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ADAM, EVE, AND MARRIAGE TODAY Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Ephesians 5:22-25; Genesis 1-3 January 17th, 2010
[22]Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. [23]For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. [24]Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Andreas Köstenberger writes in his book, God, Marriage and the Family: In exploring the biblical teaching on marriage, there is no more important paradigm than God’s intended pattern for marriage presented in Genesis 1—3… the early chapters of this book [Genesis] provide the parameters of the Creator’s design for marriage in every age. This is reflected in Jesus’ and Paul’s teaching and applies to our own age as well…What are the foundational teachings on the family, societal structures, and sin? (from Kindle, Location 623) We are people who are called to live by faith…faith in a God is infinitely glorious, wise, holy, loving and sovereign. This God has made a world that is good according to design – we are wise to trust him for what is good and what is not good. This includes His plan for marriage and the roles of husband and wife. When we trust and obey God in His plan, it will go well with us. When we don’t, that is when things truly fall apart. Let me begin with a wonderful illustration that I read this week from The Pastor’s Daughter by Louisa Hopkins. This story I call – “Three Silver Trouts” “Three Silver Trouts” By Louisa Payson Hopkins From her book The Pastor’s Daughter The father said to his daughter: There were once three little silver trouts, who lived in a stream of clear water, which ran between two high green banks. The banks protected it from the wind and storms, so that the water was always smooth; and as the sun shone there, it was a very delightful place. Besides, these little fishes had plenty to eat and drink, and nothing to trouble them; so that you would have expected them to be perfectly happy. But alas it was not so; these little trouts were so foolish as to be discontented and unhappy, and God heard them complaining. So he told the little fishes that each of them might wish for whatever he pleased, and ft should be granted. So the first little trout said, ‘ I am tired of moping up here in the water, and of having to stay all the time in one place; I should like to have wings, to fly in the air as the birds do, and go where I pleased.’ The next said, ‘ I am a poor, ignorant little fish, and I do not know how to protect myself from danger; I should like to have a great deal of knowledge, and understand all about hooks and nets, so that I might always keep out of danger.’ The other little trout said, ‘I too am a poor, ignorant little fish, and for that reason, I do not know what is best for me; my wish is that God would take care of me, and give me just what he sees best for me; I do not want any thing that he does not choose to give me.’ So God gave wings to the first, and he was very happy, and soared away into the air, and felt very proud, and despised his companions whom he had left in the river. He liked so much to fly, that he flew away off, till he came to a great desert, where there was no water, nothing but sand as far as he could see. By this time he was tired of flying, and was faint and thirsty, but he could see no water. He tried to fly farther, but could not; his wings failed, and he fell down panting on the hot sand, where he died miserably. “And God gave the second little fish knowledge, as he had desired, and he understood all kinds of danger; but instead of being happier, he was all the time in terror. He was afraid to go into the deep water, lest the great fishes there should swallow him up; and he was afraid to go into the shallow water, lest it should dry up and leave him. If he saw a fly, or any thing that he would like to eat, he did not venture to touch it, lest there should be a hook concealed under it. So he pined away and died. “But God loved the other little trout, and took’ care of him, and kept him from all dangers, so that he was the happiest little trout that ever lived. And now, which of the three fishes was the wisest?” “0, the last, papa. But I am sorry for the two poor little fishes that died. They were not much to blame, papa, after all; they didn’t know what would happen to them.” “No, certainly they did not; they were to blame for not being satisfied with what God had given them, and believing that he knew best” I think we are too much like the first 2 trouts, when God calls us to be like the third trout. This morning I want to look at God’s revealed plan for marriage by looking at Genesis 1-3. I like how Köstenberger summarizes three important categories in these chapters that relate to marriage which I want to bring out this morning: These are: (1) the man and the woman are created in God’s image to rule the earth for God; (2) the man is created first and is given ultimate responsibility for the marriage relationship, while the woman is placed alongside the man as his “suitable helper”; and (3) the fall of humanity entails negative consequences for both the man and the woman. 1. Created in God’s Image to Rule the Earth for God Genesis 1:26-27 [26]Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." [27]So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
What does it mean that He made man in His own image? He made them as His representative authority to rule on the earth that He made. Both of them together – with the husband responsible. What was the ruling that they were to do? Along with the dominion over the animals in verse 26 we see… Genesis 1:28-30 [28]And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." [29]And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. [30]And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. (ESV) Genesis 2:15 [15]The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (ESV)
2. The Man’s Ultimate Responsibility for the Marriage and the Wife’s Role as His “Suitable Helper” We see this in chapters 2-3 (before and after the fall). God made man first: (Paul points this out with significance – 1 Cor 11) Genesis 2:7-9 [7]then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. [8]And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. [9]And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (ESV) He gave Adam alone instructions and warnings: Genesis 2:15-17 [15]The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. [16]And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, [17]but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (ESV) God Made a “Suitable Helper” for Adam and from Adam: Genesis 2:18-22 [18]Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." [19]Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. [20]The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. [21]So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. [22]And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. (ESV) This is CRUCIAL! We need to get this. This is where so many marriage just don’t get it. Feminism seeks to deride this plan to the detriment of women. God have man a vocation and task and He gave him a wife to help him. I love how Douglas Wilson says it in Reforming Marriage: As a result of the creation order, men and women are oriented to one another differently. They need one another, but they need one another dfferent1y. The man needs the help; the woman needs to help. Marriage was created by God to provide companionship in the labor of dominion. The cultural mandate, the requirement to fill and subdue the earth, is still in force, and a husband cannot fulfill this portion of the task in isolation. He needs a companion suitable for him in the work to which God has called him. He is called to the work and must receive help from her. She is called to the work through ministering to him. He is oriented to the task, and she is oriented to him. Elsewhere he writes: A properly-ordered relationship is one in which the man knows he was created by God to accomplish a particular task, and he knows that his wife was created by God to help him with that task. He was created for the glory of God, and although it may be frightening to say, she was created for him (i Cor. 11:7—8). What is this task - Figure it out! Look to the Word – Be a Disciple and Make Disciples of Your Family First… Adam Gives the Women a Name (twice – before and after the fall – see 3:20) It says that God united them in marriage. Here we have God’s pattern for all marriage at all times: One man with one woman in a one flesh relationship with the man called to a task and a women to help in the task – both equal image bearers of God. More than this we see the differences in their roles in the resulting events of the fall: God hold’s Adam responsible for the sin in the garden even though it was Eve who sinned first: Genesis 3:9-10 [9]But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" [10]And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." (ESV) “Indeed, since these functional differences are part of the Creator’s design, it is only when men and women embrace their God-ordained roles that they will be truly fulfilled and that God’s creational wisdom will be fully displayed and exalted.” (Köstenberger)
3. The Fall of Humanity and Its Consequences There were many consequences to both the man and woman as a result of the fall. We see it in the fall itself: - Role Reversals God who is to Rule over all is challenged… The Woman is Out in Front: Genesis 3:1-6 [3:1]Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" [2]And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, [3]but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" [4]But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. [5]For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." [6]So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (ESV) Both recognize their nakedness and are ashamed as sinners. Adam starts the problem of the blame-game: Genesis 3:11-13 [11]He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" [12]The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." [13]Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (ESV) Effects of the Fall on Wives and Women: Genesis 3:16 [16]To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." Effects of the fall for Men and Husbands: Genesis 3:17-19 [17]And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; [18]thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. [19]By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Both will die. They were cast out of the garden: Genesis 3:23-24 [23]therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. [24]He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (ESV)
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