AUTHORS » Joe Anady

Nov 18
25

Sermon: Genesis 2:24-25: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Responsibilities Of The Wife

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24–25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his 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.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: 1 Peter 3:1-7

“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:1–7, ESV)

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Introduction

In this sermon we are again asking the question, how can we have successful and God honoring marriages? In the previous sermon all of the focus was on the role of the husband. Husbands are to lovingly lead their wives. A husbands love for his wife is to be like Christ’s love for the church. His love is to be unconditional, sacrificial, purifying, selfless, affectionate, understanding, and affirming. Christ loves the church with this kind of love. Husbands are to love their wives in imitation of their Savior. Today our attention turns to the wives. 

Before we go there I should say that although only a portion of the congregation is being directly addressed in this sermon and in the previous one, all should be able to apply the principles that have been and will be communicated. I think you are doing this naturally. Someone did approach me after the sermon last week and said, “though I am not married, I had my relationship with my mother in mind the entire time. I need to love her with an unconditional, sacrificial, purifying, selfless, affectionate, understanding, and affirming love”. These principles, though they are being delivered to husbands in regard to their relationship with their wives, and to wives in regard to their relationship with their husbands, are truly applicable to all. For example, parents should love their children with an unconditional, sacrificial, purifying, selfless, affectionate, understanding, and affirming love. Christians should love their brothers and sisters in Christ with an unconditional, sacrificial, purifying, selfless, affectionate, understanding, and affirming love. Certainly the love that a husband is to have for his wife is special and, in some respects, unique. But love is love. All Christians are to love others with the love of Christ. 

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I. Wives are to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord. 

We know that husbands are called by God to lovingly lead their wives as Christ has loved the church. But what is the  role that wives are to take in the marriage relationship? The answer is that wives are to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord. 

This principle is clearly communicated in 1 Peter 3:1-7. There we find the words, “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives” (1 Peter 3:1, ESV). Wives, we are told, are to “be subject” to their own husbands. And in verse 5 of the same passage we read, “For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” (1 Peter 3:5–6, ESV). Wives are to “submit to their own husbands”, we are told.

The Greek word translated as “be subject” in 1 Peter 3:1 is ὑποτάσσομαι and it has this basic meaning: “to submit to the orders or directives of someone—‘to obey, to submit’”. And it is the same Greek word that is behind the phrase, “by submitting” in verse 5 – “For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands.” Also, notice that Sarah is put forth as an example of one of those “holy women” who adorned themselves with a “gentle and quiet spirit”. Sarah, we are told, “hoped in God” and therefore “did not fear anything that is frightening” when she “obeyed Abraham, calling him lord”. What does it mean, therefore, for a wife to “be subject” to her husband and “to submit” to him? It means that she is to honor and respect him as her head or “lord” and is to obey him in all things.

I’ve put the matter rather bluntly for a reason. Of course, more needs to be said about a wife’s submission. This call for a wife’s submission does need to be qualified. It is true, for example, that a husband should honor his wife and cherish her opinion while making decisions so that, in most instances, decisions are made together. And indeed, there are limitations to a wife’s submission. More needs to be said about this issue, and more will be said. But I am afraid that in our culture we are too quick to dismiss the clear and plain teaching of scripture on this subject. We are tempted to avoid it or to brush it to the side. We are quick to go immediately to the task of limiting or qualifying the call for a wife’s submission. We are quick to say, “Ya, well certainly the scriptures do not mean this or that when they say to the wife, ‘be subject’…” Or sometimes we run immediately to those hypotheticals, saying, “but what about when… is a wife still called to submit when…” What I am saying is that while these is certainly more that needs to be said concerning the submission of a wife to her husband, it is important that we first allow the clear and unambiguous teaching of scripture to stand. What role is the wife called to take in the marriage relationship? She is to be subject to her husband, submitting to him in all things. 

1 Peter 3 is not the only place where this teaching appears. Paul addresses husbands and wives in Colossians 3:18 where he says, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them” (Colossians 3:18–19, ESV). Here in this text the role of husband and wife is stated most succinctly. It is fitting, or right and proper, that a husband love his wife and that a wife submit to her husband. 

We find similar words in Ephesians 5 in that passage that we considered last week. In verses 22 we read, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:22–24, ESV). Notice that in this text Paul says that wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord”. And again in verse 24, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands”. The wife is to submit to her husband in the same way that the church is to submit to Christ – in all things. This does not mean that a husband should micromanage his wife, but it does mean that he is to be honored as the head in all things, for he is the one who is responsible before God for his wife and family in all things.     

Before we go any further it is important to recognize that “submission” does not mean “less significant” or “of lesser worth”. We see this principle on display throughout society. Children are to submit to their parents showing honor to them by virtue of their position of authority, but they are not less significant or of lesser worth. Citizens are to submit to those who govern showing honor to them by virtue of their position of authority, but they are not less significant or of lesser worth. When a wife is called by God to submit to her husbands it is not because she is less significant, of lesser worth, or of lesser ability. It is because of the order that God established at the beginning within the marriage relationship.  

We even see this principle of submission on display in what the scriptures reveal to us concerning the Triune God. The scriptures reveal that in order to accomplish our salvation the Son of God submits to the Father, and the Spirit of God submits to the Father and the Son. This is significant. Within the Triune God we find the principle of subordination on display. Clearly, “submission” does not mean “less significant” or of “lesser worth”, for Father, Son and Holy Spirit are “the same in essence, equal in power and glory” (BC, Question 9).  

Consider 1 Corinthians 11:3 which says, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3, ESV). Even Christ lives under the authority of another, namely God. And every husband lives under the authority of another, namely God and Christ. And every wife lives under the authority of another, namely God and Christ and her husband. When a wife submits to her husband, she ultimately is found living in submission to the Lord as she lives in obedience to him, and in reliance upon him. 

What does it look like for a wife to submit to her husband?

A wife submits to her husband she looks to him as her head, allows him to lead in every area of life, seeks to help him fulfill his calling, and shows him honor and respect within the home and within the community.

As I have said before, this does not mean that a husband should micromanage his wife. Nor does this mean that the wife should have no say in family decisions. Ideally, a husband will trust his wife and will give her great freedom to use her God-given abilities to manage her responsibilities wisely (Newheiser, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage, 97).

I do wonder what kind of wife people envision when they hear teaching like this on submission. Do they envision a woman who is weak, incapable and oppressed? Do they envision a woman who is controlled by her husband, free only to follow his every command?  I certainly hope not! In fact we should expect that a godly woman who submits to her husband in all things will be strong, capable, wise and highly esteemed by her husband. We should expect that a submissive wife will have great freedom do choose and to do as she sees fit. It is possible, and may I add preferable, that as a wife learns to truly honor her husband as head, the husbands will grow in his esteem for her and will gladly give her freedom to run as she fulfills God’s calling for her life. 

This is terrible what I am about to do. Rarely do I use illustrations, and I am about to use a football illustration in a sermon directed towards wives (even that sounded rather sexist, didn’t it?). Tell me, who is more valuable to a football team, the quarterback or the coach? It’s hard to say, isn’t it? Who has more freedom?nWell, they both have freedom don’t they, but of a different kind. And who is more impactful to the outcome of a game? Also, hard to say? But when I ask, who is to submit to who? the answer should be clear. The quarterback is ultimately to submit to the will of the coach.

When I think of a wife properly submitting to her husband I do not think of the kind of submission that a small child is to have before his parents, but instead the the kind of submission that a pro bowl quarterback should have before his coach, or a gifted manager before the owner of the company.  

Before we move on I would like to read you that famous description of an excellent wife found in Proverbs 31. And as I read this description of an excellent wife ask yourself, does this sound like a woman who is weak, incapable and oppressed by a controlling  by her husband, or one who is trusted, highly esteemed, and free?

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates” (Proverbs 31:10–31, ESV).

 Wives are to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord. This they are to do in all things. This they are to do, not on the basis of their husbands worthiness, but in obedience to the command of God. 

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II. Wives are to take the position of helper.

Secondly, notice that the woman was created by God in the beginning to take the position of a helper. Therefore, the command for wives to be subject to their husbands is rooted, not in culture, but in creation. I will keep this point brief given that I expanded upon a similar point regarding the headship of the husband in last weeks sermon. When Paul says, wives “submit to your husbands as to the Lord”, he is not saying “this is how we do things in our culture”, this is how God designed the marriage relationship to function from the beginning.  

In the creation narrative we learn that Adam was formed first, and then Eve. And when the time came for the creation of Eve God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18, ESV). Eve was created to be Adam’s helper. Wives are to come alongside their husbands as helpers. 

A wise and godly wife will recognize that an important part of her responsibility is to come alongside her husband to help him to thrive in whatever it is that the Lord has called him too. 

Listen to Newheiser. He says, “this can be done through wise counsel and encouragement. She will work hard to make their home a place of joy and refuge for him, too (Titus 2:5). A wife has a very powerful influence over her husband, which can be used either for good or for evil. Few men can refuse to do what their wives want, even when they are wrong (see Gen. 3:6; 16:2). Conversely, a wife’s respect and affirmation are a powerful motivator. A godly wife ‘does him good and not evil all the days of her life’ (Prov. 31:12). Proverbs 31 implies that the husband of this excellent wife is successful, has an excellent reputation, and sits with the elders of the city because of the kind of wife God has given him (v. 23).”

Wives are to take the position of helper.

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III. Wives should submit to their husbands even when it is difficult.

Thirdly, it must be said that wives should submit to their husbands even when it is difficult. 

Our sin makes a mess of everything, doesn’t it? Why is this teaching about headship and submission within marriage so difficult for us to swallow? Is it not because of sin? I think most would agree that if we imagine Adam and Eve living in paradise before sin entered the world this teaching about headship and submission does not seem difficult, but is in fact quite beautiful. Imaging Adam in his upright state perfectly loving and leading Eve as her head. And imagine Eve in her upright state perfectly submitting to Adam as his helper. 

I hope that you would agree that this order of male headship and female submission is not in and of itself difficult or distasteful. It is difficult, and some even find it distasteful because of our sin. Truth be told, some wives make it very difficult for their husbands to lovingly lead because of their sin. And some husbands make it very difficult for their wives to lovingly submit because of their sin. Furthermore, some men have a very difficult time leading in a loving way because of the sin that is in their own heart. And some women have a very difficult time submitting to their husbands in love because of the sin in their own hearts. Put more simply, the order of male headship female submission would not be difficult for us or seem distasteful to us were it not for sin. If we were not in sin we would not gripe at the suggestion that husbands and wives should both lay down their lives and live for the good of one another. 

In Genesis 3 we are told of Adam’s fall into sin. And there in that same passage we also hear God’s curse pronounced upon the servant, the woman and finally the man. Of particular importance to our topic today is the curse that God pronounced upon the woman. “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you (Genesis 3:16, ESV).”

I grew up reading the NKJV. Here is how it translates the second half of Geneses 3:16: “Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16, NKJV). The question we are left with is what does it mean for a wive’s desire to be “for” her husband. And what does it mean that the husband will “rule over” his wife. 

We should remember that these words are words of judgment. God is saying, this is how things will be because you have chosen to rebel against my word and to go your own way. Whatever is communicated here, it is not good, but is a distortion of God’s original design for the marriage relationship. Put differently, it is only because our sin ands rebellion that a wife now has a “desire for” her husband, and that the husband will “rule over” his wife.

I think the ESV’s translation of Genesis 3:16 is good when it says, “your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” I think the NET’s translation is even better when it says, “You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you” (Genesis 3:16, NET). That, I think, is the sense of the verse. According to God’s design the husband is to lovingly lead his wife, and the wife is to lovingly submit to her husband. But here is the natural order of things now that we have fallen into sin: the wife will wrongly seek to control her husband, and the husband will wrongly attempt to dominate his wife. 

Sin – the first sin of Adam, and our personal sin – messes everything up. It is now very hard for a man to lovingly lead, and it is also very hard for a wife to submit. But in Christ it is possible. That which was lost in the fall of the first Adam is restored by the finished work of the second Adam, Christ Jesus our Lord. We have been renewed in him. Our guilt has been taken away, and the power of sin has been broken. God is now at work in us to sanctify us by his word and Spirit. And I am convinced that God uses the marriage relationship to sanctify his people profoundly. It is in marriage that a man and woman learn to love one another selflessly with the love of Christ. 

What should a Christian wife do if she is married to a man who makes submission very hard? The answer is that she should do her part. Wives should submit to their husbands even when it is difficult. Her impulse will be to control her husband, to manipulate his behavior, to self-protect. But this is not God’s will for her. A wife should lovingly submit to her husband even when it is hard. She should be like Sarah who trusted in God and did not fear anything that it frightening when she submitted to Abraham, calling him lord, despite his significant weaknesses and shortcomings. 

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IV. There are limitations to a wife’s submission. 

Fourth, it must be said that there are limitations to a wife’s submission. 

If a husband asks the wife to do or say something that is contrary to God’s law, it is right for the wife to refuse. 

If a husband is forbidding the wife to do that which God’s law requires, it is right for the wife to disobey her husbands. 

If a husband is abusive the wife should remove herself from the situation. Though he may choose to stay in the home, the abusive man has abandoned his wife by his thorough violation of the marriage covenant. 

Great care needs to be taken here. It is easy for someone who wants out of a marriage relationship to level the charge of abuse against their spouse. I have witnessed both husbands and wives claim that their spouse is abusive so as to have grounds for divorce. Upon closer examination it became clear that there was no abuse, only a difficult and unhappy marriage. A difficult and unhappy marriage is not grounds for divorce, but abuse is.

Lastly, if a husband is unfaithful to his wife she does not sin by divorcing him. 

There are limitations to a wife’s submission.  

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V. A wife’s submission is voluntary. 

Fifthly, it should be said that a wife’s submission is voluntary. 

I suppose there is a twofold exhortation in this point, one for the wives and one for the husbands. 

Wives, how important it is for you to simply decide to honor your husbands in this way. At some point you simply need to choose to do it.

Husbands, you cannot make your wives submit. If your wife is disrespectful to you and unwilling to follow your lead the way to change her is not through domineering behavior, but through love. Your wife must won, brothers. Husbands, love your wives. Pray for them. Live with them in an understanding way. Yes, confront their sin! But do it with kindness. Love them with the love of Christ. Brothers, how did Christ bring you to the place of submission to himself? How did bring you the place of calling him Lord? Did he not gently woo you? Did he not draw you to himself with his love? Did he not win you so that you offered up your submission willingly? 

A wife’s respect and loving submission should be won, for her submission must be offered up voluntarily. 

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VI. God may use a wife’s submission  change her husband.

Sixthly, it is important to reminder that God may use a wife’s submission to change her husband. 

If a husband is living sinfully it is right for a wife to desire that he change for the good. The question is how to best bring about that change. 

The worldly wife will seek to change her husband through nagging, withdrawing, withholding, threatening, and other manipulative tactics. The godly wife will seek to change her husband by her respectful and pure conduct. 

“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.” (1 Peter 3:1–2, ESV)

Notice that I did not say that a wife’s submission will win her husband, only that a wife’s submission may win him. Why then should a wife be respectful to her husband if it is not a guaranteed method to bring about transformation? She is to do it, not because it is effective, but because it is right. The will of the Lord is that wives submit to their husbands. And God may use a wife’s submission to change her husband. 

Wives, lovingly submit to your husbands and pray for them. It may be that  God uses your respectful and pure conduct to win your husband. God may still win your husbands even if you choose the way of worldly manipulation, but he will win him in spite of you and not through you. If you wish to be used by God to win your husband, live a respectful and pure life before him, and pray for him always.

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VII: A word to single women: marry in the Lord.

Seventhly, and lastly, I have a brief word to the single women who hope to marry in the future. Sisters, marry in the Lord. Be resolved to marry a man who has made a credible profession of faith and shows evidence of pursuing true holiness in Christ Jesus.    

When you say “I do” on that wedding day you agreeing to sit in the passenger seat of the marriage as you allow your husband to lead. Choose to marry someone who will drive responsibly. How important it is to marry in the Lord! How important it is to marry someone who has truly surrendered themselves to the authority of God in Christ Jesus.

Some women, I am afraid, are too picky when choosing a spouse. They are waiting for Mr. Perefect to stroll along. Sisters, he doesn’t exist! But others are far too naive. They are willing to marry the first thing that shows interest in them. 

Sisters, marry someone who seems to be true Christ follower, one who is interested in growing in the knowledge of the Lord, in holiness and in grace, one who is willing to lead you in Christ Jesus according to the word of God. 

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Conclusion 

In conclusion, what is the wives role in the marriage relationship? She is to submit to her husband in the Lord. She is to take the position of “helper”. She is to submit even when it is difficult, entrusting herself ultimately to God. There are limitations, of course, and these have been stated. A wives submission must be voluntary. And do not forget wive’s, the Lord may use your submission to change your husbands. Finally, if you are single now and wish to marry in the future, be sure to marry in the Lord.   

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, 1 Peter 3:1-7, Genesis 2:24-25, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Genesis 2:24-25: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Responsibilities Of The Wife

Nov 18
18

Sermon: Genesis 2:24-25: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Responsibilities Of The Husband

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24–25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his 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.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Ephesians 5:22–33

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should 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. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:22–33, ESV)

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Introduction

In the previous sermon we began to address the question, how can we have a successful and God honoring  marriage? Three answers were given: One, a husband and wife must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus. Two, a husband and wife must learn to extend mercy and grace to one another in Christ Jesus. And three, a husband and wife must be long suffering. These three answers were directed towards both the husband and wife. A marriage will be healthy if both the husband and wife decided to love one another, extend grace to one another, and are long suffering. 

In this sermon we are again asking the question, how can we have a successful and God honoring  marriage?, but the focus will be upon the particular role that husbands play in the marriage relationship according to the scriptures. Yes, there are general principles that must be applied by both the husband and the wife – both are to love, extend grace, be long suffering, etc. But the scriptures are also clear that husbands have a particular role to play within the marriage. How should we go about building successful and God honoring  marriages? One, husbands must love their wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. Next week we will turn our attention to the wives and say, wives must submit to their own husbands as to the Lord.

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I. Husbands, Love Your Wives Just As Christ Also Loved The Church And Gave Himself Up For Her

Today our focus is on husbands. 

The scriptures are clear that husbands are to take the lead within the marriage relationship. A husband is to view himself as responsible for the wellbeing of his wife and family, for this is how God views him. The husband is to do everything in his power to care for his wife and children physically, emotionally and spiritually (the words “in his power” are important, for there are some things that are beyond our control). 

This principle is clearly communicated in Ephesians 5:23 which says, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior” (Ephesians 5:23, ESV). Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 13:3 where he writes, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3, ESV). The idea being communicated here is that the husband has authority within the marriage and the home. It is not absolute authority. God and Christ have authority over the husband. But the husband does have authority within the home. Put differently, husbands have a responsibility to lovingly lead their wives and their families in all things.

Now before we progress any further it should be noticed that this order of things is rooted, not in culture, but in creation. In others words, this statement, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church” is based, not upon the cultural norms of Paul’s day, but upon God’s design for the marriage relationship established at creation. 

There are many even within the church today who would claim that the words of the Apostle Paul concerning male headship in the home do not apply to us today. And how do these so called “Bible believing Christians” defend their position? They claim that Paul’s words in Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11 simply reflect the predominate view of the culture in which Paul lived. According to their view this order involving male headship is not to be taken as timeless and unchanging, but has changed with the evolution of culture. A hallmark of liberal and progressive theology is the expectation that religion will and, more than that, ought to evolve over time. In their view our culture has progressed beyond the chauvinistic and misogynistic culture of Paul’s day, and is therefore to be preferred. 

At least two things should be said in response to this view. 

First of all, the scriptures do not in any way promote chauvinism or misogyny, but insist that men and women stand before God on equal footing. Both males and females are made in God’s image. They are equal in worth. The same Apostle who said,  “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church” also said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, ESV). Viewed from the  standpoint of our worth and our position before God in Christ, there is no distinction between men and women. If we had the time it would not be difficult to demonstrate that Jesus himself had a view of women that was radically different from the one the was predominate within his culture. He honored women. And much could also be said concerning the prominent role that women played within the early church and the respect that was shown to them. It is in fact ignorant to claim that the scriptures, Old Testament or New, promote chauvinism or misogyny. They simply do not. 

Secondly, the words of the Apostle concerning male headship are rooted, not in cultural norms, but in the order of creation. Are there some things described in the Bible that are cultural? Are there some instances where, upon studying a passage of scripture, it is right for us to say, “well, that was how they did things then, but we do things differently now, and that is okay”? Yes, of course! But we must prove that a thing was merely cultural, or that it was unique to the Old Covenant and is not for the New, before we disregard it. Some, I am afraid, disregard the clear teaching of scripture by using the excuse, “that was for then, but times are different now” while offering up no evidence at all for the thing being rooted in culture. The end result is that many truths that are in fact timeless and unchanging – truths that are meant to be believed and obeyed by the people of God in every generation – are carelessly thrown into the trash, and the results are devastating. 

When Paul says, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church” he is not saying, “this is how we do things in our culture”. Instead he is saying, this should be true of every marriage – particularly Christian marriages – in every time and place  because this is how God designed marriage to be. The marriage relationship was designed why God to function as a picture of Christ’s relationship to the church. The husband is to be to the wife what Christ is to the church, and the wife is to be to the husband what the church is to Christ. This is not a cultural phenomenon, but is God’s design for marriage established at creation. 

In 1 Timothy 2 Paul addresses the role that men and women are to take within the church. What we find is that the role of men and women within the church mirrors the role of husband and wife in the home. It is the men who are to take the lead ands have authority in the home and in the church. Now, this is not a sermon about the role of men and women in the church, but I hope you are at least able to see the connection. And notice how Paul argues for male leadership within the church. Again, he does not argue from culture, but from creation, when he says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet [as it pertains to teaching, I take it]. For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Timothy 2:12–13, ESV). Much can be said about this, but for now notice that Paul roots his teaching concerning the roles of men and women within the church, not in culture, but in creation when he says, “for Adam was formed first, then Eve.” In essence he says, this is how things should be because this is how God designed it to be. Adam was formed first. Adam was the one responsible to keep the covenant. Adam was appointed to be the  federal head or representative for all. Adam was to lead Eve, he was to guard her and protect her, and Eve was to be a help to him. This was God’s design at creation. 

As I am saying all of this you are probably thinking to yourself, I know the story of the fall of man as recorded in Genesis 3. Didn’t the opposite of this happen? Didn’t the serpent approach Eve first? Wasn’t Adam absent? Didn’t Eve, instead of being a help to Adam, serve at the agent by which the temptation came to him? Yes! And that is the point. God designed Adam to function as the head of Eve, and for Eve to be his helper, but the opposite is what came to be. The man and the women decided to do things their own way. Indeed, this is what is at the heart of all our sin. We sin when we disregard God’s word and decide to go our way. 

What does God’s word say concerning the proper role of the husband in the marriage relationship? God’s word says, “the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…” The husband is to lead, therefore, just as a Christ leads his people. The husband is responsible for the wellbeing of his wife, just as Christ took responsibility for the wellbeing of his people. The husband is to do everything in his power to care for his wife physically, emotionally and spiritually.  The husband has authority over his wife and family, just as Christ has authority over his church. “The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…”

I do sympathize with those in the world  who shutter and cringe upon hearing the words, “the husband has authority over his wife and family, just as Christ has authority over his church”. I sympathize with them because I understand how easy and common it is for this principle of male headship to be misunderstood, misused, and even abused within marriage and family. 

Is it true that the husband is head of the wife, and that the husband has authority within the home? Yes, we confess this is true. But what do sinful men often do with their God given authority? It is not uncommon for men to either neglect it or abuse it. 

Many are negligent, irresponsible and even absent. 

Some are domineering, oppressive, and even abusive.

This is the what many have experienced, and so it is no wonder that they have a more difficult time warmly receiving the words of scripture, “for the husband is the head of the wife”.

What we are proposing is that in Christ it is possible for a husband to lovingly lead. Authority and self-sacrificing love are not contrary to one another. In fact they should fit together hand in glove. Anytime a person is given authority, be it as a husband, a parent, a boss, or as an officer within Christ’s church, that authority should be characterized by self sacrificing love. 

Do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples when talking about the issue of wielding authority? Jesus called his disciples to himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV).

This is how the Christian is to wield authority, whatever authority it happens to be – the Christian is to lead as a servant. The Christian is to govern by laying their lives down for the good of those they govern. Though it might be true that the Christian has first place in some realm, be it in the home, in the work place, in government, or in the church, he or she is to make the wellbeing of those who are under their authority their highest priority, and they are to serve. This is what Christ did for us. “The Son of Man [who has authority over all] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV).

When the scriptures say that the husband is head of the wife, this is the thing that is envisioned – a husband who lovingly leads his wife and family with the heart of a servant being ever mindful of the fact that his authority is not ultimate, but that he himself  lives under the authority of God. 

Notice that in the Ephesians 5 passage husbands are called the “head of the wife” in verse 23, but in verse 25 they are commanded to “love”. Husbands are not commanded be the head of the wife, for this they are by virtue of the marriage covenant itself. But they are commanded to love. In others words, if you are a husband then you are the head of your wife and family. God views you as the one responsable for them. It is not something that you have a say in. A husband simply is the head of the wife, even if he does not realize it or act like it. But in verses 25 a command is delivered. So here is something that husbands must choose to do. A husband must choose to love his wife. 

Verse 25: “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. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.” (Ephesians 5:25–30, ESV)

Husbands are to love their wives in the same way that Christ loved church. The question that husbands should now ask themselves is, how did Christ love the church? If I am to love my wife in the same way that Christ loved the church then I must know something of the way that Christ loved the church if I hope to imitate him in the marriage relationship. 

I have seven observations about Christ’s love for the church and its implications for the Christian husband. I will move through them rather quickly. I should also say that if you were to pick up Jim Newheiser’s book, “Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage” and open to chapter 12 you would notice that these seven points are the seven headings of that chapter.

First of all, husbands should love their wives unconditionally.

It should be remembered that when we are talking about love we are speaking, not of emotion primarily, but action. To love is to do good to another. Love does often involve feelings of affection, but affection is the fruit of love, not the root. 

And what is unconditional love? It is love that is given without condition. It is love extended to another without requiring the one being loved to earn it or merit it in any way.  

Ask yourself this question at a later time – is my love for my wife conditional or unconditional? In other words, do you love your wife only when she seems lovely to you, or do you love her irregardless of her loveliness? I would suggest to you that our love for others is often conditional love. “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine”, we say. Or I’ll love you so long as you love me. Or I love you provided that you are lovely. 

But this is not how Christ loved us. Christ’s love for the church was and is unconditional. We did not earn Christ’s love at the beginning, nor must we earn it now that we are in Christ. Christ’s love for his church – that is, for all who are elect in Christ Jesus – is not conditioned upon anything within there creature, but is freely given. Aren’t you thankful that God’s love for us in Christ is unconditional? Those who understand the severity of their sin will admit that they could never earn God’s love. Thankfully, Christ has loved us unconditionally. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6–8, ESV).

Conditional love will probably work just fine in the during engagement or on the honeymoon, but it will not make for a healthy and happy marriage. Truth be told, we are not always lovely. And if our love is conditioned upon the loveliness of our spouse, then we will find it difficult to love for the long haul. Remember the marriage vows. Did you not promise before God and man to love your spouse in sickness and health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow as long as you both shall live? Truth be told, your spouse will change over time. Some of those changes will indeed be lovely changes, but some changes might be less than lovely. Our physical appearances change over time. Our personalities changes. Our physical heath might deteriorate. So too our mental health mighty deteriorate. Life has its ups and downs. Life is not always lovely. If our love is conditional, it will not endure in the face of difficulty. But if it is unconditional, our love for our spouse will thrive in good times and in bad. 

This is there love that God has for us in Christ Jesus. This is the kind of love that a husband is to have for his wife – unconditional love. 

Secondly, husbands should love their wives sacrificially.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” (Ephesians 5:25, ESV), the text says. If a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church he must lay his life down for her. 

Brothers, this is not about taking a bullet for your wife. This is more about cleaning up after breakfast for her. This is not about pushing her off the tracks as the speeding train approaches. This is about choosing to speak to her kindly even if she has been rude to you. This is what it looks like for a husband to give himself up for his wife – he is die to himself daily, cloth himself with the garb of a servant, and live for her good.

Frankly, in some ways it would be easier to lay down your life in a moment of heroism than to lay it down daily in humble, servant hearted, self-sacrificing devotion. Heroic acts, though very good in and of themselves, do agree with our pride. But in order to daily lay your life  down in humble, servant hearted, self-sacrificing devotion, you must put sinful pride to death. That is hard for men to do. 

Christ did it. He humbled himself to the point of death. And so should we if we are in Christ Jesus. Husbands, “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 a thing 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” (Philippians 2:5–8, ESV). Husbands should love their wives sacrificially.

Thirdly, husbands should love their wives with a purifying love.

Brothers, your wife’s faith and her growth in Christ is your responsibility. Now I am not denying that it is ultimately God who must give your wife the gift of faith and grow her up in it by the power of the Spirit. Nor am I denying that your wife has responsibility in the matter – she must choose to believe upon Christ and follow hard after him. What I am saying is that you also are responsible. 

“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” (Ephesians 5:25–27, ESV).

Christ loved the church with a purifying love. He did not love us because we were lovely. He loved us to make us lovely. And husbands are to love their wives in this way. Husbands are to love their wives seeking always their sanctification in Christ Jesus.

Husbands, are you praying for and with your wives? 

Are you ministering the word to them?

Are you encouraging them to regularly partake of the ordinary means of grace?

Are you promoting their love for God above all things?

Husbands should love their wives with a purifying love.

Fourthly, husbands should love their wives as themselves.

Christ summarized the whole law of God with these words: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And secondly, love your neighbor as your self. Husbands, your wife is your closest neighbor. You are to love her as you love yourself. 

Notice the observations that Paul makes in Ephesians 5. When a husband loves his wife, he truly does bless himself given the one flesh union that exists between man and wife. “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’” (Ephesians 5:28–31, ESV).

Husband, do you want to be blessed in life? Then love your wife! Pour yourself into her. Cherish her. Build her up. Encourage her. Labor to provide for her every need – physical, emotional and spiritual. Trust me brother, this will come back to you tenfold. “He who loves his wife loves himself”, given that you are in one flesh union with the women,. To bless her is to bless yourself. 

Fifthly, husbands should love their wives with an affectionate love.

I have insisted that love is not an emotion in this series. I think it is important that this be stressed given that in our culture love is often mistaken for an emotion. Love is an action, a way of life, a choice that we make. This is why the scriptures command us to love – love is something we can choose to do. It is not an emotional state that we fall into and out of.

There are times when we must love out of duty. When a person loves an enemy he or she loves out of duty. Sometimes a spouse might seem to be an enemy. But brothers, our wives need more than to be dutifully loved. Husbands should love their wives with an affectionate love.

The marriage covenant is a covenant of companionship. When the marriage is healthy and husband and wife should consider one another friends. Romance should be present within the marriage. A husband should strive to be emotionally connected with his wife. He should rejoice over her. He should love here with an affectionate love. 

Affection can be cultivated, friends. When a husband chooses to gives thanks to God for his wife, his affections for her grows. When a husband prays for his wife, his affection for her grows. When a husband chooses to show love to his wife, his affection for her grows. When a husband treats his wife with kindness and respect, his affection for her grows. When a husband praises his wife with his words and express his love and appreciation for her, his affection for her grows. 

Love is not the same as affection, but our love should be affectionate. Be tender to your wives, men. Invest into her emotionally. 

Sixthly, husbands should love their wives with an understanding love.

Men will often joke that they cannot understand their wives. Truth be told, if a man cannot understand his wife it is probably because he has not tried very hard. 

Certainly we know that it is not impossible for a husband to understand his wife, for this is what God expects of husbands. 1 Peter 3:7 says, “husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7, ESV). Are you telling me that God’s word is here commanding us to do that which is impossible? Is God really threatening us with hindered prayers if we fail to do that which is exceedingly difficult? No! It seem much more reasonable to think that this command to “live with your wives in an understanding way” is something that is very doable. Every Christian man is capable of it. In fact, if you are not doing it, it because you have have chosen not to do it, which is why your prayers will be hindered according to the Lord. Husbands must seek to understand their wives. 

Brother, do you know your wife? Do you understand her strengths and weakness? Do you know what brings her joy and what causes her to fear? Do you know what makes her feel secure? Can you discern when she is struggling spiritually and emotionally? Do you know what makes her feel loved? Do you live with her in an understanding way?

Notice that Peter refers to wives as a weaker vessel. I have pointed out before that the wife is the weaker vessel, in part, because of the position that she has been asked to take within the marriage, namely, one of submission to her husband. The other reality is that women are called weaker vessels because they tend to be more delicate and fragile when compared to men. They are more delate physically, and they tend to be more delicate emotionally. Men should never take advantage of this, but instead they should live with them in an understanding way, show honor to them, and handle them as they would a precious and delicate vessel. 

Seventhly, and lastly, husbands should love their wives with an affirming love. 

Let me simply read a quotation from Newheiser’s book, “Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage” to  make this final point. 

“Many husbands are very critical. They manage their homes by exception, ignoring what is done right, while carefully pointing out ways their wives fall short of their expectations. Constant criticism is like a cancer that eats away at a marriage. In contrast, the husband in Proverbs 31 praises his wife, saying, “Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all” (v. 29). Your wife is not perfect, but neither are you. Make every effort to affirm to her the good that God is doing for you and others through her. Ray Ortlund writes, ‘Deep in the heart of every wife is the self-doubt that wonders, ‘Do I please him? Am I whats he dreamed of and longed for? Will he love me to the end? Am I safe with this man I married? Will he cast me off? Even if we go the distance will he get tired of me?’ A wise husband will understand that that uncertainty, that question, is way down deep in his wife’s heart. And he will spend his life speaking into it gently and tenderly communicating it to her in many ways, ‘Darling, you are the one I want. I cherish you. I rejoice over you as no other… I love the thought of growing old together with you, hand in hand all the way. I will hold you close to my heart until my dying day’” (Newheiser, 92).

Husbands should love their wives with an affirming love. 

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Conclusion 

Brothers, in short it is time that we man up and love our wives as Christ loved the church. Any fool can be an irresponsible husband. Any fool can be a self-centered, domineering, manipulative, authoritarian husband. A Christian husband is the love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for he. This is something that you and I must simply decide to do. 

The excuse “this kind of love was not modeled  for me” will not do. It may be that your earthly father did not model it, but your heavenly Father has: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

Tell me friend, do you know the love of Christ?

Are you now abiding in the love of Christ, living in ongoing reliance upon his sustaining power?

Then let us love one another as he has loved us to the praise of his glorious grace. 

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:24-25; Ephesians 5:22–33, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Genesis 2:24-25: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Responsibilities Of The Husband

Nov 18
11

Sermon: Genesis 2:24-25: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: Having A Successful Marriage

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24-25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his 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.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1–8, 13

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends… [Verse 13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13, ESV)

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Introduction

Brothers and sisters, this is now the fourth sermon in this series on the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage. Up to this point we have defined marriage as a “a lifelong covenant of companionship between a man and a woman that has been established under God and before the community”. Also, a  few things have been said about entering into marriage: One, to prepare for marriage a person should pursue holiness and maturity in Christ in all that they think, say and do. Two, they should know what they are looking for in a future spouse while preparing for marriage. For the Christian this means that they should find another Christian (one who is truly a Christian, and not a Christian in name only). And three, a person should  approach dating relationships and engagement in a godly way. Today we turn our attention to the topic of having a successful marriage. 

As I have said before, our objective is not merely to survive in marriage, but to thrive. Our aim should be to build marriages that thrive so that God be  glorified through them. What, therefore,  are the keys to building a successful marriage? What are the crucial ingredients for a God honoring and good marriage? 

I have three three points. One, a husband and wife must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus. Two, a husband and wife must learn to extend mercy and  grace to one another in Christ Jesus. And three, a husband and wife must be long suffering. Let us now consider these three  points at a time. 

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I. A Husband And Wife Must Learn To Love One Another In Christ Jesus

Firstly, a husband and wife must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus. Christlike love is a key ingredient in good and God honoring marriages.  

I am aware that this might sound simplistic to some. 

Imagine a couple approaching their pastor saying, “our marriage is in shambles. What do we need to do to make it strong?” And the pastor says, “the two of you really need to love one another.” Put this way, the answer seems simplistic. But may I suggest to you that, though the point be simple, it is far from simplistic. There is, in fact, substance in this answer – there is power in it. Truly, the key to a healthy marriage is love. If a husband and wife hope to have a strong and healthy marriage to the glory of God they must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus. 

Pay careful attention to what I am saying. 

Notice the word “learn” in this answer. A husband and wife must learn to love one another, I say. 

And what is implied by the word “learn”?

Is it not implied that love is something that we must chose to do?

Many assume, I fear, that love is primarily an emotional experience. And I do not deny that there are genuine feelings that come along with sincere love. But we are mistaken when we believe that love is, above all, an emotion. No, in fact, love is an action. It is something that we choose to do. When I say “if a husband and wife hope to have a strong and healthy marriage they must learn to love one another”, this is what I mean. The man and the woman must learn to love. They must learn to treat one another lovingly. They must learn to love one another in thought, word and deed. 

When I say that we must learn to love, is it not also implied that love is something that does not come natural to us, but is a way of life that must be developed? 

And here is where the theological liberals and progressives get all bent out of shape. Many in our culture imagine that man is basically good from birth, and that man knows how to love naturally. This theory is disproven by the word of God and by the world around us. I will not deny it, men and women do naturally have the ability to feel feelings that we often associate with love. From a young age we know what it is to feel attraction to another, to be infatuated with another, to desire and even lust after another. But this is not love. In fact many of these emotions that we feel have more to do with our own desire for gratification than desiring the good of the other. We are not talking about feelings that we often associate with being in love, but action – selfless action done for the good of another. This, I am saying, does not come natural to us given our sinful and selfish propensities, but is something that must be acquired. Love is something we must learn to do in Christ Jesus. It is a way of life that must be cultivated and developed.

The word of God is clear that we do not by nature love aright. An observation of the world around us also proves it. 

Do we have affections by nature? Do we feel feeling of fondness towards other people and things naturally? The answer is, yes we do! We naturally set the affections of our heart on other people and things. This is something that we do constantly. What is the problem then? The problem is that our affections are bent out of shape by the sin which ours by birth. We by nature set our affections on things that we should not have affection for – that which  is evil. Or sometimes we set our affections on things that are good but in an inordinate way. By that I mean certain persons or things might indeed be worth of our affection, but not to such a high degree. Parents do this with their children all the time. Is it right that we have affection for our children? Of course it is right! But let us beware of making our children little gods within our hearts. There is a kind of affection that is appropriate for God, and there is a kind of affection that is appropriate for creaturely things, even our own children. The same can be said for every other thing in this world – food and drink, the beauty of nature, learning, physical fitness, rest, our spouse. These are all good things that are worthy of our affections, but only to a degree and within their proper place. Let us be sure that our affections are set on the right things. And let us also be sure that they are orderly. 

I mighty also ask, do we have the capacity to love by nature? Do we have the ability to make choices and to live for other people and things. Again, the answer is yes! We being by nature free creatures and having the ability to act upon choice are certainly able to love. We have the capacity to feel affections towards people and things (this has already been addressed), and we also have the ability to devote ourselves to those people and things. Some love football, for example. They feel affection for the sport, and they also devote themselves to it. They spend their time thinking about it. They are religious in their observation of it. They invest their money into it. They love the sport, and their way of life proves it. Again, what is the problem? The problem is that we sometimes set our love upon the wrong things. We love that which is not good and lovely.  At other times our love is inordinate. We love things that are good and lovely but in the wrong way. 

The word of God testifies to our distorted love and affections, and our observation of the world around us also confirms it. Why all of this talk about our bent out of shape love and affections? It is all to say to that love – that is, good and godly love – is not something that comes natural to us because of our sin. We have affections, but they are by nature disorderly. We love, but the wrong things and in the wrong way. Do not be surprised, therefore, that a husband and wife must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus. May I suggest to you that one of the best training grounds for love is the marriage relationship. There two become one, and there in that covenant bond they are to learn to love one another. 

Notice also the word “love”.  A husband and wife must learn to love one another.

Here it simply needs to be demonstrated that love is an action or way of life. 

Yes, love and affections are closely related. And yes it is true, a husband and wife should feel affection for one another. But may I suggest to you that when the scriptures command us to love they are not commanding us to feel affection, but to take action. Love is a way of life.

The 1 Corinthians 13 passage that was read at the beginning of this sermon is perhaps the best known passage on the subject of love. Let me read verses 4-7 again and, as I do, ask yourself the question, is love an emotion or a way of life primarily?  

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, ESV)

It should be clear to all that love is an action, or way of life. 

When Jesus in John 13:34 commands us saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…” he does not mean feel fondness for one another, but instead treat one another in a loving way. In fact, after saying, ”love one another” Jesus says, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus’ disciples are to treat one another in the same way that Christ has treated us. And it is this way of life that the world will take notice of – “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

The world cannot see our affections, but they can see our love, for love is an action. Remember, “love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, ESV).

Friends, love is not something we fall into or out of, it is something that we learn to do. 

And notice also the little phrase, “in Christ Jesus”. A husband and wife must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus. 

By this I mean three things:

One, it is Christ Jesus who has demonstrated to us what true love is. Do you want to know what perfect love looks like? Look to Christ! If we are to love well we must love in Christ Jesus, or as he has loved.  

Two, it is Christ Jesus who enables us to love through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. By nature we do not love as we ought to love. We love the wrong things (often ourselves), and even when we love the right things, we love them wrongly. This is our condition apart from Christ while in our sin. But in Christ we are renewed by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. In Christ our heart of stone is turned to flesh. In Christ our hearts that are by nature dead to God are made alive to God. Christ  enables us to love through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

Three, it is Christ Jesus who teaches us to love more and more through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Although you have been made alive by Christ that does not mean your struggle with sin is over. Indeed, there are many sinful corruptions that remain within you and I to war against the Spirit’s work within us. The Spirit has written God’s law on our hearts and is training us to keep God’s law. And what is the summary of God law? To love God with all the heart, soul mind and strength, and to love ones neighbor as oneself.    

When I say that a husband and wife must learn to love one another in Christ Jesus, I mean that we must love one another  just as Christ has loved us, we must love having been freed by him to love, and we must do so in continual dependence upon him. 

*****

II. A Husband And Wife Must Extend Grace To One Another In Christ Jesus

Secondly, a husband and wife must extend grace to one another in Christ Jesus. Grace is a key ingredient in good and God honoring marriages.  

You have just heard me say that husbands and wives must love one another. The question before us now is, what are we to do when our spouse is not loving us as they should? Instead of being patient, they are impatient. Instead of being kind, they are rude. Instead of dying to self they insist on their own way. What if they are irritable and resentful, etc. What is a Christian spouse to do then? The answer is that we must show mercy and grace. 

Thew world operates according to the works principle. The law that the world lives by is I will treat you as you deserve. I will be kind to you once you are kind to me. Be rude to me and I will respond in like manner or I will withdraw. I’ll show you love and respect once you love and respect me. This is the law that the world lives by: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 

But is this how God has dealt with us in Christ Jesus? Has he dealt with us on the basis of our works? Does he make us earn his love? Thankfully not, for he know s that we are incapable of doing so. Instead, it is by grace that we have been saved. It is by grace through faith, and by virtue of the selfless and sacrificial work of Christ that God has brought us into a right relationship with himself. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9–10, ESV). Remember that our marriages are to be a picture of God’s love for his people in Christ Jesus. 

Oh, how I wish it were so that husbands and wives would love one another perfectly being always patient and kind, and never  arrogant or rude. But friends, you and I both know that the most godly among us still struggle with sin. The very best husbands and wives will indeed sin against each other. What then? The answer is that we are to extend mercy and grace.

The scriptures tell us that we are love our enemies. If we are willing to show kindness to our enemies, why not our own spouse when they are being rude to us? 

Here the words of Christ in Matthew 5:38:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:38–41, ESV). This might at first seem like a strange text to site in a sermon on marriage, but it does apply, doesn’t it? By no means am I encouraging husbands or wives to remain in a truly abusive situations, but the principle here is that as Christians we must not be governed by the “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” principle. Instead, when we are struck (metaphorically) speaking, we should should not strike back, but instead turn the other cheek. If this is how we are to respond to those who persecute us in the world, how much more should we be willing to extend grace and mercy to our own spouse when they are failing to love as they out to love. 

I have seen this time and time again. A marriage is struggling. Harshness, rudeness, selfishness dominate. The husband and wife are encouraged and instructed to love one another – to be kind and patient, tender and thoughtful. But the couple struggles so badly to change. Why? In part is it because the works principle governs the marriage – mercy and grace is lacking. 

Would you turn with me to 1 Peter 3. Peter is speaking to the wives in 1 Peter 3:1 when he says, “Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct” (1 Peter 3:1–2, ESV). How is a wife to respond to a husband who is failing to obey the word of God? She is to be subject to him. She is to respond by laying down her life for him. She is to be sure that her conduct is respectful and pure. And it will be in this way that her husband is to be won without a word. I do not need to tell you how different this way is from the way of the world. The worldly wife will seek to change her husband, not without a word, but with many words! The Christian wife is to win her husband without a word through her “respectful and pure conduct”. She is to adorn herself, not externally with “the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing [she] wear[s]” but instead she is to adorn herself  with “the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” And then Peter remarks that “this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” (1 Peter 3:3–6, ESV). 

This is my very favorite passage to share with a Christian wife who’s husband is ungodly or immature in Christ. I love that Peter mentions Sarah and Abraham. How did Sarah respond to Abraham? How did she adorn herself as his wife? She showed honor to Abraham, even calling him lord. I would image that some would respond to this saying, “ya, but Sarah was married to Abraham, the father of the faith, a godly man.” Sister, have you read the story of Abraham? Have you read of all of his shortcomings? Twice he abandoned Sarah to a King’s haram. He foolishly too Sarah’s servant as a second wife. He was far from perfect. And yes Sarah showed him honor. 

I should here say the thing that has been said time and time again in this series. The Bible does permit divorce. Two grounds are given – adultery and abandonment. In these instances divorce is permitted. So there are limitations to what I am here saying. But those issues aside, we must extend grace to one another. We musty learn to show honor even if the other is acting less than honorably. 

Notice that Peter says something similar to the husband in verse 7 of the same passage. “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7, ESV). 

What is the principle that ties Peter’s instructions to wives and his instructions to husbands together? What is the principle that stands behind the word “likewise” of verses 1 and 7? Did you notice the word “likewise”? It is the principle of showing honor even to those who mistreat you. Instead of the law of “an eye for an eye” it is law of “love your enemies” that is being put forth here. 

In fact, this theme runs from 1 Peter 2:13 all the way through to the end of chapter 3. 

Look at 2:13: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people” (1 Peter 2:13–15, ESV).

Look now at 2:18: “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Peter 2:18–20, ESV).

Notice the reason that Peter gives for this kind of conduct. Verse 21: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21–25, ESV)

The “likewise” of verses 1 and 7 of 1 Peter 3 has reference to this gracious way of life. Husbands and wives are not to live according to the “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” principle, but instead they are to extend grace, showing honor to one another, even if the other is acting less than honorable.     

Tell me brother;  tell me sister, does the works principle dominate your marriage, or is your marriage infused with grace? Wives, I can tell you from experience that the Spirit of God convicts me most strongly as a husband when my wife responds to my rudeness or irritability with kindness and respect. 

*****

III. A Husband And Wife Must Be Long Suffering In Christ Jesus

Thirdly, and very briefly, if a husband and wife hope to have a successful and God honoring marriage they must be long suffering in Christ Jesus. Patience is a key ingredient in good and God honoring marriages.  

Truth be told, many loose hope in their marriages way to soon. 

Do you remember what was said in the middle of that that passage on love found in 1 Corinthians 13? It says, “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV). Brothers and sisters, we need to endure in marriages. We need to persist with hope in our marriages.  

What should we do as we persevere in the marriage relationship?

We should be sure to address issues as they arise respectfully and in love.

We should be be gracious and kind to one another while we pursue sanctification in Christ Jesus. 

We should focus on ourselves, asking am I walking holy and humbly before God?

And we should pray. Pray, pray, pray.

*****

Conclusion 

Tell me friend, do you know the love of Christ?

Do you know how to love as Christ loves?

Are you merciful and gracious to your spuce?

Are you long suffering?

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:24-25, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Genesis 2:24-25: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: Having A Successful Marriage

Nov 18
4

Sermon: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: Entering Into Marriage: Genesis 2:24-25

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24-25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his 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.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 15:1-16

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” (John 15:1–17, ESV)

Introduction 

Brothers and sisters, in this third sermon in this series within a series on the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage I would like to focus in upon the subject of entering into marriage – how should a person prepare to enter into the marriage relationship? We have already devoted two sermons to answering the question, what is marriage? In the weeks to come we will address the marriage relationship itself as we ask, how can we have a healthy and successful marriage? And finally we will address the difficult and rather unpleasant subject of divorce and remarriage. Truly, the word of God is a light to our feet in all these matters, and so to the word of God we must go. Today, I wish to offer some brief remarks concerning entering into marriage. My objective is to help those who hope to marry in the future to prepare well for marriage beginning even now. 

I realize that by introducing this sermon in the way that I have it is possible that some will assume that this sermon will have nothing at all for them. 

To those who are young it might seem as if entering into marriage is a long, long way off. To the young I would say, little brother, little sister, time moves very quickly. Your wedding day might be here before you know it. You had better start preparing for it now. So listen up! 

Those who are married now might be thinking, how can a sermon on the subject of entering marriage possibly be for me given that I have already entered into it? Let me ask you two questions: One, do you have children, or do you plan to have children? If so, please understand that their wedding day might be here before you know it. One of your responsibilities as a parent is to prepare your children for marriage, whether or not it be the Lord’s will for them. This is something that we must always remember, parents: our objective is not to hold on to our children forever, but to raise them so that we might release them to establish households of their own. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”, the scriptures say. May the Lord use this brief sermon to help parents help their children to prepare will for marriage. Two, if you are married now would you be willing to consider that perhaps in some ways you entered into your marriage ill prepared? I do not want you to be discoursed by this. Instead my desire is that, having recognized what was lacking in the preparation, you would now work to remedy the weaknesses. May the Lord be pleased to use this sermon on entering marriage even to those who are married now. 

And still there are others who are single now and do not plan to marry, or who are married now but do not have children in the home. To you I would say, rejoice that these truths are being taught within or community, and pray for those who are to wed in the future, that they would prepare for marriage and enter into this holy union well and to the glory of our covenant making and covenant keeping God. Also, I trust and pray that plenty of principles will put forth in this sermon that you will be able to pick up and make your own, though they may not apply to you in the same way that they will apply to the one who is preparing for, or helping their children to prepare for, marriage in the future.

Well, enough of me trying to convince everyone to listen to this sermon. Let’s get on with it. How should a person prepare for marriage? What should a Christian think and do now so that he or she might enter into the marriage relationship (if it be God’s will for them to marry) well equipped and ready to thrive in it to the glory of God?

Pursue Holiness And Maturity In Christ Jesus In The Whole of Life

Pursue holiness and maturity in Christ in all that you think, say and do.

Pursue holiness and maturity in Christ in all that you think.

Pursue knowledge.

Pursue wisdom.

Cultivate purity of thought.

Pursue holiness and maturity in Christ in all that you say.

Have you learned to control your tongue?

Have you learned how to communicate?

Have you learned how to work through conflict without sinning?

Pursue holiness and maturity in Christ in all that you do. 

Have you learned the way of Christ, which is to die to self and to live for others?

Do you keep God’s law? Do you love God with all your heart, soul mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself? Or do you selfishly love yourself, and live for your own pleasure?

These things can and should be cultivated, not after the wedding day, but well before it. Maturity in Christ should be developed today. 

Let me speak very directly now to the teenagers and preteens. amongst us. I know that some of you are thinking about marriage already. I’m no fool. I know that some of you, perhaps the girls in particular, have thought about marriage. And what I am saying to you is that you need to start preparing for it now. No, I’m not talking about finding a spouse. I’m not talking about planning the wedding day, or anything like that. I’m talking about you preparing yourself – you working on you, so that when the day (if the Lord wills) you are ready to be a good and godly husband, or a good and godly wife. 

How can you prepare? 

Do you know Christ?

Is God your first love?

Do you know God’s word? Do you have it in your heart? Do you read it for yourself? Do you pay attention when it is read to you and preached? Do you work to put it into practice. Mature and godly husbands and wives know God’s word and they seek to obey it in the whole of life.

Do you pray? 

Do you know how to love others? If you do not know how to love others now, why do you think you will be able to love your husband or wife after your are married? And what does it mean to love others? It involves you dying to yourself, and doing good for someone else. 

I’ll tell you what it looks like for a young man or young woman to be well prepared for marriage. When I see a young person notice a pile of dishes in the sink and begin to wash them with a good attitude and without being ask, that is a sign of maturity. That is an indicator this one has learned the joy serving others instead of the misery of living for oneself.

When I see a young man speak kindly to his siblings even if they have been rude to him…

When I see a young woman who is able to work through conflict…

The problems that arise within marriage relationships are not produced by the marriage, but by the sinfulness of those who are wed. The marriage relationship is simply the realm or the context in which the sinfulness of the husband’s heart and the wife’s heart are manifest. 

The problem is not the marriage, but the people who are wed. 

Imagine a truly godly and mature Christian man and a godly and mature Christian woman.  Now imagine that these two are married. And now try to imagine their marriage being bad. Can you do it?

It is difficult for me to imagine two godly and mature people having a terrible marriage. 

I can imagine a difficult marriage if one is godly and mature, and the other not.

I can imagine a marriage being very difficult if both husband and wife are ungodly and immature. 

But it is very difficult for me to imagine a marriage being anything less than good – even great –  if indeed the husband and wife have both cultivated personal holiness and have a mature walk with Christ. Will their marriage be perfect? No, for even the “godly” among us are not perfect. Will there be room for growth in this marriage? Yes! The godly and mature husband and wife will continually deepen in their understanding of God, of themselves, of one another and of the marriage relationship. But if they are godly and mature – if they love God supremely, if they have learned to walk humbly before him, if they know what it is to die to self and to live for the good of others, if they have self-control in thought word and deed, then it is difficult to imagine their marriage relationship being anything other than good and ever improving. 

Do you want a good marriage? Cultivate personal holiness and maturity in Christ Jesus.  

Heart transformation is needed. Sanctification is needed. Maturity in Christ is needed. All of this should be sought and cultivated well in advance of the wedding day. Sadly, many do not realize how weak, immature and self-centered they are util the marriage relationship is used by God to reveal it! Thanks be to God that he uses the marriage relationship to sanctify his people. We should rejoice in this. But wouldn’t it be better to prepare for marriage by walking in humble submission to God and his word, pursuing holiness and maturity in Christ prior to  marriage, so that we might enter into the union well equipped. Do your future spouse a favor and pursue holiness in the whole of life even now.  

Know What You Are Looking For In A Future Spouse

How should a person prepare for marriage?

Secondly, it is important for you to know what you are looking for in a future spouse.

Make a list. Prioritize that list. 

Tall, dark and handsome should not be at the top of that list. Thankfully those three things were not at the top of Lindsay’s, for I certainly wouldn’t have made the cut. 

Yes, it is somewhat important that we be attracted to the person we will someday marry. A bride and groom should be attracted to one another physically and emotionally.  

But I would suggest to you that other things besides physical appearance and even compatibility, so called, should be higher on our list.

Consider that many marriages throughout the world today are arranged marriages. And consider that most marriages throughout history were arranged marriages. The dating thing that we do in our culture is really quite unusual when compared to the rest of the world and to historical practices. And those arranged marriages work. Now, I am not advocating that we adopt the practice of arranged marriages. I will admit that the practice is more appealing than ever before now that my daughters are approaching adult hood. 

The point I am making is that marriages can be very, very healthy even if the issue of physical or emotional attraction is not at the very top of the list driving the relationship. In fact, think of how shallow and vain a relationship will be if physical and emotional attraction is the thing driving it.

It is far better to have other things – things of substance – at the top of your list and to allow the issue of attraction attraction and compatibly to round it out.   

For the Christian the thing that must be at the very top of the list is the question, are they in Christ? Are they united to Christ by faith?

This is not just the opinion or preference of your parents and your pastor, but is the very word of God. 

Do not be unequally yoked.

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:14–18, ESV).

They must be in the Lord. 

“A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:39, ESV).

They must be truly in the Lord. 

“Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20, ESV).

Some come to faith after marriage and thus find themselves a believer married to a non-believer. In such instances the Christian should remain, “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:16, ESV). But here we are talking about entering into marriage. 

For the Christian, that the future spouse be a Christian – and truly a Christian –  must be at the top of the list. From there you should be looking for someone who is mature in Christ – someone who is sound in doctrine and faithful in his or her way of life. 

Be patient. 

If they must also be tall, dark and handsome, then good luck. I am not saying that such creatures do not exist, only that you should take great care in forming your list. Have the right things at the top, and the right things on the bottom, and be willing to abandon the non-essential things as you go along.

Know what you are looking for in a future spouse.

Approach Dating Relationships And Engagement In A Godly Way

Thirdly, and lastly, may I encourage you to approach dating relationships and engagement in godly way? Another way to say this is that a Christian should approach dating relationships and engagement in a way that is consistent with our faith in general, and our view of marriage in particular.

Pre-adults, respect your parents. They have experiences and wisdom that you don’t have. 

Courtship or dating? Engagement or betrothal? I don’t care what you call it! Engage these things in a godly way. 

Dating

Sexual purity

Emotional purity

Recognize that you are developing relational habits in your dating relationships. 

Date/court with a view towards marriage. 

Engagement

Engaged people are not married people. 

Maintain sexual purity 

No cohabitation

Engaged people should be preparing, not only for the wedding, but especially for the marriage. 

Conclusion

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:24-25, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: Entering Into Marriage: Genesis 2:24-25

Oct 18
28

Sermon: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Foundations Of Marriage (Part 2): Genesis 2:24-25

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24-25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his 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.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:12–16

“To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:12–16, ESV)

Introduction 

Brothers and sisters, in this sermon series within a series on the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage we will eventually address topics such as entering into marriage, having a successful marriage, challenges in marriage, as well as the topic of divorce and remarriage, but today we are still addressing foundational matters. We are answering the question, “what is marriage?” Or, better yet, “what do we learn about the marriage relationship when we look to the pages of Holy Scripture?” 

I have three foundational observations to make. What is marriage? One, marriage is a covenant. Two, marriage is for the glory of God. And three, marriage is for the good of humanity.

Marriage Is A Covenant

It should be remembered that the first of these three observations was presented last week. What is marriage? Marriage is, first of all, a covenant. 

Remember the definition that was provided. Marriage is “a lifelong covenant of companionship between a man and a woman that has been established under God and before the community” (Newheiser, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage, 6).

Marriage is a covenant. More specifically, marriage it is a covenant made between one man and one woman. It is a covenant made under God. It is a covenant is made before others. The marriage covenant authorizes sexual intimacy. And the marriage covenant is to last until death. All of this was presented in the previous sermon.But before we move on from this foundational point I would like to tease it out a bit more. 

I pray that you would comprehend how important it is to view marriage as a covenant. In marriage a man makes a promise before God and witnesses to be faithful to a woman. And the woman also makes a promise before God and witnesses to be faithful to a man. This they promise to do until separated by death. What a solemn thing it is to make such a promise. What a serious thing it is to enter into such a covenant. Truly, there is no other relationship on planet earth like the relationship that exists between husband and wife. Two individuals who were were at one time interlay unrelated are joined together by God as one flesh as they enter into this covenantal bond. The marriage covenant is the glue that holds the marriage relationship together. A husband and wife are to stick together though thick and thin, and for what reason? Because they made a promise to one another before God and before witnesses that they would. 

While I was growing up I remember being taught that divorce is not an option. I’m grateful to have been taught that lesson for, generally speaking, it is true – divorce is not an option.

I say “generally speaking” because there are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Divorce, as we will see later in this series, is an option in the case of adultery or abandonment (and I think it is right to see abuse as a form of abandonment – more on that later). If a spouse is sexually unfaithful then the other is permitted (but not required) to divorce them. If a spouse abandons the marriage then the other is permitted to divorce. But these two biblical grounds for divorce are exceptions to the general rule that divorce is not an option.

Think of the impact that these principles will have upon a marriage if they are believed and adopted. If a couple views marriage as being a lifelong covenant of companionship, and, connected to that, if a couple decides from the start that divorce is not an option for them, then that couple will have set their marriage relationship down upon a fairly firm foundation. 

More needs to be said, of course. For our highest goal is not simply to remain married to the end. No, more than that we wish to thrive in our marriages to the glory of God. But here is a firm foundation upon which to stand. Marriage is a livelong covenant of companionship. Divorce is not an option.    

Therefore, when we experience difficulties in the marriage relationship divorce should not even be on our minds. Certainly the treat of it should never be on our lips. Never should a husband or wife threaten divorce. 

As I said earlier the scriptures do permit divorce in two situations – when a spouse has committed adultery or in the case of abandonment (abuse being a form of abandonment). In these difficult situations  the spouse that has been sinned against is indeed free (not required) to divorce.  But think of it, even in these extreme instances divorce, though it be permitted, does not need to be threatened. The one who has been sinned against needs to make a decision with the help of godly counsel as to if they will divorce or remain, but he or she does not need to threaten divorce. Never should the threat of divorce be used as a weapon – as a way to gain the upper hand in an argument.

I’m afraid that many do have divorce on the mind and even upon their lips, not in the extreme cases of adultery and abandonment, but even when facing the ordinary and common struggles of marriage. 

Brothers and sisters, I hope that you would agree that this is ungodly behavior. If God created marriage to be a lifelong covenant of companionship, and if God has given only two instances in which divorce is permitted, then it is wrong for us to have divorce on our minds, in our hearts, and proceeding from our lips as a threat when the relationship is difficult and tumultuous. To ponder or threaten divorce when there are no grounds for it is to disobey God’s word on the matter.

Because marriage is a lifelong covenant of companionship ordinarily divorce is not an option. A husband and wife are to sick like glue to one another even if there are many factors and forces at work to pull them apart. And this is particularly true for the Christian. While it is true for all humanity that marriage is a lifelong covenant of companionship, the Christian should definitely know it this and live accordingly. And I would also argue that it is particularly possible for the Christian to live accordingly given our worldview. It is our worldview that makes it possible for us to stay through thick and thin. The Christian believes that there is a God to whom we must give an account. We believe that this God is our heavenly Father. He is faithful to his people and is willing and able to sustain his people. We believe that our God is able to change lives. How do you know, therefore, if your conduct will not lead to the salvation of your husband or wife? How do you know if your conduct will not lead to the sanctification of your husband or wife? The world is quick to leave, in part, because they do not have a biblical worldview. With God there is hope. And this hope enables us to persevere in the midst of difficulty. 

Marriage Is For The Glory of God

Secondly, marriage is for the glory of God.

What is marriage? Marriage is, first of all, a covenant. Secondly, marriage is for the glory of God. 

In just a moment I will make the point that marriage is for our good. Indeed, marriage is good. It is, in fact, very good. There is much to say about the goodness of marriage for the man and woman who enter into this union. But before we talk about how good marriage is for us, we must emphasize that marriage is for God’s glory. This is the proper order of things. What is the benefit of marriage? First, it is for the glory of God, and after that it is for our good. I’m afraid that we tend to have this backwards, though. We tend to enter into marriage for our enjoyment, and the idea that it is for God’s glory remains a distant afterthought. The truth is that the institution of marriage in general, and our marriage relationships in particular, are, above all else, for the glory of God. 

In fact the one who is mature in Christ understands that everything is for the glory of God. Everything that was made by God was made so that the glory of God might be manifest. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world… (Psalm 19:1–4, ESV). Everything that we think, say and do is to be for the glory of God. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). Certainly, marriage is to bring glory to God.  

The institution of marriage itself is for the glory of God. It functions as a picture of God’s relationship to his people. Just as God entered into a covenantal relationship with his people at the beginning of time, so too the first man and woman were joined together in one flesh union by way of covenant. This was true in the beginning and in the garden prior to man’s fall into sin. And it remained true even after man’s fall into sin. God graciously provided a way for sinners to approach him. This was accomplished by way of the Covenant of Grace which was promised shortly after the fall and would be ratified in Christ’s blood. Marriage, therefore, functions as picture of God’s covenantal relationship with his people, particularly the union that exists between Christ and the church, God’s redeemed bride. 

This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. Paul, after discussing the marriage relationship in general, and the particular role of the husband and wife who are joined together in one flesh union, says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32, ESV). In other words the one flesh union enjoyed by the husband and wife in the marriage bond is mysterious and really it is about – it pertains to and is a picture of – Christ’s union with the church. The covenant of marriage is itself an analogy of God’s covenantal union with his people brought about though the Redeemer. The institution of marriage is itself for the glory of God. It is a picture of God’s covenantal faithfulness to man. 

And certainly we bring glory to God when our particular marriages are as they should be. 

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant when we are faithful to one another just as God is faithful. 

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant when we act selflessly towards one another just as God in Christ was selfless, laying down his life for his bride, the church. 

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant when we are kind, tender and compassionate to one another just as God is kind, tender and compassionate towards his children. 

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant when we are gracious towards one another just as God is gracious to us in Christ Jesus. 

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant when we love one another just as Christ loves us.

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant when we truly forgive one another just as God has forgiven all our sins in Christ Jesus.

We bring glory to God in the marriage covenant we are united together as close companions as a reflection of our union with the Father through the Son and by the Spirit.  

The institution of marriage was itself designed to function as a picture of the covenantal union which exists between God and his people, but do you see that this institution is terribly marred by sin when the husband and wife live, not according to the design and will of God, but according to the wisdom and will of fallen man. The marriage relationship fails to give glory to God when approach it wrongly and live sinfully within it. 

Brothers and sisters, will you bring glory to God’s name through your marriage, or will you bring shame to his name? I would urge to stop settling for a mediocre, or worse yet, sinful marriage, and to strive for a marriage in which God is glorified. Be faithful to your spouse in thought, word and deed. Selflessly serve one another as God in Christ has served us – lay down your life for the good of the other. Be kind, tender and compassionate towards one another. Speak kind words. Be gentle. See to understand the other. Extend mercy and grace. Forgive from the heart. Cultivate closeness, intimacy, friendship. Love one as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Stop settling for mediocre marriages and strive for one that is Christlike. Strive for a marriage that brings glory to God. 

As you strive for a marriage that is God honoring you will find that the world, your sinful flesh and the evil one himself will fight against you all along the way, but in Christ we have the victory. 

Marriage Is For The Good of Humanity

Thirdly, and lastly, we must confess that marriage is for the good of humanity. 

Much has been said in this sermon about the difficulty of marriage. Marriage can be difficult. It is important for us to teach that it is a covenant and that divorce is not an option so that we might persevere in the face of difficulties. Many do enter into the marriage relationship naively assuming that it will be happily ever after for them. This is a terrible mistake, and so we must warn that marriage will be challenging. When two sinful human beings are joined together in one flesh union there are bound to be challenges. 

But may this never obscure the fact that the marriage is really, really good. It is possible to have a great marriage in Christ Jesus. It is possible to mature in marriage to the degree that the relationship can be called “wonderful”. Again, or goal as Christians should not be to endure to the end so that we might say, “at least I was faithful!” Instead we should be striving after a good and godly marriage, one that is truly pleasant and satisfying.

I wonder if our marriage relationships do not remain mediocre because we have convinced ourselves that a good marriage or great marriage is not possible. 

The same is true regarding personal holiness. I wonder if we do not plateau in our walk with Christ because we have convinced ourselves that a good or great walk with Christ is impossible. Perfection is something we should not expect, but it is something we should strive after. It is true that Christian life will be characterized by ups and downs, but let us always strive after holiness, brothers and sisters.

Have you said to yourself, “this is just the way that I am, I cannot change”? Never should a Christian believe such a thing. Christ is able to change you from the heart. Are you impatient and rude? Are you short tempered? Are you self absorbed? And prone to bitterness? Are you a bad communicator? Never should the Christian say, “this is just the way that I am.” Instead, the Christian should pursue holiness – the Christian should expect to be sanctified by the word and Spirit. 

The same principle applies to the marriage relationship. Though it is true that marriage is sometimes difficult. Though it is true that a good marriage requires work. The Christian should expect to have a marriage that is good and even great. With Christ it is possible, my friends. 

Marriage is a covenant. It is for the glory of God. And it is for the good of humanity.

In what ways is the marriage relationship good?

First of all, in the marriage relationship a husband and wife are able to enjoy companionship. 

What a blessing it is to have someone to walk through life with. 

Remember that Eve was created by God to be a helper for Adam. She was not created to be his superior, nor was she created to be his slave. Instead she was designed to be a helper fit for him. 

When I say that a husband and wife are to enjoy companionship I mean that they ought to be relationally close and intimate. They should communicate with one another. A husband and wife should be good friends. 

Brothers and sisters, if companionship or friendship is lacking in your marriage, it can be cultivated. And how can friendship be cultivated in the marriage relationship? By being kind, caring, thoughtful and considerate towards one another.

Secondly, the marriage relationship is good for humanity in that it is good for society. 

The family is the building block of society. When families are healthy, the society is healthy. When the family breaks down, society begins to break down. God’s design is that children be raised in healthy families under the authority of a husband and wife, mother and father. 

It is possible, no doubt, for a single mother or a single father to do a wonderful job at raising their children alone. But here we are addressing God’s design, or the ideal. If the situation is less than is ideal, then a single mother or father would be wise to lean upon others for assistance in raising children. But here I am setting forth the ideal. 

Brothers and sisters, cultivating healthy marriages is very beneficial to society. 

Thirdly, and somewhat connected to the previous concept, the marriage relationship is good in that it is good for the advancement of the kingdom of God. 

The kingdom of God is advanced in this world when husband and wives, mothers and fathers, raise their children in the Lord. I know that in some traditions Christians are urged to be active within the church, serving within various ministries. May I suggest to you that the most important work of all for a husband and wife, mother and father, is the work that is done within the home. Brothers and sisters, do not allow yourselves to become so busy with activities, either in the church or in the community, that you neglect investing into your children particularly when in comes to spiritual things. This is especially important for fathers to hear in our day and age. Slow down, men, and pour into your children. Drop the hobbies, cut back on work, even pull back on service within the church if you must so that you might further God’s kingdom by proclaiming the gospel to your children and raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 

Fourthly, the marriage relationship is good in that it contributes the sanctification and holiness of the husband and wife. 

Please hear me, friends. One of the reasons that God has blessed you with your spouse is so that God might use your spouse to bring about your sanctification. What is sanctification? “Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness” (Baptist Catechism Q: 38). And I am saying that one of the primary means that God uses to sanctify his people is the marriage relationship.

At the heart of our sin is pride and self-centeredness. If we lived life all alone a great deal of our pride and self-self-centeredness would go unnoticed and unchecked. But you have probably noticed that it is through our contact with others that our pride and self-self-centeredness becomes evident. 

Friends, there is no closer relationship on earth than the one that exists between husband and wife – the two have become one flesh. If there is pride and self-self-centeredness in the heart it will quickly become evident in the marriage relationship. 

Here is another reason why threatening divorce is sinful. It short-circuits the sanctification process. Imagine the heat being turned up in the marriage – imagine the flames of the refiners fire growing more intense. And then imagine that one or both have the habit of jumping out of the kiln before the work of refinement is done.

Brothers and sisters, do not be surprised when God uses your marriage to refine you spiritually. When conflict arises within the marriage do not double down on your pride and selfishness, not recognize it for what it is, confess it as sin, walk humbly before your God and live for the good others, particularly your spouse.  This is one of the reasons the marriage relationship is good for us given our sinful condition – it will used by God to advance our sanctification.   

Conclusion

Friends, I have three questions to ask you by way of conclusion. 

One, seeing that marriage is a livelong covenant of companionship, are you truly committed to your spouse?  Are you devoted the marriage? Are you “all in” from the heart? Our marriages will be terribly unstable and tumultuous if we waver in our commitment to one another in the heart. Hopefully you meant what you said on your wedding day when you uttered the words, “I take you to be my wedded spouse, and I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful spouse in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as we both shall live.” If there was uncertainty in the heart then, or if their is uncertainty in the heart now, it is not too late to fix it. We can, even now, turn from the sin of unfaithfulness in the heart and grow in our resolve. Truly, the one who doubts in the heart will be tossed around like the waves of the sea, and the marriage itself will remain unstable. Are their grounds for divorce? Indeed there are! But let us put that issue to side for a moment and say the more general thing: husbands and wives, marriage is for life! It is a lifelong covenant of companionship.”

Two, seeing that marriage is for the glory God I ask, does your marriage glorify his name? When people look at your marriage (and this includes your children) do they see God’s love, compassion, tenderness, mercy and faithfulness on display? Do they see Christ’s self-less and self-sacrificing love for his church, and the churches reciprocal love for the Savior on display? Or do they see the way of the world? Brothers and sisters, let us do all things for the glory of God. Let us strive for marriages that bring honor to our great King. 

Three, seeing that marriages are for our good, are you pursuing a great marriage in Christ Jesus? Or have you grown content with one that is mediocre? Another way to say this is to ask, are your pursuing holiness in Christ Jesus? Are you pursuing holiness as an individual and in the marriage. 

Ephesians 4:17-32 is one of my favorite passages to use in marriage counseling. Though it does not mention the marriage relationship (Paul turns to marriage in Ephesians 5) it is deeply practical for husbands and wives.  Listen to Paul’s words, and you hear them, think of the marriage relationship. “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:17–32, ESV)

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:24-25, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Foundations Of Marriage (Part 2): Genesis 2:24-25

Oct 18
21

Sermon: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Foundations Of Marriage (Part 1): Genesis 2:24-25

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24-25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his 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.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Revelation 21:1–5

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Revelation 21:1–5, ESV)

Introduction 

Brothers and sisters, I would like to take some time now to give attention to the topic of marriage. My plan (as of today) is to devote seven sermons to the topic of marriage, divorce and remarriage. 

Remember that I did something similar with the doctrine of the Sabbath. The creation narrative of Genesis 1 concluded by making mention of the Sabbath Day (Genesis 2:1-3). And after moving through the text of Genesis 1 verse by verse, I devoted 8 sermons to the doctrine of the Sabbath. 

Notice that something similar happens in the creation narrative of Genesis 2. There we find a description of God’s creative activities with special attention given to the creation of the  man and woman, and then the narrative concludes by making mention of the marriage covenant. 

Isn’t it interesting that both the creation narrative of Genesis 1 and the creation narrative of Genesis 2 conclude with institutions. After creating the heavens and the earth, God instituted the Sabbath. And after creating man, male and female – and having entered into covenant with man –  God instituted the marriage covenant. 

I would suggest to you that this pattern is deliberate.  It seems that the Sabbath command brings the creation narrative of Genesis 1 to a conclusion because the Sabbath functions as a sign of God’s creation of the heavens and earth and of the promise of eternal rest held out to the man who was made in his image. And so too the marriage covenant brings to conclusion the creation narrative of Genesis 2 because it functions as a sign of God’s covenantal relationship with his people. The Sabbath command and the marriage covenant, though they differ greatly from one another, share this in common: they signify or symbolize for all humanity truths concerning God and his relationship to man. Whenever the Sabbath day is properly observed something is symbolized concerning God’s relationship with his people. And whenever marriage is properly entered into something is symbolized concerning God’s relationship with his people.

I’ll leave it to you to think more about this. If I go any further this introduction will turn into a sermon all its own. For now I will simply say that I think it is appropriate for us to tease out the topic of marriage now that the principle has been introduced to us in Genesis 2:24-25 just as we teased out the topic of the Sabbath after it was introduced to us in Genesis 2:1-3. Both the Sabbath day and the marriage relationship were instituted by God at creation, they are for all humanity, and they are symbolic institutions.

Please note that the marriage relationship was instituted by God. God is the one who created the marriage relationship. He established it in the beginning when he created the first man and the first women and joined them together as husband and wife. I hope  you are able to recognize how foundational this idea is: the marriage relationship was instituted by God. 

You have noticed, no doubt, that people are very confused about marriage in this culture. There was a time when the majority of the population actually agreed that marriage was a covenant into which one man and one woman would enter for life. Things are different now. The popular view today is that two men may marry, or two women. Why it is that polygamy or polyandry is still taboo, I’m not entirely sure. I would imagine that it is only a matter of time before this is also tolerated – that is, unless God intervenes. Notice also that divorce is much more common and accepted within our culture today. People are very confused about the institution of marriage. 

But I want you to recognize that all of the differences of opinion that exist within our culture concerning marriage can be traced back to a more fundamental question, namely, where did the marriage institution come from? How did this thing that we call marriage come to be?

Many in our culture would say that the institution of marriage came from man. In other words, marriage is the product of societal evolution. A long time ago, someone, somewhere decided that it would be beneficial for man and for society to have this institution that we call “marriage”. Marriage, according to this view, arose spontaneously from the ooze of humanity. 

But what does the Christian say? Our view is that the institution of marriage came from God.  God created the marriage relationship. God is the originator of marriage, and he, therefore, is also the orderer of marriage.

It should not be difficult to see how these differences of opinion regarding the origins of marriage produce all of the other differences of opinion that exist within our culture. 

If the marriage institution was created by man, then man is also free to regulate it. If marriage is the product of societal evolution, then we should expect that the institution will undergo constant change. For many within our culture the legalization of gay marriage is viewed as progress. It fits perfectly with their presuppositions concerning the origins of the institution. They applaud the legalization of gay marriage because they have first believed that the marriage institution came from man and is constantly evolving. Who is authorized to decided what marriage is? Man is, according to this view!

But if marriage was instituted by God in the beginning – if it was designed by him – then we should not expect nor desire that it be changed. The Christian does not say, how might we improve this thing called marriage? but instead, Oh, Lord, help us to conform our marriages to your will. If God is the originator of the marriage institution, he is also the orderer of it. Our place is not to create new ways, but to conform our lives to the ways that our Creator has established.  

Do you want to have a marriage that gives glory to God? Do you want to have a marriage that is truly right and good? Do you want a marriage that is blessed of God? Then to his word we must go! We must begin by asking, what have you said, Lord, concerning marriage? And after that we must say, Lord, help us to conform our lives to your most holy word. 

What do we learn about the marriage relationship when we look to the pages of Holy Scripture? I have three foundational observations. One, marriage is a covenant. Two, marriage is for the glory of God. And three, marriage is for the good of humanity. I will elaborate on the first of these today and return to the last two next Sunday, Lord willing. 

First of all, marriage is a covenant. 

It is, to quote one author, “a lifelong covenant of companionship between a man and a woman that has been established under God and before the community” (Newheiser, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage, 6).

To enter into a covenant is to make a solemn promise. To enter into a covenant is a very serious thing. To break a covenant is a grave sin. 

Notice that the word “covenant” does not appear in Genesis 2. There we simply read, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, ESV). Clearly it is the marriage relationship that is being described. And though the word “covenant” is not found here, the rest of scripture makes it clear that the marriage relationship is established by way of covenant. 

Other passages could be sited, but Malachi 2:14 will suffice. There the prophet is found rebuking the man who has abandoned his wife, saying, “the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant” (Malachi 2:14, ESV). Marriage is a covenant. The relationship is established by making a solemn oath or promise.

I have five points to make concerning the marriage covenant. 

One, the marriage covenant is made between one man and one woman. 

Last Sunday I read from Mark 10 and that passage where Jesus was being questioned by the Pharisees concerning divorce. And I pointed out how Jesus appealed to this passage here in Genesis 2:24-25 in order to establish God’s ideal for the marriage relationship. Remember how Jesus replied to their questions, saying, “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and 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” (Mark 10:6–9, ESV). In due time we will come to consider the topic of divorce and remarriage. For now I simply wish to demonstrate how Jesus himself interpreted the Holy Scriptures. When Jesus considered the narrative of Genesis 2 he understood it to be foundational. He understood that when God created the man and the woman and joined them together in one flesh union, it established a pattern to be followed. Where do we find God’s design for marriage? We find it beginning in Genesis 2. 

And what is God’s design for the marriage covenant? His design is that one man and one woman enter into it. It is not right for a man to marry a man. It is not right for a woman to marry a woman. It is not right for a man to marry multiple women. And it is not right for a woman to marry multiple men. All are violations of God’s deign for the marriage relationship. Marriage was instituted at creation. Adam and Eve entered into this covenant. This pattern, therefore, was established for all humanity living in all times and places. Have societies deviated from this design throughout the ages? Indeed they have! But insofar as they deviate from God’s design established at creation we must say that they are in error. 

Homosexuality is everywhere condemned as sin in the Holy Scriptures, Old Testament and the New. It should not be difficult to see that homosexual marriages are sinful and are not valid in God’s eyes when compared with the plain teaching of Holy Scripture. They are sinful relationships and they deviate from God design for the marriage covenant.

Do men sometimes feel attracted to other men? Do women sometimes feel attracted to other women? I do not doubt it at all. But this does not mean that it is right to act upon the feeling. What kind of world would we live in if we allowed ourselves to be governed by the rule “if I feel it then it must be ok for me to act upon it”? Even the homosexual would have to admit that they would not want this rule to govern all conduct. Tell me, what would you say to the drunkard who says, “I was born this way?” Would you not lovingly come alongside him and say, “friend, I understand that your desire to drink to the point of drunkenness is very strong, but you must fight against it.” And what would you say to the angry and abusive person who says, “I cannot help it! The feelings of rage are all consuming!” Would you not loving say to her, “friend, I understand that your desire to be given to rage is very strong, but you must fight against it.” What about the adulterer? The liar? The thief? Will you excuse their sin also when they say, “I was born this way”, or “the temptation is just to strong”? You will have compassion, I’m sure. But you will not excuse their sin. Why the different standard when it comes to same sex attraction? God calls homosexual acts sinful. Who are we to disagree with God. 

What those who experience same sex attraction need is Christ. Indeed, this is what we all need. We all know what it is to have our affections bent out of shape because of sin. We all know what it is to be tempted to sin. We have all experienced the powerful pull of the world, the flesh and of the evil one himself. No one is immune from this. All have acted upon it. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All need the Savior. All need to have their sins washed away. All need to be renewed by the word of God and by his Spirit. Oh, that sinners like you and me would come to have faith in Jesus Christ who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

Listen to God’s word: “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 men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Listen carefully to Paul’s words as he wrote to the Christians living in Corinth! He went on to say, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV). “And such were some of you”, he said. You Christians, prior to being “washed… sanctified… and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”, were those things. You were sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, etc., etc.

The scriptures are clear that it is a sin to practice homosexuality. Certainly, God does not view homosexual marriages as valid, for they are sinful relationships, and a distortion of his original design for marriage. 

The same may be said of polygamous or polyandrous marriages. They are a distortion of God’s original design.   

In the beginning God created one male and one female and joined them together in one flesh union. This is God’s design for marriage. This is the pattern to follow. The two became one in marriage and they were to stick together like glue. 

It is interesting to notice that many of the biblical patriarchs and heroes of the faith (so called), entered into polygamous relationships. Think of Abraham, Jacob, and King David, for example. These men took more than one wife. This would not be so difficult to understand if one would simply recognize, first of all, that not everything in the Bible is prescriptive, but is sometimes only descriptive. When the scriptures reveal that Abraham took Hagar as a wife alongside Sarah in his old age it does not mean that it was right, it simply describes what happened. And notice that the narrative itself suggests that it was wrong for him to do so. It was a foolish move, the result of unbelief, and a decision that resulted in much heartache. Abraham in this instance decided to go the way of the world and to act according to human wisdom instead of believing upon and following after his God. The same can be said for Jacob and David. Secondly, we must acknowledge that although there are some things about the lives of the patriarchs that are to be admired and imitated (namely, their eventual faith in the promises of God), the scriptures actually emphasis their sins and shortcomings in order to demonstrate that whatever good came from them was not the result of their own doing, but by the grace of God. Their polygamous marriages would be an example of this – they were wrong, even for them and in that day.   

Where do we find God’s ideal for the marriage relationship? Not in the life of Abraham, nor in the present trends within our godless society, but in the Holy Scriptures in general, and at creation in particular. The marriage covenant is to be made between one man and one woman.

Two, the marriage covenant is made under God.

There is a horizontal dimension to marriage, no doubt. A man and woman stand before one another and take vows. But there is also a vertical dimension. The man and woman make their vows before God. Listen again to Malachi 2:14 which says, “the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant” (Malachi 2:14, ESV). And listen again to Jesus’ words in Mark 10. commenting on the Genesis 2 passage, Jesus said, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9, ESV). When a man and women enter into the marriage covenant God is involved. God is witness to the covenant being made. And God is the one who joins the man and women together in one flesh union so that two become one flesh. This is why Jesus offers these words of warning, “what therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9, ESV). Those who participate in the undoing of a marriage covenant are in fact undoing a work that God has done. Notice that I did not say, “all who have been divorced” – for there are valid grounds for divorce given in the pages of Holy Scripture, as we will see – but “those who participate in the undoing of a marriage covenant”. These – and I have in mind here the unfaithful husband or wife, the seductive woman or man who draws the spouse away, or those who facilitate the ungodly act – these are in fact fighting against God and should expect his judgement. Lord have mercy on us. The marriage covenant is one made under God.

Three, the marriage covenant is made before others.

I suppose the only exception to this rule would be the wedding of Adam and Eve, for there were no other humans to witness it. I suppose we could say that God and the angels attended their wedding. But throughout the scriptures we do notice that marriage vows would be made before witnesses. Consider the wedding of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 4). Consider that wedding events in the Bible are described as feasts involving the community. Consider that Christ preformed his first miracle at a wedding in Galilee when he turned water to wine.  When we take wedding vows we say them before God and man. Why? In part, because the marriage institution is for the good of society. 

The vows that we make in the wedding ceremony are very important, friends. The vows are what communicate the substance of the covenant being entered into. The most important part of the wedding ceremony are the vows. And may I suggest that traditional are the best. I would warn against novelty in the wedding vows. I would also warn against using them as a time for comedy. The wedding vows should be taken seriously. A bride and groom should say something like this to one another in the presence of God and man:

“I take you to be my wedded spouse, and I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful spouse in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as we both shall live.”

Four, the marriage covenant authorizes sexual intimacy.

Sex outside of the marriage relationship is a distortion of God’s design. Put more bluntly, it is sinful. The world scoffs at this idea, doesn’t it, but the scriptures are clear. And you would think that even the godless would be able to recognize the slew of troubles that come upon men and women when they engage in sex outside of the bonds of marriage. 

It is important to recognize that sex does not create the one flesh union that Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10 mention. The joining together of a man and women as one flesh does not happen through intercourse. Instead, it is the marriage covenant that joins a man and woman together as one flesh, and the act of sex is a sign and seal of that union. 

The reason that sex outside of the bonds of marriage is sinful is because it is a misuse of God’s gift. Sex is to be enjoyed by a husband and wife. It is symbolizes their union. It aids in their intimacy. It is the means of procreation, which is appropriate for those who have been joined together in marriage. To engage in sex outside of the bounds of marriage is a misuse of the gift of God. 

An illustration that a Christian would would understand would be that of the Lord’s Supper. Who should partake of the Lord’s Supper? The one who has faith in Christ should partake. Partaking of the Supper does not unite us to Christ – faith does. Instead, the Lord’s Supper is a sign of the covenantal and spiritual bond that exists between Christ and his people. It is highly inappropriate for someone who does not have faith in Christ, who has not been united covenantally and spiritually to Christ, to partake of the Supper, therefore. They are receiving the sign without the having the substance of the thing signified. It is a misuse of the gift of God. And so it is with sex outside the marriage covenant. It is to partake of the sign apart from the substance. It is a profaning of that which is holy. 

This is why Paul, when speaking against sex outside the bounds of marriage says, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh” (1 Corinthians 6:16, ESV). His point is that sexual intimacy is appropriate only for those who have been wed. 

Five, the marriage is a covenant is to last until death. 

In time we will come to talk about divorce and remarriage. The scriptures do say that there are valid grounds for divorce. Specifically, they are adultery and abandonment. In the case of adultery and abandonment divorce is permitted. We will come to deal with these things carefully in the weeks to come. Today I am making the more foundational observation that God’s ideal for the marriage relationship is that it last for life. 

Remember the definition of the marriage covenant that was given earlier. Marriage “a lifelong covenant of companionship between a man and a woman that has been established under God and before the community” (Newheiser, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage, 6).

That the marriage convent is to last for life is also heard in the traditional vows which conclude with the words, “as long as we both shall live.”

And this was Jesus’ perspective also. When the Pharisees were asking him when divorce was permissible he decided to set forth the ideal for marriage when he said, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9, ESV). 

This was Jesus’ interpretation of the passage that is before us in Genesis 2:24, which says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, ESV).

Jesus’ understanding of Genesis 2:24 was that it set forth God’s ideal for marriage. And God’s ideal is that a husband and wife would break with the household they were raised in, would establish their own household, and having been made one flesh, would stick to one another like glue. The word translated in the ESV as “hold fast” means “cling to, to join with, to stay with.” 

God’s design is that marriage be permeant. And how important it is for this to be said. It is important for those who hope to marry in the future to hear this. They need to understand now, and not after the fact, that when the stand before God and man to take their wedding vows they are not saying, “well, we will see how it goes.” No! They are making a promise – they are taking a vow – to be “loving and faithful” to the one standing opposite them for life. This they will do “in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as we both shall live.” This is important for those who hope to marry in the future to hear. And it is also important for those who are married now to hear. It is good to for them to be reminded of these things. 

The trouble is that many do not mean what they say when they take their wedding vows. With their mouths they say I will be “loving and faithful, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow”, but in their hearts they mean “I’ll stick around so long as you fulfill me. I’ll be faithful so long as things go well. I’ll remain so long as you make me happy.” Lord help us. In the marriage covenant we are vowing to be loving and faithful to other, even if things don’t go well. 

Application

Do you see that there is a connection between God’s covenantal relationship with his people and the covenant of marriage? Marriage is to function as a picture of God’s covenantal faithfulness to his people. Is your marriage a picture of covenantal faithfulness?

What is it that holds your marriage together?  Will it last so long as you feel satisfied? Or will it last because you have made a promise?

Are you selfless or selfish in your marriage? Do you look at your spouse and think, “I hope he or she pleases me today?” Or do you think, “I hope that I might please him or her”?

To those not married who hope to wed in the future, I hope that you would agree that it is important for you to understand marriage before entering into it. 

May God be glorified in our marriages. May the love of Christ be displayed as we serve one another and extend grace to one another in Jesus’ name.  

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:24-25, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage: The Foundations Of Marriage (Part 1): Genesis 2:24-25

Oct 18
7

Sermon: Adam as Priest: Genesis 2:4-17

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:4-17

“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; bdellium 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 Cush. And 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 that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Genesis 2:4–17, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Hebrews 4:14–16

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14–16, ESV)

Introduction 

Brothers and sisters, I hope and pray that you are not growing tired of our rather tedious journey through the first few chapters of Genesis. All scripture is important, but there are some passages that are more foundational than others. Genesis chapters 1 through 3 are foundational. They communicate truths that are basic and seminal. These chapters lay down foundations necessary for a worldview that is biblical and true. And so it is good that we take our time here. 

It is so very important for us to have a worldview that is biblical and true. By “worldview” I mean the way in which we view the world. A worldview is a philosophy of life. A persons worldview is the sum total of what he or she thinks of life biggest questions. Where did we come from? What and who are we? What is our purpose and destiny? It is so important that our worldview be biblical and true, for it will undoubtably shape the way that we live our lives. By “true” I mean that we must have a worldview that corresponds to the reality of things. And by “biblical” I mean that our worldview must come ultimately from God’s word. 

I hope that you would agree that God is the only one capable of communicating to us a view of the world that is thoroughly true. Yes, unbelieving scientists, philosophers and theologians may seek to establish their own worldview independent from God through their observation of the natural world and by use of human reason, but they are terribly limited by their own smallness, their creaturely limitations and especially their sin. Do the unbelieving scientists, philosophers and theologians come to some true conclusions? I’m sure they do, for God does reveal himself to some degree through the world he has made. But there are many things that lay beyond our ability to comprehend apart from God’s word. This is due to our creatureliness, not to mention our sin which blinds our eyes and clouds our judgement. 

The true child of God happily acknowledges that we are dependent upon God for truth. He alone is qualified to communicate it. He has graciously revealed his truth to us, and we are to receive it happily and humbly. 

The same questions that God put Job are appropriate for us to consider here. In Job 38:4–7 God questioned Job, saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” God’s questioning of Job goes on and on in that passage, and we need not read it all to understand the point of it. “Where were you when [God] laid the foundations of the earth?” We must reply by saying, “Lord, I did not exist. I was not there to witness it.”

Who is qualified to reveal foundational truths to us? Can any man do it on his own? Can any man simply reason his way to the answers to life’s biggest questions? The Christian is content to say, “no, not infallibly.” But God can reveal truth to us infallibly, because he was there in the beginning. More than that, he himself is the source of all things. Just as we are dependent upon God for life and breath, so too we are dependent upon him for truth. If we are to know truth – ultimate truth – then he must reveal it us. 

Thanks be to God that he has revealed it, for “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1–2, ESV). What a treasure the Word of God is! Brothers and sisters, let us treasure God’s word. May it be to us more “desired… than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10, ESV).

Let us open God’s word often. And whenever it is opened let us listen attentively so that we might understand it, believe it and live accordingly. Friends, let us “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save [our] souls” (James 1:21, ESV).

What are the foundational truths that have been established for us so far in our study of Genesis 1 and 2. Among other things we have learned that God is the Creator and we are his creatures. I cannot think of a more basic truth than this, and yet so many live as if it were not so. Many live as if they were God, and God was theirs to create. No friends, God is God, and we are his creatures. We have been made by him and in his image. As image bearers of God we were created to commune with God. We were created to imitate him in his kingship. Man, as he came from the hand of God, was to exercise “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26, ESV). The man and women together were to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” (Genesis 1:28, ESV). 

What does this have to do with you and me? It has everything to do with you and me for it reveals something of the purpose for which God created man.

In Genesis 2 we learned that God entered into a covenant with the man. It was a covenant of obedience or works. Evidently the man and women were placed under a time of testing. Two trees were set before them – the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They were created with a free will. God created “man with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice.” They were “neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil” (LBC 9.1). The man and women were put to the test. The reward for obedience was life – a higher order of life than they had experienced in the garden, eternal life, a glorified life. The stated consequence for disobedience was death – spiritual death, as well as physical. “God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof… (LBC 6.1). The two tree functioned as sacraments, symbolizing obedience and life on the one hand, and rebellion and death on the other. 

What does this have to do with you and me? It has everything to do with you and me, for it shows what it means to born into this world fallen and in sin. Though we have not yet come to this part of the story, you know it well enough. Adam did not keep the covenant, but broke it. And we are born in Adam. We are born under the covenant of works, which is broken. It cannot give life. It only brings death. 

What does this have to do with you and me? It has everything to do with you and me, for it also shows what Christ has accomplished. He, being the second Adam, has kept the covenant of works. He has paid the penalty for sin, which is death. And this he has done for all of God’s elect – for all who have and do and will believe upon his name.  

God planted a garden in a place called Eden and there he placed the man and woman whom he had formed. The garden was the place where this covenant was made. It was not just a garden, but it was a temple or sanctuary. There in that place man enjoyed communion with God, for God was present in that place. It was in the garden that man was to fulfill his purpose as he lived in perpetual obedience to the God who made him. it was in the garden that Adam was to keep the covenant. Adam and Eve were to worship and serve God there in that place. They were to reproduce and teach their children and their children’s children to worship and serve God there in that place. They were to fill earth with the image of God by bearing children and by working to expand the garden of God. This they were to do until the whole earth was filled with God’s glory.    

What does this have to do with you and me? It has everything to do with you and me, for it shows God’s original purpose for humanity. Also, it makes it possible for us to understand what Christ has earned. Not only has he earned the salvation of individuals, but also the new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells. The first Adam was to accomplish this – he was to fill the earth with righteousness until heaven and earth became one – but he failed. Thanks be to God, the second Adam, who is Christ our Lord, has succeeded through his obedient life and his sacrificial death. He, by virtue of his life, death, burial and resurrection, has been “appointed the heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2, ESV). He is the one who has earned the “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13, ESV), for which we eagerly await. 

Understanding Adam’s original place in the garden also shows what has been restored to us if we are in Christ Jesus. If we are in Christ Jesus, being united to him by faith, then the image of God has been renewed in us. If we are in Christ we are again called sons of God, as Adam was. We again stand before God aright, our enmity with God having been wiped away by the blood of the Lamb. And so too our purpose has been renewed. We who are in Christ have this task, work towards the expansion of God’s kingdom to the ends of the earth. This was Adam’s task, and it is also ours if we are in Christ, the second Adam. The difference, of course, is that we must work towards the expansion of the kingdom of God in a world that is fallen, whereas Adam was originally woking in paradise. He was to work towards the expansion of the garden while also keeping it. When we expand the kingdom of God we do so m=by pushing back the gates of hell.  And we are to work towards the expansion of the kingdom of God, not by pushing out out the borders of the garden sanctuary of God and through reproduction, but through the proclamation of gospel, which is the good news that God has provided a Savior for sinners, Christ Jesus our Lord. And so our work looks different, doesn’t it? But our task is not altogether different from Adam’s original one now that we are in Christ. He was to works towards the expansion of God’s kingdom and so are we.   

All of this matters greatly, friends. When we handle the first few chapters of Genesis we handling things that are absolutely essential to a right understanding of our faith. I hope that you would agree. 

The foundational truth that I wish to emphasize today is a simple one. It is that Adam was not a farmer (as many suppose), but a priest in the garden temple of God. Put differently, Adam’s work was not only to dig irrigation canals and to plant and cultivate trees – his work was not only to bring order to the unordered parts of the earth – but he was also to function as a priest. He was to work and to keep the garden temple of God. His task was to drive away any intruder who would seek to undermine the proper worship of God in that place. Adam was to draw near to God, he was to live holy before him, he was to promote the worship of God, he was to keep the garden, driving away any who would attempt to defile its sanctity. He was to do the work of a priest.   

How do we know that Adam was a priest? By the way, remember that he was also a prophet and king. He was a prophet in that he was to proclaim God’s word to Eve and to his descendants, saying, “thus saith the Lord!” And he was a king in that he was to exercise dominion in imitation of his Maker with Eve his helper at his side. That Adam was a prophet and king seems obvious. But how do we know that Adam was a priest? I have four answers to that question, and then suggestions for application.

One, we know that Adam was a priest by paying careful attention to the narrative of Genesis chapters 2 & 3. 

Notice where Adam was placed after being created by God. He was placed within the garden which, as it was established in the previous sermon, was a temple or sanctuary of God. This is where priests work – in the temple.  

Notice also Adam’s proximity to God. Adam stood in the presence of God. God walked in the garden amongst the man and woman. His presence was in that place. 

Lastly, notice Adam’s work. God commanded him to “work” and to “keep” the garden. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15, ESV). This is precisely the work that the priests under the Old Covenant were to accomplish. The Levites were to “work and keep” the tabernacle, and later the temple of Israel.  

In Numbers 18 the work of the priests of Israel is described. And notice that their “So the Lord said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. They shall keep [šāmar – same as in Gen 2] guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. They shall join you and keep [šāmar – same as in Gen 2] guard over the tent of meeting for all the service [ʿaḇôḏāh – noun form of verb, to work in Gen 2] of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. And you shall keep [šāmar – same as in Gen 2] guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service [ʿaḇôḏāh – noun form of verb, to work] of the tent of meeting. And you and your sons with you shall guard [šāmar – same as keep in Gen 2] your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve [ʿāḇaḏ – verb, to work, same as in Gen 2]. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death” (Numbers 18:1–7, ESV). 

The priests of Israel were to “work” and “keep” the tabernacle, and later the temple, just as Adam was to “work” and “keep” the garden. The terminology of “work” and “keep” is shared in common and deliberately so. Why? To show that the garden was a temple and Adam was a priest. The temple of Israel was a microcosm of creation and of Eden, and the priests of Israel were a reflection of Adam in is his original priestly function. 

Adam was to “work” in the garden to the glory of God, laboring towards its universal expansion. And he was to “keep” or to guard the garden from all intruders, preserving its sanctity.  

How do we know that Adam was a priest? First, by paying careful attention to the narrative of Genesis chapters 2 & 3.

Secondly, by observing the development of the theme of “priesthood” in the history of redemption. 

Adam was a priest. In fact the original design for humanity was that all would function as priests. By this I mean that Adam and all his descendants  were to minister in the presence of God. All were to live holy before him, promoting his worship while they preserved the sanctity and extended the bounds of his holy tabernacle.

But notice that after the fall God, by his mercy and grace, still appointed priests. I am thinking of Melchizedek and Arron, the Levites as well as others. What was the meaning of this? Can you see that the presence of priests after the fall communicated that a way to communion with God was still open, despite mans fall into sin. What an extraordinary thing this is! It fits hand in glove with what was said in the previous sermon concerning the temple. Eden was a temple, and the presence of temples after the fall communicated that a way to communion with God was still open, despite mans fall into sin. No longer could we work our way to God, but we could come to him through the offering up of a substitutionary sacrifice – animals at first, and then Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of he world. The fact that priests remained the world from Adam to Christ communicated that a way to communion with God was still open.  

But notice this, Aaron and the Levites – that is, the priests who ministered to God under the Old Mosaic Covenant in Israel’s tabernacle and temple – were not the first priests. They are the best known priests. Their work is most clearly described for us in the pages of holy scripture. But they were not the first, nor were they the last.  

Adam was a priest. All others are an echo of him. 

Adams children knew to make sacrifices to God. Cain did so badly, but Able got it right. Think about that for a moment. Where did they learn to bring sacrifices to the Lord? The text doesn’t explicitly say, but Adam must have taught them. Making sacrifices to God is priestly work, is it not? Able functioned as a kind of priest, then, as he offered up sacrifices to God as an act of worship before him. This he probably learned from Adam, his priestly father.

And then we have that mysterious figure, Melchizedek. He lived long before Moses, Aaron and Levi, and yet he was a priest of the Lord Most High, and the king of Salem. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that Christ was a priest in the line of Melchizedek, and not Aaron, as the priests of the Old Covent were.

Aaron and the Levites were not the first priests, nor were they the last. Christ himself is the High Priest. And we are priests in him, as we will shall see. 

To solidify the connection between the priests who minister after the fall and Adam as priest, simply consider the imagery of the tabernacle of Israel and the priests who ministered there. The high priest of Israel was to enter the most holy place once per year. He represented the people as he entered the most holy place into the presence of God through the shedding of blood. Picture it now. The priest would walk up to that large curtain embroidered with seraphim. He would enter the most holy place and there he would see the ark of the covenant with the two cherubim on either side guarding that place. Was this not an image of the priest walking back into Eden as it were? After the Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden and cherubim were appointed to guard the entrance. But under the Old Covenant the high priest was invited to enter. A sacrifice had to be made, prefiguring Christ. But a way to the throne of God was still open, thanks be to God. 

Not only did the Old Covenant priests of Israel point forward to Christ, they we also and echo of Adam.

Thirdly, we know that Adam was a priest by comparing Adam, who was a type, with Christ, our great high priest, who is the antitype. 

Paul says directly in Romans 5:14 that Adam “was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14, ESV), namely Jesus the Christ. 

What is a type? A type is a picture or model or foreshadow of something that yet to come. The Old Testament scriptures are filled with “types” that pointed forward to the coming Savior, who would then be the antitype, or the thing to which the type corresponds. 

C.J. Williams has some wonderful things to say concerning the typology. He says in his book, “The Shadow of Christ in The Book of Job”, that “the person and work of Jesus Christ was imprinted on the history that led to his incarnation, through people and events that were invested with prophetic meaning by God, offering glimpses of the coming Savior, and reassuring God’s people of the promise of his coming.” Another way to say this is that God communicated to his Old Covenant people that the Christ would come not only by speaking through the prophets, but also by types and shadows – historical people and events which “said” something about the coming Christ, but not through words. 

The historical person named Adam was a “type” of Christ. Certain things about him communicated things that would be true concerning the Christ once he arrived. Adam was human – the Christ would be human. Adam was a son of God – Christ would be the Son of God. Adam was born under the Covenant of Works – the Christ would be born under the Covenant of Works. Adam was head or representative of others – Christ would be a head or representative for others. Through Adam’s headship death came to all whom he represented – through Christ’s headship life would come to all he represented. At first it seems inappropriate to compare Adam with Christ. In some respects they couldn’t be more different given the terrible failure of the first and the wonderful success of the second. But the scriptures say that Adam was a “type” which pointed forward to Christ, the antitype. 

Here is the point. If Christ is our high priest, then wouldn’t that mean that Adam was also a priest. This they share in common. The difference between the two is that the one was faithful in his priesthood, whereas the other was found to be unfaithful. This is why there is only :one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV).

Lastly, and very briefly, we know that Adam was a priest by considering that in Christ we have been renewed to function as priests before our God.

The work of Christ is a work of renewal. Christ restores in us what was lost or marred at the fall. 

Adam was created a son of God. We, in our fallenness are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3) – children of the devil (John 8:44). In Christ we are restored, adopted as children of God by the Spirit by whom we cry out “Abba Father”. 

Adam was made in the image of God. We, in our fallenness, find that the image is greatly marred and distorted. In Christ the image of God is renewed. “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9–10, ESV).

Likewise, Adam was created to live as a priest before God. This was God’s design for all mankind. In our fallenness we do live as faithful priests. But in Christs our priesthood is restored. 

Listen to the way that Peter speaks to the Christian. “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house…” Ah, you are a God’s temple – do you see it? But there is more! “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5, ESV).

Did you hear it? If you are in Christ – if you are approaching God through faith in him – then you are God’s temple and you are a priest. What was lost with Adam has been restored in Christ. 

No longer is the priesthood restricted to only a few. Now that Christ, the second Adam, and our faithfully high priest has died and risen, the priestly role has been restored to all who are in him. You are sons of God, each one. You are being renewed in knowledge after the image of your creator. You are a priest before God, as was Adam was a priest, prior to his transgression. Those in Christ, “like living stones… being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Application

Brothers and sisters, do you see that God’s original design for humanity was that all would function as priests before God?

I wonder if you would consider how far we have fallen. How many from amongst the children of man are interested in coming before God to worship and serve him faithfully according to his revealed will? How many are interested in living holy before him to and to promote his worship amongst others? The answer is that none are interested, unless God intervenes. In our natural and fallen state we happily serve as false priests to false gods. We serve ourselves. We worship the things of this world, and we encourage others to do likewise. Oh, how distorted we are in our sin!

But God is merciful. He has provided a Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord. He is our faithful high priest. He served God faithfully all his life. And in the end he offered himself of for our sins. Are you trusting in him? He is indeed the only mediator between God and man. He is the only priest who can led us to God. Any others who claim to be priests or mediator are liars and should not be trusted. Faith alone in Christ alone can effetely bring us into a right relationship with God. 

If you are in Christ then you have been renewed in the image of God, and you are to walk as a priest before him. Are you?

Are you drawing near to God so as to enjoy his presence?

Are you living holy before him, or are you content with your sin?

Are you faithful in prayer? Prayers for yourself and on behalf of others? 

Are you eager to worship God and to promote the worship of God amongst others?

Are you concerned to bring others to God through faith in Christ, or have you grown complacent?

If you are a husband, father or head of house, are you functioning as a priest in your home? Are you faithfully leading your wife and kids to God through Christ? Are you promoting the worship of God there? Are you interceding for those who God has entrusted to your care? Are you preaching the gospel to your family so that the kingdom of God might be expanded realm over which God had given you dominion?

This is the kind of work that a priest is to do, and you are a kingdom of priests. “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5, ESV).

 

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:4-17, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: Adam as Priest: Genesis 2:4-17

Sep 18
30

Sermon: The Garden Sanctuary of God: Genesis 2:4-17

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:4-17

“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; bdellium 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 Cush. And 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 that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Genesis 2:4–17, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Revelation 21:22-22:5

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 21:22–22:5, ESV)

Introduction

What made the garden in Eden paradise? Was it the scenery? Was it the climate? Was it the lush tress or the savory food? Now I do not doubt for a moment that the garden in Eden was a very beautiful and pleasant place, but it was not the place that made Eden paradise. Instead, Eden was a paradise to the first man and woman because there they enjoyed the presence of God. In Eden Adam and Eve lived in right relationship to God. In Eden Adam and Eve enjoyed communion with the God who made them. There was no sin in that place. There was no suffering. In Eden there was no death (at least not human death). And in Eden there was God. God was present with the first man and woman. He walked with them and they with him. They were at peace. It was God’s presence in Eden combined with the absence of sin, suffering and death that made the garden in Eden a paradise for the first man and woman. Man was made in the image of God in order to commune with God, and in Eden that communion was thoroughly enjoyed.

Remember that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earthly realm was at first without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. In six days time God formed the earthly realm into a place suitable for human habitation. And after the earth was fully formed God made man and gave him “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth”. The man and woman were “blessed” by God. They were to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” (Genesis 1:28, ESV). This was the story of Genesis 1.

But note this: the man and the woman were not to live independent from God. They were not to live autonomously, but were to go on living in continual dependence upon the God who made them. Man was made to know his Maker. Man was made to commune with his God. Man was to live for the glory of God and to enjoy him forever. While this truth is not clearly established in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, it is clearly established in Genesis 2.

In Genesis 1 it is the transcendence of God that is emphasized. In Genesis 1 it is the distinction between Creator and creature that comes to the fore. But in Genesis 2:4ff. we learn that the same God who in the beginning created the heavens and earth is the God who relates to man. Elohim is Yahweh Elohim. He is the covenant making and covenant keeping God. God Almighty is relational. Not only did he create the earth to be a place for human habitation, he also planted a garden to function as a sanctuary where the man and woman he made would enjoy his presence. This is the story of Genesis 2. It is here we learn that God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. Likewise God formed the woman from man. God planted a garden in Eden. He placed the man there and entered into a covenantal relationship with him.

Friends, the garden in Eden was more than a garden, for God’s presence was there. God walked with Adam and Eve in that garden paradise. The garden in Eden was a temple, or sanctuary.

How do we know?

First, by paying careful attention to the description of the garden in the narrative of Genesis 2 & 3.

The context of Genesis 3:8-9 is negative, for in that passage God is found confronting man in his rebellion, but it proves the point that is being made. There we read, “And they [Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8–9, ESV). Here in Genesis 3:8-9 “God walking” in the garden and “the presence of God” brought terror to the man and the woman, but that was because of their sin. When they were upright and holy God’s walking and God’s presence amongst them were purely pleasant to the man and woman, for then they stood in a right relationship to God.

When suggesting that the garden was a temple I suppose we should ask the question, what makes a temple a temple? Is it not the presence of God that sets the place off as unique and distinct from all other places? A temple is that place where God is present in pronounced way. A temple is a place where man may approach God to commune with him. The garden in Eden was such a place.

Someone might say, but isn’t God omnipresent? Isn’t he all places at all times? Indeed he is! There is nowhere you may go to escape the presence of God. This is what the Psalmist is reflecting upon in Psalm 139 when he says, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:8–10, ESV). When I speak of God’s presence as the distinguishing characteristic of a temple I am of course saying that God is present within his temple is a unique and potent way.

Though it be true that God is everywhere present, he was present in Eden in a pronounced way. There man enjoyed communion with the God who made him. There in that place something of the glory of God was manifest.

God’s “walking” in the garden, his “presence” in that place and his communion with the man and the women all indicate that the garden in Eden was more than a lush garden, but was in fact a temple or sanctuary where man beheld the glory of the Lord.

How do we know that Eden was a temple? First, by paying careful attention to the description of the garden in the narrative of Genesis 2 & 3.

Secondly, we learn that Eden was a temple when we compare it to the temple that Israel built according to the command of God.

This, in my opinion, is where the matter is settled. Israel, as you know, was instructed to build a portable tabernacle, and later a permanent temple, according to instructions given to Moses by God. And what was the purpose of the tabernacle and temple of Israel? Was it not to show that Israel was God’s chosen people? Was it not to show that God was present with them in a unique way? Was it not to show that God was in covenant with Israel and did commune with them?

This is indeed what Leviticus 26:11-12 teaches. There God speaks to Israel saying, “I will make my dwelling among you… And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:11–12, ESV). The reader should immediately think of Eden when reading Leviticus 26. In Eden God dwelt with Adam and Eve. God was present in the garden with them. He walked amongst the first man and woman in that place. And now, so many years after the fall of Adam, God speaks to Israel, whom he just redeemed from Egypt, saying “I will make my dwelling among you… And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people”. And where did God in fact dwell within Israel? He dwelt within the tabernacle and temple that Israel built according to the command of God.

We should remember that Moses was the one who wrote Genesis, but he also wrote Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books, which are commonly called the Pentateuch, were delivered to Israel, and through Israel to us. They are meant to be read together. We come to understand what the garden in Eden was, not only by reading Genesis 2 and 3, but the Pentateuch as a whole (as well as the rest of scripture, as we shall see).

The Pentateuch tells a story. These books from Moses told a story to ancient Israel, and they tell us a story today. And what is the story? Adam and Eve enjoyed communion with God in the garden. Adam sinned and was cast out. But God is gracious! He has determined to redeem a people for his own possession. He has made a way for man to have a right relationship with him.

The tabernacle and temple of Old Covenant Israel were to be understood in this way. They were constructed according to the command of God given to Moses in order to function as a picture of the original creation and the original garden in Eden, which was itself a temple or sanctuary for God.

Though I am not comfortable with all of Meredith Kline’s ideas about Genesis 1 and 2, I do believe he gets this right when he says, “God produced in Eden a microcosmic version of his cosmic sanctuary. The garden planted there was holy ground with guardianship of its sanctity committed in turn to men and to cherubim. It was the temple-garden of God, the place chosen by the Glory-Spirit who hovered over creation from the beginning to be the focal site of his throne-presence among men… Eden had the character of a holy tabernacle, a microcosmic house of God. And since it lory was God himself who, present in his theophanic Glory, constituted the Edenic temple, man in the Garden of God could quite literally confess that Yahweh was his refuge and refuge and the Most High was his habitation” “(Kline, Images of the Spirit, pp. 35-37).

This is right, I think. Eden was made to function as a microcosm of the whole cosmos, which itself was created as a sanctuary for God (heaven is my throne and the earth y footstool), and Israel’s tabernacle and temple was created to function as a miniature version of the cosmos and of Eden. The massage “preached” by the tabernacle of Israel was that access to God the Creator may still be had! Why? Because God the Creator is also God the Redeemer. He may be approached by his people, but now not without the shedding of blood, given the fact of sin.

It becomes clear that Eden was a temple when we compare it with the temple that Israel built according to the command of God. The temple of Old Covenant Israel was designed to function as a picture in miniature of the whole cosmos and of Eden. All three – the cosmos, the garden in Eden, and Israel’s tabernacle – were temples constructed to “house” God’s presence to facilitate communion between God and man.

Did you know that when God gave Moses the instructions for the building of the tabernacle they were delivered to him in a series of seven speeches beginning in Exodus 25:1 and concluding in Exodus 27:19. Think about that for moment. When God created the heavens and earth he did so in seven days. When God commanded Moses to create the tabernacle he delivered the command in seven stages.

Also, did you know that there are similarities between the conclusion of the creation week and the conclusion of the construction of the tabernacle. On day seven of creation God entered into rest. And after God finished instructing Moses concerning the construction of the tabernacle the Sabbath command was reiterated (see Exodus 31:17). In fact, when the creation of the tabernacle was complete the presence of the Lord “settled [or rested] on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:35, ESV). Clearly the creation of the cosmos and the creation of the tabernacle parallel one another.

And what do we see when we consider the actual construction of the tabernacle and temple? We see that the building was designed to function as a picture, or as a miniature model, of the heavens and earth and of God’s original temple in Eden.

The tent itself represented the heavens that God stretched out at the beginning of creation. The veil which separated the holy place from the holy of holies represented the firmament which was created on day two of creation. The large bronze lavers which were crafted to hold water used for cleansing represented the seas which were formed on day three of creation. The lamp stand symbolizes the luminaries that were created on day four. The winged cherubim which decorated the temple correspond to the bird that were created on day five. And the consecration of the high priest corresponds to the creation of man on day six. On day seven of creation God finished his work, ceased from it and blessed it. When the tabernacle was finished, the people ceased from their labor and Moses blessed it.

Exodus 39:32 and 43: “Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did… And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.” (Exodus 39:32, 43, ESV)

What I am saying is that when one compares the tabernacle that Israel built according to the command of God with creation in general, and the garden in particular, it becomes clear that the tabernacle was to function as a miniature version of creation with the garden being symbolized by the holy of holies.

Many other comparisons could be made if we had the time. Consider the river that flowed out of Eden and the many prophesies that speak of a river flowing from the temple of God. Consider the precious stones that are mentioned in Genesis 2 and the fact that these precious stones were used in the temple of Israel for the worship of God. Consider also how images of angels adorned Israel’s tabernacle – two guarded the ark of the covenant in the most holy place, and the curtains had cherubim embroidered on them – and how angels were tasked with guarding the entrance to the garden in Eden after man’s fall into sin. Clearly, the worshipper would have felt as if he were walking through the cosmos and towards Eden as he walked through the tabernacle of Israel. When he came to the menorah he would have been reminded of the tree of life.

If Israel’s tabernacle and temple were designed to rind the worshipper of the cosmos in general and of Eden in particular then what message did this convey? would not the message have been, the cosmos and Eden were designed to be a sanctuary where man would commune with God. Man fell and was cast out, but God has been gracious. A way to communion with God is still available.

Thirdly, we know that the garden in Eden was a temple when we observe how the new heavens and earth are described at the end of the book of Revelation.

Remember that the new heavens and new earth which will be ushered in at Christ’s return are described in at the end of the book of Revelation as a temple: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:22–27, ESV)

Notice that a river of life is seen flowing from the throne of God in Revelation 22:1, just as a river is said to have flowed from Eden in Genesis 2: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1, ESV).

And remember that the tree of life is said to be in the new heavens and earth: “through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2, ESV)

Clearly we are to remember Eden when see a depiction of the the new heavens and earth in Revelation 21 and 22. The new heavens and earth will be a return to Eden, sort of.

The garden in Eden was a temple, but clearly it was not the eschatological temple, for there are some very important difference between Eden and the new heavens and earth.

One, there is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the new heavens and earth.

Two, the who earth is described as Eden in the new heavens and earth.

Three, it is the glory of God and the lamb that will fill that place.

If the new heaven and earth are described as a sanctuary where God and man commune with one another, and if the new heavens and earth are described in Edenic terms, then Eden must have been a sanctuary also .

Fourthly, by we understand that Eden was a temple when we recognize that the theme of “temple” runs throughout the pages of Holy Scripture from beginning to end.

The earth was created to function as a sanctuary for God. Eden was the first holy of holies. When man fell access to the holy of holies was denied. Cherubim were set to guard the entrance. The story of redemption which follows can be described in terms of God reestablishing and making permanent and sure mans enjoyment of the garden sanctuary of God.

The patriarchs build alters to worship God. This they did amongst trees and on mountains. These were temples in miniature. Israel build the tabernacle under Moses and the temple under Solomon. Here God walked amongst his people. Here the people enjoyed his presence. When the Christ came the temple of stone was declared by him to be desolate. Now, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the one who has faith in Christ is said to be the temple of the Holy Spirit: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, ESV). The church is the temple of God under the New Covenant: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17, ESV). When Christ returns all of creation will be temple, for the glory of God and of Christ will fill all.

This was God’s design from the beginning. The cosmos were created to function as a sanctuary where man would enjoy the presence of God forever and ever.

Application

You were made to know God. You were made to commune with him. You were made to live enveloped by his presence and to bask in his glory.

Do you know God? Are you at peace with God? I do not mean, do you feel at peace with God. But are you? Are you in a right relationship to God?

It is only possible through faith in Christ. He accomplished what Adam failed to do. He opened the way into the eschatological Eden.

If you are in Christ, do you realize that you are God’s temple?

You are God’s temple personally. Are you living holy?

We are God’s temple collectively. Are we living holy?

Posted in Sermons, Joe Anady, Genesis 2:4-17, Posted by Joe. Comments Off on Sermon: The Garden Sanctuary of God: Genesis 2:4-17

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