The Core of Authentic Manhood.

Let’s return one more time to 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 just to summarize a bit of what we’ve seen.  We have in five very straightforward commands Paul’s own Code of Honor for the Royal Army of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Keep your eyes,” he says, “open to danger; stand true to the Lord, firm in the Faith; act like the men you are; be strong!  And let the Life you live be one of love” {RR Exp}.  Which reminds me of a beautiful saying the ancient Romans used— Amor Est Vitae Essentia, meaning ‘Love is the Essence of Life.’

Now... the core of manhood and masculinity in the Scriptures is embodied in four things: Prophet, Priest, Warrior, and King.  You’ve heard me say that every man is designed to be a Prophet, a Priest, a Warrior and a King, that these are the four pillars of a man’s soul.  So, let’s develop these in a little more depth.

The Prophet is, according to the first command in our passage, the person who is to watch, to remain vigilant.  Why?  Because he is a visionary.  The prophet looks within because he holds himself in the searchlight of Scripture.  The prophet looks around because he’s intensely interested in reality, not the fantasy-land of sinful speculation about others’ lives, and not the wistful longings of ‘I wish it were.’  A man must see what the world truly is and what must be done in light of this.

He not only looks within and around, he looks ahead.  The Prophet sees the present Age but he always looks at it in light of the future.  He sees the things which must be done, but he sees them from the standpoint and the scope of the blessing they’re going to bring to the lives of other people.  The blessing we have to share is borne in the greatest Struggle of all: the struggle within our own souls as to who will be our God?  Both sides of your Story— the disastrous victories and the glorious defeats— contain within them seeds which will bear the fruit of blessing in others’ lives one day.  Share your Story!

What about the Priest?  His command is to “stand fast in the Faith:” a military command which has to do with our relationship to the Trinity.  And this means priesthood {1 Pet. 2:5-9}.  The Priest shares in the weakness of the weak and points to the absolute strength of the Omnipotent God!  Hebrews 5:2 tells us that the priest can “deal gently” and compassionately with sinners, with the “misguided” and mistaken, and with those who are “going astray, since he himself …is beset with weakness.”  You get the point?  He cannot serve unless he’s weak enough to admit that only Christ’s Spirit can give him strength {Phil. 4:19}.  So you and I should fit right in.  You say, “But you just don’t understand how weak I am.”  Ohhh, but I do; for that same strain of sin, that same wave of weakness, runs right through every one of us.  But sin is not the final word on you and I.  Grace is.

Grace is the first word, the last word, and every word in between.  Grace is like oxygen to the Sons and Daughters of God; it is the air we breathe, the nutrients we absorb, the lifeblood in our veins.  Without it, we die; apart from it, we wither ...our souls a shriveled and shrunken version of their former selves.  Grace cleanses, purifies, empowers and provides; it clarifies the essential issues of Life in the Kingdom of God.  It draws us near to the heart of our Father and moves us out in the service of others.  Grace is gratitude.  And a grateful heart is a glorious heart.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296 | hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – where the Word and the Spirit are one.