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Man: Mankind; The human race; the whole species of human beings; beings distinguished from all other animals by the powers of reason and speech, as well as by their shape and dignified aspect. 'Os homini sublime dedit. And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion--Genesis 1:26. An individual of the human species. Under this phraseology, females may be comprehended. So, a law restraining man or every man from a particular act, comprehends women and children, if of competent age to be the subjects of law.
Greek: Anthropos [anth’-ro-pos] = man [552]. from (aner) and ops (the countenance; from (optanomai)); man-faced, i.e. a human being: - certain, man. Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. Generally, of "a human being, male or female," without reference to sex or nationality, e.g., Matt. 4:4; Matt. 12:35; John 2:25; in distinction from God, e.g., Matt. 19:6; John 10:33; Gal. 1:11; Col. 3:23; in distinction from animals, etc., e.g., Luke 5:10; sometimes, in the plural, of "men and women," people, e.g., Matt. 5:13, 16; in Mark 11:2; 1 Tim. 6:16, lit., "no one of men;" In the expressions "the old man," "the new man," which are confined to Paul's Epistles, the former standing for the unregenerate nature personified as the former self of a believer, which, having been crucified with Christ, Rom. 6:6, is to be apprehended practically as such, and to be "put off," Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9, being the source and seat of sin; the latter, "the new man," standing for the new nature personified as the believer's regenerate self, a nature "created in righteousness and holiness of truth," Eph. 4:24, and having been "put on" at regeneration, Col. 3:10; being "renewed after the image of Him that created him," it is to be "put on" in practical apprehension of these facts. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words.
This one word has been misunderstood for eons of time and God set it very plain what His intension were with the word ‘man’. Genesis 1:27 (AMP) So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 5:2 (NASB77) He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. So, man truly is male and female by creation records and so what is the significance of all of this?
There is a spirit in the land that wants to place man superior to woman, but that is not the distinction that God has aligned with the Word of God. The male and female are scripturally aligned as man, meaning they have that same responsibility to have a clear and perfect relationship with God Almighty and there is not to be a distinction in this category.
There are several very immediate and distinct differences that are developed through the whole of the Bible. This small letter is not intended to do this kind of study in a one-page letter, but I will bring in a few ideas.
The first is the rule of leadership in the home. The husband which is part of the ‘man’ idea but is distinguished by this family word. The Bible describes the headship of the home is in the hands of the husband. In other words, someone must make the final decision, and this task lays in the hands of the husband, or the male side of man. 1 Corinthians 11:3 (AMP) But I want you to know and realize that Christ is the Head of every man, the head of a woman is her husband, and the Head of Christ is God. This thought is not very popular today, but this is not my role here on earth. I am attempting to make disciples or better put, making disciplined male and female subjects of the Kingdom.
A second familiar thought is that a female, the second half of man, is not to be in the realm of church leadership whereby pastors [elders and bishops] and deacons are involved. Titus 1:6 (NIV) An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 1 Timothy 3:12 (NIV) A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Perhaps these two simple items could be the reason for the woes of many church fellowships.
Male and female have a great role to play in the growth of a local fellowship which would be a part of the body of Christ. It is the role of the individual to discover their part, and the responsibility of the five-fold ministry is to train and instruct the message to the church.
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