1 00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:15,930 Welcome to Moore in the Word, a podcast of Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia that seeks 2 00:00:15,930 --> 00:00:21,625 to glorify God through biblically sound, thought-provoking and challenging talks and interviews. 3 00:00:22,780 --> 00:00:30,850 In this episode from the Priscilla & Aquila Centre evening seminar held on Wednesday the 12th of March 2025, Simon 4 00:00:30,850 --> 00:00:38,230 Flinders, Archdeacon to the Archbishop of Sydney, speaks on Genesis 2 and the beginning of all relationships. 5 00:00:39,030 --> 00:00:45,750 He reminds us that while marriage is good and brings many blessings, those blessings are not ultimate ends. 6 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:52,170 Instead, Genesis 2 points us to God's greater purpose for his creatures and their relationships with one another. 7 00:00:53,070 --> 00:00:54,720 We hope you find the episode helpful. 8 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:02,430 Good evening, everybody. 9 00:01:02,820 --> 00:01:06,509 It's, uh, great to be here with you and our, our goal tonight is to. 10 00:01:07,335 --> 00:01:13,365 Uh, mine, Genesis 2 for its riches, and, uh, hope you'll, uh, be able to follow the outline. 11 00:01:13,365 --> 00:01:15,979 There were some available at the door or on Slido. 12 00:01:16,770 --> 00:01:23,430 Um, I'm gonna speak from this passage for a little while, and then afterwards Cara and Joss are gonna reflect a little bit more, a lot more 13 00:01:23,430 --> 00:01:31,620 briefly, um, from their personal perspective, I guess, uh, the implications of this chapter four, their lives as a married woman and a single woman. 14 00:01:32,100 --> 00:01:35,789 And, uh, then we look forward to your questions and engaging with you in that way afterwards. 15 00:01:36,330 --> 00:01:41,160 Uh, I'm gonna pray and then I encourage you to leave your Bibles open at Genesis 2, and you can follow on the outline. 16 00:01:42,765 --> 00:01:48,615 Father, we really want to thank you for this, uh, privileged opportunity this evening of coming again to your word. 17 00:01:49,785 --> 00:01:57,345 And we ask that your Spirit would be with us guiding my words and directing the thoughts of all of our hearts, that we might come 18 00:01:57,345 --> 00:02:04,125 under the Lordship of Christ as he speaks to us this evening, and that you would shape our lives according to the truth of your word. 19 00:02:04,485 --> 00:02:05,775 We pray in Jesus' name. 20 00:02:05,865 --> 00:02:05,985 Amen. 21 00:02:08,970 --> 00:02:12,510 I wanna begin tonight by thinking about the wider setting of our text. 22 00:02:12,690 --> 00:02:13,630 Uh, Genesis 2. 23 00:02:13,650 --> 00:02:17,970 I imagine this will be familiar to most of, if not all of you, but nevertheless, I 24 00:02:17,970 --> 00:02:22,290 think it's important for us to take a few moments to think about Genesis 2's context. 25 00:02:23,430 --> 00:02:33,720 Genesis one tells the story of creation, the beginning of all things, but one God himself, of course, is the but one. 26 00:02:34,830 --> 00:02:39,390 Genesis does not tell the story of God's beginning because he did not begin. 27 00:02:40,590 --> 00:02:43,020 He was there before all else began. 28 00:02:44,370 --> 00:02:49,560 His Spirit hovered over the waters and his word gave birth to all. 29 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:50,310 That is. 30 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:55,470 He spoke and everything came to be, and then he rested. 31 00:02:58,050 --> 00:03:03,090 And then when we come to chapter two, verse four, we find the author of Genesis zooming in on humankind. 32 00:03:03,405 --> 00:03:08,655 Genesis chapter one, verse one to chapter two, verse three, acts like a prologue to the book. 33 00:03:08,954 --> 00:03:13,605 And from chapter two verse four, we begin to hear the accounts of those God made and their families. 34 00:03:13,964 --> 00:03:19,605 The formula with which verse four begins is one that will be repeated several times through the Book of Genesis. 35 00:03:19,785 --> 00:03:28,394 This is the account of, for example, you'll see it again in chapter five, verse one, uh, chapter six, verse nine, and the pattern continues. 36 00:03:29,015 --> 00:03:33,905 But here it choose to introduce us to an account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. 37 00:03:34,834 --> 00:03:39,274 Effectively, what we get in chapter two is a partial retelling of chapter one, 38 00:03:39,575 --> 00:03:44,375 but in a less structured way, and the focus here is on the creation of people. 39 00:03:45,725 --> 00:03:51,305 If Genesis one was the wide angle lens where we see the creation on the grandest possible 40 00:03:51,305 --> 00:03:58,114 scale, Genesis 2 zooms in to show us what it looked like when God created male and female. 41 00:03:59,835 --> 00:04:07,275 And one of the key questions Genesis 2 invites us to ask is a question about the goodness of the creation all through chapter one. 42 00:04:07,275 --> 00:04:08,535 This was the refrain. 43 00:04:09,045 --> 00:04:11,415 God saw what he made and it was good. 44 00:04:12,225 --> 00:04:13,995 Good, good. 45 00:04:14,055 --> 00:04:14,955 Very good. 46 00:04:16,245 --> 00:04:20,685 Genesis one uses the word good to describe what was in the mind and heart of God. 47 00:04:20,685 --> 00:04:25,425 When he looked over all that he was made, it was just right. 48 00:04:26,130 --> 00:04:28,320 It was exactly as he wanted it to be. 49 00:04:28,830 --> 00:04:30,000 All good, 50 00:04:32,910 --> 00:04:33,540 but was it 51 00:04:36,300 --> 00:04:37,230 in verse 18? 52 00:04:37,230 --> 00:04:40,080 Genesis 2 strikes a suddenly discordant note. 53 00:04:41,190 --> 00:04:50,190 God said It is not good for the man to be alone at the point at which God had created a male, but not yet a female. 54 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:52,290 Everything was not just right. 55 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:55,740 It was not exactly as God wanted. 56 00:04:55,740 --> 00:04:57,120 It was not good. 57 00:04:57,270 --> 00:04:58,050 Not yet. 58 00:04:59,610 --> 00:05:03,690 There was a part of God's design for creation yet to be introduced. 59 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:13,110 And Genesis 2 invites us to think about why it invites us to see how God made what wasn't yet good, just right. 60 00:05:14,250 --> 00:05:16,140 And that's what we're gonna be focusing on this evening. 61 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,760 So secondly, let's look at what the text actually tells us. 62 00:05:20,850 --> 00:05:21,900 This is our exposition. 63 00:05:23,505 --> 00:05:27,945 We see firstly in verses four to seven, the transition from no one to one. 64 00:05:29,175 --> 00:05:32,385 Verses five and six are very reminiscent of chapter one, verse two, they're 65 00:05:32,385 --> 00:05:38,025 describing the emptiness and the formlessness of the earth before God began to create. 66 00:05:38,445 --> 00:05:43,215 But then verse seven tells us about the first person to ever be set on the earth. 67 00:05:44,594 --> 00:05:51,914 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 68 00:05:52,935 --> 00:05:55,695 It's a reminder to us of the incredible power of God. 69 00:05:57,435 --> 00:06:04,215 God doesn't just go down to Bunnings and pick up a bag of bones and a few two inch sinews and nine meters of industrial strength skin. 70 00:06:05,594 --> 00:06:08,354 God's not just assembling raw materials here. 71 00:06:09,315 --> 00:06:10,664 He's forming a person. 72 00:06:11,940 --> 00:06:13,050 From next to nothing. 73 00:06:14,130 --> 00:06:23,880 He takes dust and creates a man with all the intricacies and complexity and personality that every human person contains. 74 00:06:24,210 --> 00:06:27,599 And then he breathes life into the man that he's made. 75 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:32,219 The Lord God is not just the one who forms the human body. 76 00:06:32,250 --> 00:06:36,840 He's the life giver and the man becomes a living being. 77 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:42,840 A living being in the image of the God who has formed and enlivened him. 78 00:06:46,035 --> 00:06:51,465 And then having told us about the man, the author of Genesis begins to tell us about the garden where he'd placed the man. 79 00:06:51,885 --> 00:06:58,875 Verse eight says, now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed the Lord. 80 00:06:58,875 --> 00:07:00,945 God made all kinds of trees grow outta the ground. 81 00:07:00,945 --> 00:07:03,975 Trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. 82 00:07:05,485 --> 00:07:09,055 Notice those two words there in verse nine, pleasing and good. 83 00:07:10,465 --> 00:07:13,315 What God has made for the man is both those things. 84 00:07:14,215 --> 00:07:18,865 It supplies his fundamental needs, but it does so in a delightful way. 85 00:07:18,865 --> 00:07:23,515 Do you notice God has provided pleasure as well as basic necessities? 86 00:07:25,875 --> 00:07:32,355 And I think that's a fascinating detail to have been included here because it obliterates straight away any notion of God being in favor of 87 00:07:32,355 --> 00:07:40,185 some kind of monish deprivation as if to really honor him in the world is to live a basic or frugal existence without any hint of enjoyment. 88 00:07:41,775 --> 00:07:44,055 No, God is the inventor of pleasure. 89 00:07:45,165 --> 00:07:48,375 He creates aesthetically as well as functionally. 90 00:07:49,604 --> 00:07:58,664 Which is why we can still look around us at hundreds of things in the world and find them pleasing to the eye because God is the creator of beauty, 91 00:08:01,364 --> 00:08:05,745 and not only is the garden pleasing and good, it's also fruitful. 92 00:08:06,825 --> 00:08:15,105 I suspect that's the main point of verses 10 to 14, which described the rivers that flowed through and from the Garden of Eden to many other places. 93 00:08:15,885 --> 00:08:19,185 The rich bouncy of this garden is not just for Adam. 94 00:08:19,575 --> 00:08:25,365 God's provision is so abundant that it overflows to bless other places and in time other people, 95 00:08:27,825 --> 00:08:30,165 but the garden is also full of possibilities. 96 00:08:30,855 --> 00:08:33,135 Lemme read you again from the second half of verse nine. 97 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:39,600 In the middle of the garden with a tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 98 00:08:41,460 --> 00:08:43,289 In verse nine, that's all we're told. 99 00:08:43,620 --> 00:08:45,540 We're simply informed of their presence. 100 00:08:47,189 --> 00:08:52,860 But even to hear about something called the the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to hear a word. 101 00:08:52,860 --> 00:08:57,210 We'd rather not hear a word that sounds an ominous note. 102 00:08:57,735 --> 00:09:03,195 Even this early in the piece, the very presence of this word evil is a reminder to 103 00:09:03,195 --> 00:09:08,445 us that within this garden there is a dark potential in the midst of everything good. 104 00:09:12,075 --> 00:09:18,705 It's the first hint to us that this wonderful story God has begun may have a tragic twist before the tale is fully told. 105 00:09:20,595 --> 00:09:23,655 And for us, it's a reminder that whilst the garden was good. 106 00:09:24,885 --> 00:09:28,095 Whilst it was exactly what God wanted, it was not perfect. 107 00:09:29,445 --> 00:09:31,695 Certainly not in the way that heaven will be perfect. 108 00:09:33,045 --> 00:09:38,985 Heaven will be a place where there is no dark potential, no possibility of evil ever again. 109 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:46,110 Even at the very beginning of the Bible, we reminded that the Garden of Eden was not the end point of God's plan. 110 00:09:46,260 --> 00:09:50,850 It was the beginning, and it wets our appetite for a place like Eden, but a place 111 00:09:50,850 --> 00:09:55,020 which will be even better, a place where there'll be no trees like this one. 112 00:09:58,555 --> 00:10:07,050 And in verse 15, we hear that God placed the man in the garden of Eden and he's given a purpose to work the garden and to take care of it. 113 00:10:08,865 --> 00:10:13,035 And in verse 16, God underlines for him the great freedom he has to enjoy the garden and 114 00:10:13,035 --> 00:10:17,775 to eat its fruit, including the fruit that grows from the tree of life we just heard about. 115 00:10:18,975 --> 00:10:24,675 But as verse 17 tells us, he must not eat the fruit of the other more ominous sounding tree. 116 00:10:25,935 --> 00:10:28,845 If he does, there will be terrible consequences. 117 00:10:30,555 --> 00:10:38,985 So you note here that God places a limit on the man's freedom, but the limit the divine command gives him is for his own good. 118 00:10:41,025 --> 00:10:44,715 So it is with all God's commands, they're given in love, 119 00:10:47,955 --> 00:10:52,035 but it's at this point that we come to verse 18, tellingly. 120 00:10:52,035 --> 00:10:58,155 It's at this moment that God declares that something about this man's life in this garden is not good. 121 00:10:59,700 --> 00:11:00,450 He's alone, 122 00:11:02,490 --> 00:11:07,680 and it's important we understand this aloneness because it doesn't say he was lonely. 123 00:11:09,330 --> 00:11:13,680 Verse 18 isn't primarily describing a subjective experience, one we know very well. 124 00:11:13,740 --> 00:11:14,640 Loneliness. 125 00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:18,300 No, it's describing an objective reality. 126 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:20,730 Adam was alone. 127 00:11:22,335 --> 00:11:23,235 He was with God. 128 00:11:23,235 --> 00:11:24,855 Yes, and that was wonderful. 129 00:11:25,245 --> 00:11:29,715 But in terms of human companionship or society, he was on his own. 130 00:11:30,045 --> 00:11:32,175 He was the only human. 131 00:11:34,725 --> 00:11:39,165 This isn't an aloneness unlike anything you or I have ever experienced. 132 00:11:40,725 --> 00:11:43,455 In fact, it's hard for us to even imagine it. 133 00:11:46,005 --> 00:11:49,770 A number of years ago, I traveled to South Africa with my family, and while 134 00:11:49,770 --> 00:11:54,510 we were there, we spent a day in a national park known as Ado Elephant Park. 135 00:11:54,570 --> 00:11:57,750 It's basically a 1600 kilometer nature reserve. 136 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,580 We spent a magnificent day driving through it, saw all kinds of African animals up close. 137 00:12:02,580 --> 00:12:03,840 It was fantastic. 138 00:12:05,585 --> 00:12:10,050 Now, I want you to imagine for a moment that I got left behind in the park when the others drove home. 139 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:13,770 Imagine if the park then closed for the night. 140 00:12:14,340 --> 00:12:22,740 And all the staff went home and imagine that for some reason the park was then closed for days and I was locked in and I couldn't get out. 141 00:12:24,060 --> 00:12:30,150 So I was just left wandering through the park, and the only other living creature I might come into contact with was some kind of animal. 142 00:12:32,220 --> 00:12:37,050 And now, if you can imagine that, in fact, that was the only life I'd ever known. 143 00:12:39,165 --> 00:12:44,895 If you can begin to picture that, you can start to approach an understanding of what Adam's aloneness was like. 144 00:12:45,165 --> 00:12:51,405 He was the only human in his world, and this is utterly unique in history. 145 00:12:54,285 --> 00:13:01,005 So God's next step is to find for Adam something or someone that will bring his aloneness to an end. 146 00:13:02,235 --> 00:13:04,425 In particular, God's gonna find him a helper. 147 00:13:05,205 --> 00:13:09,075 And this word, too is very important to understand when God says that it's not 148 00:13:09,075 --> 00:13:13,245 good for the man to be alone, does he mean that he seeks companionship for him? 149 00:13:13,935 --> 00:13:19,155 Is it that the man is created for intimacy but he's without it unless he has a mate? 150 00:13:20,025 --> 00:13:24,885 Is God simply observing that the man longs for a connection deep inside with another human being? 151 00:13:26,835 --> 00:13:33,015 Well, there may be truth in all of those things, but I think it's actually very significant that God uses the word helper. 152 00:13:34,230 --> 00:13:39,810 Because the search for a Heller for the man is not just about companionship or intimacy. 153 00:13:39,930 --> 00:13:42,900 It's not primarily about the search for a soulmate. 154 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,380 This is a search for someone to share the work. 155 00:13:48,420 --> 00:13:55,140 Remember, verse 15, God put the man in the garden not simply to enjoy its goodness, but to work it and take care of it. 156 00:13:55,440 --> 00:14:00,780 And in verse 18, God identifies that he needs a partner in the fulfillment of that purpose. 157 00:14:01,665 --> 00:14:05,564 God's not trying to find the man, someone he can simply come home at night and snuggle with. 158 00:14:06,885 --> 00:14:11,834 God wants to find the man, someone who will go to work with him in the morning and labor with him through the day. 159 00:14:12,224 --> 00:14:14,415 He doesn't just need a friend or a lover. 160 00:14:14,594 --> 00:14:15,795 He needs a helper. 161 00:14:18,570 --> 00:14:22,800 And once God articulates that it's not good for the man to be alone, the search for a 162 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:29,310 suitable helper is on, and God brings to the man all the animals he's made and he names them. 163 00:14:29,700 --> 00:14:34,350 So the man's sitting there coming up with titles like Tyrannosaurus and Hippopotamus 164 00:14:34,350 --> 00:14:40,710 and Aardvark and Yak, but none of them proved to be a suitable helper for him. 165 00:14:42,735 --> 00:14:46,785 That's the conclusion we get to in verse 20, and so God creates again. 166 00:14:46,785 --> 00:14:53,115 This time he takes one of Adam's ribs and from the rib he makes a woman, and so one becomes two. 167 00:14:54,105 --> 00:14:54,825 Verse 22. 168 00:14:55,785 --> 00:15:00,465 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he'd taken outta the man and he brought her to the man. 169 00:15:01,155 --> 00:15:05,325 The man said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. 170 00:15:05,775 --> 00:15:09,105 She shall be called woman for she was taken out of man. 171 00:15:11,310 --> 00:15:15,750 God presents the woman to the man as the answer to his need. 172 00:15:17,099 --> 00:15:21,089 She's a gift to him and not the fruit of his own initiative. 173 00:15:22,739 --> 00:15:28,380 God is the author of this good thing and the man is deeply satisfied. 174 00:15:31,530 --> 00:15:36,570 Here we see God creating human fellowship and interaction for the first time. 175 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:43,200 What we're seeing here is God creating at the most fundamental level human community. 176 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,450 This is the beginning of all relationships. 177 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:56,400 At this point, we're introduced to the whole concept of society, of friendship, of family. 178 00:15:57,210 --> 00:16:01,470 Here we see the germination of something that one day give birth to what we know as the church. 179 00:16:03,090 --> 00:16:05,940 Adam is no longer alone. 180 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,160 But of course, the rest of the Bible does see this moment, not just as the beginnings of 181 00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:19,020 human relationship, but as the very first instance of a particular kind of relationship. 182 00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:21,300 It's the first instance of marriage. 183 00:16:21,975 --> 00:16:26,145 Because into the drama of this scene, we have the insertion of verse 24. 184 00:16:27,165 --> 00:16:29,595 We've just seen one human person become two. 185 00:16:29,865 --> 00:16:32,385 Now the author tells us that the two become one. 186 00:16:33,705 --> 00:16:37,845 Verse 24 stands out in the text because it, it does interrupt the flow of the story. 187 00:16:37,845 --> 00:16:44,385 It's a verse which stops to reflect on this historic moment coming together of the first man and the first woman. 188 00:16:45,075 --> 00:16:48,435 And the verse then looks forward to all future occasions like this. 189 00:16:48,975 --> 00:16:57,405 It sees this moment as the first of many marriages that the world will know and it sees in this first marriage a pattern for all future marriages. 190 00:16:57,705 --> 00:17:02,205 And verse 24, I think, tells us three key things about how God intended marriage to be. 191 00:17:03,705 --> 00:17:05,595 Marriage would first involve a leaving. 192 00:17:06,660 --> 00:17:09,840 The man will leave his father and mother and leave his family home. 193 00:17:10,050 --> 00:17:12,300 Here, there's a clear break in the generations. 194 00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:20,190 There's a fresh start where every new marriage begins, and I guess that in modern Western societies where fial 195 00:17:20,190 --> 00:17:25,830 duties are often not given much attention, this may seem like a minor point to make, but in societies like 196 00:17:25,830 --> 00:17:33,210 Ancient Israel and even in other cultures, today, we are honoring parents is one of the highest human obligations. 197 00:17:33,300 --> 00:17:34,260 This leaving. 198 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:39,520 Is a significant challenge, but nonetheless, a necessity in God's eyes. 199 00:17:41,415 --> 00:17:42,825 But there's also a uniting. 200 00:17:43,215 --> 00:17:45,765 So the man doesn't simply leave his family behind. 201 00:17:45,915 --> 00:17:48,585 He leaves his family in order to form a new one. 202 00:17:48,705 --> 00:17:52,635 He's united to his wife and a new family unit has begun. 203 00:17:53,535 --> 00:17:55,905 They will unite by sharing the same home. 204 00:17:55,935 --> 00:17:58,785 They will unite sexually as well. 205 00:17:58,995 --> 00:18:02,055 And as we saw earlier, if they're thinking rightly about their marriage, 206 00:18:02,205 --> 00:18:06,705 they'll be united in their desire to fulfill their responsibilities before God. 207 00:18:07,740 --> 00:18:09,330 And to help each other do that. 208 00:18:12,180 --> 00:18:21,395 And then thirdly, they'll become one flesh, such as the power of their unity, that there's a very real sense in which they're no longer two, but one. 209 00:18:23,070 --> 00:18:30,899 The word flesh must be at least partly sexual in connotation, but we'd be foolish, I think, to reduce it to only being a sexual thing. 210 00:18:31,139 --> 00:18:38,610 The phrase one flesh is really an attempt to express a union that affects all of life, not just a sexual relationship. 211 00:18:40,169 --> 00:18:47,219 Now, of course, all independent personality and life is not just sucked up into some completely indistinguishable oneness. 212 00:18:49,004 --> 00:18:57,345 Nevertheless, there is a merging of lives to such a great extent here that an inseparable and permanent unity is established. 213 00:18:59,805 --> 00:19:06,659 And so at the end of Genesis 2, that's how we find Adam no longer alone, no longer without help. 214 00:19:08,580 --> 00:19:11,080 God has supplied his needs abundantly. 215 00:19:11,445 --> 00:19:15,225 And verse 25 gives us a wonderful picture of all being well. 216 00:19:16,275 --> 00:19:19,515 Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. 217 00:19:22,785 --> 00:19:30,135 Sadly, uh, by the end of the next chapter, the very possibility of that kind of shameless vulnerability has vanished. 218 00:19:31,515 --> 00:19:37,635 But here there is a very beautiful kind of openness and innocence, at least for a moment. 219 00:19:42,795 --> 00:19:48,885 Now I wanna turn to teasing out some implications of this chapter, and I wanna do that in three parts. 220 00:19:48,885 --> 00:19:50,955 Under three headings, you'll see them on your outline there. 221 00:19:50,955 --> 00:19:54,465 First marriage, then singleness, and then the kingdom of God. 222 00:19:56,085 --> 00:19:57,075 So firstly, marriage. 223 00:19:57,075 --> 00:20:00,655 Let me say four things about marriage from Genesis 2. 224 00:20:02,535 --> 00:20:07,695 Number one, we see here in Genesis 2 that marriage was part of the answer to Adam's aloneness. 225 00:20:09,540 --> 00:20:15,780 Of course it is only part of the answer because the creation of the woman was not just 226 00:20:15,780 --> 00:20:20,190 about the creation of marriage, but the creation of human relationships altogether. 227 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:27,090 So it is not only in marriage that God meets the need of human beings to have helpful companionship. 228 00:20:27,090 --> 00:20:32,159 There are many other kinds of relationships too that are the fruit of this moment. 229 00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:38,970 Genesis 2 describes, and yet it is significant that God doesn't create just another man. 230 00:20:39,060 --> 00:20:43,230 He creates someone who is very much like Adam, but yet who is also different. 231 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:48,180 So Genesis 2 is saying something about the particular way in which relationships 232 00:20:48,180 --> 00:20:52,830 between men and women meet our needs for partnership in the purposes of God. 233 00:20:54,390 --> 00:20:58,770 And so Genesis 2 is most definitely saying something in particular about marriage. 234 00:20:59,445 --> 00:21:06,465 It is true, it's, it's not good for people to be alone like Adam was alone and in order to satisfy 235 00:21:06,465 --> 00:21:11,775 the human need for another or others, part of what God has provided is the gift of marriage. 236 00:21:13,185 --> 00:21:18,405 So those of us who are married ought to be very thankful for this aspect of God's provision. 237 00:21:21,345 --> 00:21:23,745 And that leads me to the second thing I wanna point out about marriage. 238 00:21:23,745 --> 00:21:25,815 Here it is about complementarity. 239 00:21:27,645 --> 00:21:34,065 God identifies not just that Adam needs a helper, but that he needs a helper fit for him, a suitable helper. 240 00:21:35,415 --> 00:21:38,325 That's the word used in both verse 18 and verse 20. 241 00:21:38,535 --> 00:21:43,545 What's being conveyed here is that Adam needs a helper who is both like him and unlike him. 242 00:21:44,685 --> 00:21:50,355 In verse 23, Adam celebrates the way in which his wife is like him, but it's also clear 243 00:21:50,355 --> 00:21:54,645 that in order for him to be suitably helped, he needs someone who will compliment him. 244 00:21:56,715 --> 00:22:03,524 In his commentary on these verses, John Calvin calls the woman Adam's counterpart, and I quite like what that word captures. 245 00:22:03,945 --> 00:22:10,395 Marriage is the coming together of two people who can help each other because they're not exactly the same as each other. 246 00:22:14,475 --> 00:22:17,475 Thirdly, we see here that marriage is about an intimate unity. 247 00:22:18,945 --> 00:22:23,925 When verse 24 describes the two becoming one flesh, something very profound is being said. 248 00:22:26,294 --> 00:22:30,014 And when verse 25 tells us they were both shamelessly naked, we are hearing something 249 00:22:30,014 --> 00:22:34,784 important about the kind of intimacy that God hoped would characterize marriage. 250 00:22:36,314 --> 00:22:44,715 This intimate unity is what the Apostle Paul in Ephesians five calls a profound mystery, and it's a profound mystery 251 00:22:44,715 --> 00:22:52,544 that's stitched together in God's purposes with another profound mystery, the intimate unity of Christ Jesus. 252 00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:55,050 His bride, the church. 253 00:22:57,780 --> 00:23:01,980 This is emerging of two lives in body and in purpose. 254 00:23:02,460 --> 00:23:10,740 It's emerging, designed by God and accomplished by God, and it brings two people together into a united oneness. 255 00:23:10,740 --> 00:23:14,310 That's so profound that Paul says you can't really explain it. 256 00:23:16,169 --> 00:23:20,850 It's definitely something to be prized, certainly something to be protected. 257 00:23:25,170 --> 00:23:31,830 The fourth point about marriage from Genesis, this is the one I particularly wanna stress tonight, is that it's not ultimate. 258 00:23:33,900 --> 00:23:39,570 Whilst it is good, it is not theologically speaking, merely an end in itself. 259 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,600 It's not a good thing just to be enjoyed. 260 00:23:43,530 --> 00:23:46,530 Rather, it's something to be used for God's purposes. 261 00:23:48,915 --> 00:23:55,245 And this is why understanding the word helper here is so important because it will affect the way we end up thinking about what marriage is. 262 00:23:55,995 --> 00:24:01,215 If we think that the creation of the woman for the man was just about his need for an intimate 263 00:24:01,215 --> 00:24:07,515 companion, then we'll conclude that companionship and intimacy are the great purposes of marriage. 264 00:24:07,875 --> 00:24:15,435 And so we will invest ourselves in producing and nurturing marriages where intimate companionship is the highest priority. 265 00:24:17,700 --> 00:24:24,090 If on the other hand, we grasp that the creation of a woman for the man was about his need for a workmate in the fulfillment of 266 00:24:24,090 --> 00:24:32,910 God-given responsibilities, then we will conclude that there is a purpose for a married couple that is beyond the couple themselves. 267 00:24:34,410 --> 00:24:42,510 So then we'll invest ourselves in producing and nurturing marriages where the highest priority is the fulfillment of our God-given responsibilities. 268 00:24:44,295 --> 00:24:49,875 And I think the distinction between those two outlooks makes quite a big difference on the ground. 269 00:24:52,515 --> 00:24:54,885 This is a very important perspective for us on marriage. 270 00:24:55,065 --> 00:24:56,025 I don't want you to mishear me. 271 00:24:56,025 --> 00:24:59,205 I'm not saying God's not interested in companionship or intimacy. 272 00:24:59,355 --> 00:25:03,075 It's obvious from Genesis 2 and from the rest of the Bible that we ought regard 273 00:25:03,075 --> 00:25:08,475 intimacy, including sexual intimacy as a beautiful thing, a very precious gift from God. 274 00:25:09,225 --> 00:25:11,805 There is companionship and intimacy to be enjoyed. 275 00:25:13,395 --> 00:25:16,365 But we just mustn't reduce it to that as if that's all there is, 276 00:25:18,555 --> 00:25:19,605 because it's not. 277 00:25:20,925 --> 00:25:27,735 When chapter two, verse five described what the world was like before God created man, it said there was no one to work the ground. 278 00:25:29,475 --> 00:25:35,415 And when God did make man and place him in the garden, verse 15 says He did so that he might work it and take care of it. 279 00:25:36,825 --> 00:25:42,375 So when the woman comes along to help the man, Genesis 2 couldn't be clearer about what their partnership is for. 280 00:25:43,425 --> 00:25:45,735 It's for doing the work that God's given them. 281 00:25:45,735 --> 00:25:46,215 Together. 282 00:25:47,595 --> 00:25:49,755 It's for obeying God together. 283 00:25:51,525 --> 00:26:02,325 Adam's helper comes not just to be with him, to do life with him, but to assist him to live well, to partner him in living, to please God. 284 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:13,830 Now I'm well aware that this idea is actually quite a long way from how a lot of people naturally think, even amongst Christians. 285 00:26:13,830 --> 00:26:20,730 I think there's a lot of confusion about this, and that's partly because we've been careless in our reading of the Bible. 286 00:26:22,290 --> 00:26:29,310 But I think it's also because perhaps, largely because we're so strongly influenced by the culture we live in. 287 00:26:30,899 --> 00:26:37,290 We live in a culture which so often does treat marriage, or at least partnering as if it's ultimate. 288 00:26:42,060 --> 00:26:45,629 When I was a child, I used to read some of Richard Scarry's books. 289 00:26:45,629 --> 00:26:48,975 I. If you're a similar vintage to me or perhaps older. 290 00:26:49,275 --> 00:26:50,235 Yeah, you did too. 291 00:26:50,895 --> 00:26:54,555 And uh, this is, this is one of his collection of stories. 292 00:26:54,555 --> 00:26:56,235 It's called "The Best Storybook Ever". 293 00:26:56,235 --> 00:26:57,465 Admittedly, that's a pretty big claim. 294 00:26:58,725 --> 00:27:00,795 I'm gonna read you one of the stories from here. 295 00:27:00,795 --> 00:27:07,485 It's called, "Is this the House of Mistress Mouse?" Uh, if you're sitting close to front, you might even be able to see the pictures. 296 00:27:10,035 --> 00:27:11,745 This is the house of Mr Mouse. 297 00:27:12,555 --> 00:27:14,625 He lived all alone and he was very lonely. 298 00:27:15,865 --> 00:27:18,285 One day, he received a letter from Mistress Mouse. 299 00:27:18,345 --> 00:27:27,315 The letter said, "Dear Mr Mouse, I'm very lonely too. Will you please come and visit me? Love and kisses, Mistress Mouse." 300 00:27:29,475 --> 00:27:34,575 Mr Mouse said to himself, "I would like very much to visit Mrs. Mouse, but I don't know 301 00:27:34,575 --> 00:27:39,285 where she lives. However, I'll just have to get into my little car and go look for her. 302 00:27:41,370 --> 00:27:42,930 There's a house just ahead," said Mr Mouse. 303 00:27:42,930 --> 00:27:44,910 "Perhaps that is where Mistress Mouse lives." 304 00:27:45,390 --> 00:27:46,230 He knocked on the door. 305 00:27:47,430 --> 00:27:49,440 "Is this the house of Mistress Mouse?" he asked. 306 00:27:50,430 --> 00:27:54,960 Mr Mouse was very frightened for that was the house of Mr Cat! 307 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,660 "What a cute little mouse!" thought Mr Cat, as he watched him speed away in his car. 308 00:28:01,740 --> 00:28:06,900 "I wonder why he was so frightened." But Mr Mouse knew better than to go into Mr Cat's house, didn't he? 309 00:28:08,595 --> 00:28:10,365 Soon he came to a bright red barn. 310 00:28:10,395 --> 00:28:11,745 He knocked on the barn door. 311 00:28:12,255 --> 00:28:15,735 It was the house of Mrs Hen and her baby chicks. 312 00:28:16,875 --> 00:28:19,845 "Please don't bother me. I'm teaching my chicks to scratch," she said. 313 00:28:20,805 --> 00:28:24,645 And so Mr Mouse traveled on, until he came to a big castle house. 314 00:28:25,305 --> 00:28:26,745 He knocked on the castle door. 315 00:28:27,735 --> 00:28:30,825 It was the castle of Mr Lion. 316 00:28:32,535 --> 00:28:35,535 He was in a very bad temper because he had a very bad toothache. 317 00:28:36,405 --> 00:28:38,865 Mr Mouse raced away as fast as he could. 318 00:28:40,815 --> 00:28:44,205 Finally, he came to a cute little house on a lovely country lane. 319 00:28:44,595 --> 00:28:46,875 He knocked on the pretty little yellow door. 320 00:28:47,925 --> 00:28:50,115 "Is this the house of Mistress Mouse?" he asked. 321 00:28:50,775 --> 00:28:52,485 The door slowly opened. 322 00:28:54,555 --> 00:28:58,065 Sure enough, this was the house of Mistress Mouse! 323 00:28:59,055 --> 00:29:01,155 Mistress Mouse was so happy to see him. 324 00:29:01,754 --> 00:29:03,794 Mr Mouse was so happy to see her. 325 00:29:04,935 --> 00:29:08,324 "Will you marry me so that we'll never again be lonely?" asked Mr Mouse. 326 00:29:09,375 --> 00:29:11,294 " Why yes," said Mistress Mouse. 327 00:29:12,195 --> 00:29:14,415 And so they were married by Preacher Mole. 328 00:29:15,705 --> 00:29:19,995 Mr Mouse gave Mistress Mouse a golden wedding ring with a bright diamond on top. 329 00:29:22,334 --> 00:29:24,405 And from that day on, they were never lonely. 330 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:26,980 They went on picnics. 331 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,790 They took rides in the country. 332 00:29:31,110 --> 00:29:32,550 They went rowing on the lake. 333 00:29:34,620 --> 00:29:37,889 And then one night after they'd finished their supper, they heard something. 334 00:29:39,210 --> 00:29:42,300 It was a tiny squeak, squeak, squeak coming from the bedroom. 335 00:29:44,010 --> 00:29:48,629 What are you suppose it was that was squeaking ? It was their baby. 336 00:29:50,670 --> 00:29:51,540 He wanted to be kissed. 337 00:29:51,540 --> 00:29:52,050 Goodnight. 338 00:29:53,175 --> 00:29:54,435 Good night, Daddy Mouse. 339 00:29:54,584 --> 00:29:55,725 Good night, Mommy Mouse. 340 00:29:56,264 --> 00:29:57,435 Good night, Baby Mouse. 341 00:29:58,094 --> 00:29:58,455 Good night. 342 00:30:08,745 --> 00:30:11,114 Now, I know that that's only a story for children. 343 00:30:11,114 --> 00:30:13,155 I probably seems just kind of cutesy and harmless. 344 00:30:15,135 --> 00:30:22,125 I do think this story is actually a really good example of the formative cultural narrative about marriage, which we imbibe. 345 00:30:22,365 --> 00:30:27,495 We really do receive so many messages along these lines from popular culture. 346 00:30:28,035 --> 00:30:39,180 Also, from our reading of literature and from the values of our families and friends, we see marriage and having babies as the ultimate achievements. 347 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:45,780 We see a fulfilling and happy marriage as the destination we want our lives to arrive at. 348 00:30:47,550 --> 00:30:55,890 This is the soulmate happily ever after narrative about marriage, kind of marriage that Mr and Mistress Mouse had 349 00:30:58,620 --> 00:31:04,650 in our culture Today, sex, marriage and family life are really valued with a kind of ultimacy. 350 00:31:05,580 --> 00:31:07,260 That seems to be very seductive. 351 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:13,290 Our society does seem to believe that in one sense, at least, this is what life is all about. 352 00:31:15,150 --> 00:31:21,720 A meaningful relationship, family leaving a legacy for the next generation. 353 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,360 But honestly, it's ludicrous. 354 00:31:29,460 --> 00:31:30,210 It's so stupid. 355 00:31:30,215 --> 00:31:31,170 I don't know where to start. 356 00:31:33,945 --> 00:31:36,945 So many people have embraced this vision for life, 357 00:31:39,075 --> 00:31:41,025 and so many Christians have bought into it too. 358 00:31:41,025 --> 00:31:44,355 In fact, Christians have often endorsed it through their interpretation of pastors. 359 00:31:44,355 --> 00:31:53,445 Like Genesis 2 story goes that Adam and Eve's marriage at the end of this chapter is the crescendo, the pinnacle of the creation accounts, 360 00:31:55,515 --> 00:31:58,875 but you have to read Genesis 2 so carelessly to arrive at that conclusion. 361 00:32:00,540 --> 00:32:01,290 Yes, it's true. 362 00:32:01,290 --> 00:32:05,820 Adam and his wife come together in a complimentary way and in intimate unity. 363 00:32:06,300 --> 00:32:12,330 Yes, it's true that their marriage is part of the answer God provides to the aloneness Adam previously experienced. 364 00:32:12,630 --> 00:32:20,340 Yes, it's true that their marriage at the end of chapter two is a profound and beautiful thing, but it's not the ultimate thing. 365 00:32:22,380 --> 00:32:28,080 Their marriage serves a purpose, a much bigger purpose than the enjoyment of their own relationship. 366 00:32:29,895 --> 00:32:34,125 In God's wisdom, Adam and Eva brought together to help each other in the work 367 00:32:34,155 --> 00:32:39,795 God has called them to they're married in order to serve God and obey God. 368 00:32:41,745 --> 00:32:48,385 Our world may think that the defining moments of a marriage are when a couple are alone in their bedroom, but Genesis 2 369 00:32:48,405 --> 00:32:55,590 suggests that the defining moments of every marriage are when husband and wife serve God together in the wider society. 370 00:32:59,235 --> 00:33:06,555 Now what this means, of course, is that if your marriage, if you are married, and if your marriage is currently rich 371 00:33:06,645 --> 00:33:13,965 and full of affection, then you mustn't let that lull you into some kind of dreamy confusion about what marriage is for. 372 00:33:16,335 --> 00:33:17,295 Enjoy it. 373 00:33:17,775 --> 00:33:19,815 Praise God for it by all means. 374 00:33:20,685 --> 00:33:25,095 But remember that your marriage is a gift from God to be used in order that you may serve him. 375 00:33:27,195 --> 00:33:31,965 Keep asking yourself, is my marriage oriented around the purposes of God? 376 00:33:35,324 --> 00:33:37,574 And of course, this also means something if you are married. 377 00:33:37,574 --> 00:33:41,175 But at the moment your marriage is disappointing or difficult, 378 00:33:43,544 --> 00:33:49,034 it reassures you that a happy and an easy marriage is not the main point. 379 00:33:51,465 --> 00:33:55,395 By all means, pray for better days ahead in your marriage. 380 00:33:56,685 --> 00:33:59,445 And work hard to address issues that need to be addressed. 381 00:34:01,034 --> 00:34:03,735 But don't put all your eggs for marriage in the intimacy basket. 382 00:34:05,415 --> 00:34:12,134 Instead, get on with helping each other to serve Christ and His gospel however you can, and 383 00:34:12,134 --> 00:34:16,844 delight in the ways that God is using your marriage to shape you and sanctify you for his purpose. 384 00:34:20,355 --> 00:34:24,045 And of course, this also means something if you're single and desiring to be married. 385 00:34:25,950 --> 00:34:29,430 It means you must work hard to understand what it is you seek. 386 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:35,700 Don't get sucked in by the Mr and Mrs. Mouse narrative about marriage. 387 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,590 If you get married, all your dreams won't come true. 388 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,880 You won't have found a soulmate who completes you. 389 00:34:46,830 --> 00:34:47,160 You. 390 00:34:47,190 --> 00:34:50,310 You won't have satisfied every longing God made you with. 391 00:34:51,510 --> 00:34:55,170 If you think you're never gonna feel lonely again, you are seriously misguided. 392 00:34:56,790 --> 00:35:02,640 If you think it's all diamond rings and picnics and tiny squeaks from the cute baby in the next bedroom, you are nuts. 393 00:35:05,220 --> 00:35:14,040 If you're looking for something ultimate, if you're thinking this is what life is really all about, you will be deeply, deeply disappointed 394 00:35:16,830 --> 00:35:20,580 or worse, you'll shipwreck your soul trying to create your own happiness. 395 00:35:23,340 --> 00:35:28,140 When God offers you marriage, he's not offering you what the world we live in thinks marriage is. 396 00:35:28,350 --> 00:35:35,010 God is offering you someone to come alongside you and to help you work for God and obey God. 397 00:35:36,060 --> 00:35:39,120 If you want something other than that, marriage is not your answer. 398 00:35:40,765 --> 00:35:48,270 But if on the other hand you want to spend your life in the service of Christ, then by all means pray for a spouse to help you. 399 00:35:51,705 --> 00:36:00,345 And if that's what you want, you might also pray for singleness because it too has many advantages when it comes to serving God in his world. 400 00:36:02,265 --> 00:36:06,524 So I next wanna reflect on what perspective Genesis 2 offers us on singleness as well. 401 00:36:08,205 --> 00:36:13,004 And by single I mean anyone who's not married, whether never married or previously married and single again. 402 00:36:13,004 --> 00:36:16,885 Now, let me suggest two things that Genesis 2 shows us. 403 00:36:19,375 --> 00:36:24,090 Firstly, Genesis 2 reminds us that singleness is indeed the absence of a good thing. 404 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:30,990 It's very clear from this chapter that marriage is a gift from God, which is a blessing to a husband and wife. 405 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,810 It's part of God's answer to Adam's aloneness. 406 00:36:33,870 --> 00:36:37,470 It does draw people into intimate unity with each other. 407 00:36:38,515 --> 00:36:43,350 Does provide the married person with a like, but complimentary counterpart as they serve the Lord. 408 00:36:43,350 --> 00:36:46,020 Together, these things are all good. 409 00:36:47,924 --> 00:36:55,004 So Genesis 2 is a reminder that a person who is not married does not enjoy these blessings in the same way, 410 00:36:58,875 --> 00:37:03,794 given some of the remarkably positive things the rest of the Bible says about singleness. 411 00:37:04,544 --> 00:37:08,504 It might be possible for Christians to think that a single person isn't really missing out on anything. 412 00:37:10,149 --> 00:37:15,285 It might be possible for some Christians to think that a person who grieves being single is making too much of it. 413 00:37:17,549 --> 00:37:22,859 But I don't think the scriptures will allow us to draw that conclusion, rather, I 414 00:37:22,859 --> 00:37:28,650 think Genesis 2 dignifies the grief of those who would love to be married but aren't. 415 00:37:30,629 --> 00:37:37,080 If they grieve because they see what a good thing marriage is, and because they recognize within themselves a righteous 416 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:43,799 desire for a husband or a wife, then I think we'd have to say that their grief makes perfect sense in the light of God's word. 417 00:37:45,925 --> 00:37:46,560 Ye yes. 418 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:47,700 There are also some other things. 419 00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:50,460 God's word would urge them to think and feel about their singleness. 420 00:37:51,810 --> 00:37:54,120 Things we find in passages like one Corinthians seven. 421 00:37:55,620 --> 00:38:02,250 But for now at least, I wanna remind us that those who grieve not being married, grieve the absence 422 00:38:02,250 --> 00:38:09,510 of something good and those who desire marriage desire a good thing that comes from the hand of God. 423 00:38:13,305 --> 00:38:17,025 But there's also a second thing that Genesis 2 reminds us of when we're thinking about singleness. 424 00:38:17,115 --> 00:38:23,775 That is, if marriage is only part of the answer to the aloneness Adam felt, then there must be other parts to that answer too. 425 00:38:25,245 --> 00:38:28,455 Other provisions of God, which single people can enjoy. 426 00:38:30,585 --> 00:38:35,715 And this all comes back, I think, to the point I made earlier about the unique nature of Adam's aloneness. 427 00:38:36,105 --> 00:38:40,755 One of the dangers in reading this passage is that you might confuse Adam's aloneness with loneliness. 428 00:38:41,835 --> 00:38:46,605 But so important to see here that loneliness, as we experienced it, was not the core of Adam's problem. 429 00:38:47,085 --> 00:38:48,404 He was actually alone. 430 00:38:50,024 --> 00:38:58,830 He was the only human like me, living with just the animals in ATO Elephant Park, none of us have ever experienced the aloneness of Adam. 431 00:39:01,274 --> 00:39:09,225 In fact, Genesis 2 reminds us that none of us have ever been completely alone, precisely because of what God did here. 432 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:19,740 When God gave the woman to Adam, he was prefiguring marriage in a very real way, but at a more fundamental level. 433 00:39:19,740 --> 00:39:30,390 He was creating human, community and friendship so that no human would ever again, ever again have to experience what Adam did. 434 00:39:33,779 --> 00:39:38,790 I think it's correct to say that Genesis 2 is not just about marriage, but about what it means to be human. 435 00:39:40,785 --> 00:39:44,565 Of course it is about marriage, but Genesis 2 is about something even more basic. 436 00:39:44,805 --> 00:39:46,815 God saw that Adam was alone. 437 00:39:47,565 --> 00:39:55,545 It wasn't good for Adam to be alone, and so God ensured that from the end of Genesis 2 onwards, human 438 00:39:55,545 --> 00:40:01,215 beings would have the opportunity for relationships with other human beings, whether married or single. 439 00:40:02,685 --> 00:40:08,325 Genesis 2 draws our attention not just to the blessings of marriage, but also to the blessings of family life. 440 00:40:09,029 --> 00:40:16,680 Friendship of community, and in particular the blessings of community in Christ, family of God. 441 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:26,009 Genesis 2 celebrates all of these things, and it's a mistake when we treat it simply as if it's a celebration of marriage. 442 00:40:26,009 --> 00:40:26,549 It's not. 443 00:40:26,730 --> 00:40:32,310 Genesis 2 is a celebration of all that's good about human relationships. 444 00:40:34,529 --> 00:40:36,299 Adam is so much more than a husband here. 445 00:40:37,035 --> 00:40:40,755 By the end of chapter two, he's someone who has a suitable helper, but also looks 446 00:40:40,755 --> 00:40:45,705 forward to the possibility of being a father, an uncle, maybe a grandfather, a friend. 447 00:40:47,565 --> 00:40:50,505 And Eve is so much more than just a wife for Adam. 448 00:40:50,505 --> 00:40:57,105 She too is a future friend and a future mother, and a future auntie and grandmother, indeed, she's literally the 449 00:40:57,105 --> 00:41:04,845 one who, with her husband, will produce new humans in order to perpetuate the provision of God that we see here. 450 00:41:06,660 --> 00:41:15,420 Hannah and Eve's relationship here is the origin of all kinds of relationships for every human being who comes after them. 451 00:41:18,570 --> 00:41:26,460 So Genesis 2 reminds us that the choice between marriage and singleness is not a choice between intimacy and aloneness. 452 00:41:29,129 --> 00:41:30,540 I really want you to hear me at this point. 453 00:41:30,540 --> 00:41:36,720 The choice between marriage and singleness is not a choice between intimacy and aloneness 454 00:41:39,089 --> 00:41:46,529 because Genesis 2 reminds us, for example, of the intimacy that can exist between friends precisely because of what God did in this moment. 455 00:41:48,915 --> 00:41:53,745 As I've been saying, I think we have a terrible habit in our society these days of sexualizing everything. 456 00:41:54,105 --> 00:41:59,685 It's now got to a stage where when two women enjoy a really intimate friendship, people start to wonder whether they're gay. 457 00:42:01,545 --> 00:42:06,135 It's now got to a stage where when two men develop a deep affection for each other, we call it a bromance. 458 00:42:06,135 --> 00:42:12,765 I. And it also seems we're at a point where a man and a woman claim to have a non-romantic friendship. 459 00:42:12,765 --> 00:42:17,715 People suspect there's more to it than meets the eye, or at least it'll inevitably turn into something more. 460 00:42:20,595 --> 00:42:23,895 These terrible instincts, Christians should have no part of them. 461 00:42:26,025 --> 00:42:31,965 Our society has taught us to think like that, but we need to go back to the scriptures to be taught to think differently. 462 00:42:32,325 --> 00:42:35,384 We must say no to that instinct, to sexualize everything. 463 00:42:36,225 --> 00:42:40,785 It's possible for two women to be very close to each other without ever having a lesbian thought. 464 00:42:42,705 --> 00:42:47,115 It's possible for two blokes to love each other deeply in an entirely non-romantic way. 465 00:42:47,115 --> 00:42:48,884 That's not a romance, that's a friendship. 466 00:42:51,314 --> 00:42:55,814 If we have to use a word which contains the word romance, then our category of friendship is too small. 467 00:42:58,035 --> 00:43:03,315 Brothers and sisters, it's even possible for men and women to be friends without sexual desire getting in the way. 468 00:43:03,855 --> 00:43:07,935 Of course, sexual desire is often used by Satan to undermine friendships. 469 00:43:09,225 --> 00:43:15,405 So wisdom is needed, but we mustn't let the fear of that danger become the only thought we have about our friendships. 470 00:43:16,935 --> 00:43:20,325 Friendships a beautiful thing, a great gift from God for us to enjoy. 471 00:43:20,505 --> 00:43:22,845 Genesis 2 celebrates that provision. 472 00:43:25,130 --> 00:43:29,129 I. And if that's true of friendship, how much more is that true of the church 473 00:43:31,379 --> 00:43:32,790 family of God in Christ? 474 00:43:32,790 --> 00:43:35,069 What a stunningly beautiful thing that is. 475 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:42,120 The relationships within the family of God are a very special gift from God for all to enjoy in the church. 476 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:45,870 Both single and married have eternal brothers and sisters. 477 00:43:46,049 --> 00:43:47,940 They have mothers and fathers. 478 00:43:49,065 --> 00:43:55,545 And within the family of God, there's also the possibility for both married and single to be spiritual parents through discipleship. 479 00:43:58,245 --> 00:44:02,145 In Mark 10 verses 29 and 30, Jesus says this. 480 00:44:03,450 --> 00:44:08,370 Truly, I tell you, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters, or mother or father, or children or 481 00:44:08,370 --> 00:44:13,890 fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age, Holmes 482 00:44:13,950 --> 00:44:20,730 brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields along with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life. 483 00:44:22,109 --> 00:44:24,210 That's a stunning promise. 484 00:44:25,649 --> 00:44:27,899 One, I fear we so often fail to believe. 485 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:36,819 But it's a promise that would never have been possible from the lips of Jesus if it were not for what we read in Genesis 2. 486 00:44:41,259 --> 00:44:46,015 So finally, what does Genesis 2 teach us about the kingdom of God? 487 00:44:47,819 --> 00:44:51,839 Very simply, it reminds us that God's kingdom is the ultimate thing. 488 00:44:53,700 --> 00:44:54,990 Marriage is not ultimate. 489 00:44:56,335 --> 00:44:58,935 The enjoyment of friendship and community is not ultimate either. 490 00:44:58,965 --> 00:45:07,815 All human relationships must look to a purpose beyond themselves, and that purpose is found in relating to God the king, and doing what he asks. 491 00:45:09,585 --> 00:45:14,145 And we see three dimensions of that here in Genesis 2 that I wanna very briefly point out as we close. 492 00:45:15,165 --> 00:45:16,575 Firstly, work 493 00:45:18,765 --> 00:45:23,715 as we've already seen, what the earth lacked before man was created was someone to work the ground. 494 00:45:23,805 --> 00:45:24,345 Verse five. 495 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:30,779 What God asked Adam to do in the garden when he was created was work it, take care of it. 496 00:45:33,149 --> 00:45:35,669 God did not create humans without a purpose. 497 00:45:36,779 --> 00:45:42,990 Yes, he made the world good and pleasing, and there was and is much for people to enjoy and the world God made. 498 00:45:43,350 --> 00:45:46,705 But the enjoyment of the Earth's riches is not ultimately our purpose. 499 00:45:47,645 --> 00:45:51,060 Our purpose as humans is to serve the God who made us. 500 00:45:52,020 --> 00:45:56,820 And now that Christ has come, that purpose is deeply shaped by the gospel. 501 00:45:57,870 --> 00:46:01,620 Our lives are all about doing the work in the world that God has called us to do. 502 00:46:01,830 --> 00:46:09,480 And above all else, that means making disciples in our families, amongst our friends, in our churches, and throughout the world. 503 00:46:11,010 --> 00:46:12,720 That is what life is for. 504 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:17,310 If we are married, this is what marriage is for. 505 00:46:18,090 --> 00:46:22,560 But whether married or not, this is what God calls us to, to the work he's given us 506 00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:28,980 to do, to bring people to know the Lord Jesus and to live their lives in his service. 507 00:46:31,770 --> 00:46:33,120 Secondly, obedience. 508 00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:34,200 'cause that's another thing. 509 00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:38,160 Genesis 2 makes really clear about how the man and the woman must live their lives 510 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:42,090 there to live, recognizing the kingship of God and submitting themselves to it. 511 00:46:43,410 --> 00:46:45,930 Did you notice in the middle of this chapter is a commandment? 512 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:51,570 You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from the outset. 513 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:56,280 It establishes that men and women are made to listen to their maker. 514 00:46:57,870 --> 00:47:00,690 Life will be best for them when they obey his word. 515 00:47:02,490 --> 00:47:03,450 They don't know everything. 516 00:47:04,980 --> 00:47:09,870 God knows far better than they do how to live in the world he's created and how to live well. 517 00:47:11,190 --> 00:47:12,090 They must listen. 518 00:47:13,500 --> 00:47:20,220 Trust his goodness and do exactly what he says, and that's as true now as it ever was. 519 00:47:22,860 --> 00:47:24,900 Thirdly and finally, relationship. 520 00:47:26,670 --> 00:47:31,770 'cause the man and the woman God created are not just asked to do the King's work and obey the king's word. 521 00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:36,600 They actually invited to know the king and to be loved by him. 522 00:47:39,150 --> 00:47:40,380 It's a striking thing here. 523 00:47:40,380 --> 00:47:42,300 Don't you think that the Lord God talks to the man? 524 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:48,000 It's a striking thing here, that God makes the world, the man inhabits good and pleasing. 525 00:47:49,560 --> 00:47:53,700 It's a striking thing here that God sees the man's deep need and he wants to meet it. 526 00:47:56,220 --> 00:47:57,870 This is not a picture of a God who's. 527 00:47:58,695 --> 00:48:00,255 Distant and disinterested. 528 00:48:00,345 --> 00:48:06,915 This is a picture of a God who cares deeply for the people that he's made, and of course that hasn't changed either. 529 00:48:11,505 --> 00:48:16,215 I wonder if I asked you what you think is the most intimate moment in Genesis 2, what you'd say? 530 00:48:18,405 --> 00:48:23,955 I suspect our eyes would most likely drift towards the end of the chapter, and there is real intimacy there for sure. 531 00:48:25,695 --> 00:48:31,275 But I've wondered as I've read this chapter again, whether in fact verse seven might contain the chapter's most intimate moment 532 00:48:33,855 --> 00:48:39,765 in that verse, the Lord God forms a man with his own fingers, 533 00:48:41,865 --> 00:48:51,555 and then he cradles the man's lifeless face in his hands and he kneels down, placing his lips over the man's nose. 534 00:48:53,535 --> 00:48:54,645 And then he breathes. 535 00:48:57,255 --> 00:49:03,765 He shares his own life with the man he's made, bringing him to life in the process. 536 00:49:06,195 --> 00:49:07,485 It's a stunning moment. 537 00:49:08,175 --> 00:49:17,835 Indescribably beautiful, and it stands in this chapter as an emblem of the kind of relationship with God that humans are created for. 538 00:49:20,145 --> 00:49:27,915 As we well know in Christ Jesus, God offers us life and in a wonderfully predictive way. 539 00:49:27,915 --> 00:49:37,064 This intimate moment in Genesis 2 is a sweet picture of what we have in Christ, God's life within us. 540 00:49:40,460 --> 00:49:45,915 So Genesis 2 reminds us of what the gospel itself trumpets that God offers to people. 541 00:49:46,740 --> 00:49:52,020 Single or married, a far greater joy than any human relationship can provide. 542 00:49:54,750 --> 00:49:56,100 That's the ultimate thing, 543 00:49:58,950 --> 00:49:59,790 sisters and brothers. 544 00:49:59,790 --> 00:50:04,620 This is the gospel we proclaim, and it's the truth we live and experience every day. 545 00:50:06,785 --> 00:50:15,180 The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 546 00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:19,010 Amen. 547 00:50:27,525 --> 00:50:32,205 Thank you for listening to Moore in the Word, a podcast of Moore Theological College. 548 00:50:32,805 --> 00:50:37,455 Our vision as a College is to see God glorified by men and women living for 549 00:50:37,455 --> 00:50:42,135 and proclaiming Jesus Christ, growing healthy churches and reaching the lost. 550 00:50:42,645 --> 00:50:48,465 We invite you to attend any of our upcoming events, including this one from the Priscilla & Aquila Centre. 551 00:50:49,055 --> 00:50:54,105 The Priscilla & Aquila Centre aims to encourage the ministries of women in partnership with men. 552 00:50:54,855 --> 00:51:00,495 It also promotes complementarianism, the view that men and women are created equal, but different. 553 00:51:00,765 --> 00:51:02,745 In other words, complementary. 554 00:51:03,675 --> 00:51:05,775 What do we really mean by complementarian? 555 00:51:06,435 --> 00:51:07,725 What don't we mean by it? 556 00:51:08,145 --> 00:51:10,515 What lessons can we learn from the history of this term? 557 00:51:11,535 --> 00:51:17,595 Join us for the next Priscilla & Aquila evening seminar on Wednesday, 13th August 2025, 558 00:51:18,195 --> 00:51:22,665 when author and theologian Claire Smith will share some of her wisdom on this topic. 559 00:51:23,355 --> 00:51:32,745 To find out more and register, visit the Priscilla & Aquila website, paa.moore.edu.au. 560 00:51:33,144 --> 00:51:36,785 That's paa.moore.edu.au. 561 00:51:42,610 --> 00:51:49,100 You can find out more and register by going to the Moore College website: moore.edu.au. 562 00:51:49,430 --> 00:51:50,930 That's moore.edu.au. 563 00:51:51,540 --> 00:51:55,710 If you have not already done so, we encourage you to subscribe to our podcast 564 00:51:55,710 --> 00:51:59,610 through your favourite podcast platform so that you'll never miss an episode. 565 00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:05,310 For past episodes, further resources and to make a tax deductible donation to support 566 00:52:05,310 --> 00:52:13,319 the work of the College and its mission, please visit our website at moore.edu.au. 567 00:52:14,410 --> 00:52:20,230 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a friend and leave a review on your platform of choice. 568 00:52:21,009 --> 00:52:29,259 We always benefit from feedback from our listeners, so if you'd like to get in touch, you can email us at comms@moore.edu.au. 569 00:52:30,600 --> 00:52:38,620 The Moore in the Word podcast was edited and produced by me, Karen Beilharz, and the Communications Team at Moore Theological College. 570 00:52:39,129 --> 00:52:43,090 The music for our podcast was provided by MarkJuly from Pixabay. 571 00:52:43,770 --> 00:52:44,640 Until next time.