BIBLICAL MASCULINITY”: UNDERSTANDING BIBLICAL MASCULINITY

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“BIBLICAL MASCULINITY”:UNDERSTANDING BIBLICAL MASCULINITYByJoseph Olan StubbsA ThesisSubmitted to the Facultyof Reformed Theological SeminaryIn Fulfillment of the RequirementsFor the Degree of Masters of ArtsApproved:Thesis Advisor:Rev. Kenneth McMullenRTS/Virtual President:Dr. Andrew PetersonAugust 20061

2TABLE OF CONTENTS4Chapter 1: IntroductionThe Problem4Thesis7Equality and Headship Together8Differences in the Laws of Nature and Creation10Physiological Issues14Chapter 2: Bible17Overview17Genesis 1-3181 Corinthians 1122Ephesians 5271 Timothy 2301 Peter 3:736Chapter 3: Literature Review38Chapter 4: Systematic Theology42Chapter 5: History46Chapter 6: Practical Implications53Significance55The World’s Perversions57The Christian Solution58The Source of the Difference59

3The Results of Biblical MasculinityChapter 7: Summary and ConclusionBibliography676064

4CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIONTHE PROBLEMIn researching Biblical masculinity, I have read many commentaries, journals, andbooks on topics ranging from manhood, raising boys, sexual differences, leadership, andmore. I have listened to several series of tapes and talked to many different people aboutthis subject. Every book, tape, and person agreed on at least one thing in regard tomasculinity: we are currently in a crisis. Even feminists would agree with this statement,although they see the crisis from a different direction. They seek to diminish theunderstanding of masculinity, but they still see a huge problem. No one spoke lightly ofthe issue. Some may have exaggerated it, but none down played it. We are in a crisis inregard to Biblical masculinity. Many say that this is the greatest problem facing ourcountry, churches, and families today. Most attach the blame for many other problems tothe lack of masculinity. Some go as far as to blame all other problems on the problem offailed masculinity. I will not go into the lists of statistics that record the failures of ourculture because so many others have done this so well. Margaret Mead asserts, “Thecentral problem of every society is to define appropriate roles for the men.”1 I willsimply agree that there is a problem that is probably much greater than most of us know.This is a large reason for this paper.1Margaret Mead, Male and Female: A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World (New York, NY: Dell,1968), p. 168.

5“Men and women are created differently in every cell of their bodies.”2 “Sexualitypermeates one’s individual being to its very depth. It conditions every facet of one’s lifeas a person.”3 “Though [the difference between the sexes] has a sexual basis, its actualitycovers all aspects of personal life.”4 Masculinity and femininity are not primarily issuesof a, “biological fact but a matter of personhood and relational dynamics Sexuality hasto do with our whole personhood.”5 There is great consensus that human sexuality has todo with much more than mere physical differences. Our sexuality is a huge issue thataffects most if not all areas of our lives. The goal of this paper is to bring greater clarityto the differences between the sexes, focusing on masculinity. What is the nature of truemasculinity at its root?John Stott concludes a chapter on this subject by saying, “further theological reflectionis needed How should we define the created complementarities of the sexes (includingthe notions of ‘headship’ and ‘submission’), not just physically and physiologically,certainly not culturally (in terms of popular gender stereotypes), but psychologically, andin particular Biblically? What does Scripture teach about the essence (permanent anduniversal) of our created maleness and femaleness? This question must be at the top ofour agenda for debate, since whatever creation has established culture can express but notdestroy.”6 These are the kinds of questions we will be addressing.The topic of masculinity is incredibly broad. I want to be clear on the intention of thispaper. My goal is not to list all of the attributes of man. My aim is not to lay out aperfect plan for training and teaching a man. The goal is not to refute every feminist2James Dobson, Love for a Lifetime (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books), p. 41Paul King Jewett, Man as Male and Female (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1975), p.172.4Otto Piper, Christian Ethics (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1970), p. 299.5Ada Lum, Single and Human (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1976) pp. 31,44-45.6John Stott, The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1996), p.88.3

6argument. My search is defined by one concern. What is Biblical masculinity? Howdoes the Bible define masculinity? What is the essential difference between men andwomen in their souls? When one speaks of masculinity, what should one mean? Whatdoes it mean to be a man? This will be my pursuit. I am interested in what makes theessence of a man different from the essence of a woman. My one main goal is tounderstand what God means for men to be. It is clear that men and women have beengiven different roles by God, but what are the qualitative differences in men that uniquelyqualify them for these Biblical roles?One important note should be made. I believe and am assuming in this paper that menand woman are equal children of God. Men are not implicitly better or more spiritualthan women and neither are women better than men. Certainly men are naturally better atsome tasks than women and the same is true of women, in regards to men. My paperseeks only to define the differences and not find a superior sex because I believe thatthough our roles are different, we are created equally in the image of God.What is the fundamental difference between men and women? We are not searchingfor the physical differences. These are clear. We are looking for the difference that Godhas placed in the soul. The fact that there are physical differences leads us to believe thatthere are distinctions at a deeper level. “Our sexuality penetrates to the deepestmetaphysical ground of our personality. As a result, the physical differences between theman and the woman are a parable of psychological and spiritual differences of a moreultimate nature.”7 “The natural fitness of man and woman for each other in marriage is7Emil Bruner, Das Gebel und die Ordungen (Tuebingeni J.C.B. Mohr, 1933), p.358.

7rooted in something more than anatomy. There is a profound female and malepersonhood portrayed in our differing bodies.”8THESISWhile the Bible clearly states that the men and women are created equally in God’simage, it also clearly states that just as our physical bodies have distinct differences, thereare distinct differences in the roles men and women are supposed to fulfill and ourabilities to carry out those roles. The Bible shows that the main roles that men are to playthat differs from women’s roles is that of male headship and leadership. We want tounderstand how the Bible defines this headship and leadership role. The easiest way tosum it up is to say that the essential difference between men and women is one ofresponsibility. Men and women both have responsibility before God because Godcreated them. But, men clearly have more responsibility for the tasks, people, andinstitutions that God has given them. Men are uniquely created to bear leadershipresponsibility in all of creation but especially in the church and the family. John Piperhas defined Biblical masculinity like this, “At the heart of mature masculinity is a senseof benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriateto a man’s differing relationships.”98Wayne Grudem and John Piper, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Wheaton, IL:Crossway Books, 1991) p. 86.9John Piper, What’s the Difference (Wheaton, IL: Crossways, 1990), p. 19

8EQUALITY AND HEADSHIP TOGETHERThis paper will say a lot about male headship, but nothing that we say in any waytakes away from the equality of women. We must start by whole-heartedly affirming thatthe Bible teaches the equality of the sexes. But we must also clarify what is meant bythis statement. As far as one’s spiritual worth and value to God, which is and should bethe most important factor, men and women are fully equal. Nothing in the Bible evenhints that this is not so although many ancient culture treated women as slaves, asproperty, and as inferior. Galatians 3:28 is the favorite verse on this issue stating that,“there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither malenor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus.” “Paul states the basic principle ifrestrictions on it are found elsewhere they are to be understood in relation to Galatians3:28.”10 All people, regardless of race, class, or gender are equal in importance in Christ.Furthermore, race, class, nor sex makes one more ready or able for salvation. We are allequal in Him. But this does not mean that we are exactly alike. If so, Paul would havewritten much more to abolish the practice of slavery but he never did. He instructedslaves and masters how to work together in Christ. If you took Galatians 3:28 as far asyou could, out of context, you could justify homosexual marriages because there wouldbe no distinction whatsoever between the sexes.11 Certainly this is not Paul’s intent.Being equal in worth does not infer exact replicas. We must learn to distinguishbetween equal persons and different roles. John Stott quotes Yoder as saying, “Equality10F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI:Eerdmans, 1982), p. 190.11Grudem and Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p. 71.

9of worth is not identity of role.12 Two men in the army have an equal worth to theirCreator but a different rank and different roles in the army. Just because a privatesubmits to and obeys his captain does not mean that he has less intrinsic worth than theofficer. Players on an athletic team follow their coach and their team captain, but thisdoes not mean that they are less significant than the leaders. A new born baby and a 16year old child are identical in their personal worth before God. But it is ridiculous toinfer from this that they are equal in their abilities. There are clear and obviousdifferences in their height but also great differences in their emotional maturity and howtheir mind functions in thinking about an issue. Thus it is with men and women. It isobvious to anyone with the ability to see that men and women have very distinctdifferences in their bodies, if only in their sexual organs. I am arguing that there are alsodifferences in their minds, emotions, and abilities as well. We can see all around us increation that God does not value equality in intellect, aesthetic beauty, finances, talents,or opportunities, so why would he value exact equality in the ability to handleresponsibility and fulfill leadership roles.13The Bible presents a complementarian view of, “both equality and beneficialdifferences.”14 Men are certainly better at some things and women better at other things.Men are almost always stronger than women and can run faster. Only a woman’s bodycan sustain an unborn child in her womb and produce milk for an infant to drink. Wehave been made for different purposes but these purposes are not in opposition orcompetition. Rather, they truly complement each other.12John Stott, The Message of Ephesians (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1986), p.218Raymond Outland, “Male-Female Equality and Male Headship” in John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds.,Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Wheaton, IL:Crossway Books, 1991) p. 100.14Grudem and Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p. xiv.13

10It is dangerous to put negative values on the so-called weaknesses thateach of us has. God intends for all the ‘weaknesses’ thatcharacteristically belong to man to call forth and highlight women’sstrengths. And God intends for all the ‘weaknesses thatcharacteristically belong to woman to call forth and highlight man’sstrengths Men and women, as God created us, are different inhundreds of ways. Being created equally in the image of God means atleast this: that when the so-called weakness and strength columns formanhood and for womanhood are added up, the value at the bottom isgoing to be the same for each. And when you take those two columnsand put them on top of each other, God intends them to be the perfectcomplement to each other.15DIFFERENCES IN THE LAWS OF NATURE AND CREATIONSo many of our unique roles are defined not in a vacuum but in relation to oneanother. So we need to spend some time examining men’s and women’s roles in relationto one another. We have already established that our physical differences point to thedeeper differences. Men are made strong with broad shoulders to bear the weight ofresponsibility.16 Men are made physically stronger so that they can work hard to providefor their wives and families and to fight and protect them when need be. Men’s bodiesare made to move out and toward a woman in sex as initiator. This too is a picture of aman’s role in relating to women.Women’s bodies are uniquely crafted to create life and sustain it. Women arenaturally crafted to be nurturers and homemakers. This does not mean that this is all theycan do or that men cannot help with nurturing kids. But women are experts in this fieldand even the way men provide nurture is often very different from the way womennurture. Women are made sexually to be more of a receiver and a responder and these15Ibid., p.73.Barbara K. Mouser, Five Aspects of Woman (Waxahachie, TX: International Council for Gender Studies,1992) p. 5.3.16

11are typically the best roles for her. In marriage and the church, the women shouldprimarily be characterized as sensitive, delicate, trusting, responding, revering, andadmiring. She should be dependent on the man, showing her need for leadership,protection and provision.17It is very foolish for a man to desire to have a woman’s body rather than his own. It isalso foolish to desire to fulfill the role of another as well. It would be ridiculous if mencomplained that they were not allowed to be angels and fulfill the roles of the heavenlymessengers. They have not been created for that purpose and it is impossible for them tofulfill that role properly. It is equally foolish for women to complain that they cannot bemen and fulfill the roles that God has ordained for them.Men have primarily been given the role of leader, initiator, and decision maker in life.Women have primarily been given the role or responder, follower, and adviser. God hasmandated in Scripture that this be so in the family and in the church. But these roles areoften mirrored in every part of society. Steven Goldberg, a sociologist, has written abook, The Inevitability of Patriarchy, to use empirical data to prove the truth of the title.A quote from the book cover by Margaret Meed sums up his conclusions well; “All theclaims so glibly made about societies ruled by women are nonsense. We have no reasonto believe they ever existed.”18 “In no society, anywhere or at any time, have theserealities been absent In every society that has ever existed one finds patriarchy (malesfill the overwhelming percentage of upper hierarchal positions and all other hierarchies),male attainment (males attain the high-status roles, whatever these may be in any givensociety), and male dominance (both males and females feel that dominance in male-1718Ibid., p. 5.5.Steven Goldberg, The Inevitability of Patriarchy (Manria, Britain: Temple Smith, 1977).

12female encounters and relationships resides in the male, and society and authoritysystems reflect this.)”19Men typically see themselves maturing as they grow in courage and independence.Women typically see themselves maturing as they grow in interdependence with others.Men are made more to rule and their thinking processes line up with this. Women aremade more to cultivate and their thinking process lines up with this. This should infernothing negative about women. In many ways it is a strength . Women are gifted assupporters. They have unique wisdom to counsel, console, nurture, and petition man inhis role as a ruler. A woman is her strongest when she is supporting a man. She is alsosafest here. When the Bible speaks of women submitting to their husbands it means forthem to, “honor and affirm her husbands leadership and help carry it through according toher gifts.”20 It does not mean that she is an insignificant helper. It was the sin of thedevil to covet a role that was not his. We must not follow him in this sin. This seems tobe the main problem with so called Evangelical feminism. Their main attack is againstman’s unique headship role, especially in the church.21 Stott makes the excellent pointthat if feminists want to abandon submission in marriage, then why not also abandonsubmission of children to parents and subjects to kings and congregations to pastors. Allof society would break down. It is an illogical goal. To emphasize partnership inmarriage is fine as long as we remember that there are distinctions and differences inwhat is offered by each sex. Men find themselves in being men and women findthemselves in being women.22 “A man just by virtue of his manhood, is called to lead for19Ibid., pp. 62-63.Grudem and Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p. 61.21Ibid., p. xiii.22Stott, The Message of Ephesians, pp. 221-222.20

13God. A woman, just by virtue of her womanhood, is called to help for God.”23 PerhapsJames Montgomery Boice has summed it up best by saying, “A man is absolutelysuperior to a woman at being a man. A woman is absolutely superior to a man at being awoman.”24 When one tries to take the other’s role, it leads to disaster.Rather than letting our God-ordained differences divide and lead to strife, they shouldlead to joy and blessing. God has ordained that humans interact like this because it is thebest. Men and women both have important roles to play in life that will bring thempersonal satisfaction.Men bear a primary (not solitary) responsibility for leadership andprotection and provision in the human race This unique calling is aresponsibility to bear in sacrificial love, not a right to seize indominating power. Where it is embraced with servant like, Christhonoring courage, and supported by women with faith-filled, fearless,intelligent joy, the best harmony of man and woman prevails.25Just like all members of the body of Christ have different roles in the church so men andwomen have different roles in marriage. There is no reason for jealousy or coveting.This is not to say that women have no abilities to lead and rule and initiate.They do have some of these abilities and will sometimes be called on to use them. Whendad is not at home, the mother leads. If there is no male to rule, the female rules. A wisehusband will often seek his wife’s advice and often choose to follow it, but the finaldecision rests with him. A wife has incredible influence over her husband often more sothan any other person. The accountant of a business will know more about the details ofthe financial books than the president of the company will. The president makes finalbusiness decisions but will often follow the advice of his accountant. This is no way23Outland, “Male-Female Equality and Make Headship,” p. 102.James Montgomery Boice, Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), p.95.25John Piper, Taste and See (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2005) p.219.24

14usurps a president’s or a husband’s leadership role. Any leading that fosters immature,weak, insecure wives through, “excessive control, supervision, or oppressivedomination,” is wrong.26PHYSIOLOGICAL ISSUESIt seems foolish to think that God commands men to fill the roles of head and leaderand would not specially create them to be able to fulfill these roles. John Stott says,“Masculinity and femininity repr

books on topics ranging from manhood, raising boys, sexual differences, leadership, and more. I have listened to several series of tapes and talked to many different people about this subject. Every book, tape, and person agreed on at least one thing in regard to masculinity: we are currently in a crisis.

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