📚 Reading: The Redeemed Man—Christ as the Model Part 3

Reading 3: The Redeemed Man—Christ as the Model

Introduction

If Adam’s failure in Genesis 3 introduced distortion into masculinity, then Christ, the second Adam, provides its redemption. Paul declares:

“So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life” (Romans 5:18, WEB).

This contrast between Adam and Christ is central to Christian anthropology. Adam’s silence and blame-shifting unleashed the twin distortions of domination and withdrawal, but Christ reverses the curse by embodying responsibility, sacrifice, and faithful presence. Where Adam failed in the garden, Christ triumphed in the wilderness, the cross, and the resurrection.

The gospel, then, is not merely about saving disembodied souls for eternity. It is about the restoration of men and women to the wholeness of their original design. For men, this means the recovery of an integrated identity as sons of God, the reorientation of strength from domination to service, and the redirection of vocation from self-glory to stewardship of God’s creation.

Christ does not abolish masculinity; He redeems and reorients it. He shows us what it means to live as a true man—fully human, fully surrendered to the Father, and fully engaged in mission. In His ministry, we see strength that serves rather than oppresses, authority expressed in humility rather than coercion, and presence that enters into suffering rather than escaping it.

One of the clearest biblical pictures of this contrast comes in the wilderness temptation (Matthew 4:1–11). Adam, surrounded by abundance in Eden, succumbed to the serpent’s deception. Jesus, by contrast, stood in the desert—hungry, alone, and vulnerable—yet resisted the devil’s enticements to turn stones into bread, to grasp worldly power, or to test God’s protection. Where Adam abandoned responsibility, Jesus bore it. Where Adam shifted blame, Jesus declared, “It is written”, anchoring His identity in the Father’s Word. Here we see redeemed masculinity: dependence on God, mastery over appetite, and faithfulness in vocation.

We see it again in the upper room. While the disciples quarreled over who was the greatest, Jesus took a towel and basin to wash their feet (John 13:1–15). This was no abdication of strength but its reorientation—authority expressed through humility, leadership embodied in service. Jesus models what it means to lead not through domination or withdrawal but through redemptive presence.

Philosophically, this represents a re-rooting of the male soul in the biblical ground motive of creation, fall, and redemption. As Roy Clouser observes, every life is shaped by what is ultimate in the heart. In Adam, the heart turned from God to idols; in Christ, the heart is re-centered on the Creator. Herman Dooyeweerd would describe this as the restoration of the religious root of human existence, in which all aspects of life—physical, social, ethical, spiritual—are re-integrated under the lordship of Christ.

From a Ministry Sciences perspective, redemption involves more than intellectual assent. It is the re-formation of the soul—spirit and body, desires and disciplines, relationships and responsibilities—into alignment with Christ. This means men must learn to practice embodied discipleship: living as husbands, fathers, brothers, ministers, and citizens who manifest Christlike presence in real-world contexts.

In Christ, the distortions of domination and withdrawal are not merely restrained but transformed. They give way to redemptive presence—men who, like Jesus, engage the world with courage, humility, and sacrificial love. Such men become agents of renewal in families, churches, and societies, embodying the hope of resurrection life here and now.

Christ, the True Son of Man

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently refers to Himself as the Son of Man—a title that points in two directions at once. On one hand, it emphasizes His solidarity with humanity: He is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, entering into the fullness of human experience (John 1:14). On the other hand, it signals His role as the faithful representative of mankind, echoing Daniel’s vision of “one like a son of man” who is given everlasting dominion and glory (Daniel 7:13–14).

This dual meaning is critical for understanding redeemed masculinity. Unlike Adam, Jesus does not yield to temptation (Matthew 4:1–11). Unlike Adam, He does not hide from responsibility but embraces it to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). He succeeds where Adam failed, becoming not only the redeemer of humanity but also the exemplar of what it means to live as a man fully aligned with God’s design.

1. Obedience to the Father

At the core of Christ’s masculinity is obedience. His identity is not self-constructed but given and received in sonship:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, WEB).

In contrast to Adam, who sought autonomy by grasping the forbidden fruit, Jesus models trustful dependence upon the Father. His obedience is not passive but active, a conscious surrender that redefines freedom. As He declares: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34, WEB).

Philosophically, this obedience subverts the modern idol of autonomy, showing that true freedom is not self-determination but alignment with divine purpose. Ministry Sciences highlights this as identity reorientation: men discover who they are not by creating themselves but by receiving sonship through Christ (Romans 8:15).

2. Servant Leadership

Jesus also redefines greatness in terms of service:

“Whoever wants to be first among you shall be your bondservant” (Matthew 20:27, WEB).

In a culture where leadership was equated with domination, Jesus inverted the hierarchy. He knelt to wash His disciples’ feet (John 13:1–15), an act that embodied authority through humility. His model of leadership is not abdication (withdrawal) nor coercion (domination) but redemptive presence—engaging others with dignity, sacrifice, and service.

Dooyeweerd’s philosophy reminds us that leadership is not reducible to one aspect of life (e.g., power or efficiency). It integrates ethical, social, and faith dimensions. Christ embodies this integration, showing men that leadership means aligning every aspect of life with service to God and neighbor.

3. Sacrificial Love

Paul applies Christ’s model directly to men in marriage:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself up for it” (Ephesians 5:25, WEB).

Here, masculinity is expressed through sacrificial love—a willingness to give, to suffer, and even to die for the good of others. This counters cultural distortions in two ways:

• Against toxic domination, it insists that strength exists to serve.
• Against passive disengagement, it demands costly presence and responsibility.

Ministry Sciences interprets this as vocational stewardship: men are called to steward not only resources and work but also relationships, laying down their lives for the flourishing of others.

4. Faithful Presence

Finally, Jesus embodies faithful presence. He does not dominate, and He does not withdraw. Instead, He enters fully into the lives of others—eating with sinners (Mark 2:15–17), touching lepers (Mark 1:41), comforting the grieving (John 11:35), and restoring the broken.

Faithful presence is the antidote to Adam’s silence. Where Adam avoided responsibility, Jesus leaned into it. Where Adam hid in shame, Jesus revealed God’s glory through vulnerability and love.

From a Ministry Sciences perspective, faithful presence represents the integration of the soul: spirit and body, love and action, ideals and instincts working together under the Spirit’s direction. It is masculinity lived holistically rather than fragmentarily.

The Model of Redeemed Masculinity

Taken together, these four features—obedience, servant leadership, sacrificial love, and faithful presence—form the pattern of redeemed masculinity. Christ shows that true manhood is not a power grab or an escape but a faithful embodiment of sonship and service. He is the straight stick (to borrow Moody’s image) against which all crooked masculinities are revealed.

In Him, men discover that their calling is not to dominate or withdraw but to live as sons who obey, leaders who serve, husbands who love, and disciples who remain present. Christ, the true Son of Man, is both the redeemer and the model of organic manhood.

Philosophical Insight: From Adam to Christ

Herman Dooyeweerd argued that every human identity is shaped at its root by a religious orientation of the heart. No man is religiously neutral. In Adam, the human heart turned away from the Creator and oriented itself toward idols—seeking meaning, identity, and security in created realities rather than in God. In Christ, however, the heart is reoriented toward the Creator, reestablishing humanity’s true center.

Roy Clouser builds on this by insisting that only the biblical ground motive of creation, fall, and redemption provides a coherent account of human life. Alternative ground motives—whether Greek dualism, modern rationalism, or postmodern relativism—fracture human identity and produce distorted masculinities. Without redemption, men inevitably live out of these distortions, manifesting as authoritarianism (domination), passivity (withdrawal), or nihilism(confusion and despair). With redemption, however, men are restored to their proper orientation: to love God with heart, soul, and mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves (Matthew 22:37–39, WEB).

Christ as the Resolution of False Ground Motives

Philosophically, Christ as the true Son of Man dismantles and transcends the false dualisms and idols that deform men’s lives:

1. Against Form–Matter Dualism (Greek thought).
   Greek philosophy exalted the rational mind (form) over the physical body (matter), treating embodiment as inferior. This led to asceticism on one side and hedonism on the other, both of which distort masculinity. Christ resolves this by dignifying the body through the Incarnation:

“The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14, WEB).

In Him, embodiment is not a hindrance but a vessel of redemption. Masculinity, as embodied existence, is not to be despised but sanctified as part of God’s good creation.

2. Against Nature–Freedom Dualism (modern thought).
   Enlightenment philosophy split man between deterministic nature (biology, instinct, necessity) and radical freedom (autonomous choice, self-definition). Men today feel this tension: reduced to “just hormones” on the one hand, yet pressured to be “self-made” on the other. Christ resolves this by showing that true freedom is not autonomy but obedience to God:

“If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, WEB).

In Him, men discover that freedom is found in surrender to God’s will, not in detachment from it.

3. Against the Will-to-Power (postmodern thought).
   Postmodernism often celebrates power, performance, and self-expression as ultimate. This fosters both hyper-aggressive “alpha” masculinities and deconstructed identities that drift without anchor. Christ reveals that true power is perfected in weakness:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, WEB).

In His crucifixion, Jesus turns worldly power upside down, showing that strength is measured by self-giving love, not domination.

Integration Rather Than Erasure

Christ redeems masculinity not by erasing it or collapsing it into generic humanity but by integrating it into the kingdom of God. He affirms the creational goodness of maleness while reorienting it away from idols toward its true telos—life in covenant with God and service to others.

Dooyeweerd’s philosophy reminds us that the masculine calling cannot be reduced to biology, psychology, or social role; it must be understood in its religious root. In Christ, that root is restored. Ministry Sciences extends this by insisting that such restoration involves the whole person—spirit and body, identity and vocation, instincts and ideals—reintegrated through discipleship.

Conclusion: Christ as the Center of Redeemed Manhood

The philosophical insight here is clear: distorted masculinities are symptoms of distorted worship. When men live under false ground motives, their identities fragment. When men are rooted in Christ, their identities cohere. Christ, the true Son of Man, provides not only forgiveness but a model of wholeness. In Him, men find freedom from domination and withdrawal, and strength to embody redemptive presence—whole, holy, and integrated masculinity lived out under God’s reign.

Ministry Sciences Insight: Formation in Christ

Ministry Sciences frames redemption as the re-formation of the male soul. If the fall introduced trauma, idols, and disordered desires, then redemption involves the Spirit’s work of healing wounds, dethroning false gods, and realigning longings with God’s design. This process is not merely intellectual or moral but holistic: spirit and body, thought and action, relationships and vocation are drawn together under Christ.

Dooyeweerd reminds us that human identity is religious at its root, and Clouser shows that all people live from a ground motive—either idolatrous or biblical. Ministry Sciences takes this further into pastoral practice, showing how men can be retrained through worship, discipleship, and embodied habits so that their fractured souls are re-formed into wholeness.

This re-formation unfolds in at least four dimensions.

1. Identity Restored

In a fallen world, men often define themselves by cultural scripts—the career they hold, the power they wield, the conquests they achieve, or the independence they protect. Such identities collapse under pressure and leave men hollow. Redemption restores men to their true identity as sons of God.

Paul writes:

“For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15, WEB).

This adoption reframes manhood not as performance but as relationship. A man’s worth is not earned through achievement or domination but given in sonship. Ministry Sciences helps men trace their “soul story,” naming the false identities they have internalized (e.g., “I am what I do,” “I am what I own,” “I am who I please”) and replacing them with the gospel identity: “I am a beloved son of the Father in Christ.”

2. Worship Reoriented

At the root of all distortion is idolatry (Romans 1:25). Men who worship power, pleasure, or autonomy inevitably live distorted masculinities—dominating others, withdrawing into comfort, or drifting in confusion. Redemption requires reorientation of worship.

When Christ is worshiped as Lord, idols lose their grip. What once enslaved is replaced by the freedom of surrender. Worship is not only a Sunday ritual but a posture of life—acknowledging God as Creator and Redeemer in every sphere.

Ministry Sciences emphasizes that healing the male soul requires dismantling idol-centers. This involves teaching men to discern what “functional gods” they are serving—career success, sexual gratification, social approval—and to replace them with allegiance to Christ. Only then can masculinity be re-formed as covenantal, not idolatrous.

3. Desires Redeemed

God designed men with good desires: for strength, sexuality, and meaningful work. Yet in the fall, these desires were twisted into self-serving impulses. Strength devolved into aggression, sexuality into lust, and work into idolatry or avoidance.

In Christ, these desires are redeemed and reintegrated into God’s design:

• Strength becomes service. Men learn to use physical, emotional, and social power for protection, not exploitation.
• Sexuality becomes covenantal faithfulness. Desire is expressed in the self-giving love of marriage rather than in consumption or fantasy.
• Work becomes stewardship. Labor is reframed as cultivating God’s world, providing for others, and serving the common good rather than building self-glory.

This redemption of desire is both spiritual and embodied. It requires new habits, disciplines, and practices—reshaping how men use their bodies, minds, and resources. Ministry Sciences frames this as soul integration, where appetites are no longer in conflict with ideals but harmonized by Christ’s Spirit.

4. Character Cultivated

Finally, redemption is not only about restored identity and reoriented worship but also about cultivated character. Christlikeness is formed not just in what men believe but in how they live, speak, and act.

Peter exhorts believers:

“Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, perseverance; and in perseverance, godliness” (2 Peter 1:5–6, WEB).

Character is forged through habits. Men become who they are called to be not only by hearing sermons but by practicing faithfulness in the ordinary—integrity at work, gentleness with children, sacrifice in marriage, discipline in sexuality, perseverance in hardship. Ministry Sciences calls this embodied discipleship: formation that touches the whole person, shaping the male soul into durable Christlike maturity.

Conclusion

Formation in Christ is the reversal of Adam’s distortion. Where trauma wounded, Christ heals. Where idols enslaved, Christ liberates. Where desires twisted inward, Christ redirects them outward in love. Where character faltered, Christ trains men in perseverance and virtue.

This process of re-formation does not erase masculinity but redeems it, making men whole-souled and mission-ready. Redeemed men embody their sonship, live in covenantal presence, and bear witness to the kingdom of God in every role: as husbands, fathers, brothers, ministers, and citizens.

Modern Applications: Redeemed Masculinity in Practice

The redemptive vision of masculinity revealed in Christ does not remain abstract or theoretical. It is designed to confront and transform the lived distortions of modern culture. Ministry Sciences emphasizes that discipleship must engage both theological truth and practical formation—helping men not only believe rightly but live differently in every sphere of life.

Three of the most pressing cultural distortions—toxic masculinity, passive disengagement, and identity confusion—are directly answered by the redeemed man in Christ.

1. Against Toxic Masculinity

Toxic masculinity celebrates domination, aggression, and the suppression of vulnerability. It tells men that strength exists for self-assertion and control. A redeemed vision flips this narrative: strength is a gift entrusted for service, protection, and covenantal love.

• In marriage, redeemed men embody Paul’s command: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself up for it” (Ephesians 5:25, WEB). Love is not conquest but self-sacrifice.
• In friendship and community, redeemed men protect the vulnerable, defend the oppressed, and create environments where others can flourish.
• In leadership, redeemed men refuse coercion and authoritarianism, practicing instead the servant leadership modeled by Christ (Matthew 20:27–28).

Philosophically, this represents a rejection of the postmodern will-to-power and a restoration of the biblical ground motive of creation, fall, and redemption. Ministry Sciences would describe this as vocational stewardship—redeeming strength as service, not exploitation.

2. Against Passive Disengagement

The second distortion is withdrawal. Modern culture tempts men into prolonged adolescence, distracting themselves with entertainment, pornography, or digital worlds while neglecting responsibility. The result is absent fathers, disengaged leaders, and stunted spiritual growth.

Redeemed masculinity refuses this path. Men re-formed in Christ show up where they are needed—as fathers, mentors, church leaders, and neighbors. They embrace responsibility rather than fleeing from it.

• In family life, they provide spiritual and emotional presence, reflecting God’s fatherhood (Ephesians 6:4).
• In church life, they contribute time, gifts, and energy, refusing to let others carry the weight of ministry alone (1 Peter 4:10).
• In civic life, they serve as responsible citizens, seeking the welfare of their communities (Jeremiah 29:7).

Ministry Sciences interprets this as the healing of relational presence. Men learn to resist escapism by engaging their calling with courage and faith. Instead of silencing responsibility, they cultivate presence as a spiritual practice.

3. Against Identity Confusion

Finally, redeemed masculinity confronts the crisis of identity. Modern narratives tell men that maleness is either meaningless (a social construct to be discarded) or infinitely malleable (something to be reinvented at will). This leaves many men drifting, unsure whether being male carries any purpose.

Redeemed men anchor their identity not in shifting cultural messages but in their God-given design as male imagebearers. They recognize that their worth is not inflated by pride nor dissolved by relativism.

• Identity Secured in Christ: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, WEB).
• Male as Gift, Not Problem: Masculinity is neither toxic by definition nor optional by preference; it is a creational good reoriented by Christ.
• Integration of Soul: Redeemed men live as organic humans—spirit and body, vocation and relationship—integrated under the lordship of Jesus.

From a Dooyeweerdian lens, this means rejecting the idol of autonomy and rediscovering meaning in God’s creational order. Ministry Sciences would describe it as the re-formation of identity—helping men map their soul story and embrace their design as beloved sons of God.

Conclusion: Embodied Redemptive Presence

A redeemed vision of masculinity directly answers modern distortions. Against toxic masculinity, it offers sacrificial love. Against passive disengagement, it offers faithful responsibility. Against identity confusion, it offers secure sonship in Christ.

These are not lofty ideals but embodied practices. Men live them out daily in marriage, fatherhood, friendship, ministry, and citizenship. By doing so, they model what Christ has already revealed: that true manhood is neither domination nor withdrawal, but redemptive presence—strength expressed through service, authority exercised in humility, and identity rooted in God’s eternal design.

Implications for Christian Leadership

If men are to move from the distortions of Adam into the redemption of Christ, they cannot do so alone. The church has always been God’s chosen means of forming disciples, and leaders bear a sacred responsibility to guide men into Christlike maturity. Discipleship must therefore be intentional, holistic, and relational. It must form men not only in doctrine but also in identity, character, and practice.

Christian leaders, drawing on Scripture, philosophy, and Ministry Sciences insights, can take four key steps to cultivate redeemed masculinity.

1. Proclaim Christ as the Model

Preaching and teaching must present Christ not only as Savior but also as the embodiment of true manhood. Too often, men hear sermons that focus on avoiding sin but not on living into Christ’s pattern of obedience, servant leadership, sacrificial love, and faithful presence.

• Biblical Foundation: Paul points to Christ as the second Adam (Romans 5:18–19; 1 Corinthians 15:22) and exhorts believers to imitate Him (Philippians 2:5–11).
• Philosophical Insight: Roy Clouser emphasizes that Christ re-centers the human heart in the biblical ground motive of creation–fall–redemption, providing coherence where idols fragment identity.
• Ministry Sciences Application: Leaders must set before men a vision of Christ as the straight stick—the measure by which distorted masculinities are exposed and redeemed.

Proclaiming Christ as the model rescues men from cultural caricatures of masculinity and anchors them in God’s design.

2. Facilitate Transformation

Leaders must create spaces of transformation, where men can confess sin, experience healing, and be formed in virtue. These spaces go beyond information transfer; they provide environments of safety, accountability, and intentional practice.

• Confession and Repentance: Men must be encouraged to name distortions—domination, withdrawal, idolatry—and bring them into the light (1 John 1:9).
• Accountability: Relationships of trust allow men to be sharpened as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).
• Virtue Formation: Habits of prayer, service, and integrity cultivate the “chest” C. S. Lewis spoke of—character that mediates between ideals and instincts.

Ministry Sciences reminds us that soul re-formation requires both reflection and practice. Leaders must combine theological teaching with practical exercises in community life.

3. Encourage Embodied Discipleship

Redeemed masculinity cannot remain abstract. Men must be trained to integrate their faith into every dimension of life: work, sexuality, relationships, and citizenship.

• Work: Teach men to see vocation as stewardship, not self-promotion (Genesis 2:15; Colossians 3:23).
• Sexuality: Guide men into covenantal faithfulness, resisting the distortions of lust and fantasy (1 Corinthians 6:18–20).
• Relationships: Encourage presence as husbands, fathers, friends, and brothers in Christ (Ephesians 5:25; 6:4).
• Citizenship: Equip men to contribute to the common good, reflecting Jeremiah’s call to “seek the peace of the city”(Jeremiah 29:7, WEB).

Dooyeweerd’s philosophy underscores that men function in multiple aspects of reality simultaneously—economic, social, ethical, spiritual. Leaders must therefore disciple men holistically, showing that Christ’s lordship extends into every sphere.

4. Multiply Spiritual Fathers

Finally, leadership must be generationally oriented. Just as Paul instructed Titus, older men are to disciple younger men in faith and character (Titus 2:2, 6). This multiplication of spiritual fathers counters both fatherlessness and isolation in the church.

• Mentorship: Older men model integrity and perseverance, walking alongside younger men in practical discipleship.
• Legacy: Spiritual fathers reproduce not just followers but leaders who themselves can disciple others (2 Timothy 2:2).
• Healing Presence: Many younger men who grew up without strong fathers need spiritual fathers in the church to affirm their identity and guide their growth.

Ministry Sciences describes this as relational presence and transmission—identity and character passed through embodied mentorship, not just abstract instruction.

Conclusion

To disciple men into Christlike redemption, leaders must proclaim Christ as the true model, create spaces for transformation, encourage embodied discipleship, and multiply spiritual fathers. Each step resists the distortions of Adam and re-forms men into the likeness of Christ.

In doing so, the church not only heals individual men but strengthens families, communities, and cultures. Redeemed masculinity becomes a living testimony of the kingdom of God: men who no longer dominate or withdraw but embody redemptive presence in every sphere of life.

In short, leaders must guide men away from Adam’s distortions and into Christ’s redemption, not only in theory but in embodied practice.

Conclusion: From Distortion to Redemption

Adam’s failure introduced distortion into the male soul—passivity and blame-shifting that grew into patterns of domination and withdrawal. These distortions still reverberate today, producing toxic masculinity, passive disengagement, and identity confusion. Left to themselves, men cannot escape these cycles, for the problem is not merely cultural but deeply spiritual.

But the story does not end with Adam. The good news of the gospel is that Christ, the second Adam, has come to redeem and reorient manhood. He resisted temptation where Adam surrendered, bore responsibility where Adam withdrew, and carried guilt where Adam shifted blame. In His obedience, servant leadership, sacrificial love, and faithful presence, Jesus reveals what it means to be fully man—fully human as God intended.

Philosophically, Christ resolves the dualisms that fracture men under false ground motives. Against Greek disdain for the body, He dignifies embodiment in the Incarnation. Against modern autonomy, He redefines freedom as obedience to God. Against postmodern will-to-power, He shows that true strength is perfected in weakness. He redeems masculinity not by erasing it but by integrating it into God’s kingdom purposes.

From a Ministry Sciences perspective, redemption is the re-formation of the male soul:

• Identity restored as sons of God.
• Worship reoriented from idols to Christ.
• Desires redeemed—strength as service, sexuality as covenantal love, work as stewardship.
• Character cultivated through Spirit-led habits of virtue.

This redemption must be shepherded by Christian leaders who proclaim Christ as the model, facilitate transformation, encourage embodied discipleship, and multiply spiritual fathers. Only then will men be equipped to resist distortion and live as organic men—whole, holy, and present.

Thus, redeemed masculinity is not domination or withdrawal but redemptive presence: men who show up with courage, humility, and sacrificial love in every sphere of life. They embody the kingdom not only in word but in embodied action as husbands, fathers, friends, ministers, and citizens.

As we turn now to Reading 4: Stewarding Male Sexuality, we focus on one of the most significant and contested arenas where redemption must be lived out. For if masculinity is to be re-formed in Christ, then sexuality—a core aspect of male identity and calling—must be redeemed from distortion and restored as a covenantal gift in God’s design.