JUNE - Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
We live in a day and age of much confusion. Christians should not be surprised. This is what happens when people reject God and reject absolute truth. Target's transgender policies and the resulting bathroom wars show the extent of the confusion about sex and gender. On one hand, some claim that sex is determined by your anatomy, but gender is a social & cultural construct that each individual must choose. On the other hand, some dismiss sex and gender all together and say that both are a social construct.
The more I study Genesis 1-3, the more I realize God laid out his divine plan or blueprint for the order of all creation in the opening pages of scripture. Genesis 1:27 tells us God created mankind in His image and he created us male and female. God created us different and with different roles in life for a reason. He has a purpose for us being male and female. As followers of Christ, we must look to the pages of scripture for the definition and understanding of how God made us similar to complement one another as male and female and yet also made us very different. For too long, the Church has allowed secular culture to define manhood and womanhood instead of turning to the truth of God's Word. Just as a biblical view of marriage and family is no longer popular, a biblical view of the roles of men and women has been unpopular for quite some time. This past month, we spent several weeks with our students at Vista Grande looking at what the Bible says about the roles of men and women.
Since God made us male and female, it makes sense that we would have different roles in life. In the opening creation narrative, you see the pattern of pairs of things created together that are similar yet also different: light and darkness, morning and day, earth and sea, plants and trees, sun and moon, sea animals and birds, land animals and humans, male and female. We see this idea of being similar and yet different even with the Trinity. God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are each fully and equally God, yet each has a distinct role. While men and women are called to different roles in life, we have equal dignity, value, and worth as people created in the image of God.
In the divine order of Creation, God's plan for manhood is that males would act like men by taking on the role of headship in the family and in the church. Headship is a great word to use as opposed to leadership because women can and do lead out in the family and in the church in ways that bring honor and glory to God. This headship does not mean that men rule like dictators or that men are somehow better or smarter than women. Headship also does not mean that men sit around at home or at church while women do all the work.
From Genesis 1-3 and Ephesians 5:22-33, we see that biblical manhood is about providing, protecting, and sacrificially serving and loving your wife and family as Christ loved the church. Men are called to provide basic physical needs for their families by working hard. Men are also called to provide spiritual direction, help set the spiritual tone in the home, provide time and attention where we are fully present in body and mind, and provide emotional support for the family. Men are called to protect both physically and spiritually. Biblical headship is not a position of pride, arrogance, and selfishness, but rather it is a position of humility where God calls us to lay down our lives as men for the good of others, especially for our wife and children. It is a call to love and serve like Jesus.
Women are called to the role of helpmate and submitting to the headship of the husband in the family. This does not look like being a doormat, being inferior, or having an insignificant role of impact within the family or the church. God has uniquely gifted women with strengths and talents that allow them to complement men in a beautiful way. A woman can come alongside her husband and other men and encourage them and help them to fulfill the role of headship in a way that glorifies God. This is not a position of weakness but of great strength and honor. God knew that men could not fulfill the role of headship alone!
On every great sports team, each player understands their role and their position. Each different position is incredibly important. If everyone was a quarterback, a pitcher, a point guard, or a goalie, a team could not function. Everyone must play their different positions well for the team to experience success. If we are going to glorify God and experience the greatest joy in the Christian life, then we must realize and fulfill the different roles God has for us in the family and in the church.
The more I study Genesis 1-3, the more I realize God laid out his divine plan or blueprint for the order of all creation in the opening pages of scripture. Genesis 1:27 tells us God created mankind in His image and he created us male and female. God created us different and with different roles in life for a reason. He has a purpose for us being male and female. As followers of Christ, we must look to the pages of scripture for the definition and understanding of how God made us similar to complement one another as male and female and yet also made us very different. For too long, the Church has allowed secular culture to define manhood and womanhood instead of turning to the truth of God's Word. Just as a biblical view of marriage and family is no longer popular, a biblical view of the roles of men and women has been unpopular for quite some time. This past month, we spent several weeks with our students at Vista Grande looking at what the Bible says about the roles of men and women.
Since God made us male and female, it makes sense that we would have different roles in life. In the opening creation narrative, you see the pattern of pairs of things created together that are similar yet also different: light and darkness, morning and day, earth and sea, plants and trees, sun and moon, sea animals and birds, land animals and humans, male and female. We see this idea of being similar and yet different even with the Trinity. God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are each fully and equally God, yet each has a distinct role. While men and women are called to different roles in life, we have equal dignity, value, and worth as people created in the image of God.
In the divine order of Creation, God's plan for manhood is that males would act like men by taking on the role of headship in the family and in the church. Headship is a great word to use as opposed to leadership because women can and do lead out in the family and in the church in ways that bring honor and glory to God. This headship does not mean that men rule like dictators or that men are somehow better or smarter than women. Headship also does not mean that men sit around at home or at church while women do all the work.
From Genesis 1-3 and Ephesians 5:22-33, we see that biblical manhood is about providing, protecting, and sacrificially serving and loving your wife and family as Christ loved the church. Men are called to provide basic physical needs for their families by working hard. Men are also called to provide spiritual direction, help set the spiritual tone in the home, provide time and attention where we are fully present in body and mind, and provide emotional support for the family. Men are called to protect both physically and spiritually. Biblical headship is not a position of pride, arrogance, and selfishness, but rather it is a position of humility where God calls us to lay down our lives as men for the good of others, especially for our wife and children. It is a call to love and serve like Jesus.
Women are called to the role of helpmate and submitting to the headship of the husband in the family. This does not look like being a doormat, being inferior, or having an insignificant role of impact within the family or the church. God has uniquely gifted women with strengths and talents that allow them to complement men in a beautiful way. A woman can come alongside her husband and other men and encourage them and help them to fulfill the role of headship in a way that glorifies God. This is not a position of weakness but of great strength and honor. God knew that men could not fulfill the role of headship alone!
On every great sports team, each player understands their role and their position. Each different position is incredibly important. If everyone was a quarterback, a pitcher, a point guard, or a goalie, a team could not function. Everyone must play their different positions well for the team to experience success. If we are going to glorify God and experience the greatest joy in the Christian life, then we must realize and fulfill the different roles God has for us in the family and in the church.
Comments
Post a Comment