The Gospel According to Genesis - Genesis 2 (Part 6)

Genesis 2:18–25 NASB95

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Everything in God’s Creation was Good…

Except for 1 Thing:

Genesis 2:18 (CSB)

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

It’s Been a Temptation for Some to Misuse this Word “Helper”

It Doesn’t Mean that God Gave Adam a Subordinate:

Someone Lesser Than Himself

Someone Inferior to Himself

“Helper” is Found 16 Times in the Hebrew OT

11 Out of Those 16 Times…

It’s Referring to God Being the Helper of His People

“Helper” Doesn’t Refer to a Servant/Subordinate

It Refers to One Who:

Helps You Out of a Mess

Helps You Fulfill a Purpose

Man Needed Someone to Help Him Fulfill Humanity’s Purpose

And it Needed to Be Someone Who “Corresponds” to Him

Someone Who is Like Him, But Different

Someone Who Complements Him

Someone Who Completes Him

Someone Who can Offer/Accomplish…

That Which He Can’t Offer/Accomplish Himself

The Rest of the Text Shows Us How God Resolved this Problem:

Genesis 2:19–20 (CSB)

19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him.

So, None of the Animals will Do as a Proper Helper

Genesis 2:21–22 (CSB)

21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

There’s Lots of Interesting Things to Think about Here:

God Performs the 1st Surgery By Putting Adam Under Divine Anesthesia

Then Most of Our Translations Say that God Removed One of His Ribs…

And Stitched Him Back Up

And Out of that Rib, God “Built” the 1st Woman

But When You Look at the Word for “Rib”…

This is the Only Context Where it Refers to a Part of the Human Body

Almost Everywhere Else it’s Used in Architectural Contexts

It Typically Refers to the “Side” of a Building

To Translate Literally:

“God Took One of His Sides”

It Creates the Imagery of God Splitting Adam in Half…

And Taking One of Those Halves to Build Eve

Then He Brought Eve to Adam

And Upon Seeing Eve, Adam Responds with a Song…

(Which is Also His First Recorded Words):

Genesis 2:23 (NLT)

23 “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”

He was Excited to Finally See Someone that Corresponded to Him

A Helper that was Not Simply Like Him…

But was Literally Made From Him

God Made Man Out of Dirt & Breathed Life into Him

But He Didn’t Make Woman Out of Dirt

He Made Her Out of Man

God Wanted Man & Woman to Be So Intimately Connected…

That When They Join Together & Commit Themselves to Each Other…

They are No Longer are 2 Individuals…

But 1 Flesh

Genesis 2:24 (NLT)

24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

In Marriage, One’s Greatest Loyalty/Allegiance/Commitment…

Is Transferred from One’s Parents to One’s Spouse

When a Man & Woman Get Married…

They’re Like 2 Halves…

That Come Together to Make a Whole

They Become “One Flesh”

Marriage is the Closest of All Human Bonds/Unity

And this Bond/Unity was Never Meant to Be Broken

Jesus Spoke as Plainly as He could Concerning that Fact:

Matthew 19:4–6 (NIV)

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

We could Go into More Detail on What Jesus Says about MDR…

But the Point that Needs to Be Made Here…

Is Not “What Exceptions Do We have to the Rule?”…

But “What is the Rule?”:

The Marriage Covenant was Never Meant to Be Broken

God Never Wanted Divorce

God’s Greatest Desire is Unity, Love, & Commitment

And in the Case of Disunity, Hatred, & Broken Commitments…

God’s Greatest Desire is Reconciliation

Paul Gives Us an Illustration…

Of a Relationship Between God & His People…

Under the New Covenant

If You Want to Know What the Marriage Relationship should Look Like…

Then Look No Further than the Relationship…

Between Jesus & His Church

Ephesians 5:22–24 (CSB)

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

In Marriage, God has Designed for:

Husbands to Be the Head/Leader/Authority

Wives to Be Submissive to the Husband

Just as We, the Church, are to Completely Submit in All Ways to Jesus…

Wives are to Be Completely Submissive in All Ways to Their Husbands

This isn’t a Responsibility Wives should Begrudgingly Take

Do We as Christians Begrudgingly Submit Ourselves to Jesus?

No, We Gladly Submit to Him…

Because of the Self-Sacrificial Love He’s Shown to Us

Husbands, that’s Where Our Responsibility Comes in:

Ephesians 5:25–30 (CSB)

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.

28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.

Husbands are to Love Their Wives…

Just as Jesus Loved the Church

In What Way Did Jesus Love the Church?

He Gave His Life for the Church…

To Provide Her with Everything She Needs

Husbands are to Love Our Wives as We Love Our Own Bodies

When a Husband Looks at His Wife…

He isn’t Looking at Someone Separate from Himself

He is Looking at His Own Body/Flesh

This is How Jesus Looks at Us, the Church

We are His Body

He is Our Head

We Totally Submit to His Will

We Do Whatever He Wants Us to Do

We Follow His Every Command/Desire

He Totally Loves Us

He Gave His Life to Provide Us with All that We Need

Everything He’s Done, is Doing, and Will Do…

Is for the Benefit of His Church

This is How the Marriage Relationship is to Operate:

Wives, Out of Respect for Their Husbands…

Willingly & Gladly Submit to Their Husbands

Husbands, Out of Love for Their Wives…

Are Willing to Do Whatever it Takes…

To Protect, Honor, & Bless Their Wives

When Both, Husband & Wife…

Are Willing to Commit to Their Roles & Responsibilities:

Marriage Becomes this Beautiful Picture of Jesus & His Church

Marriage is Happy, Joyful, Peaceful, & Attractive

Marriage is “Good”

Marriage was the Solution to the One Problem that Existed in Creation

“It is Not Good for Man to Be Alone”

Therefore God Made Woman…

And God Made Marriage

Man Needed a Helper to Fulfill His God-Given Purpose

And that is Still True Today as Well

I Don’t Mean You Must Be Married to Fulfill God’s Purpose

Though Marriage is a Good Thing…

When Done as God Designed

When Marriage is Done Right…

It is One of the Most Powerful Influences for Good in this World

But, the Scriptures are Clear:

A Person Doesn’t have to Be Married to Glorify God

That’s Not the Application We’re to Take from this

A Person Doesn’t have to Be Married to Fulfill God’s Purpose/Will

But a Person Can’t Fulfill God’s Purpose/Will Alone

None of Us are Capable of Being What God Wants Us to Be Alone

It’s Not Good for People to Be Alone

God Created Humanity to Be Together

We Need Family

We Need Community

This is Why God Gave Us the Church

The Church Gathers Together…

For Mutual Encouragement & Edification

To Encourage One Another to Keep the Faith…

And to Do Good Works

To Edify/Build One Another Up…

And Grow Together in Knowledge, Faith, Hope, & Love

These are Things You Can’t/Won’t have Alone

We’re Not Meant to Live this Christian Life Alone

We’re Meant to Live it in Community

And There’s Nothing More “Good”…

Than Being Part of a Community…

Whose Purpose it is:

To Love One Another

To Serve One Another

To Bear One Another’s Burdens

To Build One Another Up

To Encourage One Another to Keep Going

We Live in a Time…

When People are More Connected to the World Around Them than Ever Before…

While Simultaneously Being Completely Disconnected from Everyone

People are Longing for:

Relationships

Family

Community

Love

And When the Church is Community…

Focused on Loving, Serving, Edifying, & Encouraging Each Other…

People Within & Without are Drawn to it

The Church is All about Togetherness

It’s about Helping Each Other to Be More Like Jesus

We Need Each Other…

Because It’s Not Good for People to Be Alone