Article By Apostle Jonas Clark
Men have needs. Let’s review how God designed the man, his assignment, and some of the things the man needs.
1. THE MAN NEEDS THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Adam’s life started in the garden with the presence of God. This tells us that the man needs the presence of God in his life. We can’t stress this enough, man cannot fulfill his divine purpose without God.
When God put Adam in the garden, he taught him to name a thing. Again, to name a thing is to convey meaning, purpose, and offer identity. Scripture says, “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field” (Genesis 2:19-20).
2. THE MAN NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND GOD’S DESIGN
God has given man the assignment to have dominion. To have dominion means to rule, govern, and administrate. Understanding dominion can be found in our kingship as believers, walking in spiritual authority, and taking hold of our responsibility to be good stewards.
God has built in the man a spiritual matrix having the ability to fulfill his design. In other words, what you were born to do is built into your design. Look at it this way. A bird doesn’t need to attend a seminar on how to fly. He was born to fly. Neither does a fish have to go to a conference to learn how to swim. He was born to swim. The ability to fly and swim were built into their design. For the bird to fly, however, requires the bird to get in the air. For the fish to swim requires the fish to get into the water. It’s the same with the man.
3. THE MAN NEEDS WORK
God created the man and put him in the garden to work. The man needs to work. It’s in his spiritual DNA. Man desires meaningful work because work fulfills elements of the dominion mandate. In work, you can find leadership, production, and management. Work is the atmosphere to fly or swim for the man. Like the birds and the fish, the man needs the right environment to thrive. That environment is found in the presence of the Holy Spirit, in the secret place of prayer, in a Holy Spirit filled church, and in meaningful work.
4. THE MAN NEEDS RESPECT
The man also needs respect, not love. Where a woman needs love, the man needs respect. Respect is a positive feeling given to someone held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration and value toward someone. Respect is also the process of honoring someone by exhibiting care, concern, or consideration for their needs or feelings. In other words, respect means to be admired, looked up to, and honored. This need to be valued is built into the man’s nature. Sarah understood this and called Abraham Lord (1 Peter 3:6). Wives have no problem submitting to their husbands when their husbands act like the Lord because submission has nothing to do with force. Submission is a choice.
5. THE MAN NEEDS A VISION
Vision gives direction, destination, boundaries, and keeps the man focused. God said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Proverbs 29:18). Again, the man needs a vision. Without vision, he will flounder, waste away, not fight and will give up. When David heard the challenges of the Giant and saw the fear in the eyes of his brethren he asked, “Is there not a cause?” Vision is the cause and the dream. For the man, it’s the reason for living.
6. THE MAN NEEDS A PLACE OF AUTHORITY
The man needs a place of authority. A place where he is king. Today, men have what’s referred to as a man cave. The man cave is a place where men get away from it all. It’s their domain to rule as they please. They can throw their clothes on the floor, watch sports on gigantic video monitors, and hang out with their friends.
7. THE MAN NEEDS A SENSE OF PURPOSE
The man needs a strong sense of purpose. Purpose is the reason something exists. When the man understands his design, he will understand his purpose. Purpose lets the man know which way to go and what to do.
8. THE MAN NEEDS TO DEFINE HIS IMAGE
When a man doesn’t see the image of himself the way, God created him he will flounder. Gideon had a problem with self- image. He didn’t see himself the way God designed him. According to God, Gideon was a man of valor, and everything he needed to succeed was already in him. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12). All Gideon needed to do was define his image.
9. THE MAN NEEDS SEXUAL INTIMACY
There are five types of intimacy: Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Experiential, and Spiritual. Sexual intimacy supplies elements of all five especially a strong sense of belonging together.
10. THE MAN NEEDS A STRONG FOUNDATION OF THE WORD
Jesus said the wise man builds his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24). The rock is a metaphor for the word of God. God taught Joshua the way of success and prosperity by meditating on the Scriptures (Joshua 1:8). And the writer of Hebrews said, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
11. THE MAN NEEDS A FAMILY
The man was designed by God to be husband and father. A man’s complete when he has a relationship with God and has a wife and family. When God decided to start the human race, he created the man first and brought him a woman. These two became “one flesh.” Only In the family can the man find completeness. He needs someone to provide for, to protect, and to teach.
12. THE MAN NEEDS A SPIRITUAL ENVIRONMENT TO FLOURISH
God made man a spirit being with a soul and a physical body. In other words, he is a spirit, has a soul, and lives in a body. With his spirit, he contacts God who is a spirit, with his soul the world of emotion and intellect, and with his body the physical world. Jesus said that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. When the Holy Spirit ministers to a man, he ministers to him through his born-again spirit. To be born again means to come out of spiritual death by the redemptive blood of Christ and into spiritual life.
13. THE MAN NEEDS INSTRUCTION
One is born a male but has to become a man. To mature requires the man to admit he needs help. He must accept the need for help. And he must admit that he doesn’t know everything. Instruction includes asking for counsel from the right people. Right people are those qualified to give advice. A man should never seek counsel from those unqualified to give it. The man must invest in his own education. The cost of ignorance is always higher than the cost of knowledge. To grow, the man must accept his weakness and deal with it. Stop focusing on weakness and magnify his strengths.
14. THE MAN WAS DESIGNED BY GOD TO DO BUSINESS
The Parable of the Talents makes this clear. God gave a man one talent, to another two talents, and another five talents. The man with the two talents doubled the gift and so did the man with the five talents. The man that received one talent, however, hid that talent in the ground and did nothing with it. God called that man a wicked servant. Why? Because man was designed by God to do business. (Matthew 25:14-29).
As said before, God created the man after his likeness and gave him the assignment to take dominion. Adam’s life started in the garden with the presence of God. It was in His presence that Adam could fellowship with his maker. Adam was called to work, dress and keep. God has built within the man’s spiritual matrix the ability to fulfill his design.