Biblical Manhood Series

1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

I am starting a series on Biblical manhood. I think it's important to look at what the Bible calls us to be and do as Christians men. What biblical passages do we look at for Biblical manhood? What does it mean to be masculine according to the Bible? How does this apply to each one of us in our specific stages of life? What does biblical manhood look like in our specific time and culture?

Some of what we will cover will be doctrinal or theological (what we should believe) in nature, but a lot of it will be very practical (what we should be doing).

This series will be a very brief fly-over of this topic. There is so much more that could be said and has been said elsewhere in many great books and sermons. I don’t ever want to give the impression that our homes are our only responsibility as men. As Christians the gospel impacts our entire lives. We do not focus on our homes to the neglect of everything else God calls us to in light of the gospel. Nor are we to neglect our homes! God would not want us men to build our ministries, our businesses or even our communities over the remains of our families. Our goal is not just to be a better husband or dad, but to grow in Christ-likeness. As we do this (by His grace and the power of the Spirit) our families will most definitely benefit! Always remember that your family is your first mission field. Your wife and kids are your church and you are to lead them in a holy relationship with the Father.

Having said that, I will be covering three areas in the life of a Christian man. First, What is masculinity? – What it is, what it is not, and attacks on true masculinity. Second, Biblically masculine husbands. – Leading your wife, responsibilities of headship. Third, Biblically masculine fathers. – Leading/teaching your kids about Christ, responsibilities of being a disciple maker in your home.

WHAT IS MASCULINITY?

Masculinity is not simply maleness. Just because you have male parts doesn’t make you masculine. God is the ultimate example of true masculinity yet the Bible tells us He has no physical body (John 4:24). So the idea of masculinity is not just tied to anatomy.

A Working Definition

I’ve seen several definitions of biblical manhood and they are all pretty good and get the point across, but the one I like the best comes from Douglas Wilson in his book Father Hunger – “True masculinity is the humble, glad assumption of God-given responsibility.”

God ordains and describes the roles, and the job requirements attached to them. Men humbly and gladly accept these roles and requirements and walk in them by His grace. Masculinity and authority flow to those who accept responsibility and flee from those who shirk responsibility.

Men and Women Are Different

In order to truly understand biblical masculinity we MUST understand that men AND women were/are created in the image of God. We are the same and equal in this regard (Gen. 1:26-27). But we can easily see that we are wired differently. We have different desires, different ways of communicating, and different ways of dealing with issues. You can see this in kids. They do not have to be taught these tendencies, they just are. Thank God men and women are wired differently! It makes lifer so much more interesting and when a man learns to LISTEN to his wife and value her opinion, his life is complimented by the uniqueness that is in his wife.

Men Are Cultivators

Among several ways you could describe men, we are by nature, cultivators (Gen. 1:28; 2:5; 2:15). God has wired us to take care of things, make them grow and be productive. This is inherent. You can see it in our man-mantras – “bigger, faster, stronger.” We want things to be better and more efficient. This is by design. This is also why women have a hard time understanding why men just won't listen! Men are always looking for solutions so when husband and wife sit down to talk about things, the man goes into "man" mode and is looking at all the angles and ways things can be fixed! All the time, his wife is just wanting sympathy and for him to, "just listen". For men, this feels like a waste of time and energy, but let me tell you from experience, just do it. Listen to her! Comfort her or celebrate her or whatever the occasion merits, Just make her feel you understand. This is no waste of time, you will actually be saving time and moving forward once you comprehend that this is how she is wired. You will excuse me, I sometimes start ranting like this and get carried away!