I. Overarching Themes

Transcription

1 Biblical Manhood and Womanhood Lesson #1: Foundations in Creation I. Overarching Themes A. Present-day Confusion About Gender or Anger About Gender-Based Roles 1. Current events a. Florida transsexual boy voted prom queen b. Homeschool boy refuses to wrestle a girl in state championships c. Washington Post op ed column 2. Summary statements from the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: Gender confusion in the home Husbands fail to exhibit humble, loving leadership of their family Wives fail to exhibit willing, intelligent submission to their husbands Motherhood and homemaking are often viewed as secondary responsibilities Parents fail to be intentional in encouraging biblical masculinity in their sons and biblical femininity in their daughters Gender confusion in the church Churches divide over ministry roles of men and women A subjective sense of calling is often used to set aside biblical criteria for ministry Feminist ideology influences church theology and practice Acceptance of homosexuality Secular homosexual agenda influences church theology and practice Confusion exists regarding maleness and femaleness Revisions of the doctrine of God Some evangelical leaders and churches encourage referring to God as "Mother" Changes to the Trinity are being proposed in the areas of language and relationship Gender-neutral language in Bible translation

2 2 Many translations systematically omit masculine-oriented details of meaning 3. Reasons given for the Danvers Statement (1987) We have been moved in our purpose by the following contemporary developments which we observe with deep concern: 1. The widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and femininity; 2. the tragic effects of this confusion in unraveling the fabric of marriage woven by God out of the beautiful and diverse strands of manhood and womanhood; 3. the increasing promotion given to feminist egalitarianism with accompanying distortions or neglect of the glad harmony portrayed in Scripture between the loving, humble leadership of redeemed husbands and the intelligent, willing support of that leadership by redeemed wives; 4. the widespread ambivalence regarding the values of motherhood, vocational homemaking, and the many ministries historically performed by women; 5. the growing claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships which have Biblically and historically been considered illicit or perverse, and the increase in pornographic portrayal of human sexuality; 6. the upsurge of physical and emotional abuse in the family; 7. the emergence of roles for men and women in church leadership that do not conform to Biblical teaching but backfire in the crippling of Biblically faithful witness; 8. the increasing prevalence and acceptance of hermeneutical oddities devised to reinterpret apparently plain meanings of Biblical texts; 9. the consequent threat to Biblical authority as the clarity of Scripture is jeopardized and the accessibility of its meaning to ordinary people is withdrawn into the restricted realm of technical ingenuity; 10. and behind all this the apparent accommodation of some within the church to the spirit of the age at the expense of winsome, radical Biblical authenticity which in the power of the Holy Spirit may reform rather than reflect our ailing culture.

3 3 4. The effects of feminism a. Some aspects of the feminist movement have been helpful but only as defined biblically certain unbiblical deningrations of women have been part of the pridefulness of men and have been worthy of opposition b. BUT the overarching goals of feminism are unbiblical: the denial of the significance of gender in roles in the home and in church 5. Results: little help is given to a son s question, Dad, what does it mean for me to be a man and not a woman? Or a daughter s question, Mom, what does it mean for me to be a woman and not a man? B. The Fundamental Issue of Gender 1. First statement made about (almost) every baby born into the world: It s a boy! or It s a girl! 2. Paul Jewett (Man as Male and Female): Sexuality permeates one s individual being to its very depth; it conditions every facet of one s life as a person. As the self is always aware of the self as an I, so this I is always aware of itself as himself or herself. Our self-knowledge is indissolubly bound up not simply with our human being but with our sexual being. At the human level, there is no I and thou per se, but only the I who is male or female confronting the thou, the other, who is also male or female. [quoted in Piper and Grudem s Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p. 34] 3. Gender is raised at the first passage in which humanity is mentioned: Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 4. Jesus Christ raised the issue in His teaching on marriage and divorce: Matthew 19:4-5 Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? C. The Glory of God in Creating Gender 1. The glory of God in men being masculine 2. The glory of God in women being feminine D. Offense and Defense 1. A positive presentation of the glories and delights of biblical defined gender

4 4 2. A defense against Satanic attacks on biblical manhood and womanhood 3. Key texts: a. Genesis 1-3 ( Male and female He created them ) b. Ephesians 5:21-33 ( The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church ) c. 1 Timothy 2:11-15 ( I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man ) d. 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 ( Head coverings ) e. 1 Corinthians 14:33-36 ( Silent in the churches ) f. Galatians 3:28 ( In Christ there is neither male nor female ) E. What is Common Between Men and Women 1. Both created equally in the image of God 2. Both equally fallen in sin and needing a Savior 3. Both equally saved by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ 4. Both equally valuable and fruitful members of the family and church 5. Both equally heirs of the gracious gift of life, a glorious future in heaven F. What is Different Between Men and Women 1. Men are given the responsibility for biblically described and mandated leadership in the home and the church in ways that women are not 2. Men and women play different roles in the procreation and rearing of children 3. Men and women are intrinsically equipped by God for their varying roles in ways that are hard to define but generally recognizable G. Opening Statements on Manhood and Womanhood 1. What is Biblical Manhood? At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man s differing relationships. 2. What is Biblical Womanhood?

5 5 At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman s differing relationships [John Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p ] 3. Unpacking the manhood statement a. At the heart of = these definitions are not exhaustive b. mature masculinity = a man s sense of responsibility is in the process of growing out of its sinful distortions and limitations, finding its true nature as a form of love not self-assertion c. a sense of = the man must sense feel affirm his responsibility or he is not mature d....benevolent = the responsibility of manhood is for the good of woman, ruling out all selfish or tyrannical motives or behaviors e. responsibility = man will be uniquely called to account for his leadership, provision and protection in relation to women; this is illustrated when God came to Adam first in Genesis 3:9 saying Where are you? though Eve had eaten the fruit first; this does not mean that woman has no responsibility as we shall see, but just that man bears a unique and primary one f. to lead = this is such a difficult word to define that Piper had nine substatements explaining it!! 1) not to be served but to serve and to sacrifice for the good of woman; 2) not to assume the authority of Christ over woman but to advocate it; 3) not presuming superiority, but mobilizing the strengths of others; 4) not initiating every action, but feeling the responsibility to provide a general pattern of initiative; 5) accepting the burden of the final say in disagreements between husband and wife, but not presuming to use it in every instance; 6) expressing leadership in romantic sexual relations by creating an aura of strong and tender pursuit; 7) in a family, taking the initiative in disciplining the children when both parents are present and a family standard has been broken; 8) being sensitive to cultural expressions of masculinity and adapting to them (where no sin is involved) to communicate to a woman that a man

6 6 would like to relate not in any aggressive or perverted way, but with maturity and dignity as a man; 9) recognizing the call to leadership is a call to repentance and humility and risk-taking g. provide for = not that a woman can take no supportive role in providing for a family s needs, but that, when there is no bread on the table, it is the man who should feel the main pressure to do something to get it there; note: this is strongly implied by the focus of the curse for the man in Genesis 3 being on his breadwinning power h. protection = Suppose a man and a woman (it may be his wife or sister or friend or a total stranger) are walking along the street when an assailant threatens the two of them with a lead pipe. Mature masculinity senses a natural, God-given responsibility to step forward and put himself between the assailant and the woman. In doing this, he becomes her servant. He is willing to suffer for her safety. He bestows honor upon her. i. women = I do not say wives because there is a sense in which masculinity inclines a man to feel a responsibility for leadership, provision, and protection toward women in general j. in ways appropriate to a man s differing relationships = Ephesians 5:22 exhorts wives to be subject to your own husbands; thus the relationship of leadership and submission between a woman and her husband should be different than how she relates to other men but there is a general pattern established here which is worked out in a variety of complex ways in business, recreation, government, neighborhood, courtship, engagement, etc. These expressions of manhood will include acts of defense and protection, a readiness to serve with strength, and a pattern of initiative 4. Unpacking the womanhood statement a. At the heart of = not exhaustive, but the essence. b. Mature Femininity = as opposed to distorted feminine traits; -Ronda Chervin, in her book Feminine, Free and Faithful, gives a list of what people commonly consider positive feminine traits : Responsive, compassionate, empathetic, gentle, warm, tender, hospitable, receptive, diplomatic, considerate, polite, supportive, intuitive, wise, perceptive, sensitive, spiritual, sincere, vulnerable (emotionally open), obedient, trusting, graceful, sweet, expressive, charming, delicate, quiet, sensually receptive, faithful, pure. -Negative traits:

7 7 weak, passive, slavish, weepy, wishy-washy, seductive, flirtatious, vain, chatter-box, silly, sentimental, naïve, moody, petty, catty, prudish, manipulative, complaining, nagging, pouty, smothering, spiteful. c. Is a freeing disposition = -disposition to yield/inclination to follow (ultimately under Christ), rather than set of behaviors or roles because mature femininity will express itself in so many ways depending on the situation. Not immediate sensations of unrestrained license or independence, but true freedom seeks to fit smoothly into God s design. Changed by the Spirit so that you can do what you love to do and know that it conforms to the design of God and leads to life and glory. Some come naturally, others grow into through prayer and practice. men = d. To affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy -Not merely as a response to whatever sinful men happen to offer up, but rooted in a commitment to Christ as Lord and is discerning it what it approves. Women should not abandon her femininity, but also recognizes that the natural expression of her womanhood will be hindered by the immaturity of the man in her presence. -Affirm: Advocate the kind of masculine-feminine complementarity that we are describing here. -Receive: -Nurture: Feels natural and glad to accept the strength and leadership of worthy men. She does not want to reverse these roles. She is glad when he is not passive. Not merely to receive, but to nurture and strengthen the resources of masculinity. Partner and assistant. Not mere recipients in relation to men, women bring qualities men do not; they bring things that make the relationship stronger. It is very misleading to put negative values on the so-called weaknesses that each of us has by virtue of our sexuality (men and women are weaker/stronger in different realms). Two columns of negative and pluses, the tow will balance out. Compliment, not duplicate. e. In ways appropriate to a woman s differing relationships = -Does not express itself in the same way toward every man (the degree to which she welcomes leadership from her husband vs. other men). But she will affirm and receive and nurture the strength and leadership of men in some form in all her relationships with men. This is true even though she may find herself in roles that put some men in a

8 8 subordinate role to her. Some roles might stretch appropriate expressions of femininity beyond the breaking point. Brink of contradiction suggesting that a woman may hold a position of leadership and fulfill it in a way that signals to men her endorsement of their sense of responsibility to lead. But the complexities of life require of us this risk (it is simply impossible that from time to time a woman not be in a position of influencing men). But there is a way for that housewife to direct the man that neither of them feels their mature femininity or masculinity compromised. Better to not provide list of jobs, but rather guidelines (hopeless case by case or black/white). -All acts of influence and guidance can be described along these two continuums: personal----non-personal and directive----non-directive. -To the degree that a women s influence over man is personal and directive it will generally offend a man s good, God-given sense of responsibility and leadership, and thus controvert God s created order. -Non-personal=women designed street lights or street patterns and thus exert a kind of influence over men drivers. -Directive=women drill sergeant. It would be hard to see how a women could be a drill sergeant over men without violating their sense of masculinity and her sense of femininity. -When you combine these two continuums, what merges is this: If a woman s job involves a good deal of directives toward men, they will, in general, need to be non-personal. -Conversely: Personal then non-directive (i.e. in a marriage, she need to influence without violating her husband s place of leadership) H. Issues We Can t Completely Develop 1. Singleness: why marriage does not finally define us; why at the resurrection we will neither marry nor be given in marriage 2. Homosexuality 3. Parenting: Raising masculine sons and feminine daughters 4. Gender issues outside home and church (i.e. in society in general) 5. All the specific case studies: Can a godly woman do? I. Overall Goals 1. Delight in God s purposes in creating gender

9 9 2. Understanding manhood and womanhood biblically 3. Delighting in what God made you to be 4. Honoring what God made others to be 5. Establishing and defending biblical patterns for male leadership at home and in the church 6. Encouraging women in biblical patterns of ministry 7. Opposing Satanic attacks on this issue 8. Learning to be completely content in what God ordains 9. Learning that servanthood is the measure of true greatness, and that all biblical leadership is servant leadership 10. Trusting that there can be no more successful or fulfilling life than the one God wants you to lead and which He will reward on Judgment Day learning to live by faith for Judgment Day rewards, not for earthly accolades or advantages II. The Origin and Glory of Gender (Genesis 1) A. The Seven Days of Creation: Foundation for All that Follows 1. Day 1: Light and Darkness 2. Day 2: Sky and Earth 3. Day 3: Sea and Dry Land; Seed-bearing plants 4. Day 4: Sun, Moon, and Stars 5. Day 5: Birds of the Air, Fish of the Sea, Beasts of the Land B. The Special Creation of Man Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." C. The Key Lessons: Complete Equality in Essential Worth and Value

10 10 1. Both male and female created by a special act of God 2. Both male and female created in the image of God 3. Both male and female given the task of rulership over the creatures of the earth and the earth itself 4. Both male and female necessary to complete God s mandate to fill the earth 5. Both male and female blessed by God to achieve these ends D. Because God Created Gender and Blessed it, It is Glorious!! Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day Isaiah 43:6-7 Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." III. The Origin and Glory of Gender-Based Roles (Genesis 2) A. Central question of Genesis 2: Why was Adam created first and commanded to work alone for a period of time without a helpmate? What does it teach us about marriage? Adam s solitary work Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. a. work it = from Hebrew root meaning to serve b. take care = from Hebrew root meaning to protect Adam s commission was focused on the earth to serve it and protect it, and to nurture it until it gave forth its fruit from his careful cultivation Genesis 2:4-7 When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Some plants only came as a result of careful cultivation, scientific knowledge:

11 11 [See Isaiah 28:23-29 God teaches us agriculture] Isaiah 28:24-29 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil? 25 When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? 26 His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. 27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a stick. 28 Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it. 29 All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom. Basic concept: if God instructed Adam on how to care for the Garden of Eden, how much more did He instruct him on how to care for his wife. By the same token, He will instruct husbands how to serve and protect their wives as well. Just as some plants could only come to maturity and full fruition as a result of human cultivation, so a husband should lead for and nourish his wife spiritually to help her grow to full maturity. Ephesians 5:25-29 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church A godly husband should be discipling his wife with a consistent ministry of the word and prayer, for her full maturity in Christ. He should do this with a view to the future, to presenting her to Christ on that final wedding day of heaven: 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. c. rulership Genesis 2:18-20 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Adam given responsibility for naming, thus showing his dominion & authority over the animals.

12 12 Later, Adam will name Even twice: before the Fall and after the Fall Yet also, this naming process helps highlight the fact that Adam was alone i.e. no companion suitable for him. 3. No suitable companion a. not good for Adam to be alone Alone = without parallel companionship b. solution: a helper suitable for him Genesis 2:18, 20 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.". But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Suitable = properly apportioned for his being and his role Helper = one who enables another to fulfill their appointed work [NOTE: sometimes God is called our helper so there is nothing demeaning about this!!] 4. Key concept: His focus is the work, hers is her husband 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 5. Key concept #2: total interdependence Also: it was impossible for Adam to fill the earth without a woman, whose biological attributes were suitable to match his Adam needed Eve to accomplish his work 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 6. Key concept #3: Headship 1 Corinthians 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Ephesians 5:22-25 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

13 13 Headship is shown by naming: Genesis 2:23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man." Genesis 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. Genesis 5:1-2 When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man. "