Series: Marriage
Title: The First Marriage
Text: Genesis 1: 26-2: 25
Date: May 21, 2017
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Genesis 1: 26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
A council was called between the three persons in the Godhead—let us make man. Before the world was made, the triune God took council and entered covenant to make his fallen people in God’s image eternally, in spirit and in truth, to the praise of the glory of God.
And who is this image?—Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. When speaking of the human nature of Christ, the Holy Spirit says,
Colossians 1: 15: He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature:
Hebrews 1: 3:…the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
Adam was created in the image and likeness of Christ. In the fullness of time, Christ would appear in our manhood, in the body God made for him. Christ has preeminence in all things!
Genesis 1: 27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
God did not physically create male and female at the same time. This is a summary of creation. But when God created Adam, his bride was already in Adam right then in Adam in the image of Christ our God. Likewise, when God chose his people in Christ—in the purpose of God, Christ’s bride was in him in his image before as yet we were made. But in course of time, we see how Adam was made.
Genesis 2: 7: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Adam was made out of the dust and God breathed into him making him a living soul. Christ’s human nature was conceived in the womb of a virgin of the Holy Spirit thus he was made a quickening spirit.
1 Corinthians 15: 45: And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Genesis 2: 8: And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
God made all things for that one man, Adam. It pictures Christ for whom God made all things.
Colossians 1: 16: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Genesis 2: 15: And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
God put all things under Adam’s feet, gave him dominion over all God’s creation. God put Christ in this world to create it anew, to dress it and keep it. So God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave him dominion over all his creation—to be head over all things to the church—his bride, his body.
Genesis 2: 16: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Adam had one over him, the LORD God who he must obey. God made Adam the federal head, the one man legally responsible for each person who would be born of him. By God making Adam the federal head, it was Adam’s responsibility alone to obey the commandment of God. No one else is created yet. Adam alone is the Head, responsible to keep God’s law, for his whole family.
Christ is the last Adam, legally responsible to fulfill the law for his entire family, for all who will be born of Christ.
Genesis 2: 18: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
God made Adam after his image—God is love—love must have an object to love. It was not good that man should be alone because he had no one to love.
Genesis 2: 18: And the LORD God said, I will make him an help meet for him.
In eternity past, God the Father said the same thing of his only begotten Son. God chose a bride for Christ—his church.
But because Adam disobeyed God, he plunged his whole family into sin and death. That means Christ’s bride became defiled. She became lawfully obligated to the law of God because she was guilty by the first Adam. She became sinful in heart receiving from Adam his corrupt nature. So how is God going to create this bride for Christ? He gave Christ that glory. We see it pictured in the first Adam.
Genesis 2: 21: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept:
This was no ordinary sleep, only God could cause this deep sleep to fall upon Adam. It was no ordinary sleep which suffered on the cross either. Only Christ could could lay down his life as God commanded him.
John 10: 17: Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18: No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Genesis 2: 21:…and [God] took one of [Adam’s] ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
God performed an operation upon Adam that none but God could perform. On the cross, Christ performed an operation none but God could perform. He laid on him the iniquity of us all. Due to him bearing our sin, God opened his side, Christ bore the punishment in place of his bride. It pleased the Lord to bruise him—he made satisfaction to God for his bride—all his elect. So now her former obligation to her first husband the law no longer exists; she can lawfully be married to Christ and bear fruit by him.
Genesis 2: 22: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
God made the first woman from the rib taken out of Adam’s side. God made Christ’s bride righteous and holy out of Christ’s wounds on the cross!
Therefore, husbands love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. (Eph 5: 25)
God did not make the bride from Adam’s head—Adam is her head because Christ is the Head of his bride. Therefore, the bride is to submit to her husband in all things.
Ephesians 5: 22: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24: Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
God did not make his bride from Adam’s feet—Adam was to love her, not walk on her. Christ rules his bride by loving her, not by trampling upon her. Men, do we rule over our bride in love as Christ loves us? As Christ commands us to honor him by loving our bride as he loved us? When I lose patience three things breaks my heart: one, remembering Christ’s loving rule over me; two, I have failed to honor Christ; three, I have hurt my bride. That will make a believing husband repent and honor Christ in the way he loves his bride.
God made woman from a wound in Adam’s side—Christ is equal with God; Christ sits at God’s right hand; God is still the Father and Christ is still the Son but they are equal, everything that belongs to one belongs to the other. So it is with Christ and his bride. Christ is over us; but Christ has made us one with him and equal with him in his righteousness, we are joint-heirs with Christ. The husband is head over his bride. She is to submit to him. But he is to love her and respect her as equal with himself. They share all things in common equally. It is not her bank account and my bank account; it is our bank account.
God created the woman from a rib from under Adam’s arm—the husband is to protect the bride because Christ protects his bride.
God created her from a rib he took from close to Adam’s heart—the husband’s heart is to be for his bride alone; because Christ’s love is for his bride alone.
But look at verse 22 again, not only did God make Adam’s bride, also God brought her to Adam. Not only did God make Christ’s bride through the death of Christ but God brings each member of Christ’s bride unto Christ. Christ said,
John 6:44: No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: [therefore, he said all the Father giveth me shall come to me] and I will raise him up at the last day.
Proverbs 18:22: Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Proverbs 19:14:…a prudent wife is from the LORD.
God’s gift to the first Adam was his the woman. God’s gift to his Son is his bride, God’s elect. “The man was not created for the woman but the woman for the man.” (1 Cor 11: 9) Christ’s bride was created for Christ—to be a help meet for him. This is why believers live unto Christ not unto ourselves. Christ created us anew for himself.
2 Corinthians 5: 14: For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
We don’t find fault and criticize a gift someone gave us. Christ would never do that to his bride—he adorns us and makes us beautiful. The husband should never look for faults in his bride and never under any circumstances criticize her—instead adorn her and adore her—she is a gift from the Lord.
Genesis 2: 23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Adam said, “We are now one flesh.” This is patterned after Christ and his church. Being one flesh means I cannot hurt without hurting my own flesh.
Ephesians 5: 28: So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29: For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Genesis 2: 24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The man is to leave father and mother, not continue to live with them. He still loves and cares for father and mother. But now he cleaves to his bride. Now he is the head of his own house. Now he is the provider and leader of his own home. If there is conflict, he takes the side of his bride.
This is because when God draws an elect sinner to Christ we forsake all and depend upon Christ for all, depend upon his judgment to lead us, and we stand with Christ come what may. The husband is not to be wavering between father and mother and his wife because the believer no longer wavers between two opinions. Christ has made us one flesh, our devotion is to him alone!
Ephesians 5: 32: This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33: Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love [after this manner love—God so loved the world—God after this manner loved the world] his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
God loved after this manner—he gave his only begotten Son that his elect scattered throughout the world might believe on him and be given everlasting life. Christ loves after this manner—he loves his bride even as himself—as his own flesh. And so let us—the bride—see that we reverence Christ our Husband. Husbands and wives do likewise after the pattern of Christ and his bride.
Genesis 2: 25: And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Sin causes shame. They were not ashamed because neither had any sin—they were righteous before the law and holy in heart. This is patterned after Christ and his bride. By Christ, in Christ, with Christ abiding within us: we have no sin, we are righteous in him and partaker of the same holy nature. So Christ is not ashamed of his bride and we are not ashamed of Christ.
Do you reckon when Robert beholds Kristyn coming down that aisle in that wedding dress that he will be ashamed to confess before everyone that she’s his beloved? When she sees him in that tux, you reckon she will be ashamed to confess before all that he is her beloved!
Romans 10: 10: with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11: For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Matthew 10: 32: [Christ said] Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mark 8: 38: Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Following the pattern of Christ and his bride, husbands and wives are to be naked and open with each other in all things so that neither is ever ashamed of the other.
Let me sum all this up by showing you two things in 1 Peter 3: 7:
1 Peter 3: 7…as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
This word is to husband and wife who are “heirs together of the grace of everlasting life in Christ Jesus”. Adam and Eve were both made by God, both knew God and both worshipped God in truth. A Christ-honoring marriage is one where husband and wife are each made by God in Christ so that above each other they love Christ and seek to honor him. An unbeliever, who has never confessed Christ before men is ashamed of Christ and will not discern this beauty nor follow this pattern of Christ and his bride. No believer ought to go against God’s command and marry an unbeliever.
After hearing how husbands and wives are to do for each other, he says do this “that your prayers be not hindered.” The man who is treating his wife in an ungodly manner is dishonoring Christ our Husband. Therefore, he can pray all he wants but God will not hear him. Same goes for the woman. God honors those who honor his Son and those who lightly esteem his Son, God lightly esteems.
May God make us follow this beautiful pattern we have in Christ and his bride?
Amen!