God Created Man and Woman
In the Beginning • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro: This is now week 3 in our study of Genesis. Before we get started, I wanted to take a moment to reiterate how important a thorough study of Genesis is to understanding our faith. It is unfortunate that today there are those even in pulpits that have made ridiculous claims about the Old Testament being unimportant to today’s Christians.
To undergird how important it is to study, I have made a list of the New Testament books that quote from Genesis:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, Hebrews, James,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, Hebrews, James,
1& 2 Peter, 1 John, Jude, Revelation
1& 2 Peter, 1 John, Jude, Revelation
So out of 27 books in the N.T. only 7 do not quote or allude to Genesis.
Now to show you the extend that the other 20 books rely on Genesis as the backbone of the teaching, I have printed them out for you to see. I need a volunteer.
This is why we are studying Genesis. It undergirds everything in scripture. This is why we have to be careful in our study and interpretation because it is the foundation for the rest of scripture.
Now just in review we talked about how a ancient Hebrew way of telling a story is to tell an overview than give you the details of how it was done. Today we are going to continue in Genesis 2 and look at the creation account of Adam and Eve.
These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground.
But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground.
Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed.
The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river went out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers.
The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.
Gold from that land is pure; bdellium and onyx are also there.
The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush.
The name of the third river is Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
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.
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 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.
Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.
And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man.
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
The first thing that I want you to notice is that God created on earth a special place for man to live. It wasn’t just Eden but rather a garden in Eden.
We will see in the next chapter that the Garden of Eden was the place where heaven met earth. The place where God dwelled with His creation.
I want you to think about that idea for just a moment. God is spirit and his creation is physical. Yet Adam and Eve were the union of both the physical and spiritual and God would communicate with them in a place where heaven met earth.
We see this imagery again in the N. T. with the New Jersualem, this city coming to the new earth to dwell with man. Its the picture of the Garden all over again. It’s the restoration of what once was. Well come back to that idea next week.
I. God created Adam with a purpose, a job.
I. God created Adam with a purpose, a job.
no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground.
The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.
We see that his job was to watch over all creation and to extend the garden- the whole earth was to be God’s dwelling place. I don’t have a lot of time to get into this this morning. But the language used in creation is some of the same language used in temple building. In fact we see that Adam was even given instructions about where to find gold and precious jewels. So the Garden was in a sense God’s temple.
God gave Solomon the instructions to build a temple, a place where God met with man on earth. Not that God needs a place nor does he need man. God enjoys involving his creation in his work. He enjoys engaging with man.
Fathers do you enjoy allowing your kids to “help” you in your hobbies or work? It’s fun to have your kids involved and enjoy doing the same things you do. Where does this come from. I would suggest to you from God. In fact, we see this same idea throughout scripture. God does not need the angels inorder for His will to be accompished. So why use them. God enjoys having His creation involved in Hos work.
Adam’s job was to extend Eden through out the earth, like a temple. He was to steward creation. Direct it, nurture it, Help it to become all that it could be.
Trans: But in this process God showed Adam something.....
II. God allowed Adam to discover his need.
II. God allowed Adam to discover his need.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
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.
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 God brings all of the animals before Adam. Like a parent that can’t wait to surprise there kids with a puppy or kitten. We can’t wait to see both the joy of the experience and what will our kids name the pet.
Can you picture God’s joy here? God is just enjoying this moment.
Now We also understand in Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
Man was to rule over these things. In the Ancient near east to name something meant to show authority over it.
Think with me when Daniel was taken captive from Israel into Babylon. The King gave him a new name, Belshazzar. When God Called Abram and Sarah, he gave them a new name.
When Jesus called Simon he renamed him Peter. When he called Saul of Tarsus he renamed him Paul. So naming is a sign of authority.
Adam was showing his authority but his authority is not just one of dominance, it was one of service. He was to serve the creation and steward it for the glory of God.
He was Servant ruler. Just like Jesus. Now keep that in the back of your mind.
God also has another purpose. He is letting Adam discover that by himself he is not complete. There is something missing.
Isn’t that just like God in salvation. Doesn’t God allow things to happen in our lives for us to discover that we are not complete in of ourselves. That we have a need that only he can fulfill.
Adam realizes that he cannot possible fulfill all that he is to accomplish by himself.
III. God Rescues Adam
III. God Rescues Adam
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
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.
Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.
How does God rescue Adam?
Turn with me to Exodus 18:4
and the other Eliezer (because he had said, “The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword”).
Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation.
What do we notice about the usage of the word “helper”?
Does “helper” mean bondage or slave of? Does “helper”mean less than the one being helped.
No, it means rescuer....
This is why I cringe inside when I hear young woman say , “ I can do anything that a man can do” Yes, you may be physically be able to. But why would you want too?
Young women, please hear me out. You are a picture of God’s salvation you do no need to feel less than or in competition with men.
You by your nature and gifting do what men cannot! If you strive to compete with men you will miss the beauty and elevated position that God has given you, as a rescuer. You are an image of Christ.
The world doesn’t need women to become like men. We need woman who recognize their value and live in their God given mission.
Ladies please listen to me, whether or not a man recognizes your value or not, Which I believe that is the root of this competition, God does.
Don’t let the foolishness of some men deceive you into believing that you are more valuable the closer you get to behaving like a man. Instead live in the fullness of what it means to be a woman in the kingdom of God.
You see God created only two sexes. They are distinctly different yet of equal value. Women you are of equal worth.
In fact, Just like Adams function was to joyfully serve all of creation to make it all it could be. Eve’s purpose was to also serve and to help her husband become all that he could be. Equal but different. They are both created for service.
But there is an authority structure given. So if woman and men are of equal value. Why are women told to submit to their own husbands?
III. The Family Structure
III. The Family Structure
Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.
And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man.
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
So we see the same pattern. Adam named Eve “woman”. Later on he changed her name to “Eve” - which means mother of all living”.
But as we already established. The purpose of Adam’s authority was what to serve all of creation for the Glory of God.
In the same way. Adam is not in charge of Eve because he needs someone to boss around. His authority is meant for service and stewardship for the Glory of God.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her
Does Christ have authority over the church? Yes, but he used his authority how? To steward the church sacrificially.
who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.
Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.
For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth—
Men if you are to fulfill your God given role you must value and serve your wife. Your authority is not to be exploited.
Do you see How both men and women are image Jesus Christ? Equal in value, different functions.
IV. Authority in the church
IV. Authority in the church
This is the same reason why God has chosen men to be elders and pastors. Not because they are better than woman but because of His design.
Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,
but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.
A woman is to learn quietly with full submission.
I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.
For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
The phrase “remain quiet” doesn’t mean they cannot have an opinion but rather they cannot use their voice to exercise authority as elders in the church.
The argument for this solidly points back to the design in creation.
Why because both men and women image Christ in different ways. Both are of equal value and importance but distinctly different.
Lets think a minute about all of the images that are currently being destroyed in our culture.
The rainbow - a beautiful promise that God will never again flood the earth. Now being used as a symbol Pride and sin.
Genders - Now we are redefining these terms to hide the image of Christ that we represent.
Marriage & Sex - symbolizes God’s love and fidelity to us, Christ’s love and fidelity to His Church.
the roles of men and women - removes the image of a sacrificial submissive servant.
The images matter. These images were designed to show us How God relates to His people and his Church. It has nothing to do with ability, intelligence or worth, but His image.
It is way more sinister than it looks on the surface, The enemy is trying to hide the image of God in creation from His creation, you and me.
By living our your God given roles you image Christ. So women don’t let anyone tell you that being a woman is not as important as a man. Men don’t believe that being a man makes you superior or a dictator. You were designed to be a servant leader.
When we live this way life works. Marriages work, families work and the church function as it should, a beautiful image of our creator.
As we close, I just want to point out that we are living in a day that seeks to hide the image of God and distort the truth. We as God’s people must trust His design and image him well.