Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

Genesis 1:27

There's a reason why it's "recovering" and not "rediscovering."

To my understanding, to "rediscover" something denotes the process of gaining a fresh perspective on an idea or an object which has existed for a long period of time while its worth has been unknown or neglected prior to its "rediscovery." To "discover" is to gain knowledge of an idea that was unknown beforehand; thus, to "rediscover" an ideology would be to simply have a renewed appreciation or curiosity towards it. For example, the Discovery Channel is interesting for me to watch because it teaches me new ideas, laws, principles, facts based upon/derived/related to old ideas or objects that I am used to. Every time I learn a fact from the Discovery Channel, I am gaining a fresh appreciation.

Unlike "re-discover," the normal English meaning of "recover" is not explained by its seemingly compounded shape, "re-cover." Or does it? English borrowed this word "recover" (it's not a compound word) from Latin, recuperare. Sound familiar? Yes, like its synonyms "recuperate" and "restore," "recover" denotes a retrieval/return of a state-of-being or an idea to its rightful state from a position of reduced value. That's why we only need to "recover" from sickness, we only need to "retrieve" something we lost, we only "restore" broken relationships... because something of worth has been taken away---to recover Truth, thusly, is to honor its Author by obeying and loving that Truth, even when it has been demeaned by others.

Biblical manhood and womanhood does not need to be "rediscovered," because humans knew since his and her creation that men and women are different; HOW to stare at these revealed differences and point to the Creator God in worship is what needs to be "recovered" by the church today. To the non-believer, understanding God's divine roles for men and women might be a discovery, but to the Christian in the year 2007, it should be a recovery of God's Truth--Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is not new, it has always been in the Bible, and it's been demeaned most severely by a group of people called "modern Christians."

The purpose of the this post is not for me to give an etymology lesson, stir up controversy, or even to try and explain the details of biblical manhood and womanhood. I just want us to be aware of the attacks today on biblical gender roles AND be on fire to be in the business of restoring it. If we don't fight it and try to understand God's truth clearly, we will be influenced and weakened in our church/family lives.

Honestly, as a Christian who understands the purpose of God's creation of humans, do you want the world to be more convicted than you about how you "ought to behave" as a man and how you "should be able to behave" as a woman?

With that said, I just wanted to share with you one of the most comprehensive summaries I've seen on this issue. Take a while and try to think about and understand every phrase he's saying:


It is clear that the upcoming generation has not been introduced to the church's time-honored understanding of the Scriptures on matters pertaining to gender roles. To this new generation we must stress that complementarianism is cause for celebration rather than apology because it provides the relational framework in which men and women experience covenantal privileges and responsibilities. Both men and women are image-bearers of the living God and equals before the cross. When male and female live and work together as God intended, there is nothing more beautiful, satisfying, delightful, and God-glorifying--a truth to be lived and celebrated, shouted from the rooftops, and proclaimed in the streets.

-Preface (2006), Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood,
John Piper/Wayne Grudem