Well, I invite you to open up to Genesis once again. We are studying the book of Genesis together as a church, slowly making our way. Today we're going to be in Genesis chapter 2, and we're going to consider verses 4 through 25. If there are kids in the service, I see some of you have already grabbed it, but we do have activity sheets in the back for you to use and engage with and even take notes with after service. We do bribe our children that should you complete that or show some work done, we have some fruit snacks for you after service as well. And so Genesis 22, we're going to be looking at this second account of the creation, a more zoomed in account, particularly that focuses on the creation of man and woman, as we'll see later, of the first marriage as well. But as we get settled there, you guys may be well aware of this in your own life, but one of the things that we're going to see in this passage is that you can take good things put them together to make even better things, right? Two good things put together sometimes create something that is not just good, but very good. This isn't always the case. I'm not personally a fan of certain combinations of things, particularly with regards to food. But there are some things that when you put them together are phenomenal, right? The best example that I can think of is chocolate. Good, right? Peanut butter. Good. Chocolate and peanut butter. Very good. Okay, so if anybody bakes dessert for the Kramers, you now know what the two most essential ingredients are for that dessert, right? I mean, it's not fair. Peanut butter just kind of pairs good with a lot of things. You can do the same thing with peanut butter, jelly. Very good. For my kids, being in a household with four kids under the age of 10, you take something like pasta, good. Cheese, good. Mac and cheese, if you ask my children, very good. Okay? But it's not just food, although most examples come with food. Like it or not, this could be used for bad purposes or be a distraction at times, but you could even think of things that may be sitting in your own pocket. You take something like a phone. A phone is a good form of technology. You can think of something like a computer that has increased the productivity of man. Put them together, now you have a smartphone in your pocket, something that is very good. And so what we see in the creation account is that if we were to read Genesis 1 all over again, God is creating the heavens, he's creating the earth, he's filling it with vegetation, with animals, with creatures of all different kinds, and at the end of each day he says, it's good. It is good. It is good. But then, he comes to the sixth day of creation, and he says it is very good. Particularly, we take something good like man, and take something good like woman, and put them together. Man and woman. And it is very good. And so, as we read this account in Genesis, we're looking not only at God's good creation, but his very good creation, as it zooms in on its focus of the creation of man and woman. And there's lots of things that can be highlighted in this text. We could honestly probably spend weeks here, but I do desire to get through Genesis at some point in its entirety with you. And so what I want us to focus on is really what I believe is probably the main focus, the biggest focus in this chapter, and that is that what makes man and woman, mankind, so good above all of God's creation is that they were created for relationship. Relationship with God, as we'll see in this text, but also relationship with one another. Highlighting one relationship in particular, the relationship of a husband and a wife. And so those are going to be our two points this morning. God has created mankind for a relationship with himself. And then secondly, God has created mankind for a relationship with one another. Let us now open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 2, if you're not there already, and I would invite you to please stand for the reading of God's word, if you are willing and able. I'll begin in verse 4 and read all the way through the end of the chapter. Hear now the word of the Lord. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth, when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. And a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground. 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. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 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. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bedulam and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Kush. The name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day you eat of it, you shall surely die. Then the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper fit for him. So out of the ground, the Lord God 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. 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. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept, took one of his ribs and closed it up in its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. This is the word of God this morning. May we say together, may God apply its truth to our lives. Thank you. You may be seated. So as I stated, there are many things that could be talked about in this text, but I want to focus on those two points that this creation account, as it zooms in and takes particular focus on the creation of man and woman, illustrates, shows us rather than just tells us, mankind was made for relationship. First and foremost, mankind was made for relationship with God. We see this in the unique way that God has made man and woman. If you recall from Genesis 1, verses 26-27, mankind has the privileged position in all of creation to be made in the image of God. both male and female. We read in Genesis 1, 26 through 27, this is the word of God telling us this truth. 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 of the birds of the heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. Different personalities respond to different truths presented in different ways, right? Some of us are more factual in nature, so Genesis 1 is kind of the factual account. It straight up tells us we are created in God's image, both male and female, but But I am a bit more of a storyteller. I respond to stories. And so Genesis 2 is, in many ways, giving us the same information, but presenting it in a different way. Instead of just telling us that mankind is unique and made in the image of God, Genesis 2 is a zoomed in narrative account showing us this very same truth. That by the very nature, by the very way God went about forming man, we see their unique position in creation, our unique position in creation. were made for relationship with God because we're the only thing in all of creation that has been made in his image. And so Genesis 2 is this zoomed-in account. And so let us zoom into this account in Genesis 2, paying first close attention to the formation of Adam. If we were to look at verse 7 in Genesis 2, we see that 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. And in Genesis 1 account, we simply get that quick sweeping description that God said, let there be this, and it was so. That God created this, God created that, but this shows us that with, at least with regards to the creation of man, God did so in a very unique way. He didn't just speak man into existence, but instead were meant to think of God as a potter. stooping down to the ground, grabbing the dust of the earth and taking his time to form it into Adam. That Adam was made from the dust of the earth by the very hands of God. Not that God has hands, we're thinking about him anthropomorphically, but the idea that he was uniquely fashioned by God in an intimate way. And that intimacy is further highlighted that not only is Adam fashioned by God, molded by God, but God breathes life into Adam. And it's through that breath of life from God that Adam becomes a living being. So, Genesis 1, man is made in God's image. Genesis 2, we see God fashioning Adam in his image and breathing life into him. There's nothing in this text, in fact, as I think of this and playing out in my mind, God does not seem rushed. but instead maybe intentionally takes his time. That he's dirtying his hands to do this job, humbling himself by coming to the earth. And yes, breathing life into him. Some theologians, particularly those of the patristic era, early church fathers, will say that this is why mankind over any other creature has an immortal soul. That it's the very breath of God. He's breathing our soul, our life, our very being into us. Something that we do not see in all of the other creatures in which God has made. And so man alone very likely is the only one to be immortal. that we exist forever. Once God has created us, we exist forever because we were made in his image. Others have said that there's almost like this image of God doing CPR to bring something that is lifeless back to life. It is in many ways, a very intimate picture of creation, something that is rather personal on the account of God to do. And this process is not just unique to Adam, This is in many ways the very same process that God takes in the creation of woman as well. Not just fashioning her out of the dust of the ground, but we learn from verses 21 through 22 that God actually uses Adam's own rib. Verse 21, so the Lord 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. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. And so the idea is that intimate nature in which Adam was formed, in which God breathed life into him, that he became a living being, that same process was experienced by Eve as well. The only difference, rather than just starting with dirt, God started with the very rib of Adam, but we see both that intimate potter fashioning something very meaningful to himself for a unique purpose, to be in relationship with him. And I'm convinced that not much has changed since then. That as we think of God as the giver of life, We are still molded and fashioned in a very intimate way by this very creator. It may be hidden to the eyes, but the truth is still the same. Psalm 139 verses 13 through 14 says this, for you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. We see an intimate process in the creation of the first human beings, Adam and Eve, God fashioning them with his own hands. And the psalmist tells us that you and I are fashioned by the very hands of God as someone who is knitted together in your mother's womb. And so these things have not changed, but they remain. We have our life from God. He breathes life into us in many ways. We would not have life without that same creative power. Acts 17, 18. In him, we live and move and have our being. As even some of your own poets have said, for we are indeed his offspring. Yes, you are a product of your parents and your grandparents and your great-grandparents, but it is God who is the creator and giver of life. And he has intimately fashioned every single human being in his image. Not too different from the very way that we see him fashion Adam and Eve in this original creation account. We're all meant to be in intimate relation with him because we're all intimately made by him. You know, even to this day, maybe women more than men, we have appreciation for something that is homemade, right? That it seems to bear some greater significance that someone would take the time to make this by hand. Now, some of you may be shaking your head because it really depends who makes it. I'm not much of a craftsman myself. But this generally is true, that when something, instead of being mass produced, when it is homemade, when it has some sense of craftsmanship, it bears more meaning and more significance. I'll give you an example from our own life. If you know my wife and I, we have four kids. We've received many wonderful gifts for each one of the kids as part of their baby showers. And probably one of the more popular gifts to receive when you're having a baby shower is to get baby blankets, right? And there are all kinds of really great blankets. There's some that are really stretchy, that swaddle really well. There's some that are really soft. I'm like, can I have that? But then there's one type of blanket that we received from a family member for each one of our kids. And that was a handmade quilt. Not the softest, not the stretchiest, but the most meaningful because it was personally made for them by hand. Someone took their time. In fact, it was their great-grandmother who made these things. And so of all the baby blankets that we've received, you know, over the years as kids grow, you kind of have to decide what are we keeping and what are we getting rid of? And to my knowledge, the only baby blankets that we've really kept, or at least one of the very few, are those handmade, personal, intentional quilts that we have received. Because something that is personally handmade bears more significance. Because at the heart of it, what it illustrates is there is a unique relationship here that I would go to such great length to use my own hands to give this to you. In the same way, God shows the unique and special relationship that he has with mankind in the way that he fashions us by his own hands and breathes life into us. It's personal, it's intimate. God makes it clear in this creation account, but it's something that he's been making clear all throughout redemptive history, all throughout the Bible. God's commitment to our relationship with mankind is seen not only in creation, but I would say also in redemption. A friend of mine, when talking about the creation of Adam and Eve, has this pithy way of putting it. He says, God got muddy to create Adam, and he got bloody to create Eve. Right? There's a little bit of a surgical process there, potentially. Kind of helps us remember. But this is how God initiated a relationship with mankind, is that he made them by getting muddy, and yes, potentially even getting bloody. This isn't just how mankind was made to be in relationship, but this is how God has repaired our relationship with him as well. Many of you know that as we continue to read in Genesis, Genesis 3, we're going to see the fall. We're going to see sin separate that perfect relationship that mankind has with God. And so we were created for this relationship, and now this relationship is broken. And so we must ask ourselves, how is it going to be mended? Well, in the same way it was started, God is going to make himself muddy. The eternal person of Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is going to come and he's going to become a man. He's going to dwell on this earth. So much so that he's going to get dirty. He's going to be born in a manger so that he could repair this relationship. More than that, he is going to be bloodied as he goes to the cross, as his blood is spilled for the forgiveness of sin, all to rescue this relationship that we were created to be in with him. So yes, God got muddy and he got bloody in the creation account of making Adam and Eve, but as he makes us into a new man or a new woman, as he gives us new life, as we become a new creation, it is still through the muddy and bloody work of God. Philippians 2, 5-11 says this, Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. This is God coming to restore that relationship that was lost, that he intended for us to have. And this is such a unique work of God, not just the creation account, but this redemption account, that our position before God is one of unique privilege, that he would redeem us. There are other creatures that rebelled against God that receive no such forgiveness or restoration. You know that this is the doctrine of angels and demons. Yes, there is Satan and the demons who rebelled against God and they will and are condemned before him with no hope of being brought back. But yet mankind, God goes on a rescue mission for because we bear his image. And this is astounding, so astounding that even the scriptures say that even the angels long to look at such things. First Peter has this account, as Peter is telling of this great work of the gospel. First Peter 10 through 12. He says, concerning the salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you and the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. The angels witnessed our fall and our rebellion, and yes, they've been watching the story of redemption unfold, and they are watching with bated breath on the edge of their seats how God is going to restore those creatures who he created to be in relationship with him, that they may be reunited with him in Christ. And so as we read this creation account, it must not be lost on us that God has created mankind. And I'll even get more specific as Genesis zooms in on the story of man and woman. I will now zoom in on you, that God has created you to be in relationship with him. You were knitted together in your mother's womb by him. His breath is what gives you life. His son came to this earth. to die so that you may be spared the wrath that you deserve for your rebellion against God. What a privilege it is to be loved by God in this way, to not only be made by Him, but to be redeemed by His Son. And so I say that as an encouragement to all those who already know the Lord, to be reminded of this great intimate relationship that you were designed for, but I also share it for those who may yet have come to the Lord this morning, who may not realize that God designed you with this unique purpose, to experience a wonderful, robust, eternal relationship with him, your creator, and yes, your savior. Come to him. So we were created for a relationship with God, but also in this story of creation is the acknowledgement that we were created for a relationship with one another. that more than any other created being, mankind is relational. We are built for this, to be in communion with one another, and one of those relationships, as we'll come to see, is the relationship between, specifically, a man and a woman. And so as we read this story, if we're to read it closely, there is a phrase in here that ought to sound surprising. Sometimes we're so familiar with this account, we can gloss over this, but if you were to imagine that you were reading the Bible for the very first time. You started in Genesis chapter 1. You read of this creation account. God is creating all these things. It is good. It is good. It is good. Then he gets to Genesis 2, and I'm like, oh, this is interesting. It's saying some of the same things. Okay. So I'm expecting some of the same things to come, that God's creating Adam, and he's forming, he's fashioning, he's breathing life into him. But all of a sudden we get to verse 18, and we ought to be a bit puzzled by this statement. Then the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be lost. Seven times previously in chapter one, we heard, it is good, it is good, it is good. This, now for the first time, in an unfallen creation, we read of something being not good. How can something not be good? Sin's not part of the world yet. Well, I see this in many ways as an intentional pause in the Lord's creation. That it's not good for man to be alone. There's not a helper suitable for him. The reason why it's not good is because God's creative work is not finished. It's not complete. It is not done. This is an unfinished work. It is not good yet. And so this is an intentional way to show us the importance and the need for Adam to have a helper suitable to him. Our first clue to this is in Genesis 18, where God specifically says, it is not good that man should be alone. There is not a helper fit for him. God has this information. God knows this, but Adam doesn't know this yet. I mean, we'll give him a break. He's like a few minutes old. But Adam hasn't come to this realization yet that it is not good for him to be alone. And so what does God do? Well, he gives Adam a job. He says, Adam, I'm going to parade all the beasts of the earth before you, and I want you, Adam, as my representative, as my ruler on the earth in my place, to begin to give them a name. This is what happens in the following verses. It says, so out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field, verse 19, 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. And so I imagine this probably took a long time. God created a lot of animals, a lot of things. It's almost like Noah's Ark times 10, that they're being paraded in front of him, and Adam is seeing some of God's wonderful creation. I mean, he's seeing birds for the first time. He's seeing animals for the first time, and he's calling them by name. And I'm sure there was an element that was like, man, this is a fun job. You've made some amazing things, God. He gets to name them. But after a while, Adam begins to notice something. that none of these things that God has created, though they are wonderful, though they are good, that they don't correspond to me. Verse 20, the man gave names to all the 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. And so you can kind of see that Adam comes to the same realization that God already knew that it is not good for Adam to be alone, and through parading all of these creatures of God before him, though he is surrounded by them, Adam is alone. Each one of those animals, they were created according to their kind, but there's nothing according to his kind. No fellowship, no one to communicate with, no one to talk with. and even the basic need of God's command to go, subdue, fill the earth, multiply, no one to multiply with. And so I think God intentionally gives this task to man so that he comes to the same realization that God already knew, that it is not good for man to be alone, and that he needed a helper specifically suited and fitted for him. And so God creates Eve. causes a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, removes a rib from his side, fashions Eve in his own image and likeness, and then presents Eve as one of those created beings before Adam. And I want you to see Adam's response. Verse 23. Sorry, let's start in verse 22. and the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into woman and brought her to the man. And then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. I hope and thinking about this narrative and how it takes place, that you can begin to sense the excitement and the joy and the happiness that Adam has in being presented with who would become his wife, Eve. That phrase, this at last, makes me think that he had to name a lot of animals before Eve came along. At last, someone to be in close relationship with here on this earth. She's in many ways what completes me. She came for me. She's my other half. She is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It's interesting, this is the first recorded poem in all of Scripture. How fitting it would be from the first husband to the first wife. It is the first love poem in all of Scripture. And so we see that God was created, or sorry, that mankind was created, man and woman, and that illustrates our need for relationship with one another. It is not good to be alone. And so some observations about this creation account. You might ask, why did God create Adam first? Well, there are some probably important theological reasons here, something that has to do with roles of men and women with regards to marriage, relationships, or yes, even within the church. Adam is given leadership or headship over his family, over his wife, and that could even be seen in the created order that Adam was created first to be a leader and to be a head of this covenant with God. One theologian also noted that it's also important that Eve would come from the very flesh of Adam, because as we would read in the New Testament, that we all derive our being from Adam, that he is the genesis of us all, so that when Adam fell into sin, we all fell into sin. But I think, as we look at this, what is most useful and helpful for us in this moment is that Adam was created first to show the goodness of relationship, that we had to see Adam alone in order to see the need for him to be together with someone else, specifically Eve. And Eve is presented in such a way that she is a wonderful gift to Adam, someone who shares in the divine image of God, who is, yes, equal with him, but also different in a good way, that they are complementary, or they complement one another. There's a famous quote from another preacher that I'll read for you this morning from Matthew Henry. that talks about kind of the relationship or the importance of man and woman and how they complement one another. This is Matthew Henry commenting on this section of scripture. He says, We must not confuse any level of importance to think that Eve might be considered less than as a woman because she comes second. No, she in many ways is the missing piece, the exclamation point that allows us to say at the end of God's creative acts, it is now very good. It is now very good. Now I know as we kind of get into this idea of the goodness of relationship, we need to talk about the goodness of God's design for marriage, but I don't want to be perceived this morning as saying that marriage is necessary in everybody's life. Sometimes we can make that relationship, yes, a bit of an idol. It is a good and wonderful gift by God of which many of us have known and tasted and are involved in, but it is not our ultimate hope. Our ultimate hope is in Christ. It is not good that you should be alone, but praise God that you are not alone. You are adopted into the family of God and we experience even more meaningful relationships there at a time. If marriage was the ultimate end of every single person, then we ought to have some question marks of even about the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus never married. The life and ministry of Paul, Paul never married. In fact, Paul is known on occasion to even encourage people not to marry so as to better have a more singular focus on the Lord and the church. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7.6, Now a concession, not a command, I say this, I wish that all were as I am myself, but each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. Marriage cannot be our ultimate hope because our ultimate hope doesn't even include marriage in the new creation. Jesus, when asked about who a person would be married to if he had more than one wife on this earth that died, responds and says Matthew 22 30. For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And so marriage is not our ultimate hope, but it does show and is a blessing that we were created for such intimate relationship. We get to taste of that here on earth, and I think in many ways we'll taste of even better, wonderful relationship with one another in the new heavens, in the new earth, including the relationship that you have even today with a spouse. But our understanding of marriage and kind of the foundational principles that we believe as Christians really do come from this creation account, that what we see when God presents Eve to Adam is the first marriage ceremony with God as the officiant, that he presents Adam with a bride, and he is the one seen giving her away. God's words in Genesis 2 24, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh, become the standard, become the foundation of what all future marriages are based on. This is the relationship that God designed for one man and for one woman to be united in life together as one flesh forever. This is where our terminology of a one flesh union comes from. In this one flesh union, the creation of man and woman, it is indeed very good. And one that, as you know, is under attack by the world today. And so we must build on this foundation when we are considering one of the most important earthly relationships that we can think of, a relationship in marriage. Marriage, as defined in this text, is a union between one man and one woman. And this helps combat other beliefs of what we have as options in relationships here. Based on this paradigm here, polygamy is condemned in the scriptures. having more than one wife. Now, as we read Genesis, we're going to see that it doesn't take very long for men to begin to engage in polygamy and have more than one wife. But as we'll see, Genesis, being a narrative, does a lot of showing rather than telling. So you're not gonna find a much clearer statement other than what we have here in Genesis, that marriage is for one man, one woman for life. But what we are gonna have is examples of every time a man marries more than one woman, Problems ensue. Families become broken. Sin is exposed. And so we have as the standard here in this perfect created order, one man, one woman for life. And this is the standard that we ought to hold ourselves to today. In many ways, this is actually repeated in the New Testament as a qualification for leadership within the church. Those considering to be deacons or elders or pastors are to live according to this standard set by God in Genesis 1 Timothy 3 12. Deacons must be husband of one wife and good managers of their children and their own household. So, polygamy is condemned. Homosexuality is also condemned as we look at the original design of marriage as well. That God has created man and woman and the two in many ways are fitted for one another. that they're able to bear children and fulfill God's mandate to go and fill the earth with descendants. There are physical traits here, but there are also relational traits here in which we see the complementary nature of a husband and a wife together. And we also see the sacredness of that one flesh union reserved for marriage. spoken of by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6, 9-10 when that one flesh union is broken or when it is diminished through promiscuity. Paul says, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those who, those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. There's a standard set by God here that we are to walk in. Promiscuity is also condemned. Living a salacious life, that physical intimacy is reserved for that relationship between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife. And when we engage in activities outside of that, we sin against our own body. We sin against the very created order that God has made us. 1 Corinthians 6, 16 through 18. Do you not know that one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For he says, the two shall become one flesh, quoting from this passage. but the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with them. Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the sexual immoral person sins against his own body. Fidelity, lifelong, steadfast commitment to one another is upheld in this design given to us by God. This one flesh union is designed to be a union unto death. Now, it's true that later in Deuteronomy, God would give some civil organizational law to the people of Israel that would appear to be permissive of divorce. Jesus would be questioned about this in his own life and ministry, and he would respond by saying, you haven't gone back far enough. You went back to Deuteronomy, yes, but go back to Genesis, the very beginning. Mark 10, seven through nine. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother, the words of Jesus, and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. Marriage is meant to be a lifelong commitment. Now, sin is in this world, and we see each one of these things in this world, and we see it even in our own life. how we've transgressed against God's original design. That's part of why we can take comfort knowing that God is a God of grace and restoration, leading us to new life in Christ. But nevertheless, these things are important for us to understand that we may uphold them and treasure them and value them as the very good thing that God has made for us. Another important aspect to further emphasize here is the complementary nature of man and woman. Here we do have gender, right? That men and women are made both in the image of God, but we are not the same. We are different. We see that just through observation. One can know that men and women are different despite what we might hear in the world even today. But we see that in particular also in creation. and in the role specifically given for a man in his household and a woman in their household. But it doesn't make one greater than the other, one more valuable than the other. In the same way, we serve a triune God. One God, three persons. No person of the Trinity is lesser than the other. The Father is not greater than the Son. The Son is not greater than the Father. and neither are greater or any lesser than the Spirit. But that is not to say that the Father is the Son, nor is the Son the Father. All right, we can begin to open up to the Athanasius Creed that speaks as this way, that there is a distinction in the persons, but there is an equality in their essence. That is imaged and mirrored in how God has made man and woman. To have a different role does not make you less than or greater than, it simply makes you made in the image of God. And we see this in the way that even Eve is described, that she is a helper fit for Adam, suitable for him. Some may look at this of, wow, that's so demeaning to refer to the women as the help. Well, first of all, I, as a man, have called out to help many a time for my wife. Help! I'm surrounded by children. I don't know what to do. Eve is a wonderful helper. That's not to demean her. In many ways, that's to uplift her. That term in the Hebrew for help is actually a military term that is often used about reinforcements. And man, do I call for reinforcements in the union that I have with my wife. She is the helper that God has fit for me. In the same way that as if you are a husband here, your wife is the helper that God has suited and fit for you. the Holy Spirit himself is referred to as the helper. So this is not in any way to be perceived as anything demeaning. In fact, you ought to be flattered, women, to hold such an essential role in your own household and in the eyes of God and how he has made you. And this, I think, is one of the most beautiful things that we have about marriage and the way that man and woman—one of the reasons why it's very good is because, yes, man is made in God's image, woman is made in God's image, but together in marriage, they get to image God together in ways that are not possible on their own. I'm running out of time, but I would just encourage you to spend some time in Ephesians chapter 5 this week, seeing how marriage images God through the unique roles of men and women. Ephesians 5, 22 through 27. I'll read it for us and comment briefly. Paul, giving instruction, says, Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Paul is revealing in many ways that the roles given to men and women in marriage mirror, image, reflect God and his character, particularly this story of redemption. That yes, wives, your role is not one of chief leadership within the household, but one of loving and willful submission. In the same way that the son submitted to the father for the plans of redemption, in the same way that the church submits to the headship and leadership of Christ, you mirror God in your act of obedience there. And husbands, your role as leader is not to serve as supreme dictator in your household, but to be the servant leader that Christ modeled. And we're to love our wives as Christ loved the church. And let me remind you what Christ did for his church. He died for her, gave up his life for her. And so if you're wondering why it may be so hard for your spouse to live in joyful, loving, Christ-like submission to you, it may be that you're not dying to yourself to serve her. And so we live in a sin-wrought world. This is the ideal set before us. We ought to acknowledge our shortcomings of it, ask for God's enabling help through his spirit. But man, isn't this ideal beautiful? If we could see this perfectly, would we not look at that and say, wow, that is very good. God's design is wonderful. We were designed for relationship, first and foremost with relationship with Him, and also with one another. And one of those relationships, the closest relationship that we'll likely have on this earth, but not the closest relationship we'll have in all eternity, yes, is between a husband and a wife. And so, as we conclude these thoughts, let us look to God's very good creation. admire him for his very good design and for his goodness towards us, that he would be mindful of us as sinful people, that he would redeem us, and would we live in relationship with one another with those same gospel principles. Yes, definitely in your marriage look to the scriptures for that, but even in your life as you interact with brothers and sisters in Christ or with the world, People need to know it is not good for them to be alone. And we can give them more than just friendship with ourselves. We can give them a friendship with their Maker through Christ Jesus as we take the gospel to them. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word inspired by your Spirit that leads us to your Son. God, I pray that those who are here this morning would be encouraged by this word, that they are made in your image and made for a unique relationship with you. I pray that each one of them would take that invitation of the gospel to be redeemed, to be brought back into right relationship with you, and that we would experience its goodness for all eternity. I pray for each one of the husbands and wives here in this room, God, that you would image yourself in their relationship as they fulfill their unique roles that you have given to them. That there would be in many ways a quality in our appreciation of the other, but also an acknowledgement of the responsibility and distinction that each one has as well. And when we do this, not to our own glory, but to yours, that we, to the best of our ability, through the power of your spirit, may model this ideal set forth in your creation, that others may just get a peek in and go, wow, that is very good. And not praise us, but be drawn closer to you and that you would give us opportunity to point them to you as well. Thank you, Jesus. You are the bridegroom. We, your church, are your bride. And we thank you for your great work of sacrificial love. We pray this in your name. Amen.