Eve: Mother of All Living

Eve was truly a unique creation. She was the only created being that was directly created from living tissue of another creature. God created the Universe out of nothing (or ex nihilo). God then created Man from the dust of the ground. But nothing in all of creation was more wonderful than Eve being created from a handful of Adam. If man represents the supreme species created, then Eve is the living embodiment of humanity’s glory. says that man is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. Eve then was the finishing touch the pinnacle of all creation.

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Her Creation

When we look at the creation of Eve, it strikes me that God performed a surgical procedure on Adam. It says that God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, in other words God anesthetized Adam. It is interesting to note that this account in Genesis is what led to the creation of Anesthesia for surgical and dental procedures. William Thomas Green Morton was a dentist and in 1846 used inhaled ether to put his patients to sleep in order to perform procedures. He said that he read this passage in and it made him think about finding a way for man to do that in his time. I also feel this picture perfectly encapsulated God’s Grace.

We find Adam in a pure passive restful sleep given to him by God at the end of which he receives a partner a wonderful gift from God a partner. There is no indication in this passage that Adam was lonely, or that he asked for a wife. In fact it is quite the opposite, God creates Adam and gives him a task, name the animals, and while doing this God shows his wonderful grace toward Adam and sees something that Adam needed that he didn’t even know he needed, a wife. This is how God’s grace always works, it is free flowing from God and is never set in motion by by any effort or activity or volunteerism on our part. Adam certainly wasn’t given any condition to fulfill as a prerequisite to receive God’s kindness. God himself instigated the whole event and single-handedly brought it to pass as an expression of sheer grace and benevolence to Adam. Adam did contribute a rib to the endeavor, but that was done while he was asleep. This work was wholly and completely God’s.

Let us now take a closer look at

Adam’s side was open, a rib was carefully removed, and the incision was closed again. In the pre-fall garden Adam had the most skilled surgeon of all time. There was no risk of post-operative complication such as infection, and I would imagine no pain nor even a scar. He simply had a redundant bone removed, something Adam would never miss, and from that recieved the one thing he lacked: a soul-mate. Adam lost a rib, and gained a loving companion, created especially for him. tells us that God is the giver every good and perfect gift, and Adam certainly recieved a good gift.

The Hebrew wording here again paints a picture that Eve was carefully created and designed. Literally it means that God built a woman. He carefully assembled a whole new creature with just the right set of attributes to make her the ideal mate for Adam. Again this illustrates the goodness of God’s grace and the perfect wisdom of His will. Can you image Adam waking up and finding Eve? He must have been overjoyed! His first words give us a glimpse of this joy, wonder, and abiding satisfaction as he said “this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Clearly he felt a deep personal attachment to Eve. I think it is fair to say that Adam experienced true love at first sight. Instantly Adam adored her and embraced her as his own.

The unique method of Eve’s creation is deliberately emphasized, I believe, in order to remind us of several crucial truths about womanhood in general.

First Truth

First, it speaks of Eve’s fundamental equality with Adam. The woman was “taken out of man.” Or to say it another way, Adam and Eve shared the same essential nature. She was not a different kind of creature; she was of exactly the same essence as Adam and was made of the same stuff as Adam as she was taken literally from Adam. This makes Eve in no way an inferior character made merely to serve him. Instead she was his she was his spiritual counterpart, his intellectual coequal, and in every sense his perfect mate and companion.

Second Truth

Second, the way Eve was created reminds us of the essential unity that is the ideal in every marriage relationship. Jesus referred to Eve’s creation in to prove that God’s plan for marriage was established at the very beginning of human history and was based on the principles of monogamy, unity, and devotion to one another. “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Whatever therefore God has joined together let not man separate.” The one-flesh principle that is described in Matthew is perfectly illustrated in the method of Eve’s creation and is the foundation of the principle.

Third Truth

Third, the circumstances of Eve's creation illustrate how deep and meaningful the marriage of a husband and wife is designed to be. It is not merely a physical union, but a union of the heart and soul as well. Eve was Adam’s complement in every sense, designed by God to be the ideal soul-companion for him. And the intimacy of her relationship with her husband derives from her being literally taken from his side. Matthew Henry wrote the following in describing this passage in Genesis: “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” These words have resonated through the years and are often adapted and quoted in marriage ceremonies. This beautiful quote accords well with what Scripture teaches as the proper relationship between husbands and wives. It reminds us, again, of how Scripture exalts women.

Fourth Truth

Fourth, Eve’s creation contains some important biblical lessons about the divinely-designed role of women. Although Eve was spiritually and intellectually Adam’s peer and equal in standing before God; there is nonetheless a clear distinction in their earthly roles. This was by God’s own deliberate design. Adam was created first; then Eve was made to fill the void in Adam’s existence. Adam was the head; Eve was his helper. Adam was designed to be a father, provider, protector, and leader. Eve was designed to be a mother, comforter, nurturer, and helper.

Adam was the representative representative head and progenitor for the whole human race. Eve, although given a subordinate role, was Adam’s spiritual and intellectual equal. She was his “helper,” not his supervisor nor his slave. By calling Eve a “helper,” Scripture stresses the mutuality and complementary nature of the partnership. Eve was in no way inferior to her husband, but she was nonetheless given a role that was subordinate to his leadership.

I know in my own life Sarah has really made me a more complete person. She has definitely been a partner and equal, but her gentle spirit has helped rub off some of my sharper edges. She has soothed my impulsiveness and reactionary tendencies in the same way water tempers hot steel making it strong but not brittle, firm yet still flexible.

Adam and Eve existed in perfect unity in the Garden just as God intended them to live; however, we know that this paradise would not last and soon Eve will become an unwitting portal through which the great tempter gained access to assault Adam.

Let’s Pray.