Biblical Manhood
This was the first message of a 3-part series delivered to the middle schoolers and high schoolers at Sioux Falls Christian on the topic of biblical sexuality.
Introduction
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you to recognize that we live in a society that is confused regarding what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman.
In the introduction of Carl Trueman’s academic and widely acclaimed book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, he mentions that if his grandfather—who died in 1994—ever heard the phrase, “I am a woman trapped in a man’s body,” he would very likely have “burst out laughing and considered it a piece of incoherent gibberish.”
But my, how the times have changed, right? Today, many people in our world aren’t quite sure how to respond to a phrase like that. And I believe that this is because we lack a biblical understanding of human nature—we lack biblical anthropology.
This morning I want to look at three questions with you related to biblical manhood: First, what is a man? Second, what is a man for? And lastly, how should young men seek to exhibit their masculinity as they grow into mature manhood?
What is a man?
So to begin with, biblically speaking, what is a man? Well, first of all, man is a created being. In the beginning…“God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27). What does it mean to be created?
It does not mean that we are products of a blind, undirected, purposeless, material process (that is what philosophical materialism would teach).We are not just a bunch of random biomass bumping around in a meaningless world.
Instead, it does mean that when God made the physical world—when he made man—he filled him with both material and spiritual significance. The poet Gerard Manly Hopkins once said that the “world is charged with the grandeur of God.” And what he meant was that when we look at the created world, we should view it as loaded with meaning. So, when we look at the created universe—when we look at our bodies—we should not view them as something that can just be molded and shaped according to our wishes, we should view them as something divinely crafted and ordered and designed by God.
So at the outset, I want you to know that: Men were made by God, and they were made good. So no matter what the culture around us may say about men, there is nothing inherently wrong with being a male. Masculinity wasn’t designed to be toxic or apologized for!
So we start with recognizing that man is a created being, but how exactly did God create us as humans? From Genesis 1:26-27, we know that God created us in his image, and he created us male and female. He also created us with a body and a soul. We see this last part clearly in Genesis 2:7 where it says, “The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
Some would articulate this by saying that we are created as embodied souls—what does that mean? It means that we are unified and whole beings, yet we have a material part (body)—think of the dust from the ground—and an immaterial part (soul)—think of the breath of life. And though we distinguish these things in a living human being, they can never be fully separated from one another.
One of the grave errors of our day is to say that the immaterial part is what defines our true self and that the material part (i.e., our physical body) doesn't really have any inherent value or meaning. And this is very problematic, especially when applied to the topic of human sexuality and identity. You might hear people today say, “Well I know I have a male body, but my true authentic self says that my gender is __[and they fill in the blank]__.” But this is truly incoherent and wrong because just as we cannot detach the soul from the body while a person is living, we also cannot detach gender from biological sex, or else a person can literally self-identify as whatever they want (e.g., we see that in our society with people identifying as dogs and cats, and other things.). But as ethicist and author Nancy Pearcey says, “…if the meaning of our sexuality is not something we derive from the body, then it becomes something we impose on the body” (Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body, pg. 31). But all of this would be in direct opposition to a Christian worldview and a Christian understanding of how God made us as integrated, embodied souls.
So God made men and women, with bodies and souls, and this difference is deeper than just a few organs in our bodies! This difference goes all the way down. Werner Neuer explains it like this, he says:“Physical differences between men and women…involve [even] the cell structure. Whereas male cells contain a Y-chromosome and an X-chromosome, female cells have two X-chromosomes. This difference involves all the cells of the organism… Sexuality affects the whole of a person’s body and not only a part. It is also evident in different hormone levels, in the different constitution of the blood and bodily liquids, of the nervous system, of internal organs and brain structure” (Werner Neuer, Man & Woman in Christian Perspective, pg. 40). Nancy Pearcey again is helpful when she says, “No matter what your gender philosophy, when you are ill and the doctors put you on the operating table, they still need to know your original biological sex in order to give you the best possible health care” (Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body, pg. 196). So we see that this reality is significant! And not only are there simply physical differences between men and women, there are also psychological and social and intellectual and emotional differences as well!
To say that God created men with physical, male bodies is also to say that God expects men to live out a masculine identity in that body. Gender and biological sex cannot be completely separated without very serious moral and physical consequences. Furthermore, it is important to note that the most loving thing that people can do to help someone who is confused about their sexual identity is to help them to live in accordance with their biological sex. I know it is easy to be pressured into thinking that just unconditionally affirming someone in their gender confusion is loving them. But that is not true. We love people by compassionately coming alongside them and helping them to live in accordance with God’s design and his word. It should not be normal for boys to wear makeup or to paint their fingernails, or to wear women’s clothing. That is not something we should encourage.
Summary - Point #1: What is a man? Man is a created being with a body and soul. God made man with a physical body, or biological sex, and God calls men to live out that reality by being masculine in their sexual expression (gender).
What is a man for?
Secondly, what was man created for? In one sense, we can say with Pastor Michael Foster that, “The reason that God creates man on the earth, according to Genesis, is for productive, representative rulership” (Michael Foster, It’s Good to Be a Man, pg. 19). We see that in Genesis 1:26 with this concept of “dominion.” They are to be God’s deputy-rulers on earth.
And when God placed Adam into the garden, what did he tell him to do? Genesis 2:15 says that, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and keep it.” In other words, he needed to be a gardener and he needed to be a guardian (ESV Study Bible). Man came from the earth (Gen. 2:7), was brought to the earth—brought to the garden (Gen. 2:8), and he was charged to work the earth (Gen. 2:15). And this task to “work the earth” was given to him before sin had entered the world in Genesis 3. So, no matter what you young men might try to tell your parents to get out of doing your chores, productive work was part of God’s good purpose for man in creation. Man was to work hard and to extend the boundaries of the garden into the wider world. His orientation was to be out-ward and into the world. On the whole, men were made with stronger and more angular bone structures and bigger muscles so that they could shape and mold the environment around them.
And not only did God call Adam to work and till the earth and create wealth and provide for the people around him in a gardener-like role, he also called Adam to protect and guard the people and the things that were entrusted to him. God gave Adam his maleness to serve those around him. And likewise, men are to use their male aggression and initiative and muscles, not in a self-serving way, but in a self-sacrificing way.
Now, one question you may have at this point is how Adam was to expand the borders of the garden and to take dominion of the whole earth? Wasn’t he just one guy in one place with one life? The answer is, yes, he was. And that is precisely why God made Eve. In Genesis 2:18, God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” So God made Eve to be a suitable helper for Adam. Adam was only one half of the plan, and his fruitfulness was extremely limited by time and space without Eve. To take dominion of the earth, they would need offspring! So, God did not just tell Adam to be a gardener and a guardian of the creation, but in Genesis 1:28, it also says: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” This is known as the Creation Mandate or the Dominion Mandate. Adam and Eve were together to produce offspring and to fill the earth with the image of God. Adam couldn’t do that alone. Humans were made to produce and to reproduce, and this was also according to God’s good design. Michael Foster says it like this, “Our desires—when submitted to God’s created order—compel us to extend God’s rule, and to fill His world with more image-bearers. The sexes are designed to be productive, to be fruitful, and this fruitfulness requires cooperation. We are made to complement each other to such a degree that the creation mandate is impossible without male and female” (Michael Foster, It’s Good to Be a Man, pg. 34).
So what does that mean for young men in middle school and high school? It means that if young men have a desire to one day find and marry a wife, that is a good and natural and normal thing. The fact that young men get to a point in their life where all of the sudden they start finding girls attractive (and they start to grow peach fuzz on their face) is actually a small part of God’s plan for filling the earth with his glory. Now obviously, those inclinations and those sexual desires can be distorted and turned into sinful lust. And there is very often a battle for young men to fight in this area. And if that is a battle that you personally struggle with then I would encourage you to seek the help of your friends and your father and your pastors, if you can. You need to be killing that sin. And unless God gives a young man the gift of singleness (where they don’t have any struggle with sexual desire or lust), they should be seeking—even now, before they are married—to become the kind of men that are marriage material. Young men should reject and flee from fruitless things like pornography, and hook up culture, and even casual dating without marriage in mind. Instead, they should be taking on responsibility and striving for growth in holiness and competence and stature. They should learn what the character Shasta learned in The Chronicles of Narnia: he learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one. And become the type of man that can one day win a wife. Young men should recognize that the character they are building through school, and through sports, and at their job, and in their home is all part of training them for that mission as well.
Summary - Point #2: So, what are men for? Men are for productive, representative rulership. And in order to take dominion in the world that God made, men need women to help them in that task. So…Men should humbly seek to be fruitful-and-multiplying providers and protectors, living in obedience to God’s Word.
How do men exhibit their masculinity?
Third and finally, I want to look at some ways in which men can seek to exhibit their masculinity in godly ways. So as we close this morning, I want to encourage the young men here to consider five attributes of biblical masculinity that are illustrated in Scripture. These Five Aspects of Man come from the authors Bill and Barbara Mouser, so they are not original to me. But I have found them to be incredibly helpful and even inspiring. Some of these aspects may have some overlap with what we have already covered, but it’s my hope that these illustrations will be memorable and stick with you.
First, young men should strive to be lords (cf. Genesis 1:26-28). Men were created by God to rule and conquer the earth as God’s representatives. This means first and foremost, that men are to take responsibility for themselves and for what’s around them. They don’t blame others or look for excuses. Men should be decisive and ambitious. And they should use their talents in visionary ways to help and serve those around them. King Alfred the Great is an excellent example of a lordly man. In history, he is known for unifying the Anglo-Saxon peoples and defending them against the constant threat of barbaric, pagan, Viking invaders. He was also known for being a wise and level-headed and merciful king who dealt justly with his subjects and his enemies. He ruled his kingdom well. And though we may not be a king or lord like Alfred was, it is true that young men should learn how to take responsibility and establish dominion regarding the things that God has placed around them.
Second, young men should strive to be husbandmen (cf. Genesis 2:15). We may not be as familiar with the concept of husbandry, but a husbandman is one who cultivates and cares for the things around him. We might think of a farmer or rancher who cares for his crops and animals. The husbandman is humble, patient, and gentle, like a good gardener who knows how much sunlight, time, and water his plants need to thrive and grow. As young men grow in maturity, like farmers, they should learn how to care for the people and things that are in their keep.
Third, young men should strive to be saviors (cf. Genesis 3:14-15). We see that in Genesis 3:15 where God placed enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Men have a deep desire to deliver or save. In young boys, this looks like fighting imaginary dragons with wooden swords as if they were characters in Saint George and Dragon. And in mature men, it looks like fighting real evil and wickedness in the world. However, men need to learn what to fight and how to fight. They need to be equipped with the full armor of God. And they need to grow in courage and strength and love. You may have heard about the boy named Bridger who got 90 stitches in his face when he saved his little sister from a German Shepherd attack. And when asked by his dad why he stepped in front of the dog, he said, “If someone had to die, I’d rather it be me.” Talk about an example of courage and sacrifice. Young men should strive to be saviors like that.
Fourth, young men should strive to be sages (cf. Proverbs 1-9). Men aren’t afraid to read their Bibles—and they know that the book of Proverbs is wisdom for royalty. Real men are teachable. They honor their father and mother. They pursue Lady Wisdom. They don’t just strengthen their muscles, they also strengthen their minds. Men are studious and they read books. They become friends with C.S. Lewis, and G.K. Chesterton, and Augustine. Young men find mentors and set their sights on pursuing wisdom.
And lastly, young men should strive to be glory-bearers (cf. 1 Corinthians 11; Ephesians 5). Men reflect the glory of God and they should show forth God’s glory in all that they do. They should be examples in their speech and conduct. They should lead others in the praise of the Triune God. And they should live holy lives that point others to their God. Young men should do this so that they can grow to be responsible and representative husbands and fathers to their future families.
All this—being lords, husbandmen, saviors, sages, and glory-bearers—is what men should want to aspire towards in their masculinity. And yet, we know all men have sinned. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Beginning with Adam, and continuing with all the men down throughout history until today, we know that men have not lived out their manhood and their masculinity perfectly according to God’s design. Instead of being lords, men have been tyrants. Instead of being husbandmen, men have been careless. Instead of being saviors, they have been cowards. Instead of being sages, men have acted foolishly. And instead of being glory-bearers, they have turned and worshiped idols.
Conclusion
And so all men need to be saved. They need a Lord and a Savior with a capital “L” and a capital “S”. They need to turn to Jesus to be made new.
As the true and better Adam, Christ is the ultimate example for how men are to live out their masculinity. And furthermore, he is the only true Savior. There is no other way to God than through Him. And for every person who places their hope and their trust in Jesus and his saving work on the cross, all of their sins are forgiven and paid for in full. And it is only in Him, that sinful and fallen manhood and masculinity can be redeemed and restored.
At the end of the day, we don’t need more online masculinity gurus instructing us on what it means to be a man, we need God’s word and God’s grace.
So look to Christ Jesus, trust him in all things, ask him to help you live out your design, and if you are a man here this morning, receive the advice from Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13 where he tells his male hearers, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”