The Godly Man

By JFK & Georgina Mensah

Who is a man, God's kind of man? And what does he do for God?

As the attack on the two genders created by God continues to intensify in the world, it is necessary for every Christian man, every church, and every men's fellowship to study what God's word says about their manhood.

This book addresses the godly man in this day and age by outlining who such a godly man is, his model of manhood, and why ministry that is specific to him is critical in the church of God. It then delves into the various aspects of his role in the home, in church, and in society. It is our prayer that every man who goes through this book will not only learn what he should know as a Christian man, but be re-oriented to hold Jesus Christ as his ideal man, and devote his entire life and manhood to imitating and working for him. Men's fellowships and churches will also finally have some manual as to what kind of things men must discuss and know as they read The Godly Man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JFK Mensah Ministries
• Release date: Feb 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393991991

JFK & Georgina Mensah

JFK MENSAH is an ordained pastor, head of church, missionary, Bible teacher and speaker, who has served both in Ghana and outside it. He is the founder of Christlike Disciplemakers Movement, an interdenominational equipping ministry dedicated to Christlikeness, disciplemaking and raising the 5-fold ministries in the Church to help complete the task of World Evangelism. JFK Mensah and his wife, Georgina -- a ‘professional pastor’s wife’ -- have been involved in a vibrant joint ministry for over thirty-five years of married life. They are blessed with five children, three sons-in-law and five grandchildren. Together with his family, JFK responded to God’s call to serve in Mauritania as a missionary for four years, where disciples are still carrying on the work today to God’s glory. JFK is currently most passionate about his work with the Christlike  Disciplemakers Movement, an interdenominational initiative for making Christlike disciples worldwide who use their calling and gifting for finishing the task of the Great Commission and preparing the body of Christ for His Second Coming in their various churches, fellowships and families. He is also the Rector of the Movement’s accredited Bible College which offers Certificate and Diploma courses in Missions and Discipleship. More information about CDM can be found at www.cdmworld.org. 

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 

SECTION ONE: WHO IS THE GODLY MAN?

HIS IDENTITY 

HIS COMMUNITY 

HIS IDEAL MAN 

HIS MANLINESS 

HIS INTEGRITY 

SECTION TWO: THE GODLY MAN IN SOCIETY

AS A CHRISTIAN LEADER 

AS SPIRITUAL HEAD OF THE HOME 

AS CHRISTIAN HUSBAND 

AS RESPONSIBLE FATHER 

AS PROVIDER AT HOME 

SECTION THREE: THE GODLY MAN IN THE CHURCH

THE GODLY MAN & GOD'S CALL 

THE GODLY MAN & THE GREAT COMMISSION 

THE GODLY MAN & FINISHING WELL 

INTRODUCTION

When she found out I was writing this book, one of my daughters decided to run a small survey among her male friends. Did someone ever teach you how to be a Christian man? was her question. Almost unanimously, they admitted that they had never been intentionally taught how to be a man.

No wonder the world is quickly careening towards a time where the meaning of manhood is lost. Who is a man, anyway? What are the main characteristics of a man as different from angels, women, youth, children, and the rest of creation? What is godly manhood? What unique role do godly Christian men play in society, in their families, in the church? How can they be taught the things they should know?

Our answer in this book is a simple one: the godly man fears God and wants to be like Christ.

The godly man is a Christlike man, because Jesus Christ is the ideal man. Such a man’s manliness is not a fluffy veneer designed to impress human beings or build his own reputation. It is not bravado or machismo, not smoothness in appealing to ladies, or a skin-deep good guy kind of nature. Neither is it a wrong kind of masculinity learned from faulty cultural stereotypes, and enforced to the danger of those around him.

Rather, the godly man is good from the inside out, because his standard is not one that changes with the era or with the culture. His very nature is transformed to be like Christ, because he understands certain truths. These truths are what we outline in this book.

This book addresses the godly man in this day and age, and attempts to answer some timely questions, beginning from a defense of the two genders according to the plan and creation of the Almighty God. It outlines who a godly man is, and why ministry that is specific to him is critical in the church of God. It then delves into the various aspects of his role in the home, in church, and in society.

It is our prayer that every man who goes through this book will not only learn what he should know as a Christian man, but be re-oriented to hold Jesus Christ as his ideal man, and devote his entire life and manhood to imitating and working for him.

JFK & Georgina.

SECTION ONE: WHO IS THE GODLY MAN?

In this Section:

HIS IDENTITY 

TRUTH #1: The godly man knows who he was made to be. He takes his place at the head of creation.

HIS COMMUNITY 

TRUTH #2: The godly man recognizes the importance of community through fellowship with men of similar convictions (men’s ministry).

HIS IDEAL MAN 

TRUTH #3: The godly man knows the Ideal Man for himself, and has made Him his model in life.

HIS MANLINESS 

TRUTH #4: The godly man is ready to pay the price and overcome every obstacle in his imitation of the Ideal Man.

HIS INTEGRITY 

TRUTH #5: The godly man is committed to a life of personal Christian integrity in every aspect of his life.

Chapter 1

WHO IS THE GODLY MAN?

HIS IDENTITY

TRUTH #1: The godly man knows who he was made to be. He takes his place at the head of creation.

My wife and I have only one son, and he happens to be the last born. Once, when he was young, we heard him wailing on a Sunday morning. My wife rushed to his side to inquire what the problem was.

I want one! he cried.

One what? his mother queried.

My boy pointed with a chubby finger. As she followed it, she nearly burst into laughter. He had seen all his four sisters wearing brand new earrings, and felt greatly slighted that no-one had thought of giving him his.

Back then, all those years ago, it was hilarious that the boy did not understand about manhood, and what makes men different from women. Today, it is no laughing matter.

Manhood is under direct attack as the whole world seems to be getting confused about who a man is and why it matters that men are men.

In this 21st Century, every Christian man has (or should have) a hunger to know for sure what it takes to be a man who pleases God with his household. How are they to find this out?

If the answer is in church, is church really for men? Should a manly man go to sing choruses instead of watching a football match or just sleeping in his downtime? How can he leave the race for an Olympic gold medal for a prayer meeting? Professional excellence beckons him; his career ladder invites him.

The few times he steps in the sanctuary, there are so few other men around that he feels slightly out of place. Is he not better served by joining a lodge or some professional association rather than pursuing Christianity? The result is that most men have abandoned the church to women and children because they just do not see the local church as a man’s place.

But the sentiment seems to have passed on to the next generation as well. Youth fellowships in the church are so exciting; men’s groups are so boring. Young men find themselves enjoying their time with the youth so much that even when they marry, have several children and grow old, they blatantly refuse to join the local Men’s Fellowship  because they are not attracted by what they see. They would rather stay and play among the youth than risk the lukewarmness they see evident among the fathers. The youth do not see the importance of being men in the church.

However, there must be men in the church! All godly women want to see a godly man take his place in the home, in church, and in society. Our Christian girls deserve God-fearing men to marry, with whom they can build homes that glorify God. Who will train such men for them? Where is the school that will turn out responsible Christian husbands and God-fearing fathers for our virtuous women and Christ-following ladies?

In order to answer these questions and draw out a biblical understanding of who a man is, let us go all the way back to the inception of humanity.

Mankind as the Direct Creation of God

The Bible is clear that man and woman are a direct creation of God. God made us from the dust of the earth, and breathed into our nostrils the breath of life, Gen. 2:7,21,22. Jesus Christ our Lord and His apostles believed this and taught it, Mk. 10:6. We are not products of evolution. We did not create ourselves. Mankind is the crown of God’s creation; we owe our existence to Him.

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gen. 1:26-27 NKJV

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Gen. 2:7

Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalms 100:2-3 NKJV

And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Matt. 19:4-6 NKJV

Mankind as the Image and Likeness of God

More than that, the Bible also declares that the personal living God made mankind to bear the image and likeness of the God of heaven. We were created to have fellowship with God and serve as His immediate agents on earth. We carry God’s mandate to be fruitful, to rule the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:3-8). We have our freewill, but are morally responsible to God, Gen. 2:15.

Unlike the the rest of creation, mankind carries the stamp of heaven in likeness to God. Human beings are made up of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12; Jas. 2:26). We can communicate with God, Gen. 2:16. We reflect God’s glory in our ability to sense God’s presence, feel guilt, and wield intelligence to name creatures (Gen. 2: 7,16-18). Our inner man, the hidden man of the heart, is an eternal being that can love, hate, be holy, express faith and obedience, appreciate beauty, and seek wisdom (Lk. 12:4,5; Gen. 3:6; 1 Pet. 3:4; 2 Cor. 4:16). Every human being has a conscience, Rom. 2:14-16.

Because we were made in the image and likeness of God, even after the fall, the broken image of God in man is still valuable enough for God to forbid murder and offer salvation by grace through the blood of God’s Son.

Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. Genesis 9:6 NKJV

With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. James 3:9 NKJV

The Two Sexes

Now that we have understood the unique place of human beings in God’s creation, let us get more specific. What does the Bible teach about gender and sexuality?

We cannot dwell too long on an in-depth distinction between the sexes and genders here. What the godly man must know is that God is not confused about whether He created a person as a man or woman. In His mind, gender is not fluid.

The scriptures point out that God, Jesus, and the apostles recognize only two genders: male and female. These are distinct, and not interchangeable.

Haven’t you read, he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female?’ Matt. 19:4

"But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ Mk. 10:6

Moreover, no other gender is tolerated. Binary genders are not optional, no matter what society or your emotions declare. No-one should be both male and female at the same time, neither of them, or be one sex biologically but feeling like another sex. It is not a matter of psychology, culture, or feelings. In Christianity, everyone’s gender is defined by the genitals they were born with. Male and female God created human beings, and it is implied that the created gender is what they must remain in His image.

In the English language, man simply means man, but in the Old Testament Hebrew a number of different words are used. Of these, the four main ones are ish, meaning simply man; adám, meaning human or earthling; enósh, meaning weak or mortal; and geber, meaning a physically strong or able-bodied man. Specifically:

•  ZAKAR (Heb.= male) [as against NEQEBAH (Heb.= female)] – Gen. 1:27

•  ISH (Heb.= man) [as against ISHAH = taken out of ish] – Gen. 2:23

Thus, in the Bible, we see God making a clear distinction between males and females, even to the point of prescribing what they should wear or not wear.

This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. Gen. 5:1-2 NKJV

A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God. Deut. 22:5

God again distinguishes man as male from angels, women, children, and the rest of creation. We can glean the following from the Bible:

•  Man is the image and glory of God; woman is the image of God and glory of man, 1 Cor. 11:7

•  The first man (Adam) was made from the dust, lower than angels; the second man (Jesus) is lord of heaven and greater than angels, 1 Cor. 15:45-49

•  Man is the head of the woman, 1 Cor. 11:3

•  The woman is the helpmeet, the suitable and complementary helper of the man, Gen. 2:18

•  Man is not a woman, but woman was taken out of man: She is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh (Gen. 2:21,22)

•  All men are born of women (Job 14:1; 1 Cor. 11:12)

•  Man is not a child or youth: when the child becomes a man, he puts away childish things, 1 Cor. 13:9

Gender Roles

The Bible also outlines separate roles for males and females. Many people struggle with these roles, failing to understand that the basis of these gender roles is complementarity.

The woman was made as a helpmeet for the man to supply the strengths for his weaknesses, even as the man lovingly covers the weaknesses of the woman with his strengths.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him. Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man. Gen. 2:18-23 NKJV

The Hebrew words used in the passage which are interpreted as helpmeet are ezer and neged. Ezer is the Hebrew word for ‘help’, from which we get such names as Eliezer (God is my helper); Ebenezer (stone of help); Ezra (Help); Abiezer (Father of help); Ahiezer (brother of help); Ezri (my help); Jezer (island of help). Neged means opposite or facing. Therefore, the woman was created as a suitable but different helper or ‘helpmeet’.

We see therefore that when we talk about gender roles, in the mind of God, it is never a matter of subjection or domination. Rather, it is an important opportunity for mankind to jointly display the image of God.

Male Headship

Again, even though the equality of both genders in the image of God, their co-rulership, and their responsibility to bring forth fruit together are well-established in the Bible, the scriptures also point out and explain striking differences in terms of the authority of the sexes. Male leadership that is not male domination is taught, and the woman’s