Biblical manhood must start with knowing God as He is revealed in His Word by the power of His Holy Spirit. Additionally, a godly man must understand that he must be full of the knowledge of God. This means that he must be full of the Word of God, entrusting his time in the Word to be profitable through the work of the Holy Spirit. The spiritual disciplines of reading the Word privately, with his family, and humbly sitting under the preaching of the Word must be an unwavering part of his life. 

It is no secret that today’s society devalues manhood. Furthermore, society now considers manhood narrow-minded, even bigoted. Society declares it foolishness to believe, affirm, and proclaim that God has established what manhood should look like by His Word. There is no doubt that culturally the LGBTQIA+ ^[1] agenda, with its glowing endorsement of homosexuality and transgenderism, has directly attacked biblical manhood. However, even in evangelical Christianity, there are diminished, and extreme views of manhood, taught, directly attacking against how God has taught men to live through His specially revealed Word.

It should not be surprising that the surrounding worldly culture has denied God’s view of manhood. Not only does the world hate the gospel and stand in defiance against its message, but a sin-filled society will also rebel against and resist what God has established as good. Yet, regarding the extreme views of biblical manhood in evangelical Christianity, it is alarming to know that men’s fundamental roles and characteristics in God’s created order have been severely diminished. The solution is rooted in knowing God’s Word. Where are the days when men had genuine love and longing for God’s Word? Admittedly, in many churches, they seem to be long gone. This sad reality becomes more evident when compared to the great Puritans’ adoration for their Bibles. In their book, Thriving in Grace, Joel Beeke and Brian Hedges speak of Charles Spurgeon’s esteem for John Bunyan and his love for God’s Word. They write,

“What Spurgeon once said of John Bunyan could be said of all the best Puritan Divines: ‘Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with scripture…Prick him anywhere – his blood is Bibline; the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God.'” ^[2]

It is vital to understand what Beeke and Hedges declare in this quote; what Spurgeon said of Bunyan can be said of all the best Puritans. The Puritans were men driven by the Word of God; their biblical faith was an experience that impacted every facet of their lives, this includes their views on biblical manhood.

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