For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man. For indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. - 1 Corinthians 11:8-9
Before we get into today's message, let’s take a quick look back at what we talked about last Sunday. God planted a garden in Eden. On the 6th Day of creation, He formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. God placed this man in the garden. He told the man that he could eat freely from any of the trees that were in it except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
This morning we will study the remaining verses of Genesis 2, beginning with verse 18. I have titled this sermon “Eve and the Institution of Marriage”. It consists of 3 main topics - Adam’s search to find a helper, God’s creation of a helper for him, and the proper relationship they would share. Open your Bibles and let’s begin…
I. AN UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH (v18-20)
God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. He decided to make a suitable helper for him. God brought many kinds of animals to the man in order that he could name them. Adam gave names to all the cattle, birds of the sky, and beasts of the field, but no suitable helper from among them was found for him.
For the 1st time, God stated that something “was not good”. Man was not intended to be alone. God had commanded him to rule over creation and be fruitful and multiply. He needed a companion to accomplish these tasks. Furthermore, just the 3 co-equal Persons of the God-head exist in perfect harmony with each other, so also man was designed to live in relationship, fellowship, and community with God and other people. This is yet another reflection of how mankind is made “in the image of God”. Therefore, the LORD planned to make a helper for him.
Before doing so, however, God brought many animals to Adam in order that he might name them. The types of animals that came before Adam had also been made from the ground and created in 2 genders - male and female. They had been commanded to be fruitful and multiply. While Adam was to name these animals, it seems that an alternate and perhaps greater purpose for this exercise was to show Adam how each of these creatures had a companion.
Some young earth skeptics argue that Adam could not have possibly named all the animals in a single 24-hour day. However, the Bible doesn’t say that he named all the animals - just the cattle, birds, and beasts of the field. He didn’t name the marine animals, insects, or “creeping things” (smaller animals). Furthermore, he likely didn’t name every individual species, but rather every “kind” or family. This reduces the number in question to 200 or less. In addition, God brought the animals to him, thereby making the entire process more efficient and easy to complete in just a few hours.
After observing and naming the animals that came to him, Adam realized that none of them would make a suitable companion for him. He needed someone like himself, another person, to be his helper and counterpart. His unsuccessful search of the animals served to increase his appreciation for the special person that God was about to create.
II. A HELPER IS MADE (v21-23)
God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. Then, while he was sleeping, the LORD took 1 of Adam’s ribs and closed up his flesh at that place. Next, God fashioned the rib He had taken into a woman and brought her to the man. Adam was delighted and declared, “Finally I have someone like me!” He called her Woman, because she had been taken out of man.
God purposefully made the woman (Eve) from Adam’s rib, which can also be translated “side”. In this way, He showed that man and woman were equal, both made of the same substance. Furthermore, by using a rib from Adam’s side God pictured that man and woman were to walk side by side as companions and co-regents over creation. She was the suitable helper that God intended and that man desired and needed. More than that, she was a part of him - literally having been formed from his rib.
The Bible does not say explicitly that God breathed the breath of life into Eve. Whether He did or did not, she became a living being, who like Adam, had both a physical and spiritual make up. Both male and female were created in the image of God, they are equal in worth, yet are distinct in design. Eve was made to complement and help Adam. Neither he nor she is complete without the other.
III. MARRIAGE AND INNOCENCE (v24-25)
God created the woman for the man and from the man (they truly were “one flesh”). Then He brought her to the man. Following this model, the Bible teaches that an adult man should leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. The couple should be unified in every way - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and so forth. Together they form “one flesh”, inseparably bound to one another.
The relationship between Adam and Eve is generally regarded as the 1st marriage. It was performed by God Himself. The LORD established the institution of marriage as the foundation of the home, church, and society at large. This is why Satan attacks it so ruthlessly. Although the word marriage is never used in this passage, Jesus apparently considered Adam and Eve to be a married couple. He quoted this passage while teaching on the topic of marriage and divorce (Mark 10:6-9).
The man and wife were both naked and were not ashamed. While this statement aptly describes their physical appearance, it is more concerned with their spiritual and moral condition. Like newborn babies, they were completely innocent. They had not yet sinned against God. They had nothing to conceal from the LORD or each other, and were completely exposed. This verse serves to set the stage for the disastrous events upcoming in chapter 3.
CONCLUSION
Let’s wrap things up with a quick review:
In closing, I want to say publicly how much I love and appreciate my wife. I believe God made her especially for me and I would not be complete without her. She is the most important person in my life - more than my children, parents, grandchildren, or anyone else. She is truly a gift from God.
Next week we will begin our consideration of the most ruinous chapter in the entire Bible. The ripple effects it creates will impact everything that follows. Until then, husbands, love your wives and wives, love your husbands. This is the will of God.
Before we get into today's message, let’s take a quick look back at what we talked about last Sunday. God planted a garden in Eden. On the 6th Day of creation, He formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. God placed this man in the garden. He told the man that he could eat freely from any of the trees that were in it except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
This morning we will study the remaining verses of Genesis 2, beginning with verse 18. I have titled this sermon “Eve and the Institution of Marriage”. It consists of 3 main topics - Adam’s search to find a helper, God’s creation of a helper for him, and the proper relationship they would share. Open your Bibles and let’s begin…
I. AN UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH (v18-20)
God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. He decided to make a suitable helper for him. God brought many kinds of animals to the man in order that he could name them. Adam gave names to all the cattle, birds of the sky, and beasts of the field, but no suitable helper from among them was found for him.
For the 1st time, God stated that something “was not good”. Man was not intended to be alone. God had commanded him to rule over creation and be fruitful and multiply. He needed a companion to accomplish these tasks. Furthermore, just the 3 co-equal Persons of the God-head exist in perfect harmony with each other, so also man was designed to live in relationship, fellowship, and community with God and other people. This is yet another reflection of how mankind is made “in the image of God”. Therefore, the LORD planned to make a helper for him.
Before doing so, however, God brought many animals to Adam in order that he might name them. The types of animals that came before Adam had also been made from the ground and created in 2 genders - male and female. They had been commanded to be fruitful and multiply. While Adam was to name these animals, it seems that an alternate and perhaps greater purpose for this exercise was to show Adam how each of these creatures had a companion.
Some young earth skeptics argue that Adam could not have possibly named all the animals in a single 24-hour day. However, the Bible doesn’t say that he named all the animals - just the cattle, birds, and beasts of the field. He didn’t name the marine animals, insects, or “creeping things” (smaller animals). Furthermore, he likely didn’t name every individual species, but rather every “kind” or family. This reduces the number in question to 200 or less. In addition, God brought the animals to him, thereby making the entire process more efficient and easy to complete in just a few hours.
After observing and naming the animals that came to him, Adam realized that none of them would make a suitable companion for him. He needed someone like himself, another person, to be his helper and counterpart. His unsuccessful search of the animals served to increase his appreciation for the special person that God was about to create.
II. A HELPER IS MADE (v21-23)
God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. Then, while he was sleeping, the LORD took 1 of Adam’s ribs and closed up his flesh at that place. Next, God fashioned the rib He had taken into a woman and brought her to the man. Adam was delighted and declared, “Finally I have someone like me!” He called her Woman, because she had been taken out of man.
God purposefully made the woman (Eve) from Adam’s rib, which can also be translated “side”. In this way, He showed that man and woman were equal, both made of the same substance. Furthermore, by using a rib from Adam’s side God pictured that man and woman were to walk side by side as companions and co-regents over creation. She was the suitable helper that God intended and that man desired and needed. More than that, she was a part of him - literally having been formed from his rib.
The Bible does not say explicitly that God breathed the breath of life into Eve. Whether He did or did not, she became a living being, who like Adam, had both a physical and spiritual make up. Both male and female were created in the image of God, they are equal in worth, yet are distinct in design. Eve was made to complement and help Adam. Neither he nor she is complete without the other.
III. MARRIAGE AND INNOCENCE (v24-25)
God created the woman for the man and from the man (they truly were “one flesh”). Then He brought her to the man. Following this model, the Bible teaches that an adult man should leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. The couple should be unified in every way - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and so forth. Together they form “one flesh”, inseparably bound to one another.
The relationship between Adam and Eve is generally regarded as the 1st marriage. It was performed by God Himself. The LORD established the institution of marriage as the foundation of the home, church, and society at large. This is why Satan attacks it so ruthlessly. Although the word marriage is never used in this passage, Jesus apparently considered Adam and Eve to be a married couple. He quoted this passage while teaching on the topic of marriage and divorce (Mark 10:6-9).
The man and wife were both naked and were not ashamed. While this statement aptly describes their physical appearance, it is more concerned with their spiritual and moral condition. Like newborn babies, they were completely innocent. They had not yet sinned against God. They had nothing to conceal from the LORD or each other, and were completely exposed. This verse serves to set the stage for the disastrous events upcoming in chapter 3.
CONCLUSION
Let’s wrap things up with a quick review:
- It is not good for man to be alone. Stated another way, God’s creation is not good without women in it. This speaks to the immeasurable importance and value of women.
- Men and women were created to complement each other. They are both created in the image of God and are of equal worth. That said, they are distinctly different from each other and serve different roles in accordance with God’s design.
- Marriage is a covenant relationship between 1 man and 1 woman who together become “one flesh”, as modeled by the union between Adam and Eve.
In closing, I want to say publicly how much I love and appreciate my wife. I believe God made her especially for me and I would not be complete without her. She is the most important person in my life - more than my children, parents, grandchildren, or anyone else. She is truly a gift from God.
Next week we will begin our consideration of the most ruinous chapter in the entire Bible. The ripple effects it creates will impact everything that follows. Until then, husbands, love your wives and wives, love your husbands. This is the will of God.