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The Grand Design: Male and Female He Made Them
Understanding the Bible's teachings on the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God, reaches ultimately to the heart of the Gospel.Owen Strachan and Gavin Peacock bring to you clear, accessible and Biblical teaching on "The Grand Design," exploring what Biblical complementarity looks like and how it plays out in our family and church life.
176 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2016
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244 people want to read
About the author
Owen Strachan
44 books139 followersDr. Owen Strachan is Provost and Research Professor of Theology at Grace Bible Theological Seminary (GBTS). Before coming to GBTS, he served as Associate Professor of Christian Theology and Director of the Residency PhD Program at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS). He holds a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an MDiv from Southern Seminary, and an AB from Bowdoin College. Strachan has published fourteen books and writes regularly for the Christian Post, and Thoughtlife, his Patheos blog. Strachan hosts the
City of God
podcast. He is married and is the father of three children.
You can also connect with Strachan on Facebook.
You can also connect with Strachan on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 1, 2016
I feel self-conscious disagreeing with a book like this, so I first want to say that I am a soul who strives to be humble, teachable and repentant.
But with that said, as well as the acknowledgement that I truly appreciate the high view of Scripture that Strachan and Peacock obviously hold, and the truth that much of my marginalia in this book reads, "yes!" and "so good!"... I don't follow them in some of their conclusions and methodology. I often felt their applications of Scripture were insufficient and sometimes errant. For instance, arguing that the only avenue women have for "teaching" is in one to one mentoring settings, particularly in regard to the home and family, because of what Titus 2:3-5 says seems to be them putting their agenda in the text. Technically, theirs is an eisegetical argument. Yes, Paul is saying the older women are to train the younger women, but he's not making a Big, Comprehensive Statement about when and how women can teach. Interestingly, Paul writes, "They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women..." Can there not be groups of women studying Scripture together, facilitated and taught by other women- women who commit to submission to the elders of their church? Can that not be an avenue of teaching what is good? An avenue for training women to treasure the Word? To say this is the bit of Scripture that supports only elders formally teaching on matters of theology is wrong.
The other thing I felt was particularly weak in this book was Strachan and Peacock's handing of the righteousness of single women. Yes, all our worth is as image-bearers, but there was heavy emphasis on righteousness as women relate to husbands, as helpers. There's more happening in the garden than just a wedding (even before the fall). I'm dissatisfied with Strachan and Peacock not teaching the dominion and priestly work that Adam and his wife shared, priestly work that Peter echoes in 1 Peter. It isn't just that men are to be strong workers and women are to be reverent. There's more happening! There's more for my single sisters to share in!
Anyways, while I agree with the general statements and theology in The Grand Design, I'm not recommending this book as a resource for teaching the fullness and beauty and worth of "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
But with that said, as well as the acknowledgement that I truly appreciate the high view of Scripture that Strachan and Peacock obviously hold, and the truth that much of my marginalia in this book reads, "yes!" and "so good!"... I don't follow them in some of their conclusions and methodology. I often felt their applications of Scripture were insufficient and sometimes errant. For instance, arguing that the only avenue women have for "teaching" is in one to one mentoring settings, particularly in regard to the home and family, because of what Titus 2:3-5 says seems to be them putting their agenda in the text. Technically, theirs is an eisegetical argument. Yes, Paul is saying the older women are to train the younger women, but he's not making a Big, Comprehensive Statement about when and how women can teach. Interestingly, Paul writes, "They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women..." Can there not be groups of women studying Scripture together, facilitated and taught by other women- women who commit to submission to the elders of their church? Can that not be an avenue of teaching what is good? An avenue for training women to treasure the Word? To say this is the bit of Scripture that supports only elders formally teaching on matters of theology is wrong.
The other thing I felt was particularly weak in this book was Strachan and Peacock's handing of the righteousness of single women. Yes, all our worth is as image-bearers, but there was heavy emphasis on righteousness as women relate to husbands, as helpers. There's more happening in the garden than just a wedding (even before the fall). I'm dissatisfied with Strachan and Peacock not teaching the dominion and priestly work that Adam and his wife shared, priestly work that Peter echoes in 1 Peter. It isn't just that men are to be strong workers and women are to be reverent. There's more happening! There's more for my single sisters to share in!
Anyways, while I agree with the general statements and theology in The Grand Design, I'm not recommending this book as a resource for teaching the fullness and beauty and worth of "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
June 9, 2018
A balanced defense of complimentarianism that doesn't shy away from the biblical text nor fall into speculative and exaggerated forms of application.
September 16, 2019
A Theological Approach to God’s Design for Male and Female from a Broad Complementarian Perspective
The Grand Design: Male and Female He Made Them by Owen Strachen and Gavin Peacock is a basic primer on gender, roles, and sexuality from a complimentarian worldview. I was hoping this would be the “go to” primer on gender roles. I am not sure it meets that expectation. But it is a good one with many profound insights combined with biblical wisdom. It is definitely a clear example of what is now being labeled as “broad” (vs. “narrow”) or “hard” (vs. “soft”) complementarity. Others, unfortunately, would call it “hyper-complementarity” - though those who use this term are often rightly viewed as “functional egalitarians.”
In other words, there is a lot of controversy and diversity when it comes to understanding gender roles within evangelicalism. And there is no doubt that Strachan and Peacock are very much on the conservative side of that spectrum.
Their presentation is grounded in the Scriptures and sound doctrine, though not without controversy (see below). The reason they would be designated “broad” complementarians is because of how “broadly” they seek to apply their understanding of complementarian gender and roles. This is where some complementarian Bible believers will disagree with them and at times even feel uncomfortable reading their views. Definitely “narrow/soft” complementarians will disagree and feel this way, but I think some “broad/hard” complementarians might also feel this way when they read the book.
Gender roles in today’s culture require tremendous nuance and repeated clarifications. And if one reads carefully you will see that the authors do take pains to make these necessary nuances. But there could be more and better clarification. The reader needs to keep in mind the compact size of the book and the intended purpose to be a primer versus a comprehensive one-stop read. There are numerous references in the brief footnotes to more thorough works on nearly every page of their book.
The breakdown of the family and rejection of the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures, in general, will make much of what is written here seem radical, foreign, and possibly oppressive. Because God’s Grand Design for humanity has been so rejected, suppressed, and opposed, much of what they share is no longer common knowledge or a common conviction.
At the same time, there are places in the book when the reader will have valid reasons for questioning the conclusions and applications of the authors, as well as desiring greater clarification. At times the presentation and understanding of women’s roles seem to be too restrictive or not balanced with a broader understanding of what is allowed for and even celebrated in the Scriptures.
The issue is perhaps more about where the emphasis is placed and how the truth is communicated and received in an increasingly secular and hostile culture, even by professing believers.
Further criticism has been leveled at the book from a theological perspective regarding the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS), also called Eternal Functional Subordination (EFS) or Eternal Relationship of Authority and Submission (ERAS). For example, see this review by Rachel Green Miller https://rachelgreenmiller.com/2016/06.... She mentions a reading list on the controversy that can be found here http://www.bringthebooks.org/2016/06/....
Read the book. Listen to the authors. Make the effort to actually hear what they are saying and are not saying. Disagree with them where you see fit, but do so on the basis of the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures. Understand and apply God’s grand design for men and women in ways that might differ from them. But do so with the same commitment to the Scriptures, sound doctrine, and theological application that they seek to model.
As Strachan has written elsewhere, complementarians can cheerfully disagree on the many applications of the Creator’s grand design in marriage and ministry. Nevertheless, all complementarians should be able to unite around: (1) the fact that there is “love and order” in His design; (2) this has always been counter-cultural; (3) it is increasingly misunderstood; and (4) it is increasingly under attack. The Church needs a proactive commitment to understanding God’s grand design and equipping its members to live it out with one another and as a witness to the watching world.
The Grand Design: Male and Female He Made Them by Owen Strachen and Gavin Peacock is a basic primer on gender, roles, and sexuality from a complimentarian worldview. I was hoping this would be the “go to” primer on gender roles. I am not sure it meets that expectation. But it is a good one with many profound insights combined with biblical wisdom. It is definitely a clear example of what is now being labeled as “broad” (vs. “narrow”) or “hard” (vs. “soft”) complementarity. Others, unfortunately, would call it “hyper-complementarity” - though those who use this term are often rightly viewed as “functional egalitarians.”
In other words, there is a lot of controversy and diversity when it comes to understanding gender roles within evangelicalism. And there is no doubt that Strachan and Peacock are very much on the conservative side of that spectrum.
Their presentation is grounded in the Scriptures and sound doctrine, though not without controversy (see below). The reason they would be designated “broad” complementarians is because of how “broadly” they seek to apply their understanding of complementarian gender and roles. This is where some complementarian Bible believers will disagree with them and at times even feel uncomfortable reading their views. Definitely “narrow/soft” complementarians will disagree and feel this way, but I think some “broad/hard” complementarians might also feel this way when they read the book.
Gender roles in today’s culture require tremendous nuance and repeated clarifications. And if one reads carefully you will see that the authors do take pains to make these necessary nuances. But there could be more and better clarification. The reader needs to keep in mind the compact size of the book and the intended purpose to be a primer versus a comprehensive one-stop read. There are numerous references in the brief footnotes to more thorough works on nearly every page of their book.
The breakdown of the family and rejection of the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures, in general, will make much of what is written here seem radical, foreign, and possibly oppressive. Because God’s Grand Design for humanity has been so rejected, suppressed, and opposed, much of what they share is no longer common knowledge or a common conviction.
At the same time, there are places in the book when the reader will have valid reasons for questioning the conclusions and applications of the authors, as well as desiring greater clarification. At times the presentation and understanding of women’s roles seem to be too restrictive or not balanced with a broader understanding of what is allowed for and even celebrated in the Scriptures.
The issue is perhaps more about where the emphasis is placed and how the truth is communicated and received in an increasingly secular and hostile culture, even by professing believers.
Further criticism has been leveled at the book from a theological perspective regarding the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS), also called Eternal Functional Subordination (EFS) or Eternal Relationship of Authority and Submission (ERAS). For example, see this review by Rachel Green Miller https://rachelgreenmiller.com/2016/06.... She mentions a reading list on the controversy that can be found here http://www.bringthebooks.org/2016/06/....
Read the book. Listen to the authors. Make the effort to actually hear what they are saying and are not saying. Disagree with them where you see fit, but do so on the basis of the authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures. Understand and apply God’s grand design for men and women in ways that might differ from them. But do so with the same commitment to the Scriptures, sound doctrine, and theological application that they seek to model.
As Strachan has written elsewhere, complementarians can cheerfully disagree on the many applications of the Creator’s grand design in marriage and ministry. Nevertheless, all complementarians should be able to unite around: (1) the fact that there is “love and order” in His design; (2) this has always been counter-cultural; (3) it is increasingly misunderstood; and (4) it is increasingly under attack. The Church needs a proactive commitment to understanding God’s grand design and equipping its members to live it out with one another and as a witness to the watching world.
July 5, 2022
Excellent book. I give it four stars because needs a finer structure and organization within its chapters. But it hit the right notes and presented a Biblical worldview.
Caveat: Along with the previous generation of complementarians it promote "ad intra" EFS.
Caveat: Along with the previous generation of complementarians it promote "ad intra" EFS.
August 17, 2023
Could have been shorter. Overall very good principles.
May 13, 2018
We can easily spot the smile of the Lord in the sea and the trees. But when it comes to our own bodies, to our own identities as men and women, the screen loses its color. The story fizzles. A gender-neutral world convinces us that manhood and womanhood aren't important. It's no big deal to be a man or a woman.
We are the psalmist, exclaiming, 'Oh, how I love your law!' We're not in this for condemnation. We're in this for exaltation. We're in this for delight.
There is doxology in the details. We should glory in manhood and womanhood. We should see them as the Scripture sees them: the successful enfleshment of the Creator's super-intelligent plan for humanity.
Again Eden is not heaven. It is a place infused with the glory and favor of God, but it is not perfected. Adam needs a wife.
He has suggested that women are absolutely needful. It's not good that Adam has no helper . . . he can function without a wife. But without Eve, his existence will be impoverished, and God's plan of dominion will lie slack.
He finds a wife and 'holds fast' to her. He never lets her go, never relinquishes his protection of her, never abandons her and his children.
Men are called to be leaders by very virtue of the fact that they are created male. This is not a competency issue. It is an issue of God's design.
A watchful man does not think himself impenetrable and immune to these things. Satan wants men and women to fall, but he particularly wants young men to struggle because as go the men, so go homes, churches, and even societies.
Settle it down in your mind as an established rule, that, whether you feel it at the moment or not, you are inhaling spiritual health by reading the Bible, and insensibly becoming more strong. -J.C. Ryle
There's time for fun, but the stakes are too high in this life to be silly.
Procrastination and indecision ruin a man, but God-fearing decisiveness makes him.
It is our utmost desire, however, to be faithful. We recognize that such growth in godliness is not an option, but a commission. If God's church is to be strong, we must grow strong in Christ, and lead well in the household of God.
Role: a helper, not a hindrance
Attitude: reverent womanhood
Response: submission under sovereignty
Equality of personhood doesn't demand uniform sameness.
This flies in the face of our culture, which equates value and dignity with role and authority.
By targeting children in the womb, he guts a key part of the glory of womanhood. He ruins an incredible gift of God. Not only does he rob God of His glory, he robs many women of their identity in turning them against the child inside them.
Women are not able to be womanly only when they are married with kids. They may richly glorify God by nurturing life in myriad contexts--church, as part of their vocation, friends, and more. It's not that there are too few contexts to use womanly gifts. It's that there are too many to count.
I want her strength to be inner reverence, not masculine robustness.
A gentle and quiet spirit that pleases God is found only when a woman fears God. When she fears God, she won't fear what others think.
Respect or reverence doesn't mean being shy and silent. It means being soft and resolute. It means having one's eyes fixed upon God, and therefore continually working to honor one's head. This attitude takes courage. Ultimately, it can only proceed from the presence of the Spirit in a woman's heart.
Submission is her strength. - Elisabeth Elliot
Submission exists to say something about God's sovereign plan of salvation in the gospel. That's huge!
As countercultural as this may be, submission is not based on competency or rights but on God's grand design. Marriage between one man and one woman, created in the image of the triune God, is a picture of redemption with its goal in consummation.
We are reminded of how the Puritans used to refer to marriage as a vocation. It was a calling from God to be a husband or wife and everything served God's purposes within the marriage: headship, submission, sex, and children. The Puritans' passion to please God expressed itself in an ardor for order. This God-centered vision orients a husband and wife to the fact their marriage doesn't belong to them in order to serve their purposes. Marriage is for God.
Adam's mistake, we recall, was that he did not correct his wife when she was getting God's word wrong in Eden. He did not love Eve by failing in this regard. His abdication of spiritual and theological leadership was profoundly unloving, and so is ours.
As a matter of biblical fidelity, though women have ample opportunities to serve and teach in the life of the congregation, women do not teach men. To do so is to stray from biblical wisdom.
In all this, we recognize that owning our God-given role is not easy. It does sometimes feel inequitable. To accept limitation requires maturity. The child has not yet learned that it cannot have everything. What it sees it wants. What it does not get it screams for. It has to grow up to realize that saying Yes to happiness often means saying No to yourself.
The aim of this book is to fill hearts and minds with a thrilling view of manhood and womanhood so that instead of saying in defeated and apologetic tones, 'How far do we have to go with complementarianism in the church?,' people instead say with glad hearts, 'How clearly can we delineate complementarianism in the church to the glory of our great God?'
Where the battle rages the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle-field besides is mere flight and disgrace to him if he flinches at that one point. -Elizabeth Rundle Charles
The Christian faith and life cannot, as we sometimes hear, be private because the gospel is not a private truth.
We are doxologically masculine and feminine. We know that the way we dress and present ourselves and even think about ourselves renders glory to our Maker when biblically faithful.
If we have embraced a blurred Christianity that downplays divine design, we will not be well-positioned to offer gospel answers to our culture and gospel counsel to our neighbors.
It is covenantal. Marriage tells the greatest truth there is: that God has faithfully kept His covenant to make a people for Himself, a people washed in the blood of the lamb.
We want a zero-tolerance approach to sin -- all sin.
For people like us, the holiness of God must loom large. We need something more than just tips and practices to help us set aside sinful entanglements. We need a fresh vision of God before our eyes. God is the one who will power us through our days and overcome our temptations. Savoring His presence and His design will remind us that there is a bigger story at work here than behavior management.
All boys should be trained to hone in on the character of an elder as the mark of masculine maturity.
The Bible calls men to become something greater than they naturally are tempted to be. The Scripture calls men to forge character that welcomes self-sacrifice for the betterment of others, especially a wife. The gospel makes men who hate selfishness and crave selflessness.
But the key that unlocks a healthy marriage is known by Christians alone: that marriage is not made for its own sake, but for a God who has designed the earth's oldest institution to image the covenantal love of Christlike husband and churchlike wife.
If the church does not feature womanly discipleship and teaching, we fear that the body will dishonor Christ and fail to produce godly women. There is a deep and even desperate need for young women to learn about the faith, homemaking, childraising, and marriage. This means biblical and theological instruction geared at a doxological feminine existence.
The church is not only able to "help" singles; it is made for unity and love, and so all who join by faith in Christ are welcome. All have a home. All have a Father.
It is this order, this world, these bodies that Christ has claimed for His own in the here and now. It is this realm and we ourselves that Christ is now remaking for His greater renown.
The Lord has made us for His own glory, but He has not rendered us androgynous creatures without definitive roles. For His praise and our flourishing, He has made us male and female. Our manhood and womanhood are invested with meaning, brimming with promise, and fashioned with tenderness.
The upward call of the Christian is always to seek to understand Scripture. But understanding is not an end unto itself . . . but to be transformed such that we become wise and thus live the fullness of our lives for the glory of Christ.
We have seen the grand design, and it impels us to go, preach, and celebrate the glory of God in the world of men.
We are the psalmist, exclaiming, 'Oh, how I love your law!' We're not in this for condemnation. We're in this for exaltation. We're in this for delight.
There is doxology in the details. We should glory in manhood and womanhood. We should see them as the Scripture sees them: the successful enfleshment of the Creator's super-intelligent plan for humanity.
Again Eden is not heaven. It is a place infused with the glory and favor of God, but it is not perfected. Adam needs a wife.
He has suggested that women are absolutely needful. It's not good that Adam has no helper . . . he can function without a wife. But without Eve, his existence will be impoverished, and God's plan of dominion will lie slack.
He finds a wife and 'holds fast' to her. He never lets her go, never relinquishes his protection of her, never abandons her and his children.
Men are called to be leaders by very virtue of the fact that they are created male. This is not a competency issue. It is an issue of God's design.
A watchful man does not think himself impenetrable and immune to these things. Satan wants men and women to fall, but he particularly wants young men to struggle because as go the men, so go homes, churches, and even societies.
Settle it down in your mind as an established rule, that, whether you feel it at the moment or not, you are inhaling spiritual health by reading the Bible, and insensibly becoming more strong. -J.C. Ryle
There's time for fun, but the stakes are too high in this life to be silly.
Procrastination and indecision ruin a man, but God-fearing decisiveness makes him.
It is our utmost desire, however, to be faithful. We recognize that such growth in godliness is not an option, but a commission. If God's church is to be strong, we must grow strong in Christ, and lead well in the household of God.
Role: a helper, not a hindrance
Attitude: reverent womanhood
Response: submission under sovereignty
Equality of personhood doesn't demand uniform sameness.
This flies in the face of our culture, which equates value and dignity with role and authority.
By targeting children in the womb, he guts a key part of the glory of womanhood. He ruins an incredible gift of God. Not only does he rob God of His glory, he robs many women of their identity in turning them against the child inside them.
Women are not able to be womanly only when they are married with kids. They may richly glorify God by nurturing life in myriad contexts--church, as part of their vocation, friends, and more. It's not that there are too few contexts to use womanly gifts. It's that there are too many to count.
I want her strength to be inner reverence, not masculine robustness.
A gentle and quiet spirit that pleases God is found only when a woman fears God. When she fears God, she won't fear what others think.
Respect or reverence doesn't mean being shy and silent. It means being soft and resolute. It means having one's eyes fixed upon God, and therefore continually working to honor one's head. This attitude takes courage. Ultimately, it can only proceed from the presence of the Spirit in a woman's heart.
Submission is her strength. - Elisabeth Elliot
Submission exists to say something about God's sovereign plan of salvation in the gospel. That's huge!
As countercultural as this may be, submission is not based on competency or rights but on God's grand design. Marriage between one man and one woman, created in the image of the triune God, is a picture of redemption with its goal in consummation.
We are reminded of how the Puritans used to refer to marriage as a vocation. It was a calling from God to be a husband or wife and everything served God's purposes within the marriage: headship, submission, sex, and children. The Puritans' passion to please God expressed itself in an ardor for order. This God-centered vision orients a husband and wife to the fact their marriage doesn't belong to them in order to serve their purposes. Marriage is for God.
Adam's mistake, we recall, was that he did not correct his wife when she was getting God's word wrong in Eden. He did not love Eve by failing in this regard. His abdication of spiritual and theological leadership was profoundly unloving, and so is ours.
As a matter of biblical fidelity, though women have ample opportunities to serve and teach in the life of the congregation, women do not teach men. To do so is to stray from biblical wisdom.
In all this, we recognize that owning our God-given role is not easy. It does sometimes feel inequitable. To accept limitation requires maturity. The child has not yet learned that it cannot have everything. What it sees it wants. What it does not get it screams for. It has to grow up to realize that saying Yes to happiness often means saying No to yourself.
The aim of this book is to fill hearts and minds with a thrilling view of manhood and womanhood so that instead of saying in defeated and apologetic tones, 'How far do we have to go with complementarianism in the church?,' people instead say with glad hearts, 'How clearly can we delineate complementarianism in the church to the glory of our great God?'
Where the battle rages the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle-field besides is mere flight and disgrace to him if he flinches at that one point. -Elizabeth Rundle Charles
The Christian faith and life cannot, as we sometimes hear, be private because the gospel is not a private truth.
We are doxologically masculine and feminine. We know that the way we dress and present ourselves and even think about ourselves renders glory to our Maker when biblically faithful.
If we have embraced a blurred Christianity that downplays divine design, we will not be well-positioned to offer gospel answers to our culture and gospel counsel to our neighbors.
It is covenantal. Marriage tells the greatest truth there is: that God has faithfully kept His covenant to make a people for Himself, a people washed in the blood of the lamb.
We want a zero-tolerance approach to sin -- all sin.
For people like us, the holiness of God must loom large. We need something more than just tips and practices to help us set aside sinful entanglements. We need a fresh vision of God before our eyes. God is the one who will power us through our days and overcome our temptations. Savoring His presence and His design will remind us that there is a bigger story at work here than behavior management.
All boys should be trained to hone in on the character of an elder as the mark of masculine maturity.
The Bible calls men to become something greater than they naturally are tempted to be. The Scripture calls men to forge character that welcomes self-sacrifice for the betterment of others, especially a wife. The gospel makes men who hate selfishness and crave selflessness.
But the key that unlocks a healthy marriage is known by Christians alone: that marriage is not made for its own sake, but for a God who has designed the earth's oldest institution to image the covenantal love of Christlike husband and churchlike wife.
If the church does not feature womanly discipleship and teaching, we fear that the body will dishonor Christ and fail to produce godly women. There is a deep and even desperate need for young women to learn about the faith, homemaking, childraising, and marriage. This means biblical and theological instruction geared at a doxological feminine existence.
The church is not only able to "help" singles; it is made for unity and love, and so all who join by faith in Christ are welcome. All have a home. All have a Father.
It is this order, this world, these bodies that Christ has claimed for His own in the here and now. It is this realm and we ourselves that Christ is now remaking for His greater renown.
The Lord has made us for His own glory, but He has not rendered us androgynous creatures without definitive roles. For His praise and our flourishing, He has made us male and female. Our manhood and womanhood are invested with meaning, brimming with promise, and fashioned with tenderness.
The upward call of the Christian is always to seek to understand Scripture. But understanding is not an end unto itself . . . but to be transformed such that we become wise and thus live the fullness of our lives for the glory of Christ.
We have seen the grand design, and it impels us to go, preach, and celebrate the glory of God in the world of men.
February 15, 2019
I was asked to read this book and provide a verbal review at a conference where one of the authors, Gavin Peacock, was speaking - no pressure then!
However, this book was a tour de force deli8vering what it said on it's front and back covers!
It is relentless (but informatively so) in the pursuit of its central thesis - that God designed men and women to complementary to each other, and not in competition nor for women to usurp the creational roles.
It is truly a book that brims with Biblical truth and is most persuasive in leading the reader, whether pro or anti, to the only logical conclusion that can be reached - that God knew what He was doing in creation, marriage and the church!
I cannot but recommend this book and it is a 5 star read!
However, this book was a tour de force deli8vering what it said on it's front and back covers!
It is relentless (but informatively so) in the pursuit of its central thesis - that God designed men and women to complementary to each other, and not in competition nor for women to usurp the creational roles.
It is truly a book that brims with Biblical truth and is most persuasive in leading the reader, whether pro or anti, to the only logical conclusion that can be reached - that God knew what He was doing in creation, marriage and the church!
I cannot but recommend this book and it is a 5 star read!
September 9, 2022
This is a strong and concise defense for the biblical depiction of manhood and womanhood. Strachan and Peacock organize the flow of the book well in developing and defending their argument. The chapter on complementarity in the home, church, and culture was particularly insightful. I also appreciated Gavin Peacock’s personal illustrations interspersed throughout the book; they were well timed breaks in the flow that still kept the conversation moving forward.
September 16, 2018
What does it mean to be a man or to be a woman. This is a short helpful book about biblical manhood and womanhood. It is a clear and short book about how the gospel frees us to live in the unity and distinctiveness in the sexes. A good book that helps further the argument of male and female marriage.
October 19, 2020
This book is written for me as much as women. In fact, it is probably written more for men. There are so many books written for Christian women on how to be a Christian woman but it seems to be a topic lacking for men. Men need to understand what God is calling them to do and how doing that will help women.
This was a short book which I read with a highlighter in hand.
This was a short book which I read with a highlighter in hand.
May 18, 2022
3 stars, not because I disagree with anything, but more because I’m not sure this book adds much to the conversation. Peacock and Strachan make some good consistently complimentarian points, but I don’t think they’re presented in a way that would help someone unsure of that position, and those who have already landed there wouldn’t be learning much new.
February 8, 2020
The low stars have little to nothing to do with the content. However, the writing was dull and repetitive. It seems like the book could have been cut in half and accomplished the same amount of content delivered.
April 28, 2020
This is a solid book on God-given gender roles. It is thorough in its theological exegesis and doxilogical application. My only pushback on this book is its position on the eternal submission of the Son. Other than that, the book really is good.
August 3, 2020
The best short introduction to this topic.
This is the best short introduction to biblical manhood and womanhood. It is engaging, accessible, and thorough. As a pastor this will be the first book I recommend to people for their understanding of this important issue.
This is the best short introduction to biblical manhood and womanhood. It is engaging, accessible, and thorough. As a pastor this will be the first book I recommend to people for their understanding of this important issue.
May 14, 2021
Absolutely amazing! This book talks about what biblical manhood and biblical womanhood is in a straightforward and practical way. It also talks a lot about the complementarian view of marriage and the different roles of husband and wife. Short book, easy read, very powerful. Highly recommended!
January 6, 2025
They make a great case for complementarianism. They say we are born with an egalitarian impulse which was interesting. God’s design depends so much on obedient men stepping up to the role God gave them in the Creation order.
March 24, 2018
Helpful primer on a broad view of complementarian theology. I think their arguments could be shored up in a few places by more careful exegesis, but I agree with virtually all of their conclusions.
December 31, 2023
EXCELLENT!
March 31, 2024
This book does a wonderful job at laying out the fundamental identities of man and woman. Highly recommended for anyone who is confused or discouraged in their gender role.
April 9, 2024
Teaches EFS and social Trinitarianism. The gender stuff is fine and I agree. But major Trinitarian error is a no go.
January 13, 2024
2nd best book of 2023
An excellent explanation of how God made men and women different and how that is a good thing.
A must read. Also an easy read.
An excellent explanation of how God made men and women different and how that is a good thing.
A must read. Also an easy read.
May 16, 2016
It is hard not to lay the current transgender controversy at the feet of the egalitarian movement in our nation and in the church. If the roles and responsibilities of men and women are exactly the same, can anyone really be surprised that we have reached a point in our culture when boys want to be girls and girls want to be boys?
"The Grand Design" is basically a defense of complementarianism, but with special consideration of how it relates to the increasing acceptance of gender fluidity. It is a strong, biblical, gracious and unapologetic call to men to act like men, and women to act like women. The writing is punchy and vivid, and everything is saturated by the grace of the Gospel.
If I had a lot of money, I'd buy hundreds of these and hand them out to everyone. It is certain to be offensive to many, but is a necessary and timely word for the church and our culture.
"The Grand Design" is basically a defense of complementarianism, but with special consideration of how it relates to the increasing acceptance of gender fluidity. It is a strong, biblical, gracious and unapologetic call to men to act like men, and women to act like women. The writing is punchy and vivid, and everything is saturated by the grace of the Gospel.
If I had a lot of money, I'd buy hundreds of these and hand them out to everyone. It is certain to be offensive to many, but is a necessary and timely word for the church and our culture.
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