1 Genesis 2v18-25 29 th July 2018am Hill Marriage The Scriptures state that even the most ordinary and mundane activity in life should be done for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10v31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Now if glorifying God applies to something as mundane as the way you eat hamburgers and the way you drink coke; how much more then should we apply honouring God to marriage? As Christians we cannot then avoid seeing that holding on to a high view of marriage is crucial. We need to be challenged to grow in our priorities regarding the importance of a godly marriage; seeing this is in keeping with what is right and pleasing to the Lord. Not only what you think about marriage but how you do marriage matters to God. The quality of your and my marriage matters to God. From the beginning; from when God made man, marriage was an integral part of life. Consider the unfolding events of Genesis 2 and see to begin with that 1 Marriage is God s doing Imagine how stupid it would be; imagine the damage done; imagine how insulting it is to the person whose idea it was to
design and produce a dishwasher when it is used to wash dirty linen. In principle it makes sense to use any given product in keeping with the designer s intention. And so if we apply that kind of thinking to marriage we need to see and affirm that the most foundational thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is God s invention. There are at least 4 ways to see this in Genesis2:18-25. 2 Marriage is God s design From this passage we can see without any shadow of doubt that marriage is God s doing. Marriage was weaved into and not detached from His design right at the beginning in the creation of man as male and female. See the distinctiveness of male and female in v27 Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Looking at the detail and flow of thought that follows in Genesis 2, it is God who decrees that man s aloneness is not good.
3 It is God who sets out to complete one of the most significant designs of creation a man and a woman in marriage. Genesis 2:18 It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him. God will provide a being perfectly suited for him; which we soon see is a wife. But God first parades the animals before Adam so that he might see there is no creature that qualifies. Imagine a lion no, an elephant no, a budgie no, a dog no Instead we see the suitable helper is made uniquely from his essence a fellow human being made in God s image (Genesis 1:27). Continuing in the flow of the passage Genesis 2:21 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. The man immediately recognizes the unique and wonderful provision from God of a suitable and perfect helper. Genesis 2:23 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."
The text ends with vs 25 with the words, They shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. With all of this unfolding we are seeing marriage as God s design in creating man male and female. When I first asked Carol s mom and dad for their daughter s hand in marriage; my now mother in law immediately refused to agree to my request. But I am so glad for a gracious father in law who was more willing discuss the matter and agree to give Carol to be my bride. Not unlike what God did for Adam but even without him asking for Eve s hand in marriage. 4 God gave away the first bride God took the role of being the first Father to give away the bride. Genesis 2:22: And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. He didn t hide her and make Adam find her. He didn t make Adam pay for her or work for her. Rather we see that even though He made her; we could say that He (God) fathered her; He then brought her and gave her to Adam.
Though she was His by virtue of creation, he gave her to the man in this absolutely new kind of relationship called marriage, unlike any other relationship in the world. God confirms the design of marriage Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Who is talking in Genesis 2:24? We are given clarity from Jesus in Matthew 19:4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 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'? Jesus said that the words of Genesis 2:24 are the words of God declaring and confirming the nature and design of marriage between a natural man and a natural woman. Jesus is confirming the same thing that God confirmed in Genesis (and what the Apostle Paul confirms in Ephesians 5:31) that that marriage is not man s idea. Marriage is not an evolved relationship or a changing social construct or an association of convenience; or a design that can ever be modified. God confirms that it is what it is because it is and must be what He made it to be. Another point needing clarification is that of establishing who it is that actually unites a man and woman in a marriage. 5
Is it the officiating officer from Home affairs; or the pastor from the local church or the family when they exchange gifts at the Umabu or the government that passes some kind of legislation? No none of the above. God Performs the One-Flesh Union God himself performs the union referred to in the words become one flesh. That union is at the heart of what marriage is. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. It is God who in each marriage ordains and performs a uniting called one flesh. Man does not create this. God does. 6 This is implied here in Genesis 2:24, but Jesus makes it explicit in Mark 10:8 9. He quotes Genesis 2:24, then adds a comment that should press on to us the wonder and glory of marriage. The two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. When a couple speaks their vows, it is not a man or a woman or a pastor or parent who is the main actor or the main doer. God is. God joins a husband and a wife into a one-flesh union.
And so by implication the only legitimate marriage is between a man and a woman and cannot be between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. The magnificence of marriage comes from seeing in God s word that God himself joins the couple together. Marriage is his doing. Marriage is from him and through him. That is the most foundational thing about marriage. But remember the hamburgers and cokes. Whatever you do must be to the glory of God including marriage. And so in as much as marriage is from him and through him. It is also for him (Romans 11:36) Therefore the ultimate thing to see in the Bible about marriage is that it exists for God s glory. 2 Marriage Is for God s Glory Piper: Most foundationally it is the doing of God. Most ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It is designed by God to display his glory; to do so in a way that no other event or institution does The way to see this most clearly is to connect Genesis 2:24 with its use in Ephesians 5:31-32. In Genesis 2:24 God says Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. What kind of relationship is this? Why should a couple remain together? How are these two people held together? Can they at whim walk away from this relationship? Can they go from spouse to spouse? Is the relationship just 7
8 rooted in romance, sexual desire and the need for companionship or cultural convenience? What is this marriage about? In Genesis 2:24, the words united to his wife and the words they shall become one flesh point to something far deeper and more permanent than living together and having sex. What these words point to is marriage as a sacred undertaking to each other rooted in covenant commitments that stand against every storm (a promise a bride and groom make to each other) as long as we both shall live. But that is only implicit here. It becomes explicit when the mystery of marriage is more fully revealed in Ephesians 5:31 32. Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in verse 31: Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Then he gives it this all-important interpretation in verse 32: This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. In other words, marriage is patterned after Christ s covenant commitment to his church. That commitment to His bride involves Christ presenting himself as the bridegroom coming for his bride; who will on that day present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Ephesians 5:27).
9 He is able to make that commitment knowing that He has paid for his bride with his own blood. Luke 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Christ obtained the church by his blood and formed a new covenant with her, an unbreakable marriage. Marriage is patterned after Christ s covenant relationship to his redeemed people, the church. And therefore, the highest meaning and the most ultimate purpose of marriage is to put the covenant relationship of Christ and his church on display. That is why marriage exists. If you are married, that is why you are married. If you hope to be married, that should be your dream. The great implication driving a high view of marriage on the basis of Christ s covenant relationship with his bride is that Staying married, therefore, is not mainly about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant. Till death do us part or As long as we both shall live is a sacred covenant promise. It is the same kind of promise (undertaking) Jesus made with his bride when he died for her.
10 Christ will never leave his wife. There may be times of painful distance and tragic grieving on our part. But Christ keeps his covenant forever. Marriage is a display of that! That is the ultimate thing we can say about it. It puts the glory of Christ s covenant-keeping love on display. Jesus died for sinners. He forged a covenant in his suffering in our place. He made an imperfect bride his own with the price of his blood and covered her with the garments of his own righteousness. He said, I am with you... to the end of the age.... I will never leave you nor forsake you (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5). Marriage is meant by God to put that gospel reality on display in the world. That is why we are married. 3 What does this mean for us today? We ought to be: Amazed at the grace of God in Jesus Christ for us sinners Challenged about our view of what marriage is Stirred to be determined with the help of God to live out our marriage vows of to death us do part
11 Doing so by: Loving selflessly Giving sacrificially Serving humbly Pursuing patiently Relinquishing rights willingly Always remembering even in marriage from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Romans 11v36.