The Original Manual on Manhood, Part 1

So Peter is stating in general terms, the husband's and the manager we need to be careful kind and considerate in the way that we treat our wives, specifically women in general you want to prove you're a man show it.

Don't learn the distinctives by the way Peter doesn't the Bible doesn't between men and women God intended for us to highlight this is his creative acts mail God designed us with part of what it means to be a godly man is to understand these roles to treat women respectfully and properly today on wisdom for the heart were looking at first Peter 37 Stephen Devi is continuing through his series on marriage called for better or for worse. Today the focus is on husbands so men listen up. Stevens calling this lesson. The original manual on man here, Stephen today's Bible lesson series we've entitled, for better or for worse than in the process of discovery as a relates to God's design not only for husbands and wives. But in a broader sense for Biblical manhood and womanhood. God designed us to complement one another as we pursue his design in the created order of mail and female think you get find out more politically incorrect passage of Scripture on the subject of manhood and womanhood, much less on marriage and talk about today.

We, however, having gathered as an assembly because you were interested in what is politically correct. But what is biblically correct. In fact, most often in our world. Whatever is politically correct is usually biblically corrupt. Somehow invite your attention back to the text of Scripture is really picking up her left off and this is what I just can refer to as God's original manual on manhood Peter's first letter was studying through it. Ever so rapidly begin you go to first Peter three and don't look okay this lesson open with a lengthy question. Forgive me for being a rather lengthy but it's the opening of a little booklet by John Piper called the biblical definition of manhood and womanhood, and let's just begin to address this subject with what he writes.

It's it's likely but I think you'll appreciate you writes this when I was a boy growing up in Greenville, South Carolina.

My father was away from home more than half of every year preaching across the country while he preached. We prayed and stayed behind. My mother and my older sister and I in those days, I learned that my mother was when I called on my confidence. She handle the finances that all bills dealt with the bank of the creditors you once ran a little laundry business on the side. She was active in the park board served as the children's department superintendent in our small Baptist Church seek taught me how to cut the grass pull Bermuda grass by the roots how to paint the eaves of the house has spliced electric cord and shine the dining table with a chamois and drive a car, keep French fries getting sake of the cooking oil she help me with the maps and geography and help me believe that algebra two was possible. I have heard once the women don't sweat the low. My mother, sweat dripping off the end of her long sharp nose.

Sometimes she would blow it off with her hands were pushing the wheelbarrow or should wipe it with her sleeves between the strokes of the swing blade never occurred to me to think of manhood in womanhood's categories. Both my mother and father were strong. Both were bright. Both were kind. Both could kiss me and spanked me both prayed with fervor both love the Bible but I mistake ugly. My father was a man. My mother was a woman. They knew it and I knew it wasn't just a biological fact it was a matter of personhood, identity, relational dynamics if my father would come home. He was clearly the head of the home he led in prayer to table. He called the family together for devotions.

He got us to Sunday school and church. He drove the car.

He guided the family to where we would sit. He made the decision after church to go to Howard Johnson's for lunch. He led us to the table very called for the waitress. He paid the check he was the one we knew we would reckon with. If we were ever disrespectful to our mother.

These I remember were the happiest times for my mother. She rejoiced to have daddy home.

She loved his leadership. It never occurred to me that leadership from Amanda in submission from his wife had anything to do with superiority. It wasn't a matter of capabilities competency over the years I've come to see Scripture and from life manhood womanhood are the beautiful handiwork of a good and loving God who designed our differences to complement one another.

They are profound. They go to the root of who we are. Well said. I thought about the fact love it that the climactic creative act of God was nothing creation of the elephants and giraffes of the birds in the grass and trees and rivers like that was all he said good. The climactic moment of creation occurred, God designed and uniquely crafted them mail and female Genesis 121 knows the grand finale of the creation account in Genesis 1 and two maleness and femaleness with all the nuances of all their complexities in all their abilities and all their disabilities are all a part of God's glorious creation in the manual. God has given us through inspiration that you may hold on your last today describes us as male and female.

It's a personhood and it is not the result of culture or convention wasn't made by man. It goes back to creation. This was made up as it were, by God, how much you listen to what in our culture today is an earthshaking statement. It would not have been earthshaking for my father to preach or my great uncle to preach or my great-great-grandfather to preach fact when I make this statement. The reason it strikes you as earthshaking is because of the propaganda that is a barrage against our ears and hearts. Here it is in God's creative design.

He never intended to separate anatomy from identity anatomy and identity are bound together in personhood.

That's what makes you you me being yes within our fallen human nature because of sin. There are the capacities for all kinds of aberration and inclinations and dispositions and desires and mannerisms that all the potential in the world for every evil act that defies creator God. But the idea of being fundamentally male and female remains a gift from God who needed you in the womb fact Jeremiah said he knew you before you were you designed, he knows everything about the good the bad and the ugly right. He knows the same. You will become through salvation. He knows the center, you will battle because of temptation. He knows everything about inclinations and dispositions of the fallen human nature. If I could go one step further to add to the challenge facing the human race is a creature created by God, who hates God and is spent the last few thousand years battling the creation of God, Satan he he hates you and me because you are a unique image bearer created in the image of God with an eternal spirit, the ability to worship God. And that's what he wants to destroy. So Satan's endgame as he studies mankind in the watcher are nature and he takes notes. He is not mission. He's always learning. He's had a long time studying us is endgame by the way, as he attacks the creation of God is not divorce is endgame is not homosexuality or lesbianism is endgame is not same-sex marriage use is endgame is not surrogate motherhood is is endgame is not bisexuality is endgame is not transgender is he wants to destroy attack and destroy the repeat of God's glorious creation within the human race. He wants to eliminate the concept of gender male and female. Today we are observing one more digressive step in his agenda. There is an all-out attack on male and female distinctives. In fact, it's terribly out-of-date for me today to speak of manhood and womanhood as any kind of fixed state. Gone is that gender is now considered fluid fluidity has replaced biology as it there is no specific foundation or or meaning to manhood or womanhood should speak of such fixed states which means a lot, but there's no longer any structure. There is no longer any plan for what it means to be a man or woman. Gender confusion is already and will be a growing epidemic. The consequences of the enemy's agenda on an unbelieving world is already becoming catastrophic.

There are more sexual perversions and aberrations claiming normality today, not less. There is more abuse and promiscuity, not there's more social awkwardness and uncertainty. Today, not less. Still, our culture continues to defy their creator and even now in our world. You pick up a newspaper or magazine like the one they came across my desk.

Just this week, and you watch the propaganda machines churning out new curriculum in one article I read a few days ago as school systems are racing to avoid any kind of gender specific language one program that goes under the title, welcoming schools sounds inviting want to go to a welcoming school, but that's really code for curriculum that it's encouraging teachers and I quote to use their influential role in the lives of children to create a condition where children are safe. They feel safe expressing and identifying their gender keyword is identifying see they need to decide now in second grade or third after a boy or a girl, and that it is divorced, as it were from personhood.

Little wonder that transgender affirming children's books, one of which I was made aware of recently openly coaches teachers to and I quote again teach and affirm gender fluidity got a long way beyond reading, writing and arithmetic have one school counselor was rather proud of this fact. She told the reporter that they are eliminating gender specific language and activities.

I want teacher tell me you can't say all the boys over here all the girls over there looks to specific places too much pressure on them there, deciding she said in our school. There are no more muffins for mom and doughnuts for dad. It's just now muffins warnings and donut day. I read some time ago about the controversy in one school system in England are facing the same issues where in response to complaints, the school lunchroom and rename the gingerbread man the gingerbread people 400 schools complied with that to somebody else complained about the school board. After a lot of debate gave the gingerbread man back his name, one author wrote this way and I think this is the bigger issue in this order sets up our study, the male and female sexes today have lost the script or they are defying the script for their lives and they no longer know what role they are to play go back to the script it's written and produced by the creator, and as we explore one more little phrase universe can take us all the time to do just that. I want us to do this.

I want us to dig into what is nothing less than the original manual on manhood, especially, and womanhood. By the way, you can't miss it. I don't want to look down distrust needs and their remote look at the moment. But let me just read to you this phrase is it is shocking especially to the ears that had been shaped by the propaganda of our culture.

Peter writes you husbands in the same way live with your wives in an understanding way as with someone weaker since she is a woman you got addicted talk about politically incorrect now look it's first Peter three verse seven Peter is defying his culture and ours.

By the way gender never changes you might make several observations from this text that sort of jumped out at you. Peter violates the shrine of gender neutrality hereby making a statement of gender distinction when husbands he clearly says here that women are weaker than men. He also tells men are supposed to treat women differently because they are women. This strike your ears as sexist, bigoted, patriarchal, and all that stuff right.

Peter is also stating the female sex is essentially genetically and anatomically and inherently different from a man. Peter would never be invited to speak at the local PTA at first glance, it might sell like Peter is demeaning women back to our ears, trained by our culture. It sounds like it, but he isn't doing nothing more than telling men to act like men and women to be treated. Expect to be treated like women and dogs manual on manhood by the way is a lot to do with how a man treats a woman a man can claim a man look at how he treats his wife is Mary or women in general. The Peter if we go back to the beginning of this verse for just to get a running start.

He begins with the command.

This is a suggestion you live with your wife in an understanding way that is with insight that is with consideration deference.

Why now Peter adds here because she is weaker. What does this mean she is someone weaker. Your translation might reach. She is a weaker vessel which I prefer. What does it mean that a woman is a weaker vessel or weaker than a man.

Was not that hard. Really to figure out if someone said is not rocket surgery, I thought that was funny to this is heaviest referred weaker in the original text possibilities related to the fact that it generally speaking in general terms, the average woman is physically weaker than the average man.

He's speaking in general terms about the female sexes contrasted with the male set.

He says in general terms, if you like about her 25-year-old women over here not 25-year-old Metairie to put a rope in between them and said okay now: the men would drag the women into that muddy plot if you don't like this interpretation your left and wondering if Peter is telling us here that women are intellectually or morally weaker or mentally weaker or spiritually weaker or theologically weaker or weaker in their resolve or weaker in their faith. Something you say something very obvious that a man tell me recently. This verse clearly teaches that a woman is inferior to a man so would Peter says it all. Inferiority and physical weakness are not the same thing that the Bible never suggests inferiority. Peter Zuniga very clearly around the verse will get to that later that the woman is equally deserving of being rewarded in the coming kingdom just as believing men. She is a fellow air in the grace of life.

Peter is delivering a general statement on the physical makeup of the average woman contrasted with the physical makeup of the average man in general terms, then she can't throw the ball as hard or run as fast or lift his was interesting to me. Also, is that the word Peter uses for vessel in the Greek text secure loss is a word that Paul used when he wrote to Timothy, referring to household utensils to come back to. He also use the word in first Thessalonians 4 to refer to the physical body.

The body is a vessel so Peter is stating in general terms, the husbands and the men in general. We need to be careful and kind and considerate in the way that we treat our wives specifically and women in general you want to prove you're a man show it in the way you treat women don't blur the distinctives by the way Peter doesn't the Bible doesn't between men and women God intended for us to highlight that this is the technical of his creative acts male and female he wants us to acknowledge he wants us to enjoy them. In some ways we shared that he wants us to not remove them but respect them.

He wants to to erase that he wants us to exalted referring to women as the weaker sex.

By the way, which is a term coined by Peter is derogatory. It is demeaning isn't diminishing the value of women that Peter is essentially commanding men to treat women with distinction as women in blunt terms than he could paraphrase an essay man don't treat women like about you guys are not guys like women on don't exploit. Don't misuse treated with courtesy one well, for starters. Again he says they happened to be women since she is a woman. So, as strange as it sounds. Peter is commanding specifically husbands to treat their wives like women that interested. He's telling the husband to treat his wife like a woman. You can't do that unless you understand a fixed state and those characteristics that identify in general terms, manhood and womanhood so that look like to treat your wife like a woman.

I'm sure the ladies you could give us about hundred different ways. I would look down for the sake of time will start with a K to help us men remember the opposite will answer that way. What was the opposite of treating your wife like a woman when the opposite is going to look for sewing apathy, apathy, you can call it indifference you can call it unconcern for their needs and their well-being.

You could call it irritation. You know, rather than interest criticism instead of commendation. You could think of it as failure of a man to step up to the plate. Take his responsibility to provide and protect. There is no Hebrew proverb that I came across in a study. One of the authors refer to tell that this really interesting practical advice.

It reads every husband should eat and drink beneath his means close himself within his means and honor his wife above his means and all the women said treating your wife like a woman is the opposite of apathy. Secondly, treating your wife like a woman is the opposite of apps.

Absent you could call this a self-centered pursuit where her activities never matter and yours are never missed. This is just failing to step up to the plaintiffs is acting as if there's no plate at all. No ballgame to enter, you know, don't bother me with your life. I got my own treating your wife like a woman is the opposite of apathy and absence further abuse: verbal intimidation or physical threats or outright harm.

It is using your strength to your advantage to bully and dominate your wife in order to get way evidently what we learned early on as little boys out of the playground. We didn't get our way with our classmates.

We learn to push we never grew out of listen to the words of the apostle Paul that have fresh meaning in relation to this study is writing to the men in the church at Corinth and he makes his statement, act like men stand firm act like men.

He's assuming we understand that the fixed state distinctives being a man. So I act like a man. There's no paragraph to say that is what it means just act like a man.

Act like what a concept, not act like women or act like boys grow up. Not like men. He's not asking men to be macho is asking them to be mature evidently calling appears challenging every man in the church to this day grow in maturity and that relates to how we treat women acting like a man is not throwing your weight around doesn't resort to selfish anger yelling, slamming, throwing name-calling and cursing. Maybe acting like a man in relation to your wife is using your strength to make sure care treated with respect and I hope this lesson is encouraged you there might be some things that you need to repent of regarding your relationship with your wife.

So I encourage you to deal with those issues today. There's actually more to this lesson will bring you that next time. This is wisdom for the heart with our Bible teacher, Stephen Devi.

Stephen is the president of shepherd's theological seminary in Cary, North Carolina. Join us next time for the conclusion to this message here on wisdom