapter 1. Genesis, chapter 1, verse 31. Genesis, chapter 1 and verse 31. The Bible says Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. Would you say very good? Indeed, it was very good. And so the evening and the morning were the sixth day this is God's word and the morning were the sixth day. This is God's word.
Speaker 2:The prophet Isaiah taught us that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our Lord stands forever. Let's pray and give thanks, ask God to help us. Father, we come now in the name of Jesus. This morning again, we praise you for salvation, we praise you for your provision, we praise you for the blood applied, lord, to our hearts, our lives. How desperately we need you. Even after you've saved us by your grace, we continue to need you, lord. We need the gospel every day to do your work in our life, to continue to sanctify us and make us into the image of your son, jesus.
Speaker 2:And Lord, this morning I pray for your help. I pray, holy Spirit. You will be the preacher. Help me, lord, to not be a distraction. I pray that, lord.
Speaker 2:Those in this room this morning and those watching online will overlook my idiosyncrasies and my frailties and will listen to the spirit of God. We'll listen for the voice of Christ. Today, as you speak from your word and God, I pray that our hearts and minds will be clear and open to what you want to do. Help us to be a people committed to your word, motivated by your grace and humble before you and before this world who needs to see Jesus. Thank you for your love. Thank you that you first loved us. We ask you to have your way now. In Jesus' name, I pray and all God's people said amen. So I want you to use your mind's eye for a few moments and I would ask you if you would imagine with me.
Speaker 2:Imagine with me that you're on a tour of an airplane manufacturing plant. Imagine yourself on a tour of an airplane manufacturing plant. I don't know if you've ever been in a plant of any kind before, but but they're quite a sight to behold. They're usually big and comprised of many workstations, and you are actually there to see a new, cutting-edge model. And as you begin your tour, you talk with the engineers. You get to be introduced to the engineers, and the engineers talk with you about the overall design. They talk to you about the plane's speed, they speak with you about the plane's power, about its seating capacity, and next, after you finish with the engineers, you, and maybe a few of them, you get to walk out.
Speaker 2:You get to head out onto the floor of the plant where hundreds of workers have a unique task. Can you see them? All around their station? Hundreds of workers working, and workers are at their jobs. As you stroll past each station, they're doing all kinds of things. Workers are assembling an engine, workers are. There's a station for wiring all of the cockpit's instruments. There's a station for putting upholstery on seats that will go inside the plane. And each of them, all of these workers at each station, is working from a plan, the blueprint for the plane. They're all working from the blueprint. Then you actually get to the very end of the plane. They're all working from the blueprint. Then you actually get to the very end of the facility and you see the plane itself.
Speaker 2:It's still in an almost skeletal form, but a design is taking shape. A design is taking shape that will make an insanely heavy object fly at amazing speeds. We have some former pilots in the church and they know what I'm talking about. And if any of these workers fail to meet expectations in following the blueprint, in putting the plane together exactly as it's designed, something could go wrong with the plane. A mistake in the engine or in the propeller components will lead to disaster catastrophe.
Speaker 2:Each part of the plane's design is not guesswork. Design is not guesswork. Each part of the plane is relying on other parts of the plane to do their job so it can do its job. The parts are interlinked and dependent on the other, and so when we look at the Bible, when we come to God's Word, we see a similar story take place as we read how the Creator created the world. There was a designer and he had a plan for how he was going to make the world. There was, we could say it this way there was a blueprint in God's mind. There was a blueprint that God had in mind, and once he had built his creation, he stood back, as it were, and nodded. Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. It was very good. And so the evening and the morning were the sixth day. God's creation was what kind of good? Very good, it was very good. It was not average, it was not purposeless. God's active creation was successful in every part and it was intentional on every part, intentional on every part, intentional on every part, intentional on every part.
Speaker 2:Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, shows us that the God of the Bible, that the God of this universe, does not create by chaos. He does not create by chance, but he creates according to purpose, and his purpose is brilliant. Whether you're talking about trees or mountains, or stars or atoms, or baby's fingers, creation is full of awe-inspiring sights and awe-inspiring sounds and even awe-inspiring smells, and God's creative brilliance reaches a peak with humanity. I hope you still have your Bibles open. Genesis, chapter 1. Genesis, chapter 1, I want to read from verse 26 down through verse 29. This is 1, 26 through 29 says Then God said Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.
Speaker 2:Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all, all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And so God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him Male and female. He created them. And then God blessed them. And God said to them be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said see, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed To you, it shall be for food. Genesis 1, 26 through 29. And so the high point, the high point of the story of creation, of the account of creation, is God's act of making mankind. Genesis paints a picture of a God who Genesis paints a picture of a God who, like an artist, finishes a masterpiece with extra care, extra attention and extra precision. Humanity is the high point because there is something unique about mankind Only humans bear God's image.
Speaker 2:Only humans bear god's image. Now, the image of god is a somewhat mysterious category that theologians have debated for centuries. Theologians have debated for centuries period, and we'll continue to do so until jesus comes. Theologians have debated this issue mysterious category, the image of god but all agree, all though, that to bear God's image means that there's a special relationship that only humans have with God. If it's anything else, it is that there is a special relationship that only humans have with God. One Bible teacher said the fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like and represents God.
Speaker 2:Now, humans are not identical to God. Humans are not God. Humans are not identical to God, but they are made to be like God in features such as their moral aspects, their spiritual aspects, their mental aspects and their relational aspects. Humans can know God in ways that the rest of creation cannot. For example, rabbits do not debate among themselves the existence and the nature of the divine while nibbling grass. Or also fish do not consider the moral complexities of their lives while swimming around the ocean. They just wait for me to catch them. That's all they're doing. They don't. They don't consider those things. Humans do consider those things and humans do debate those questions.
Speaker 2:Further. Humans were assigned the task, according to the Bible, to subdue creation, to rule over it on God's behalf. So we are made to represent God, we are made to relate to God and we are made to rule on the behalf of God. And it is from being made in God's image that humans possess inherent dignity. Quoting Dr Wayne Grudem again, he says we are the culmination of God's infinitely wise and skillful work of creation. We are the culmination of God's infinitely wise and skillful creation. Listen and hear me well. No one, no one. Not the state, not a government, not any philosophy, not any theory, not any social movement, nothing can give humanity more dignity and worth than God can. Our value and our worth does not come from ourselves. Our value and our worth does not come from what somebody else thinks about you. Our value and our worth doesn't come from what your children think about you, what your parents think about you, what your spouse thinks about you or what your pet thinks about you. Listen, our value and our worth doesn't come from anywhere except the fact it is God-given. It is God-given.
Speaker 2:Come back to the airplane hanger with me. How much is the engine worth? We've got some pilots in the room Bob and Randy, both I see you guys. How much is the engine worth? See, if you add up the value of all of its parts separately, you'll get one answer. But if you consider that all of the parts together have made an engine, you'll get a bigger number. Because the engine has greater value than the sum of its parts, because it has been made intentionally as an engine and as a crucial part of a much greater plan. So you and I are of more worth than our parts add up to.
Speaker 2:You and I are worth more than our contribution to our community. You and I are worth more than our contribution to our community. You and I are worth more than our contribution to our country. You and I are even worth more than our contribution to our family. You and I are worth more than our contribution even to our species' future. You have been made intentionally as an image-bearing human, as a crucial part of God's greater creative plan, and every aspect, every aspect of who you are carries and reflects that dignity. Every aspect, our minds, our hearts and our bodies all are created and all therefore carry value and are designed to have dignity. You know what this means. This means that matter matters. Our bodies matter, our bodies matter. Your body is not arbitrary. Your body is not accidental. It is intentional. And while you are more than your body, you are not less than your body. You are not less than your body, you're not less than it. We're not just a collection of atoms that happen to be conscious. Nor are we, as the New Agers would say, god-aware souls trapped in the materials of this universe. No, we are living, feeling, emotional, embodied beings designed to relate to and to reflect the creator with each part of ourselves. That's what we are and God has a right to speak into this. He has a right to speak into this issue Turning your Bibles over to Psalms.
Speaker 2:If you're in the Old Testament, just turn to the right in your Bibles. Go about halfway in the Old Testament Psalm 24,. Or you've got an app or something on your phone. You can just click there. Psalm 24, verses 1 and 2. Psalm 24, verses 1 and 2. God has a right to speak to these issues and here's why. Psalm 24, verse 1 and 2.
Speaker 2:The Bible says the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has formed it upon the seas and established it upon the waters Psalm 24, 1 and 2. So, in other words, the earth is the Lord's. He created the earth. It's the Lord's and everything in it. The world is his, the atmosphere and the stars, and the sun and the clouds and all of that. But not only is the earth and the world his, but it also says everybody who dwells on it, who's ever dwelled on it, is his.
Speaker 2:Now that doesn't mean we're all children of god. Every once in a while, you'll hear somebody say well, we're all god's children, we're all god's children, we're all God's children. That's not true, not according to the Bible, but we are all God's creation, we're God's creatures and as his creatures, he has a right to speak. In other words, let me put it this way, let me make it real simple Because God made this world, the world belongs to him, this world belongs to God. We are part of God's creation. We are creatures with a creator. We are creatures with the creator, and the best way to live is according to the blueprint that God designed and by playing the part that God designed humanity to perform, and as creatures, not the creator.
Speaker 2:As creatures, we can't rewrite the blueprint of our design out of our own will. We don't get to do that. A plane's engine cannot decide to be a wheel because the wheel is designed with a different purpose in mind. Be a wheel because the wheel is designed with a different purpose in mind. Look, we have neither the authority and, in truth, we have neither the ability to rewrite or reconfigure how God made his world. It's his creation and we're just living in it. And since our bodies are part of his world, made by him. His authority extends to us. This is his creation and we are his creation. We are his creation, and so this is why, ultimately, god has authority in the transgender debate. This is why God has authority, ultimately, in the homosexuality debate, or any other debate for that matter. His voice deserves to be heard and his view needs to carry the ultimate weight.
Speaker 2:This isn't a debate between cisgender and transgender individuals. This is not a debate between those who are religious and those who are secular. This is not a debate between the left and the right. This is not a debate between Democrat and Republican. This isn't a question of whether Dr Timothy Mann has any right to speak into this debate. This is a question of whether a creator has the right to speak about his creation, and it's a question of whether a creator has more knowledge of his creation than does a small part of that creation itself.
Speaker 2:This is a debate, as I said last week. This is a debate on competing authorities Ourselves or God, creatures or the creator, and that's what each of us has to decide. And it's a safer venture. I'll just tell you it's a safer venture to cast your lot with the reality of the creator, who speaks authoritatively about how he made creation and why he made creation. It's a much safer bet. Now. Remember back to Genesis 1. Remember, when God finished his act of creating, he called all that he had created what Very good. It's a very good design. Now, this is important. It's important on all fronts, but it's especially important when we think about sex and gender, because when God declared his creation good not only good, but very good he was declaring that what he has made has purpose behind it.
Speaker 2:The beginning of God's word makes two ideas very clear. First, god is the creator. Second, we are creatures. Those two short sentences may actually be the most significant sentences of this series that God is the creator and we are creatures. What does that mean, ultimately? Well, being creatures means that we aren't sovereign, we're not the ruler. Only God is sovereign. Only the Creator is sovereign. Only the God who creates is the God who assigns to humans what humans are, what humans are supposed to do and how humans are supposed to do it.
Speaker 2:Being creatures means that our highest calling and our greatest pleasure is found in living in line with how God designed us. Now, that is not to say that how God designed us is the easiest or even the most popular way to live. But being creatures means that we cannot recreate ourselves in any fashion or form that we desire by a simple act of the will, or even the complex work of a surgeon. Complex work of a surgeon, because when we, as creatures, reject the Creator's blueprint, we're rebelling against the natural order of how things objectively are and, although it may not seem or feel like it, we're rebelling against the, we're rejecting the life that is going to be the highest good for us as well. Now, this may sound obvious, but God's blueprint included making humanity into halves Genesis, chapter 2. Turn there with me Genesis 2. Like I said, this may seem obvious, but let's look at it.
Speaker 2:Genesis, chapter 2, verse 21 through 24. The Bible says Genesis 2, verse 21,. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and he slept, and he, meaning the Lord God, took one of his ribs, meaning Adam, and closed up the flesh in its place. And then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, he made into a woman and he brought her to the man. And Adam said this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore, therefore, what, therefore, god made male and female? Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2, 21 through 24.
Speaker 2:Maleness and femaleness, according to the Bible, aren't artificial categories. Maleness and females are not, according to the Bible, constructs of society. The differences between men and women actually reflect the creative intention of being made in God's image. The creator designed humanity in male and female forms. He chose to create two halves, just two, not thirds, not eighths or not one single type. What is a man? What is a man? Well, according to the Bible, according to the blueprint that we just read, genesis tells us that a man is a human who can be united to a woman, a wife, with whom he can physically become one flesh. A person with male anatomy is reflecting physically the fact that they are created. A man. A person with female anatomy is reflecting that she is a woman.
Speaker 2:Maleness isn't only anatomy, but anatomy shows there is maleness and femaleness isn't only anatomy, but anatomy shows that there is femaleness. Now, men and women are more than just anatomy but, ladies and gentlemen, they are not less, they are not less. Our anatomy tells us what gender we are. Our bodies do not lie to us. Our minds do, our hearts do, and we'll talk about that more next week. And we'll talk about that more next week. Why do people have these feelings? Why do people have these thoughts? Our anatomy tells us what gender we are. Our bodies do not lie to us.
Speaker 2:Now, these absolute differences in men and women, chromosomes and anatomy are actually also accompanied by general differences and I'll say generally general differences in the relative and again I say relative strengths of being a man or a woman.
Speaker 2:For example, the broad shoulders of men aren't accidental features, but evidence of the natural strength that males were created to innately possess.
Speaker 2:That's why this whole sports thing is a big deal right now.
Speaker 2:The wider hips that women possess for childbearing speak to the creational design that God wove into femaleness. The protective instinct that men are able to harness at a moment's notice isn't an evolutionary characteristic passed down from marauding cavemen, but it actually issues from the way that God made men. And much in the same way, much in the same way, women tend to enjoy what we sometimes call motherly instincts, such as nurturing and tenderness. So to misunderstand, to blur or to revolt against and reject the Creator's categories for humanity, it doesn't just put us in rebellion against the Creator and creation. It actually puts us at odds with how each of us was made us at odds with how each of us was made, and since God made a very good world with no flaws. It's not that way now, but since God made a very good world with no flaws, and since the world included humans created as men and humans created as women, to strive to become different than or even opposite of how God made us, that can never result in flourishing in joy, fulfillment, happiness, whatever it promises.
Speaker 1:Join us next week, at this same time, on this same station, for part four in the Divine Design series on gender, sexuality, marriage and the Bible. For more information on Providence Church service times, bible, fellowship groups, kids programs and more, go online to theprovidencechurchorg.
