What does the Bible say about gender dysphoria (f.k.a gender identity disorder) & transgenderism?

First point, just so it’s always at the forefront of out mind, we should respond the same way God responds to us → love, kindness, and grace, without sacrificing truth (loving the person ≠ affirmation of the sin).

“This is who I am.”

• Genesis 5:2 “Male and female He [God] created them…”
• quoted and reaffirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:4 “He [Jesus] answered, ‘Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female…’”
• Psalm 139:13-14 & Jeremiah 1:5 make it clear it is indeed God who forms us and knows us; so to say “I was supposed to be ______ instead” means God made a mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes. This isn’t diminishing people who are struggling with this internal disassociation. We are affirming the infallible nature of God.

We need to recognize this is a struggle for people, this psychological turmoil of feeling like something isn’t right. And if you don’t believe you were created by a perfect Creator you may arrive at the conclusion there was a mistake during your formation or what “society assigned to you” instead of processing the why of your disassociation.

The Bible continually uses the male/female marriage as a model of the church and discusses the differences in the roles of husband and wife, which would be impossible if genders are unknown, fluid, changeable, or a matter of choice.

• Genesis 2:24; affirmed by Christ in Matthew 19; reiterated in Ephesians 5:31,33; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20

“Well the Bible says there is no male or female!”

Galatians 3:28 is frequently taken out of context to justify gender dysphoria. Correctly understood, it’s saying there is no value or merit difference among followers of Christ. Verse 26 especially makes this clear: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.”

For further consideration

God in giving the law took time to specially lay out and protect the visible distinctions between genders:

Deuteronomy 22:5, “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.”

The Reformation Study Bible notes on this verse, “The symbols of gender difference are to be respected, and while such symbols vary over time and from culture to culture, the principle of gender distinction remains.”