Gods Man

 

Watch!  Stand firm in the faith!  Be manly!  Be staunch!  Let all your actions occur in love,

1 Corinthians 16: 13-14, Concordant New Testament

A good friend and I were having a discussion between text messages the other day on the message in scripture and theology of being a Christian man.  What does it take to be a man in Gods eyes?  Why is it that the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians, advised women to be subservient to men?  I asked these questions of my friend, but I did not receive an answer because he's good at posing questions but lacks a bit in suggesting answers to the questions he poses.  No worries, like most people I feel as if I'm able to decipher these things.  So, what is it that makes a Godly man?  Do we go by simple gender itself?  Well, I prefer to think of a Godly man as someone who knows and fears the Lord.  Fair enough?  Of course, that definition of a Christian man might not be good enough for all believers.  Take Bill McCartney, former college football coach and founder of the formerly popular Promise Keepers men's conferences.  McCartney took the approach that the Christian man was to be the spiritual leader of the home as well as the leader overall as well.  For some time, the Promise Keepers message was immensely popular.  I was involved in more than a few of their conferences and offshoots as well.  Promise Keepers pushed the idea of strong men of faith, complete with the accountability of our brothers.  I get it.  The problem was, and remains to be, that once the conference packed up and left town, that accountability often went away with it.  Don't get me wrong, I developed a few good and lasting friendships through Promise Keepers, but the accountability aspect often quickly disappeared.  So, is this the model of the Godly man?  The man who is the overall leader, both spiritually and otherwise, of his home?  What position does that place his wife in?  You know, his wife, whom God has referred to as "The helper suitable for him" {Genesis 2:18}.  Is the helper suited only to be subservient?  I would disagree with this line of thinking.  It's easy to see just why coach Mac had such a following for his Christian man conferences.  What man doesn't want his ego stroked by being recognized as the king of the castle?  Unfortunately, this is not the characteristic of a Godly man.  

My daddy was a wild one when he was younger

Everybody told my mama he'd be hard to tame

Full of himself, said sir to nobody

But you ought to see him come running when mama calls his name

"Love of a Woman," Travis Tritt 

I made the comment to my friend the other day, that there is no hierarchy in union.  We're told that a man and wife are not separate, but one flesh {Genesis 2:24}.  The prayer of Jesus in the garden also presents to us that the Lord's desire is that we would be one with He and the Father {John 17:21}.  This is where I discovered that there is no hierarchy in union.  I would argue that these same guys who claim to adhere to the Promise Keepers ideal of a Godly man will be the very same dudes with a mile long "honey do" list every weekend.  The smoothest running households of the couples I have known are the ones where equality rules the day.  I would suggest that it can be no other way.  How can a man love his wife as Christ loved the church if she is treated like a second-class servant?  There is a reason by which Paul instructed the Ephesians to love their wives with the same love by which they love themselves.  As Paul tells us, he who loves his wife loves himself {Ephesians 5:28}.  There is no hierarchy in union.  So, are we to spend all of our time working on becoming the best version of the Godly man?  What changes might we need to make?  Well, if we accept the teaching of Paul, we need not make any changes to the man we already are.  The man we are is seen in Christ Jesus who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  This is the union which Jesus spoke of in the garden.  I would suggest that there are no Godly men, there is only Christ.  No hierarchy in union.  

To whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations, which is; Christ among you, the expectation of glory.  

Colossians 1: 27, Concordant New Testament

~Scott~