1 Alderwood Community Church June 21, 2009 *The Biblical Blueprint For Manhood Genesis 1-3 Intro: Here are some strange facts to consider: -A duck quack doesn t echo, and no one knows why. -35% of the people who use personal ads for dating services are argumentative. -Only 1 person in 2 billion will live to be 116 years or older. -It s possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs. -A snail can sleep for three years. -No word in the English language rhymes with month. -The average lifespan of a major league baseball 7 pitches. -All polar bears are left-handed. -Americans on average eat about 18 acres of pizza every day. -It s physically impossible for you to lick your elbow. -Before this day is over, anyone who hears that it s physically impossible to lick your elbow will try to lick their elbow. But here s the strangest fact of all: Even though there are about 6 billion people on the planet, most men cannot tell you what a man is. Not succinctly. Not compellingly; not with a sense of empowerment that makes you want you live UP as a man. Most of us do not have that kind of core definition of masculinity for our lives that drives us and sustains us in everyday life. Manhood is in a state of confusion today. Questions like What is a man? What do real men do? How do they act? What is a real man s priorities? What is a man s role? These are questions that many men are struggling to answer today. Illus: Garrison Keillor wrote about the confusion men face over their role, "What you find is terrible gender anxiety, guys trying to be Mr. Right, the man who can bake a cherry pie, go shoot skeet, come back, toss a salad, converse easily about intimate matters, cry if need be, laugh, hug, be vulnerable, perform passionately that night and the next day go off and lift them bales onto that barge and tote it...it is like a bear riding a bicycle: He can be trained to do it for short periods, but he would rather be in the woods doing what bears do there." The Genesis Blueprint This morning we re going to go all the way back to a book that s called Beginnings. We know it as the book of Genesis. We will be looking at the original blueprints for mankind to see what it actually says about masculinity. Everything that you would ever want to know about masculinity in it s original form is found in these first 3 chapters of the book of Genesis. In them we find real historical events that summarize the beginnings of life on planet earth. Even more importantly, everything later found in the Bible about men, women, social order, social structure, social dysfunction is measured, explained or defined in these first three chapters of Genesis.
2 Genesis 1, 2 and 3 is like 3 different camera lens focus points. Genesis 1 is what I call a wideangle perspective. of the beginning of life. It is a broad overview of creation. It is a seven-day summary that includes a description of how man was created on the sixth day. Then when you get into Chapter 2, you get into what I call a Close Up perspective. You change the focus of your lens and you get a close up replay of the 6 th day of creation. Here we focus in on the creation of a man and a woman. In this close up we get a lot of the fine details of that account that was just described in a broad perspective in Chapter 1. Then when you get to Chapter 3, you move into what I call a Real Tight Focus on one single event: The Fall. This event changed this couple s life and changed their destiny. It has even affected us here today. It changed our masculinity - what it means to be a man. It shows us what we need to do in order to reverse the changes that occurred in that moment. 1. What Genesis 1 Says About Manhood A. It speaks of male and female value. (Gen. 1:26, 27) Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle and over 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. 1. Image. Unlike the rest of creation, man is singled out alone to bear the image and the likeness of God. That makes man the crown of God s creation. He has a consciousness that the rest of creation doesn t have. He has a will and a self-determination that the rest of creation doesn t have. He has a reasoning ability that the rest of creation doesn t have and all because he bears the image of God. Being in God s image means that humans share, though imperfectly, God s communicable attributes (life, personality, truth, wisdom, love) and have the capacity for spiritual fellowship with Him. 2. Equally endowed/equally valuable. This passage tells us that man male and female are equally endowed and equally valuable in God s creation. The New Testament affirms this truth. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:26,28 3. Unique and special. After God creates the man He does something that He didn t do to any of the other parts of His creation. It says that He speaks to them personally. What we begin to understand is that man was created especially to have relationship with the living God. He was created for this personal relationship with God and that s what we begin to see unfold as you move into Chapter 2. B. It also speaks of male and female calling. (Gen. 1:28) And God blessed them and He said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
3 Look carefully at it, because there are 3 commands embedded in this opening statement. This is the opening blueprint that will get fleshed out for the next thousands of years thru the rest of Scripture but here we see it as it was originally established by God. 1. Be fruitful/multiply/fill the earth : He says first of all, to fulfill your humanity as a man, you need to be fruitful and multiply. This speaks to the bearing and releasing of a healthy next generation -- healthy children into the world that God had created. 2. Subdue the earth : He says subdue the earth, which means that, on whatever part of the planet you ve been placed, you need to use your creativity and your intellect to bring out the best in that part of the planet. 3. Rule over the earth Then He says that you re to rule over the earth, meaning that you re to be a good steward of the earth and its resources. C. It hints at a very important social structure. (Gen. 1:26-27; 5:2) Then God said, let Us make man in Our image; according to Our likeness. And He created man in His own image, and in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Now look at the verse for a minute. Can you see the social structure there? What does God call the man and the woman collectively? He calls them man. Now that s interesting. Remember every word and every phrase in Genesis has rich meaning! So God creates the male and the female and He calls them not people, not personhood, not humanity God purposely and selectively calls them collectively man. Is that a big deal? Absolutely! This is also repeated in And God created them male and female, and He blessed them. And when they were created He named them man. Genesis 5:2 It s the same reason why, after a traditional wedding, we call the couple Mr. and Mrs. Brad McConnaughey rather than calling the couple Mrs. and Mrs. Kay Burkholder In these titles a social structure is being hinted at and anticipated for the man and for the woman in the future a social structure that will get fleshed out a little bit more in Genesis 2 2. What Genesis 2 Says About Manhood I want you to notice when we go into Chapter 2, one of the first things we ll notice as the lens goes from this wide-angle view of creation to a little bit more of a close-up over this first couple: A. Adam was created first. (Gen. 2:7) The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man (as male) became a living being. Genesis 2:7
4 Now in Genesis 1, it just said He created them male and female. But when we go back over this 6 th day of creation and take a closer look in Gen. 2, we realize it didn t just happen instantaneously like that. It happened in sequence. Adam was created first. Now, you may be saying, okay; he was created first. Is that really significant? God could have easily created both the man and the woman at the same time, couldn t He? Why didn t He? Listen, everything in Genesis has meaning. First always means something, especially in the Scriptures, because it speaks of some kind of preeminence. For instance, when Jesus was asked what was the first and foremost commandment, He was able to tell them; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind; with all Your strength. The firstborn son throughout Scripture is the son who receives the blessing; the special blessing of his father. In Proverbs 3:9 it says, Honor the Lord from the first fruits of your wealth. First is very significant there. It s to come off the top -- right at the beginning; not at the end of what s left over. That s significant. In Revelation 2, Jesus speaks to the Ephesian church and He says, you ve left your first love. ( You re doing a lot of things well, but at the core the most important thing has been forgotten, the first. ) Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead, the first fruits of creation. As you look at the word first as you go through the Scriptures you get a sense of priority. In the beginning of man, as male and female, Adam was created first. First. The question is why? I think it s because God was making a statement about social structure, social positioning, and manhood as it should be. Not necessarily as it is now - we re looking at the original blueprints -- but the way God created it to be. For some, this is a real tense social issue. Thousands of years after Moses recorded this creation account in Genesis, the Apostle Paul was asked why women couldn t be pastors of churches. A lot of us ask that same question today as we see both males and females become pastors, but in Paul s day, he was asked the question, Why can t a woman be a pastor of a church? - the leader? In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul answers: I don t allow women to teach or exercise authority over a man but remain quiet, for it was Adam who was first created, then Eve. See, here he was in his day thousands of years removed from the day God created man and they were asking him about an intensely difficult issue. This was especially true in Ephesus, because Ephesus was a city of pagan religions where all the religious leaders were women. These people who had become Christians were wondering why the women couldn t lead this church too. So Paul says, Well, here s why. I don t think that should happen.because I think God had some original designs in mind. And he points to this first in creation. B. Adam is given an occupation and responsibility before Eve s creation. (Gen. 2:15) The Lord God took the man [the male] and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
5 After He created the man as male, He gave him a job to do a vocation in the garden of Eden. Then He gave him other responsibilities, orders to obey. During this whole time Eve s not been created yet. These directions are given to the man exclusively and not to his wife, Eve. C. Adam is instructed by God with the responsibility of leading with His word. And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you shall surely die. Genesis 2:16-17 Eve has still not been created yet. God literally speaks to Adam and says, Okay, I ve given you this place. I want you to cultivate it. Now I want to give you some instruction about how to live in this place. The thing that s fascinating is the instruction was not given to Eve, but was given to Adam to then give to Eve, which is what we ll see a little later on. But we have to ask the question Why? Why did it occur this way? Again, I believe it hints at the spiritual responsibility that God created men to assume as part of real masculinity. In other words, a man should lead with spiritual truth when he s in relationship to a woman. He should lead with spiritual truth not she should lead. He should lead. That s a real key a real nugget to satisfaction and social health, not just for the marriage itself, but for the community at large. To do that, someone s got to deposit the truth and be the standard bearer. In the original blueprints, that scepter is given to the man. D. Adam names the animals, a signal of his leadership over creation. (Gen. 2:19) 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. Genesis 2:19 Now assigning names to others in the Bible is very significant because it s a sign of authority or leadership over something. You see God exercise that kind of leadership in renaming people throughout the Bible. He takes Abram and He renames him Abraham because He s calling him to be a leader to be the originator of the nation of Israel. Here, in Genesis 2, in naming the animals Adam gets to show his first-level leadership over creation. This is a responsibility that his counterpart, Eve, will receive through him, but he receives it first. E. Adam is given a helper suitable for him, a title that offers further evidence of God s original core social identify for the man and the woman. (Gen. 2:18) The Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Genesis 2:18 The deepest and most profound differences between a man and a woman male and female are not physical. They re intensely sociological. What s happening here in Genesis is what you and I as men feel right now. It is a relational dance between these two equally endowed, equally
6 valuable counterparts. This relational dance poses a very big question that is pertinent to the very core of masculinity - if it s a relational dance, then who leads? And who follows? Do you see how relevant Genesis is? Is that not the question of the 21 st Century? Today, in the sociological realms of the everyday life, we as men will experience this - whether this week when you take a girl out on a date or when you go home to the woman you married. So, in this moment in Genesis, here s what I want you to understand, Adam discovered more than a work to do in the garden. He discovered more than a will to obey. He also discovered a social counterpart, who will not only offer him help great help in his life but is also looking to him and looking at him to lovingly lead her to fulfillment. That s what we begin to discover here in Genesis. This is an incredible moment, and God calls her helper. The word helper was not a put-down kind of term. By the way, helper is only used 3 other times in the Scripture. Each time it is referring to three very distinguished persons - God the Father; God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and woman. Those are man s helpers. So it s a pretty lofty and exalted title. She was given that title to help position her in relationship to the calling that a man had over his life. She was there to complement that calling and in that, find a calling of her own, rather than compete with his calling. So she s called helper. So, here, at the beginning in this foundational work what we begin to understand is that there s a woman who s going to be looking at a man, and to a man, to take the lead in order to bring about fulfillment in her life. That s the way it is even to this day because men are called, from the very beginning, to be social and spiritual leaders. This principal is at the very core of real authentic manhood. Man was originally created with a very unique calling over his life. Man s social and spiritual DNA was coded by God with leadership. It s very, very important that you hear that. The spiritual genetic code of a man, at the very core of his being, is a calling to leadership. Listen, there s a great difference between leadership and male domination. Male domination is a personal moral failure, not the teaching of the Bible. Men who dominate women are in reality boys trying to act like real men. Male domination is not Biblical Headship. Biblical male headship is noble, honorable and gratifying to women. 3. What Genesis 3 Says About Manhood In Chapter 3 we go into a real tight focus on a singular event that twists all that we just talked about, and perverts it and distorts it, and impacts our understanding of masculinity today. In Genesis 3 we learn about the Fall. A. The serpent s temptation seeks to corrupt and reverse God s original social and spiritual order. (Gen. 3:1-6)
7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:1-6 Adam is passive. He was watching the whole conversation between his wife and the serpent. The man who is supposed to lead, instead he is being lead by his wife. What you notice, as the woman engages this serpent, is she begins in a strange way to take the lead in the relationship. You ll see that at the very end of the passage. By the way, the attack that unsettles her, is the same attack that is unsettling women even in our day. It s all about the issue of equality. The dagger, the serpent sticks in her heart is this; God s holding back on you. He knows that if you eat this fruit, you ll be equal with Him. It won t be this over-under kind of relationship anymore, with Him having it all and you being the inferior employee in this garden setting. No, you ll be like Him. You ll be equal. You ll have the same power; you ll have your own freedom. You can determine your own destiny if you ll just eat. So she listens - then she s enticed - then she gets engaged - and then she eats. Now that s enough to make you gasp. Now after she s eaten, (at the end of the passage) she turns to her husband who is with her, and he follows her lead. He doesn t lead anymore; he follows! He eats as well. And so in this whole relationship of who would lead and initiate and take charge, and be the one who directs in the instruction of God s word, and lead his new home to high spiritual ground instead, he s totally passive; she leads and then he follows. That takes place again and again, in thousands of homes and in thousands of relationships all across America every day. B. God holds Adam, not the woman, accountable for the first sin. (Gen. 3:8-9) Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, Where are you? Now you need to understand what God s calling the man to do here. He is calling man to account for his transgression or sin. Not because the woman started it, but because Adam was charged with it. It was he who failed; not her. God s clearly putting the finger on the CEO of this new family who as now failed miserably. You know, it s just like when a sports team fails. If a team plays poorly and has a loosing season, who gets fired? The players? Well, you might fire a few of them; but primarily the one who gets the ax at the end of the season is the coach! In this moment, the issue of leadership is not just whispered - you hear the issue of leadership shouted. C. Adam s sin has an unacceptable passivity attached to it. (Gen. 3:10-12)
8 He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Does that sound like a man to you? Or does that sound like a whimpering dufus? You know what you can write over man s statement? Victim. I m a victim. And any man who plays the victim card has torn up the manhood card, because he doesn t have the nerve to be a man. And Adam doesn t have it here either. There comes a time when a man needs to man up, and take responsibility for the situation. D. Adam s curse is based on the reversal of God s original created order. (Gen. 3:17) (Eve s curse is based on her usurping God s original created order.) To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat of it, Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Now, is that a put-down on a woman? No. It s a put-down on the fact that she was leading and he was following. That s the put-down. He knew the information! His manliness should have called him forth to be a directional leader; an overall protector and guide of the noblest of manhood. But instead, he totally disregarded that calling over his life and listened, rather than do what a real man does and that s initiate truth! 4. God s Original Blueprint For Manhood Calls All Men To: A. Reject Passivity. B. Accept Responsibility. C. Lead Courageously. 1. This involves taking the initiative. Team up with other men. (Join the Men s Fraternity, a Life Group, or seek out a mentor) 2. This involves keen understanding. You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 (NASB) 3. This involves sacrificial love. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25
*Much of this sermon content came from Men s Fraternity notes, The Quest For Authentic Manhood by Robert Lewis Session 15 & 16. 9