Why do you care about masculinity? If you read this site, you probably think relatively freely, unabashed in your plight against conformity, you’re not going to listen to what society tells you about masculinity to begin with. Well, the problem is, not everyone is you, if you retreat from the truth, you’re a coward. The world has enough cowards. I want you to be what God has called you to be, men. This article is written for men so that men can stop abdicating their position as leaders. If you are a woman, this article is just as much for you. Women must understand what God says a man is, so they can encourage their husbands to fill his role, and maybe even hold him to the fire, if need be.
First, I’ll give you a few examples of what society says masculinity is so you can adequately contrast it with the Bible.
“Masculinity, in its proper role, then uses the understanding and wisdom that come from the feminine to guide its power, actions, rationality, and strength. We are open to the world to understand…” (Johnson, 2023).
“Masculinity is a construct that can be imagined, reimagined, and reshaped over generations – it is not toxic in itself…(Garfield, 2023),” this made my neurons die.
Discussing toxic masculinity, “… is an opportunity to begin to reconstruct a more positive model of masculinity that makes room for the many different ways to be a boy or man and allows all individuals to feel secure in their masculine identity.” (Gilpin & Proulx, 2018)
I hope you gather that they don’t know what masculinity is, but they think they have a right to manipulate its definition. In an effort to assuage their lack of masculinity, as the need arises.
I want you to see that because we are created as men, the only person who gets to define what a man is, is our Creator. God is the only being with the authority to determine manhood. For us, as men, to adhere to social standards of masculinity is to deny God what He is due. God created us, therefore, God defines us. Seeing as this is the case, we have to adhere to the Biblical standards of masculinity and teach those same standards to our boys, raising them up in the name of the Lord, to the glory of God.
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.”, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.
This verse comes from Paul’s epistle to the church at Corinth. Earlier in the letter, in chapter 11, Paul rebukes them for their failure to adhere to God’s designed order for gender and the proper application of headship. Specifically, men and women of the church, in their attire and hair, were succumbing to the societal ideas of gender. I am sure you can appreciate this issue, in today’s America. Paul finishes off the letter with an encouragement to the men to, “act like men”. Matthew Henry says in this passage, “Act the manly, firm, and resolved part: behave strenuously, in opposition to the bad men who would divide and corrupt you, those who would split you into factions or seduce you from the faith: be not terrified nor inveigled by them; but show yourselves men in Christ, by your steadiness, by your sound judgment and firm resolution.” (Henry, 1994, p. 2278).
I think Paul’s parting message to the Corinthians is a perfect, concise definition of what a Biblical man is and how he acts. I want to dig deeper into this verse and expand upon it.
Be watchful.
Men of God are not reactionary, they are vigilant and determined. In their faith, in their family, with their business. Men search their hearts and see the wickedness, they keep guard of the temptations that may arise. Men are watchful over the faith of their wives and children, they steward them, so that the faith of the family may flourish. It is a man’s duty and one he should not take lightly. If his family is weak in their faith, there is a good chance he is weak. A watchful man is not manipulated by the changing of the seasons, not one to be led astray by the masses. Being watchful is to be observant, an observant man sees through the façade of cultural progress.
Stand firm in the faith.
Men are not moved by the crashing of waves, though lightning strikes and winds rage, the storm will not displace him from the rock of his salvation. The confession of our faith is more than just a statement, it is the very life we breathe into the world. Daniel stood firm in the lion’s den, Stephen stood firm as the rocks crushed his skull, John the Baptist stood firm as he was beheaded, and most of all Christ stood firm in His faith in the Father throughout the crucifixion. Could any other man have endured the torture and then carried the cross? No, He is the pinnacle of masculinity. How did these men stand firm? Their faith was their own and it was placed in an all-sufficient savior. The majority of men in our society have no faith, and the faith they do have is placed in pleasure, money, principalities, or philosophies. They cannot stand firm because the object of their faith has less spine than them. If the object of your faith will buckle under the weight of the world, then your faith is useless, it will drag you down. Real men have faith in the Lord, which holds them strong in their faith, which is why they do not falter.
Be strong.
Strength, not of the body, but of the spirit; our strength is cultivated by reliance upon the inner working of the Holy Spirit. Paul Washer likes to say, “There are no great men of God… Only weak, little men of a great and merciful God. If God were any other way, I would have no place to turn!” (Washer). If you spend any time in the Bible, you realize very quickly how truthful that statement is. God, throughout history, has used the weak, rather weak in integrity like Jacob, or weak in courage like Noah. Weak men have always been made strong by the provisions of their Lord. Society will tell you that strength is lifting weights, strength is not showing emotions, or some other nonsense. The reason all of these ideas are wrong is because they assert that we can attain and define our strength. Strength comes from the Lord and the Lord alone. You may think, “I know so strong men that aren’t believers”. My answer to you is, you don’t know what strength is and you need to seek the Lord your God.
Let all that you do be done in Love.
Love, in our society, is not commonly associated with masculinity. In the Bible, Paul echoes this idea that love is not as common for men, as for women. In Ephesians 5:25, Paul commands husbands to love their wives, to mirror the love of Christ for the Church. Yet, just before this verse Paul commands wives to respect their husbands, one of the reasons is that love is harder for men. In 1 Corinthians, we find Paul commanding love again and explains in chapter 13 what love looks like (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). To express love in our life, we have to be willing to be humble, to deny ourselves, to forgive, and to rejoice in truth. “Love bears all things… endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). To bear burdens, to endure all things, I don’t know about you but sounds pretty manly to me. For if a man has all these other attributes, yet he does not love, then he is a brute and a tyrant.
How can we practically apply Biblical masculinity to our lives, to honor God? We must stand watch, through day and night, over our hearts and the heart of the family, ready to make war against any desire that would elevate itself. We must “hold fast to the confession of our faith”, making no provisions for the flesh, without comprise to the world, bringing every knee to bow before the King. We must be strong in our resolve, and committed to love, as we bear all burdens and endure all trials with total and utter reliance upon the power of God. Bring glory to God with vigilance that searches all depths, resolve that shakes all adversaries, zeal that consumes all principalities, and love that melts all hearts.
To Christ be the Glory.
References:
- Garfield, R. (2023, February 16). It’s time to rethink modern masculinity. the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/16/its-time-to-rethink-modern-masculinity
- Gilpin, C. C., & Proulx, N. (2018, April 12). Boys to men: Teaching and learning about masculinity in an age of change. The New York Times – Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/12/learning/lesson-plans/boys-to-men-teaching-and-learning-about-masculinity-in-an-age-of-change.html
- Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume. Peabody; Hendrickson.
- Johnson, A. L. (2023, July 20). Opinion | What Masculinity Means. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/20/what-masculinity-means
- Washer, Paul [@paulwasher]. “There are no great men of God… Only weak, little men of a great and merciful God. If God were any other way I would have no place to turn!” Twitter, 22 November 2012, https://x.com/paulwasher/status/271801299249545217?lang=en
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