Genesis 2 21 24 21 And NKJV the

Genesis 2: 21 -24 21 And (NKJV) the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

Genesis 2: 21 -24 23 And (NKJV) 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. ” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Defending The Faith • To keep us on our theme, today we want to look at the subject of marriage • One of the reasons why is because there has been such a push in the world today away from the Biblical model of marriage • If people are going to conform to God’s will, they must understand what it is

Defending The Faith • One of the newest trends that people are espousing is that marriage is “evolving” • They say that people are moving away from the “traditional” model of marriage and it just looks different today • That encompasses many different things in regards to marriage

Defending The Faith • Some of these changes include: – Multiple marriages – Same-sex partners – Living together before marriage – Living as married • These are all different from the plan God instituted

Beginning of Marriage • Starting at the beginning is a good point to see God’s plan • Genesis 1 outlines creation and Genesis 2 zooms in on the creation of man and woman • Let’s notice verses 18 -24…

Beginning of Marriage • God had a special plan for man so that he would not be alone • God created woman especially to be that companion • We should notice that God did not create another man, but woman…and we cannot overlook that fact

Beginning of Marriage • Notice that God took a rib from Adam to create Eve • Adam recognized this and 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” (v. 23) • Notice the phrase that begins v. 24…

Beginning of Marriage • For the reason that woman was made from man… • “a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” • They were one to start with, God made them into two, now they go back to one

Lasting Plan? • Perhaps one could say that God’s plan did not last very long • There was multiplicity of marriages, partners and divorces all through the OT with the Israelites alone • Was that God’s plan, or was God okay with all of that?

Lasting Plan? • Perhaps some insight into how God felt about this can be seen in Malachi 2: 10 -17 • The overlying theme is how God’s people have committed spiritual adultery with other gods • In that sense they divorced God and married foreign gods

Lasting Plan? • Specifically in verse 16 God says, “For I hate divorce” • God hates any divorce, whether it was His people divorcing Him or in a marriage relationship between husband wife • This passage reads similar to how Paul uses marriage to speak of Christ and the church

God Hasn’t Changed • Jesus was asked a question regarding marriage, more specifically the absolving of one’s marriage • Jesus words in Matthew 19 are telling • The original question is whether a man can divorce his wife for any reason at all

God Hasn’t Changed • Notice Jesus answers the question in verse 9 by telling them that there is only 1 reason…not “any reason at all” • Jesus starts, however, by going back to the beginning • This tells us that God’s plan hasn’t changed if Jesus is still holding to it 4, 000 years later

God Hasn’t Changed • God’s plan for marriage from the beginning was for a man to leave his father and mother and become one flesh with his wife • “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” • It was also a hard saying for them (v. 10)

Man and Woman • In the beginning, God made them male and female (for a reason) • One such reason is that they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1: 28) • All through the Bible marriage is always between a man and a woman

Man and Woman • If there had been just one example of an acceptable union between the same sex, there might could be an argument for it • Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers are always the words used • This is how marriage was designed and is still how God intends it

Fornication/Adultery? • Is it okay then for someone not to marry, but to live with others as a married couple would? • Certainly not! • Fornication and adultery are spoken against throughout the Bible (1 Cor. 6: 910; Gal. 5: 19; Eph. 5: 3; Col. 3: 5)

Fornication/Adultery? • Notice Paul’s words on this in 1 Corinthians 7: 1 -3; 8 -9 • Certainly Paul understood that if one could not control themselves, then they must become married so as not to sin • It should be a foreign thing to the child of God to live in fornication or adultery

Fornication/Adultery? • Hebrews 13: 4 – “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled (pure, untainted, free from stain); fornicators and adulterers God will judge” • The Bible is clear on this subject • We need to be clear on our acceptance of it