Alan Dunn

In this study, we will isolate Adam from Eve in order to ascertain the distinguishing traits of his unfallen masculinity. Our concern is to focus in on issues pertaining to the exercise of male headship. We must consider the man in Gn. 2 for there we can recognize his headship functioning prior to the creation of the woman. This approach which isolates Adam from Eve follows that of Paul who considers the sequential order of the creation of the genders germane to a New Covenant view of the sexes: For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. (1 Tim 2:13).

THE STEWARD OF THE EARTH: THE LABORER.

We saw in our last study that created life is presented as a fabric of interdependencies, each element existing in mutual need of the others. The man is presented as meeting the need inherent in the earth. We’re told in Gn. 2:5,6 that the earth needed to be cultivated. In 2:15 we learn that Adam’s labor was designed to meet that need. His relationship to the earth is a balance of dependence and dominion. He cultivates it: serves it and meets it’s needs. He also keeps it: rules, governs, and exercises authority over it. Here we see his headship already functioning in relation to the earth over which he has dominion. His distinctive masculinity is seen in that labor which is focused upon the environment by which the provisions for life are obtained. Although the green plants are provided for food (1:29,30), the man’s labor is nevertheless required and deemed very good. Work is not inflicted as a result of the fall, it is not a ‘curse’. Work is inherent in what is good and is essential to Biblical manhood. That labor is an aspect of a distinctive masculinity is evident by the fact that this is the arena in which the man is later judged in 3:17-19.

THE STEWARD OF WORDS: THE DEFINER.

Creation is word-conditioned. As we read Gn. 1 we see that there is a lot of talking going on! (cf. Ps 33:6; Jn 1:1-3; Hb 11:3). Man, as image of God, is distinctively the ‘word-creature’. By God’s in-breathing, he is distinguished from the animals as a communicating being. It is in his capacity and responsibility to communicate that we also find an essential distinction between the sexes and the crux of male headship. The man uniquely, is constituted as the steward of words.

God entrusts three kinds of words to him. First, ‘Creation Words’ – 1:28-30. Here are God’s definitions of created reality which determine how life would be sustained. Secondly, ‘Sabbath Words’ – 2:3. God ‘blessed’ this sanctified time. To bless entails speech (cf. 1:28, God blessed them and God said). God then sanctified this time. To ‘sanctify’ entails separation from sin unto God. But separation from sin was not possible in an unfallen world, yet it is possible that pre-fall time was yet sanctified by being uniquely attached to the personal presence of God Himself. We can think of Adam laboring during the six days before the omnipresent Creator and glorifying Him by imaging Him in his work. Then on the seventh day, Adam would receive the culminating blessing: time spent in the special Sabbath presence of the God who personally communes with man in the filial love of a father with his son. That such Sabbath blessing is a peculiar stewardship of the man is verified by Jesus’ teaching in Mk 2:27 where we learn that the Sabbath was made, or created, for the man. The morality for labor and Sabbath is laid upon the shoulders of the male head of the home in the fourth commandment as well. This stewardship to maintain God’s worship is an aspect of distinctive masculinity. Thirdly, Adam was given ‘Law Words’ – 2:16,17. It is crucial to see that these words were entrusted to the man prior to and apart from the woman. It was incumbent upon him to communicate these words to the woman as an exercise of his headship. It is crucial to realize that by the time the woman was created, creation was already named and defined by the words of God and the words of the man.

At the core of Biblical masculinity is the stewardship a man has as to be the Definer. It is as a communicator that a man is to uniquely image God in the exercise of his headship. God’s speech differs from the man’s in that God alone ‘commands’ things into being. The Hebrew ‘amar is used only of God in Gn 1 (cf. Ps. 148:5; 33;6,9). But both God and the man ‘call’ or name created things. The man, in 2:19, ‘calls’ or names the animals. Then in 2:23 he likewise names the woman. This activity is an act of authority and rule, an exercise of headship. It is here that we see the apex of masculine image-bearing: man’s responsibility to name and define reality in obedience to God’s words. The faithful stewardship of God’s words is distinctive to his masculinity and is, as we shall see, the central issue in the Fall.

THE STEWARD OF THE FAMILY: THE HEAD.

The woman is defined by God, not in terms of her being, but her function: she is ‘helper’ (2:18). As image of God (1:27), she is made to function so as to facilitate the accomplishment of the ‘Dominion Mandate’ (1:28). The rationale for her creation is seen in the needs inherent in the creation and in the man. The creation needs her so that it would be populated and subdued. The man needs her in view of the jarring ‘not good’ of 2:18! “It is not good for the man to be alone”. He needs a suitable companion.

Scripture describes the relationship of the man to the woman using the word “head”. Recent scholarship has attempted to interpret ‘head’ to mean ‘source’ or ‘origin’, but Scripture nowhere employs this term to mean ‘origin’. Consistently, in the OT and NT, ‘head’ means having a position of authority over a functional subordinate. If you fail to see the emphasis on ‘function’, you will be liable to misunderstand God’s purposes for headship. Consider 1 Cor 11:3. Note the arrangement of the headships. We would expect a straight, linear, hierarchical arrangement: God – Christ – Man – Woman. But Paul brings us into the middle of things: Christ – Man – Woman – God – Christ. Christ begins and ends his arrangement. Thus Christ becomes the paradigm for both male headship and female submission. Men and women are equally disciples of Christ. Men learn their headship from Him who is their Head. Women learn their submission from Him who is under the Headship of the Father. Note 1 Cor 11:7. The man who exercises a godly headship glorifies God in his distinctive masculinity and thus derives glory from his wife. The abuse of headship brings ignominy for the man who thus fails to glorify God in his manhood.

APPLICATIONS

First, we need to realize the dignity of our labor. Work is given to man prior to the Fall and is to be done, ultimately, for the glory of God. If we labor merely for money or self-serving ends, we will distort the glory of God and deprive ourselves in the process. Col 3:22-24 informs us that our labor is to be performed as unto the Lord. We should realize as well, that the man is profiled in Scripture as the main material provider of the home. 1 Tim 5:8 employs the masculine gender. It is the man who is liable to deny the faith, if he fails to provide for his own household. Yes, the Proverbs 31 woman participates in the economic marketplace, but only to the extent that her home, which is her primary sphere of labor, yet benefits from her industry. Real masculinity is therefore substantiated as a man endeavors to become a good worker. In a day when manhood is said to consist in vain machismo, or violence, or even effeminacy, we need to anchor ourselves to this bedrock Creation ordinance and be confident that our manhood will be validated as we labor with a good work ethic. We must cultivate the personal habits of self-discipline, thoroughness, perseverance and financial prudence. We must mortify laziness, and disorganization. The single man should realize that a prospective wife will appreciate his ability to provide for her far more than his muscles and hairstyle. He needs to give himself to the agenda God set for Adam while he was yet single and establish himself in a viable vocation. So too the married man who gives his family a sense of protection and provision is far more respected than a man whose incompetence as a worker renders his family vulnerable to financial insecurity.

Secondly, the man who would glorify God as a definer will cultivate competent communication skills. In the exercise of Biblical headship, he will lead by lovingly communicating God’s truth both in the home and in the church. The husband is seen communicating in Eph 5:26. The Greek term word here is a spoken word, emphasizing that it is by the husband’s verbal skills that he exercises a sanctifying headship. Note 1 Thes 2:10-12. When Paul profiles a father, he highlights him as a verbal communicator. Paul also applies the principle of headship to the church in 1 Tim 2:11-15. Women are prohibited from exercising rule and teaching: the two essential aspects of the exercise of male headship which is still operative in this present age in the church. Women are thus prohibited from being elders, which is the office of ecclesiastical government and instruction, not because of passing cultural mores, but because of the nature of life lived in this present age.

I believe this is perhaps the most challenging aspect of this study. As men, we are definers. Our wives and children, by in large, do live in keeping with our definitions of life. What kind of job are we doing? Are we defining life according to the Word of God? Are we speaking the truth with love while not compromising the authority of Scripture? Are our families emotionally secure because they hear our words and have come to trust what we say to be true?

Thirdly, it is in our obedience to the fourth commandment that godly masculinity coalesces. Our labor is kept in it’s rightful place when we turn from those otherwise legitimate pursuits and endeavor to uphold the worship of God. In Sabbath observance, we align our families with the community of the Lord under the rule of His Word. Informed by that Word, we then give Biblical meaning to life as we communicate God’s love and truth to others. Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. (1 Cor 16:13,14)

Here, brethren, is where the challenge of our manhood lies. Here is the profile of godly manhood: a man who can diligently labor and provide for his home; a man who understands life as defined by the Word of God and who can communicate God’s truth in love; a man whose leadership engenders confidence and security in those over whom he has responsibility. Such are the men our families desperately need. Such are the men our churches desperately need. Such are the men our society desperately needs. Such are the men who glorify God. Are you such a man?

All rights reserved.