No real man allows himself to be mastered by anything, including alcohol and drugs. Alcohol is often implicated in violent behavior. That forms the connection with the following quality of a leader: A real man will not resort to violence.

A real man sees himself as God’s servant. God has given him time, strength, intellect, skill, and resources. He must use them well, not as if they belonged to him, but as gifts from the Creator and Lord of life.

A good father must know his children well enough to be able to match the proper type of training to their individual personalities and situations.

A real man loves his children.

A real man commits himself to only one woman.

Everywhere we look, there is a shortage of responsible men. Women, especially, are looking for men who will lead, but with love and gentleness. Business, government, education, the military – all seek men of integrity, courage, and initiative. Churches, too, require men to serve as elders, deacons, teachers, and friends.

When the Son of God humbled Himself, He descended from the heights of glory to the depths of derision. Invented by the Etruscans and taken over by the cruel Romans, crucifixion was the most dreaded of all punishments in the ancient world.

Jesus had commended humility, saying, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). As always, He followed His own teaching, so that He could say, “I am gentle and lowly [humble] in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

Though He could have continued to exercise dominion in heaven with His Father, the Son of God chose to become a servant on earth among men.

The Son of God “emptied Himself” – what does that mean?

What motivated the eternal Son to forsake His exalted position and its perquisites, and come to this dark, depraved, degraded, even disgusting world of finite, frail, and fallen men?

Faithful people honor contracts and even verbal commitments. They do not switch allegiances for convenience or gain.

As the head of his wife, the husband will go first. He will start in the morning, by getting up before his wife.

How will the husband, as head of his wife, exercise leadership, as Christ leads the church and as a head leads its body?

May our thoughts and feelings, words and actions, all find their vital center in Jesus, the Son of God who became a man to save us from our sins.

The Son of God possesses temporal priority: “In the beginning was the Word.” “Before Abraham was, I AM.” He existed before the creation; before the fall of mankind into sin. He also enjoys positional priority.

The Son of God sits pre-eminent over all creation as “firstborn” because He made the universe.

The Son of God, who became the man Jesus, is “firstborn over all creation.”

The Son of God, who became the man Jesus, exactly represents God the Father.

Christians worship Jesus – we all know that. But why? Who is this person about whom so many songs have been sung, books written, and sermons preached? First and foremost, He is the beloved Son of God the Father.