Battle Of The Sexes Part 1

 

Bruce Chant

generation-j - Pulse

29/11/2003

 

 

PART 1: BLOKES

 

Genesis 1:26-28
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [1] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

 

Genesis 1:27 “God may us male and female”

 

We are different. And there’s no harm in that.

God made each gender with strengths and weaknesses, strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other.

 

The feminist movement has pushed a gender war having us believe that women are a minority group that are oppressed by men and who need to be liberated. But this is complete foolishness because there is no gender war. God made us different – men and women – but that does not mean we are one better than the other, just different. It is possible to be different to equal yet different (eg Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

 

(The bible has a high view of women – rape a woman – your nation goes to war.)

 

The bible has very masculine terms – wars, sports, Jesus was the perfect man, the bible was written by men – yet, nearly every church has a majority of women. Why? The church is feminine, and masculine men feel uncomfortable in it.

 

What a Man is (aspects of men):

 

1.      Cultivators

 

Genesis 2:15 “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

 

God created man and put him in the garden of Eden. It was man’s job to look after the Garden of Eden and then cultivate the remainder of the planet in the same way “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen 1:28)

 

Men love to create things. Once it is made they love to cultivate it for it to grow and  improve. Men are created for work, challenge, competition, and the pioneering of new frontiers.

 

Masculinity is cultivated as men create and cultivate things to their optimal abilities and become tough, resilient, disciplined, and unrelenting.

 

 

The favourite place for man to go is Bunnings. Why? It’s the place to go and buy things to help you cultivate.

 

One of the most important cultivating roles for a man is to cultivate his family: A man needs to encourage his wife and kids – taking on the father/ husband role of the family pastor.

 

On the negative side – guys cultivate their sin. Their motivation to do and achieve and cultivate is focused upon their sin and the desires of their flesh.

 

Because of man’s sin God curse the ground and all the man seeks to cultivate (Genesis 3:17-19). God did this in His grace because as those things under a man’s dominion rebel against the man, like the man has rebelled against God, the gospel begins to make sense as he sees things from the vantage point of God and desires grace.

 

That’s why whatever you do, whatever pursuit you follow, it is going to be hard work. The easy route / short cut does not exist.

 

2.      Warriors

 

Genesis 3:1-15 The Fall of Man

 

In Genesis we see very early the first conflict – man vs evil (Adam v satan).

God created men to rule on His behalf and therefore God’s enemies are to be man’s enemies.

 

Because of this men are created for battle, competition, suffering and even death (like Jesus) as they fight evil, defend truth and justice, and protect the weak and vulnerable - especially women and children

 

Proverbs 31:8-9
8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy."

 

Men are built to fight and win. Men are competitive – they need to win. Why is sport so popular with men as opposed to women? The competitive need.

 

The perverted version of this is crime, violence, intimidation, and terror. All through the bible there are images of fighting and war and winning.

 

We don’t get much of the real things so what sort of movies do guys get? Action movies. There is a need to fight and win. There is a consciousness of an enemy that we have and a responsibility to subdue and defeat it (something Adam neglected).

 

Men are built to fight for protect women, and the family and be the tough guy.

 

 

3.      Sages / Teachers

 

Genesis 2:16-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."”

 

Men are designed to receive and teach knowledge and wisdom.

In Genesis God tells the man (Adam) the rules of the game. It was his responsibility to teach that to Eve. But he did not pass it on.

 

Proverbs 4:1-4
1 Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning,
so do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a boy in my father's house,
still tender, and an only child of my mother,
4 he taught me and said,
"Lay hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands and you will live.

 

Men are practical in their thinking and application of knowledge and this is what they pass on to the family (wife and children - see Ephesians 6:4) – how to cultivate. Therefore, this teaching is not just done by words – but also (mostly) by their deeds.

Children will learn more from what their Father does than what he says.

 

Boys always look up to boys older than them. And if kids don’t get that teaching from their fathers where do you think they will get it? From their friends. Do you think this is wisdom they are getting from their friends? No. Invariably it is perverted and distorted in some way.

 

 

Men, beware of (masculine sins):

 

1.      Abusing your responsibility

 

Some men abuse their masculinity and become thugs looking to get a conquest.

Rather than protecting and nurturing they become threatening and self-serving.

 

Adam abused his masculinity. How? Instead of taking responsibility for his sin and the sin of his wife, he blamed his wife and God for his own sins. He was abusive of his wife, and responsibilities.

 

Proverbs 1:8-19

Warning Against Enticement
8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They will be a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
11 If they say, "Come along with us;
let's lie in wait for someone's blood,
let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, [1]
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us,
and we will share a common purse"-
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into sin,
they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net
in full view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they waylay only themselves!
19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the lives of those who get it.

 

Proverbs 14:16-17 “A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless. A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated.”

 

Proverbs 16:29 “A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good.”

 

Proverbs 19:26 “He who robs his father and drives out his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.” (abuse of elders for selfish gain)

 

Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair is the splendor of the old.” (in other words a young man’s glory is not his wisdom to do what’s right)

 

Proverbs 28:15 “Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people.”

 

 

  1. Avoiding your responsibility

 

Some men avoid their masculinity and it’s responsibilities to lead and so become feminine, soft and weak.

Adam avoided his masculinity when he sat quietly and idly by while Satan declared war on his God and wife, instead of leading his wife, teaching her God’s commands and protecting her from the evil one.

 

Proverbs 3:27: “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”

 

Proverbs 12:24 “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”

 

Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”

 

Proverbs 23:20-21 “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”

 

Proverbs 24:30-34 “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.”

 

 

  1. Abandoning your responsibility

 

Some men abandon their masculinity and its responsibilities in a mistaken belief that they will be “free”.  Adam did this when he fled from his God and wife in the garden of Eden when he sinned.

 

Proverbs 2:12-17 “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God”

 

Proverbs 11:3 “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

 

Proverbs 24:10 “If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!” (it’s too much!)

 

Proverbs 27:8 “Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.” (will either survive long?)

 

Men & Masculine Redemption from Jesus

 

§         Jesus Christ is the Warrior of warriors who has come to bleed and die in His conquest of Satan, sin, and death (Colossians 2:13-15; Revelation 19:11-21).

 

§         Jesus Christ is the Cultivator of cultivators who is redeeming the entire world to Himself, coming again to build the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem, and cultivates His people into imitators of Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Revelation 21:1-7; Hebrews 12:1-13).

 

§         Jesus is the Sage of sages in whom is all wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3)

 

Therefore, Christian men should not abuse, avoid, or abandon their masculinity but instead embrace it and be like Jesus Christ the perfect man, and our perfect God.

 

This is to be their lifelong task, as Proverbs 14:4 says,  “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest”.

 

 

 

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