In my daily Bible reading a few weeks ago, I read a passage that I know I have seen literally hundreds of times, but have never noticed before. And now, it seems as if I see it everywhere. It’s now on my radar, so I notice it more than ever before.

In fact, just a couple of nights ago, my wife pointed it out to me, and stated that she had never noticed it before either. She did so, completely unknowing that I have been processing this passage in my mind for the past couple of weeks.

The passage is found in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, and has become the theme verse for the Deliberate Manhood section of Deliberate Men. It’s kind of the rally cry for men to step up and be who God created them to be.

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Right there, in the middle of a handful of admonitions, Paul says to act like men. When I read this, and noticed it for the first time, it blew my mind. I had to stop and reread it over and over. And it has been circulating around my brain ever since. This passage won’t let me rest. Act like man!

As I keep ruminating on this passage, I have come to the conclusion that to act like a man has two different facets. The first on is to be firm in our convictions. And the second is to be loving.

Be firm in your convictions

To act like a man is to be solid in your convictions. Paul breaks this down with four of the five commands in this passage, and first of all, he calls us to be on the alert. We are to be watchful, paying attention to all that is around us. We are to be watchful in our marriages; we are to be watchful over our children; we are to be watchful over our own character and integrity. The enemy is prowling around, and wants to bring us down. We are to be alert and watchful in order to defend ourselves and our families.

This brings to mind the picture of a soldier, alert and on watch against the enemy in order to defend his country. This is exactly how we are to be as men.

Paul also commands us to stand firm in the faith. We need to know what it is that we believe, and why we believe it. We need to be rooted so deeply in Scripture that our faith is a firm bedrock upon which we build our lives. And we need to realize that not only are our own lives built upon that firm foundation, but the lives of our wives and kids is as well. Our faith forms the foundation for theirs, and provides the stability that they need in their lives. A firm faith is a part of godly manhood.

Finally, Paul commands us to be strong. This could be physical strength, and it is certain to be needed. But it could also refer to strength of character. The idea here is one of being steadfast and sure. Our strength as men lies not only in our bodies, but in our integrity. We are being watched at all times, especially if we have small children. Our strength provides a sense of security and a formidable barrier around our family.

Be loving

The other side of the coin seems to counter what Paul just stated. But in fact, it is more supportive than we understand. As men, we are called to be loving. This may go against every idea we’ve ever held about masculinity. In the worldly view, love is equated with weakness. But Paul states it immediately after he commands us to be strong. The two are not mutually exclusive. Instead, genuine love is one way we express our strength, our manhood.

We tend to view love as a weakness, at least as a culture. But Paul sees it as a strength, and an important part of what it means to be a man.

This is especially interesting in light of the fact that Paul spends a considerable amount of 1 Corinthians writing about love, including chapter 13. This is such an incredible chapter! Most often, we read portions of it at weddings, but have you ever read it in view of godly manhood? Take a look at it now in that light:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

That puts a who new perspective on things, doesn’t it?

Paul’s admonitions in this brief passage from 1 Corinthians 16 are clear: godly manhood is something to be pursued, something to be embraced, and something to be so foundational in our lives that all else is built upon it. Act like men!

Be deliberate, men!

Have you ever stopped to consider what godly manhood looks like? Do Paul’s thoughts in 1 Corinthians 16 help? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.