Emphasizing Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Our culture is confused in many areas of life. One of those areas of confusion is in the Biblical doctrine of manhood and womanhood. When our country finds it necessary to discuss so-called ‘gay marriage’ and ‘same-sex unions’, we know that we have a problem. The church is the “pillar and ground of the truth 1 Timothy 3:15” and as such, we must live the truth and teach the truth from God’s Word. God has created mankind and he certainly knows what is best for us. However, when we come up with our own plan apart from God’s it will always end in death. The Bible says, “Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” The feminist agenda and the homosexual agenda are not from God and therefore will end in death. An aspect of discipleship must be that we teach and live what the Bible says about masculinity and femininity.
From the very creation, God made man in his own image. Before the fall of man when sin entered into the world, the Bible tells us:
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
The image of God in mankind is that there is a difference between male and female. This is the way God created mankind. God intends for man and woman to be different. He has made us different in many ways. Men and women are different anatomically, emotionally, and with different roles to fulfill as we bring glory to God. In the garden before the fall we hear God give his first commandment to mankind:
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God intended for Adam and Eve to have children and replenish or fill the earth with people. Here we see the anatomical difference which God designed and are absolutely necessary for obeying God. Men have a seed and women have an egg and a womb. It takes a man and a woman to procreate. This is God’s design. The homosexual who says that God made them that way is fooling themselves. The homosexual lifestyle is an impotent lifestyle and that is not God’s design. It is a perversion of God’s design and sinful.
In the garden, we see some of the role differences between men and women.
Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Adam had the responsibility to dress the garden or to provide for his family. He was to tend the garden of God. This is work and specifically it was given to Adam. He also had the responsibility to keep the garden or to protect it. This is also a specific role given to Adam. As provider and protector of his home, Adam would allow Eve to fulfill her role as mother of all the living.
Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Eve was to be a wife and mother. As each one fulfilled their God-given roles they would function as a family. God ordained the first marriage and put together the first family right there in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:21-25 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto 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 shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, they still had the same roles, however sin caused them to be more difficult.
Genesis 3:16-19 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Because of sin, women’s sorrow in conception would be great. She would also have a desire to her husband, but he would rule over her. This would be the beginning of marital problems as they had to remember their God-given roles and fight against the sin that would try to over-turn those roles. She would not want to submit to her husband’s leadership.
Because of their sin, now Adam’s role of providing would be toilsome and difficult. He would bring forth bread while fighting thorns and thistles. He would sweat and work hard fighting against vanity until he eventually died.
The important thing to see is that their God-given roles did not change. Sin entered in and brought huge obstacles to their bringing glory to God by fulfilling their roles in the marriage and family. Notice also, that Adam as the head was held responsible for their sin. Adam was the leader and God held him personally responsible. God said, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife…” Adam was to lead the family as he followed and obeyed God. He disobeyed God and allowed Eve to persuade him.
When we come to the New Testament, we see that men’s and women’s roles and gender differences are maintained.
1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Christ is the head of the man and the man is the head of his wife. Wives are to fulfill their roles in the family and husbands are to fulfill their roles. Men are to be masculine and women are to be feminine. To do or be otherwise is sin.
Romans 1:26-27 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
The sinful lust of a woman to another woman or a man to another man is clearly condemned in Scripture. Scripture condemns the effeminate right along with other immoral behavior.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
God in His Word clearly gives role differences in the family and in the church. The Bible is very clear that women are not to hold positions of authority or teaching over men.
1 Timothy 2:11-12 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
This is important for us to observe because it brings confusion for a woman to hold a leadership role over men in the church and then be expected to follow her husband’s leadership in the home. Women are to teach the children and younger women, however the Bible is clear as to what they are to teach.
Titus 2:3-5 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
These are all aspects of women’s discipleship that are good and necessary. Our culture would not be in the shape it is today if we had handed down the Bible’s teaching to the next generation as we are clearly instructed to do.
There are also emotional differences between men and women and it is clear that they handle situations differently. God designed us this way and we should celebrate these differences.
1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
The wife is here referred to as the ‘weaker vessel’. She is a precious treasure and much like a delicate vessel. Imagine a house with different vessels in it. Some are made of crystal or china. They are beautiful and very useful; however they must be handled with care because they are delicate and fragile. This is the image of wives. In the same house there are tough vessels like trash cans and buckets. This is the vessel a man is like. He is more rugged and durable.
Why is this offensive to some? Our hearts are wicked and deceitful.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Sin has corrupted us and we must have our minds transformed to understand God’s truth. For parents, this is a very important subject. We are bringing up sons and daughters and we need to model these truths before them and teach these truths to them. We want feminine daughters and masculine sons. We want young men to grow up knowing they are to lead their families as they follow God. The men are to provide and protect. They are to be a prophet and a Bible teacher in their homes. We want young ladies to grow up knowing they are to be keepers at home and helpmeets to their husbands.
This is yet one more area where the world, the flesh and the devil seek to destroy what God has intended and pervert the image of God. However, the Word of God is profitable and we have all we need to be transformed into what God wants us to be.
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