Hi, folks. Sorry this third post is a little tardy. Repentance for being late.
(This post is the third installment in a series on Biblical Masculinity)
It’s high time to try and define biblical masculinity. We’ve seen so far (post 1) that there’s serious confusion about masculinity in the world around us and yet (post 2) gender remains a transcendent reality as it comes from and images God.
No one but God has the wisdom or authority to define masculinity. And thankfully, He has. We find this truth in the book of Genesis, chapter 2, verses 15-17:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
There are two points in this passage that help us to understand what God intends for men. In these verses we see 1) a place and 2) a job description for living in that place.
Adam is given a place where he is responsible.
God breathed life into Adam and put him in a garden—a place where he would live out his God-given calling. This “place” would include all the variety of things (and later and more importantly his relationship with Eve) and spaces that make a life. Commentator Gordon Wenham helps to express the meaning of this place for Adam:
The garden of Eden is not viewed by the author of Genesis simply as a piece of Mesopotamian farmland, but as an archetypal sanctuary, that is a place where God dwells and where man should worship him.
Adam’s “place” is the stage for his worship to be expressed as he lives his life for his Lord. But what will this life of worship entail?
Adam’s Worship = Benevolent Responsibility
God gives Adam a three-fold job description for this garden. Adam is to “work” the garden, “keep” the garden, and live under the authority of God’s word in the garden.
To “work” the garden gives the idea of cultivation. Adam is to understand his place and do what he can to make it thrive.
To “keep” the garden is a natural implication from the mandate to cultivate; Adam is not just to improve his place, but he is to protect it from whatever would tear it down. Keeping the garden includes protecting the garden.
And let’s not think these responsibilities are simply about getting the tomatoes to grow. Greg Beale speaks to the importance of these words in his book, The Temple and the Church’s Mission:
The two Hebrew words for “cultivate” and “keep” are usually translated “serve” and “guard” elsewhere in the OT…When however, these two words occur together in the OT they refer either to Israelites serving God and guarding [keeping] God’s word or to priests who keep the service (or charge) of the tabernacle.
This text is about a man’s worship to his God. This is emphasized in the third aspect of Adam’s responsibility. As Mark Driscoll has coined it, Adam is to be a sage. In this text especially, being a sage means knowing, doing, and teaching God’s word.
That forbidden tree is smack in the middle of Adam’s place. As Adam goes about his business seemingly every moment will be about obedience. Moreover, the text gives us no evidence that God will give the command regarding the fruit to Eve personally. Rather, it is to be implied that Adam was teach God’s word to Eve and live it out with her on a daily, moment-by-moment basis.
A Definition of Masculinity
So now we’re ready to make an effort at defining what it means to be a man. In his book Recovering Biblical Masculinity John Piper gives these two words towards masculinity: benevolent responsibility.
To be benevolent is to be self-giving for the benefit of another. Responsibility includes the authority and accountability for accomplishing that which one has been given.
Benevolent responsibility is clearly the mandate for Adam. He is to give himself to the benefit of the place that has given him. Adam is responsible to be a benevolent cultivator, protector, and sage in the place God has given him.
The same is true for us.
So men, consider with me:
- What is the nature of the “place” God has given you? Over what resources has He given responsibility?
- What are the major relationships you have in your place? How are your responsibilities different with each?
- Considering your place and relationships, what does it mean for you to be a cultivator, protector, and sage in each? A man’s different relationships will call for different expressions.
7 Comments on "Biblical Masculinity: Defined"
Good word, brother Matt. Good word.
You rock, Matt. Great words. Thanks!
Great definition and good word on our responsibilities. I think everyone on here should read John Piper and Wayne Grudem’s Biblical Manhood/Womanhood. A must read on this important subject! A message the Christian culture needs to hear today.
Nail. Hit on the head! Thank you for your ministry brother!
Hey everyone,
Thanks for your comments and encouragement! I’m humbled that you took the time to read. I’d like to follow Kevin’s example and recommend a few books I’ve appreciated related to this subject:
Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Piper/Grudem
“God, Marriage, and Family”, Kostenberger
“Women in the Church”, Kostenberger
“God of Sex”, Peter Jones
“Nurturing the Nations”, Darrow Miiller
“Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth”, Grudem
Perhaps the most accessible is Kevin DeYoung’s “Freedom and Boundaries”
Enjoy!
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