God's Design for Man and Woman

The eclipse of the family in human society is one of the most disastrous developments of our age. Sadly, the eclipse of the biblical model of marriage and family has also happened within far too many evangelical churches. Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger come to the rescue with biblical and theological insight and practical wisdom.

Models the best of Christian discernment about matters of gender, theology, justice, roles, and gifts. It is faithful in its representation both of God’s character and our own propensity to sin, pastoral in its application of faithful biblical hermeneutics, insightful in its explanation of original word usages and their application, concise in its framing of hot-button issues and the hermeneutical fallacies that often fuel them, and charitable in its handling of the motives of those who disagree.

A refreshingly clear, well-informed, balanced, thorough, biblically faithful overview of the teachings of the entire Bible about manhood and womanhood as designed by God and intended for the joy and well-being of both women and men. A significant achievement!

Scriptural, thorough, scholarly, irenic, and practical, this vital resource will help any serious student of the Bible understand God’s good, wise, and wonderful design.

The brilliant and respected Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger are wise experts, guiding us through the Bible for a substantive, gospel-rich, and pastorally applied theology of masculinity, femininity, and the goodness of our differences by God’s design.

Whenever we consider our God-given design, we must do so with humble hearts. What a gift to be able to appreciate how the triune, eternal God made us! This study on God’s design will be useful in every field of Christian work all over the world.

Some books are unhelpful, others are helpful, and a select few are spectacularly helpful. God’s Design for Man and Woman belongs with that select few. With thoroughness, nuance, and textual insight, it simultaneously unfolds biblical complementarianism as a coherent, life-giving worldview and answers common questions related to it.

God’s Design for Man and Woman is rigorously biblical, and the exegetical work is what we have come to expect of the Köstenbergers. Those who believe in the inspiration of the Bible will find this presentation compelling and hard to dismiss. Even those who do not accept biblical authority will, if honest, respect the arguments that are made. This book will serve the church of the Lord Jesus well.

Returning to a topic on which they both have already shown mastery, the Köstenbergers here round off their achievements with a full, lucid, and compelling demonstration that all Scripture treats male leadership as the creational pattern. Complementarians in particular will find here an invaluable resource, as indeed will any other open-minded Bible students.

The authors break no new ground; they do not intend to. What they have done is put together biblical material in convenient and broadly comprehensive textbook format—material that brings together historical surveys, along with some exegesis, biblical theology, and pastoral application. One need not agree with every detail of the argument to see that this book meets a need to inform students and others who are new to the debate of some of its most inescapable parameters.

This unique and accessible book presents a positive, constructive, and winsome case for the whole gamut of biblical teaching about the divine design for men and women, as well as much practical application for how to live it out in both the home and the church. All who read this book will profit greatly by both their biblical theology and their godly example.

For years now, Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger have labored to help the church recover a biblical vision of manhood and womanhood in the midst of a culture that is moving increasingly away from God’s design. We are so pleased to see the fruits of their labors gathered together into this wonderful new volume. Thoroughly biblical, deeply theological, and also practical and accessible, the Köstenbergers have given the church a great gift in an hour of great need.