If you missed our recent interview with Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger, please take the time to catch up. Their God’s Design for Man and Woman is nothing if not timely, and it is biblically informed throughout. Here are 10 quotes from the book just to give you a taste of their work
10 Quotes
Purpose of the Book: “We’ve written this book because we’re convinced that it’s vital to wrestle with our identity as men and women for the sake of healthy marriages, families, and churches but, more importantly, for the true expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our world. We’re committed to go about exploring the topic with an open mind and to reach out in love and ministry while doing so. What we believe about our identity as man or woman is central to who we are as individuals, couples, and families and how each of us pursues our life calling. It will determinethe way in which we act as wife or husband, as parents, as church members, and in the culture as we identify with the God who created us by design as man or woman. Biblical manhood and womanhood is too important a subject not to think through carefully as a Christian.”
“We’ve chosen to address the topic by presenting a positive and constructive (and, we hope, winsome) case for what the Bible, carefully interpreted, teaches regarding God’s design for men and women.”
“Read as part of a consecutive narrative, Genesis 1 tells the story of God’s creation of the universe, culminating in the creation of humanity as male and female in God’s image (Gen. 1:26–27). Genesis 2, then, goes on to elaborate more specifically on God’s purpose and manner of creating the man and the woman and the divine design expressed in distinct male-female roles: the man is to serve as the leader while the woman has been created to come alongside him as his partner, his suitable helper (vv. 18, 20).”
“The fall of humanity, as mentioned, was engineered by a complete reversal of the divine design. Instead of God’s authority being mediated from Adam to Eve to the rest of creation, the biblical fall narrativerecounts how the Serpent (Satan) approached Eve, who took the initiative,with Adam following her lead, in breaking God’s commandment.”
“While the father was indisputably in charge of those under his care, the Old Testament rarely focuses on his power. Rather than functioning as a despot, the head of household usually commanded the trust and provided for the security of its members. For this reason it was not primarily the father’s authority that was emphasized but rather his responsibility for the welfare of the members of his household.”
“Overall, ‘leadership involves primarily the exercise of responsibility, rather than the exercise of power.’”
“Our investigation has shown how there’s a very consistentand unified picture of manhood and womanhood from the beginning of creation to the structure and ordering of families in the church while we wait expectantly for Christ’s return. Men and women are joint expressions of the divine image yet different in role. The biblical theology of manhood and womanhood exhibits a clear pattern of male leadership from Genesis through Revelation. The biblical-theological survey doesn’t depend on one or two isolated texts but rests on the firm foundation of the unified, coherent, and consistent scriptural witness.”
“The household or family of God is the pattern for the church to emulate, in which believers are related to one another spiritually as members of the same family, and male-female roles are to be lived out in the context of natural families.”
“Single believers, like those who are married, are called to live out their male or female identity in their natural family ties and in the local church, the spiritual ‘family of God.’”
“True masculinity and femininity are grounded in a man’s or woman’s underlying God-given purpose and roles. We should be careful to avoid stereotypes of masculinity and femininity that owe more to cultural perceptions than to biblical guidelines.”