Act Like Men
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In May, George Barna’s research group released the results of a survey of practicing Christian homes in association with Lutheran Hour Ministries.
For the mothers in today’s congregation, the results will not be all that surprising.
It turns out that mothers do most of the work around the house.
Like I said — no surprise, right?
Well, when I say that mothers do most of the work around the house, I’m not even talking about cooking and cleaning and all the chores that I have to admit that I pretty much never do.
What Barna sought to understand was how mothers are engaged in the work of engaging with their children.
“From eating meals together and watching TV or movies, to talking about God and having confrontations, mothers are the primary activity partner for their teens.” (https://www.barna.com/research/moms-christians-households/)
Fathers lead the way in only one of 10 categories — playing sports together — and even then, they’re beaten out by friends and siblings.
When it comes to supportive activities, Dad comes in first when it comes to teens looking for money and looking for logistical help like getting something fixed. Neither of these is probably surprising, either.
In the realm of spiritual things, kids are more likely to go to Mom than Dad for spiritual conversations and to pray together. Dad also comes in second to Mom when it comes to answering questions of faith and questions about the Bible.
But there was one area in which Dads were ahead of everybody else — discussions about politics.
I submit to you this morning that we see here the very essence of the problem with the church today. Fathers, in particular, and men in general have abdicated their responsibility as spiritual leaders.
Thank God for those women who have stepped into their roles.
But thanking God MUST NOT be our final word on the matter or we will continue in our guilt in this matter.
Only when men begin to follow Christ more closely than they follow the political news of the day will we begin to see new generations that recognize the answer to our problems lies not in one political party or another but in one Savior, Jesus Christ.
Only when Christian fathers begin to recognize that it is more important to help their children work out their salvation with fear and trembling than to work overtime hours will we produce a new generation of spiritual giants.
Only when men begin to pursue Jesus Christ with the same zeal they pursue that next raise or promotion will the church begin to see the true power of the Holy Spirit manifested in the world around it.
Only when men begin to act like real men will we begin to experience true victory over the spiritual forces of darkness in this world.
But what does it mean to act like real men?
While you are turning to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 16, let’s talk about what the world says that means.
Advertising and television tend to tell us that men act to satisfy their carnal nature, and to a sad degree that is probably true of all of us here today, men and women alike.
Men tend to be portrayed as bumbling idiots around the house, as sex-obsessed fools in the marketplace, as power-hungry bullies in the business arena and as thoughtless bums in their marriage relationships.
And maybe all of us men have been some of those things at some time or another in our lives.
But that is not the biblical model of manhood.
Let’s pick up at Verse 13 in this letter from Paul to the church in Corinth to get a picture of what biblical manhood looks like.
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Now, remember that the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to a group of people that had manifested severe immaturity in dealing with one another.. He was writing to a church that was having severe problems with its interpersonal relationships.
In fact, he devoted an entire chapter to describing what love should look like within the church.
Clearly there was a disconnect between whom these people had been called to be in Christ and whom they actually were.
But if it’s alarming that Paul had to explain the basic concept of love, then it should be even more alarming that he had to explain the basic concept of manhood.
The simple fact, though, is that men have been getting manhood wrong all the way back to Adam. It took Jesus Christ, the full incarnation of God in the flesh of a man, to show us how masculinity was actually supposed to look.
Now, we could study the life of Christ for the rest of our lives to draw out the picture of perfect masculinity, so I’ve chosen today to concentrate on these two verses as Paul’s thumbnail sketch of the matter.
So let’s pick apart what he says here.
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
First, I’ll note the structure of these two verses.
The clause “act like men” is flanked by two clauses on each side. It’s the central point of these five clauses — Be on the alert; stand firm in the faith; act like men; be strong; and let all you do be done in love.
Now, your translation may have “be courageous” or “show courage” in place of “act like men,” and that’s a fine interpretation — though not a translation — of the Greek word, andrizomai, which is used here.
The root of the word is aner, which is the Greek word used for men. So the foundational idea and the better translation — if not interpretation — of andrizomai is “to show one’s self a man” or to “act like men.”
This makes sense, especially in the context of this letter to a church full of Christians acting like immature people. Instead of acting like children, these people — and I will argue later that Paul is actually talking to both men and women here — are being told to act like men and women, to be mature.
Don’t be boys and girls, but grow up and be men and women.
This is important, because I believe that the two clauses on either side of "act like men” are Paul’s explanations about how that looks.
First, we have “be on the alert.”
Be ready.
Jesus uses this same phrase in His warning in the book of Matthew that the coming of the Son of Man will be unexpected by the world. He calls believers to be ready.
37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
), in His parable of the virgins and in His warning to keep alert and avoid spiritual dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life so that we will be ready for His second coming ()
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt 24:38, in His parable of the virgins and in His warning to keep alert and avoid spiritual dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life so that we will be ready for His second coming ()
40 “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
, in His parable of the virgins and in His warning to keep alert and avoid spiritual dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life so that we will be ready for His second coming ()
34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Matt 24
Real men will be on the alert for the Lord’s return.
That means, first of all that they have an expectation of it borne of their firm belief in His work on the cross, in His resurrection and ascension into Heaven and His promise to return for those who believe in Him.
And second, it means that they make themselves busy doing the things they would want Him to find them doing when He returns.
Have you ever been
The simple fact is that if you wouldn’t want Jesus to find you doing whatever it is you’re doing, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Whether He comes back in the middle of it or not, He certainly knows what you are up to.
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Next, we come to “stand firm in the faith
Next, we come to “stand firm in the faith.”
Perhaps you are like me and when you see this phrase, “stand firm,” your mental picture is of a debate or even a sporting contest in which one opponent refuses to yield ground to another. And certainly there is a sense here that we should not yield ground when it comes to the message of the gospel.
However, standing firm in Scripture seems always to be about walking in the Spirit, rather than the flesh, and not about any kind of courageous or contemptuous or condescending defense of the faith.
Paul uses this phrase six other times in his letters, and each of the references deals with clinging faithfully to the truth of the gospel and living lives that display Christ to the world. I’ll give you just a couple of examples.
To the church in Philippi, he wrote:
1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
To the church in Philippi, he wrote
To the church in Philippi, he wrote
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
He called this church to stand together in one Spirit so that they could walk together with the Holy Spirit, doing the work of Jesus Christ on earth so they would demonstrate Him even to those who would persecute them for their faith.
And then to the church in Thessalonica, he wrote that their standing firm in their faith should be a contrast to the weakness of those who are easily deluded by the lies of the ruler of this world, those who submit to those lies, in fact, out of a desire to pursue wickedness.
15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
Real men stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ and in the gospel’s message of his death, burial, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
That doesn’t mean they’re combative about it, that they seek to belittle or tear down those who do not share this faith.
What it means is that they are not deluded by the lies of this world. It means that they do the things that their faith declares. It means that their spiritual walk matches their spiritual talk.
“To stand firm in the faith is not merely to hold strongly to doctrinal convictions but also, and perhaps especially, to persist in acting in a way that is consistent with faith in Christ.” (Ciampa, Roy E., and Brian S. Rosner. The First Letter to the Corinthians. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.)
Ciampa, Roy E., and Brian S. Rosner. The First Letter to the Corinthians. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
Real men walk their spiritual talk. They walk in the Spirit, acting in a way that demonstrates Christ.
To stand firm in the faith is not merely to hold strongly to doctrinal convictions44 but also, and perhaps especially, to persist in acting in a way that is consistent with faith in Christ.
Next, we see that Paul tells us real men are strong.
1 Cor 16:
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
If that's a physical thing, then I’m in big trouble. I will shamefully admit to you that there have been nearly as many times Annette has had to get the lid off the jar for me as times I have done so for her.
What Paul is calling for here is a spiritual strength. But the simple fact is that even in that arena, I’d be in trouble if Paul were talking about my own strength. And you’d all be in trouble, too.
Instead, the strength here is the strength of the Lord, and we can see Paul expand on the idea in his references in other letters.
Paul talks about being strong two different times in his letter to the church in Ephesus.
In Chapter 3, he prays that the Ephesians would “be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith” and that they might be “rooted and grounded in love.”
For the church in Colosse, as an example, he prays that they will be “strengthened with all the power” of God’s “glorious might” so that they might be steadfast and joyously patient ().
And then in Chapter 6, he calls on them to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might,” not their own strength ().
He then reminds them that their struggle is not against flesh and blood, and he notes that all of the parts of their armor are things of God — righteousness, the gospel, faith, and salvation.
For the church in Colosse, he prays that they will be “strengthened with all the power” of God’s “glorious might” so that they might be steadfast and joyously patient ().
Your walk with Christ — your walk in the Spirit — is not possible in the strength of your flesh.
Remember when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and He returned to find his disciples asleep, rather than praying for Him?
“The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” he said of them.
If you’re trying to live the Christian life on your own power, you will fail.
So how do you do it in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Well, you have to be doing spiritual things; you have to be doing the things we talked about last week that are intended to form you spiritually.
You have to spend regular time reading and studying God’s Word; you have to spend regular time in prayer; you have to be living a life of thankfulness.
You need to take time away from the distractions of the world, time to search for God’s heart and to begin to align your desires with His.
These things do not come naturally to us. What comes naturally to us are selfishness, self-exaltation and self-preservation.
Any strength you or I have to walk with the Spirit comes from God.
Remember what Paul said about this when he was talking about having prayed for God to remove the thorn in his side.
2 Cor 12:9
9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Real men recognize that they are spiritually weak, and they rely on the strength of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to make them strong.
Finally, Paul comes back to the matter of love in today’s focus passage.
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
Do all things not just through love or out of love, but IN love. Love should be our defining characteristic as people of Christ. It is the one thing that will remain of our spiritual gifts in heaven.
Everyone has heard Chapter 13 of this letter. In fact, I heard it yesterday at my granddaughter’s wedding.
The whole point of the Love Chapter in the book of First Corinthians is that the people of the church in Corinth had been arguing and disputing over who had the greater spiritual gifts, and love had gotten lost in the disputes.
Some were speaking in tongues — and, not incidentally, they were disrupting worship when they did so — and some were prophesying and some were probably still trying to figure out what their gifts were, while others were proclaiming themselves holier than everyone else because of their particular gifts.
So Paul put them all back in their rightful places.
If you speak with the tongues of angels, but don’t have love, it’s worthless.
If you prophesy great things, but don’t have love, it’s worthless.
If you give away everything you have but don’t have love, it’s worthless.
If you give your very life, but don’t have love, it’s worthless.
The gifts of tongues, prophecy and knowledge will all go away. But love will remain.
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Most folks stop at that verse when they’re thinking about the love chapter.
But remember that the verse and chapter divisions of Scripture were not part of the original texts. And verse 1 of the next chapter flows right along from Paul’s argument about love.
1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
1
We are called to earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but we are called to PURSUE love.
Desiring something is a passive occupation. You can sit in your recliner with your feet up and desire just as hard as you want without ever breaking a sweat.
But pursuing something is altogether different. To pursue something requires that you run after it as hard as you can. If you’re pursuing something, you’d better be fully engaged or it will get away from you.
Real men are called to be fully engaged in pursuit of love. And if they are, then the things that they do will be done IN love.
“Love is more than an accompaniment of Christian actions. It is the very atmosphere in which the Christian lives and moves and has his being.” (Morris, Leon. 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 7. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.)
Morris, Leon. 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 7. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.)
Love is more than an accompaniment of Christian actions. It is the very atmosphere in which the Christian lives and moves and has his being.
So Paul has given us directions about how to act like real men — and you’ll see in a moment that the lesson is the same for women.
Be on the alert for the return of Jesus Christ.
Stand firm in the faith by walking in the Spirit.
Be strong by allowing the Holy Spirit to work through your weakness.
And do all things in love.
Now, in the next verses of our focus passage, Paul mentions Stephanas, whom he then holds up as an example of such a real man.
15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters,
16 to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it.
Now, I told you that I would argue that this passage is aimed at both men and women.
Paul writes here that we are to submit to such people as Stephanas and his household, the people who teach and do the work of Christ in their community, toiling to the point of exhaustion as the Greek has it.
Note what he says in Verse 16. Submit to EVERYONE who joins this work and labors at it. That suggests that both men and women are being called to do these things we have been talking about in Verses 13 and 14.
Today, as you leave this place, I want to encourage you men and women of Christ to:
Such people are to be the leaders of the church -- not those who have been there the longest, not those who contribute the most money, not those who serve on the most important committees.
And, having rightly put them into leadership positions, then put yourselves under their authority in Christ.
And don’t miss this: Lest we conclude that Paul’s remarks here suggest only men are called to “be on the alert,” to “stand firm in the faith,” to “be strong” and to do all things “in love,” he now notes that we are to be subject to ALL PEOPLE who “help in the work and labors.”
So, what are “the work and labors”? Nearly every time Paul uses this term “labor,” he is referring to the work of teaching and preaching within the church. And the term has the sense of toiling to the point of exhaustion.
Just as students at a school are to be subject to the authority of their teachers, so are we called to place ourselves under the authority of our spiritual teachers.
In his commentary on this letter, Richard Pratt wrote this: “Leadership in the church is a difficult responsibility. Those who lead are the lowest servants of all. Their long hours of toil and sacrifice often go unrecognized. For this reason, Paul and other New Testament writers exhorted believers to encourage their leaders by honoring them.” (Pratt, Richard L., & II Corinthians. Vol. 7. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.)
Today, as you leave this place, I want to encourage you men and women of Christ to:
Pratt, Richard L., & II Corinthians. Vol. 7. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000.
Be on your guard. Make yourselves ready for Jesus to return. And if you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, then that’s the place you have to start.
If you are a follower of Christ, then I want to encourage you to stand firm in your faith. Walk your spiritual walk, being persistent about doing the things your faith calls you to do.
As you walk your spiritual walk, I want to encourage you to recognize that you do so only through the power of the Holy Spirit within you.
I want to encourage you to understand that you cannot access that power without spiritual discipline, gained through regular engagement with God through His Word, through prayer and through meditation on His Person.
And most of all I want to encourage you to do it all in love. For love must be the very essence of who you now are as one who is in Christ.