On the first day, the Lord God
made the heavens and the earth. He set forth light in the world.
And on the sixth day, after he had made everything else, the
Lord God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness. We see that in verse 26. And
that's exactly what he did. He made man after the image and
likeness of him who is the image and likeness of God. Now, I realize
that there are various interpretations of this. Men say, well, God made
man to be a man who is intellectual, rational, reasonable, moral,
upright creature like himself. But I think there's more to it
than that. In the New Testament, we're told there is one who is
himself the image of God, and that one is Jesus Christ the
Lord. And God made the first man, Adam,
in the image and likeness of him who was to be made in this
world as the image of God in human flesh, Jesus Christ, our
representative man and our savior. So that Adam was made an upright,
moral man, but he was also made to be a representative man. And that's very important as
we continue in this study this morning. And we read in chapter
2 and verse 7, and the Lord God formed man out of the dust of
the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life
and man became a living soul. Then in verses 16 and 17, we
read that the Lord God commanded the man. He did not command men,
but the man. He did not command the man and
the woman, but the man. Because Adam alone was the representative
man who was created by God specifically to be the representative of all
men by nature. The representative of all men
in that covenant of which he stood as the head and representative. Now, this matter of federal headship
is very, very important to understanding the scriptures. Everything God
does, everything God does with you and me, He does in one of
two representative men. He will deal with us either in
the representative man, Adam, or he will deal with us in the
representative man, Christ Jesus, the Lord. He deals with all men
on the basis of what these two men have done. We have example
after example after example of this every day in everyday life.
Perhaps the best illustration to be found is that in our legislative
system. We have representatives in the
houses of Congress who stand in our stead. They stand as our
legal representatives so that whatever they do in Congress
has its ramifications upon us and they act for us. Now, whether
we like the way they act or not, they act for us. Even so, in
the purpose of God, all men are represented either by Jesus Christ
the Lord as our substitute or by Adam as our original father. Represented either in disobedience
by Adam or in obedience by Christ. Hold your hands here in Genesis
and turn to Romans chapter 5. I want you to see this. As the
Apostle Paul expounds the gospel doctrine of justification, he
does so by explaining with great detail the representative character
of two men, Adam and Christ. We'll look at another passage
in 1 Corinthians 15, the Lord willing, in a few minutes. But
here in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, we read, Paul is explaining
now how we're justified. Wherefore, wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Now this is
what that means. One man sinned against God, but
we all sinned in him representatively. That one man died and plunged
his whole race into death under the curse of God's law. And now
we all by nature inherit from our fallen father Adam our sinful,
depraved nature. We get that by natural generation. So that there's one thing every
father passes along to his sons and daughters And that is sin,
depravity, enmity against God, corruption. That one thing we
pass along to all our children by natural generation since the
fall of our father Adam. All right. Now you notice in
verse 13, the word for it begins with a parenthesis and that parenthetical
statement goes down through verse 17. Now that doesn't mean those
verses are not important. They're very, very important.
But the sentence is explained in that parenthetical statement.
That's the purpose of a parenthetical statement. It is to explain what
has just been said. Now, the sentence continues in
verse 18. For that all have sinned, verse
18, therefore, therefore, since we sinned in a representative
man, since we died in a representative man, since we fell in a representative
man, therefore, as by the offense of one, Judgment came upon all
men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one,
the free gift came upon all men under justification of life."
All right, now look at the text carefully. You'll often have
folks say to you when you talk to them about the purpose of
God in electing love, the purpose of God in the particular factual
redemption of Christ, but what about this passage of Scripture?
As one man, as we became sinners by one, all men became sinners,
so all shall be justified by one. If you interpret the passage
in that universal sense, then you must interpret it this way.
If Jesus Christ lived and died as the representative of all
men, then there is no such thing as judgment. There is no such
thing as hell. There is no such thing as damnation,
because all men literally are justified and have life in him.
But we know that's contrary to the whole word of God. Well,
what then must be the understanding of the text? It is this. As by
one man, the offense of one, Adam, judgment came upon all
men. Now, this is what it means. All
men in Adam. All were represented by him.
It's the only thing that makes any sense. All the human race
being represented by Adam are brought by Adam's offense under
judgment and condemnation. Even so, by the righteousness,
that is by the righteous obedience of one, another man, Adam, the
last man, Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, the free gift came upon
all men. Not all men without exception,
but all men represented by him in a covenant way. All men represented
by him as he stood before God. All men in him under justification
of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many, that is the many who were in him, were made sinners, so
by the obedience of one, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall many,
the many who are in him, be made righteous. All right, now then,
let's look at Genesis chapter 2 and verse 18. I want to talk
to you this morning about the first marriage. Genesis chapter
2 and verse 18. And the Lord God said, it is
not good that man should be alone. I will make him and help meet
for him. Underscore those words. I will
make him, man, and help meet for him. And out of the ground
the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl
of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would
call them. And whatsoever Adam called every
living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names
to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast
of the field. But for Adam there was not found
and help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And he took one of
his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib
which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman and
brought her unto the man. 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. Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they
shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the
man and his wife, and were not ashamed. I want to answer three
questions this morning. First, why was Eve created? What was the purpose? Verse 18,
the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. The Lord God made Eve to be and
help meet for Adam. Why isn't it good for man to
be alone? Because he was created in the image of God. Being in
the image of God, he had no one to love, though he was full of
affection and love. That love and affection must
have an object, and so the Lord made someone for him. to talk
to, someone with whom he could share the blessings and benefits
that God had given to him, someone with whom he could converse,
someone with whom he could share the blessings of God's creation
put in subjection to him. You see, companionship, togetherness
is essential for those who love. And you do as well. We every
now and then run across somebody who seems to want to live as
a hermit. They get along without other
people. But people who love people have got to have them. They've
got to be around folks. They've got to have people with
whom they can communicate and share the cares and the burdens
and the joys of their hearts. Adam was created in the image
of God, but the Lord God knew. He knew because he had ordained
that Adam would fall into sin. He had ordained and he knew that
Adam would become a meaty creature. by reason of sin. And so in anticipation
of the fall, the Lord God provided for Adam one who would be in
help meet for him when he came to be a man in need. There was
no one for him with whom the man could share the blessings
of grace once the Lord God had bestowed grace upon him. And
so the Lord made Eve for Adam. He was, she was created to be
in help meet for this man. serve him, to find completion
in him, to find satisfaction in him, to help him along his
way. Now I realize we're living in
20th century America and we like to think of ourselves as a refined
enlightened society. But our refined enlightened society
becomes more and more barbaric with every passing generation.
And rather than increasing and improving our rank and positions
in life with all of our refined philosophy, we are returning
to the acts and activities of brute barbarians rather than
of people who act like they have good sense. Eve was made for
Adam, not Adam for Eve. Now, I wish I could shout that
from the housetops. I wish I could make folks understand
that. This is what God declares in his word. How was she created? That's the second thing. We're
told first in verse 21, and the Lord God calls the deep sleep
to fall upon Adam. Eve was created by God putting
Adam, as it were, into a coma. No one but God could do that.
While he slept, the Lord took one of his ribs and out of that
rib, he made a woman to be an help meat for Adam. And then
he brought her to the man. God did not create the woman
as he had created the man, but he made the woman from the man.
Woman was not the beginning of a new order, she was not the
beginning of a new race, but rather she was the continuation
of that race which God had made in Adam. Adam was the sole representative
of the race, and he represented Eve just as much as he did you
and me. He was her representative just
as he is our representative. She is called Isha, woman, because
she was taken from Ish, taken from man. Now this is God's order. The Lord God did not take the
woman from the man's head to reign over him, and he did not
take her from under the man's feet to be trampled on by him,
but from his side as one equal with him. And yet the Lord took
the woman from the rib, from under the man's arm, to be protected
by him, from a place near his heart to be loved by him. The
Lord God brought the woman to the man so that she was and is
the gift of God to a man. Again, this is God's order. Look
in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Marriage is honorable in all,
the apostle tells us, and the bed undefiled. Now this is what
that means. It is honorable, always honorable,
even among unregenerate men to marry. Marriage is an honorable
thing. God established it in the beginning
before ever there was a fall. And he brought Eve to Adam and
gave her to him so that Adam and Eve might dwell together
in happiness so that they might dwell together in peace and in
harmony, and to preserve some semblance of moral decency between
man and woman. Lest men and women should cohabit
like brute beasts without regard for one another, live together
without regard for God, without regard for righteousness, without
regard for their children, just fulfill their lust. And those
things the Lord God established marriage so as to distinguish
man from a beast. And he did this in a specific
order. Look in verse 8, 1 Corinthians 11. The man is not of the woman,
but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for
the woman, but the woman for the man. I try to tell young
people, men and women, wait, just wait. At the appointed time,
God will bring the mate that he has for you to you. Somehow
in his good providence he always does. Don't settle for anything
less than one who will be in health meet for you, young man. And don't you ladies settle for
anything less than one who can be the completion and satisfaction
of your womanhood as God has made you. Now then look at verses
23 and 24 of our text. They tell us what Adam did when
God brought Eve to it. Adam said, this is now bone of
my bones and flesh of my flesh. Ooh, what a word. Blessed is
that woman who has such a man for herself. Blessed is that
woman. Look at this. This is what Adam's
saying, the woman, she's part of me. She's to be loved by me
and cherished by me, just as I would love and cherish myself.
He says, therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother
and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. Adam looked at Eve and he said,
we're one person, one person, let nothing separate us, nothing,
nothing. Marriage is forever. it's lifelong. And it's our responsibility
to see to it that it's kept forever. You men, Adam understood from
the beginning what very few men understand today. The man who
has a wife is responsible for that woman and responsible for
the household. Now, how can I say this? I won't say
it so that it can't possibly be misunderstood. Merle Hart
and Don Fortner are responsible for their wives and their children.
We're responsible. As long as they're under our
roof, we're responsible. We're responsible to care for
them, to protect them, to provide for them, to keep them. That's
the responsibility of a man. God has made us to be kings in
our houses. We are God's representatives
in our houses. Every man is responsible in his
household to be prophet, priest, and king in his house. Does that
mean that the man pushes and just insists on having his way
and he's bullish and tyrannical and hard? No, nothing of the
kind. That means he loves a woman and
cares for her and protects her. Look at 1 Peter chapter 3. 1
Peter chapter 3. He loves her, cares for her,
and protects her. And loving her, caring for her,
and protecting her, he rules his house for the glory of God.
First Peter 3 verse 7, likewise you husbands, dwell with them,
your wives, according to knowledge. In other words, find out something
about her. Find out best you can, now this
is tough business for men, but find out best you can what makes
her tick. Find out best you can why she
thinks like she thinks. Understanding, giving honor unto
the wife, look at it now, as to the weaker vessel. Weaker
vessel. And that doesn't mean physically
weaker, though usually that's the case. I'd hate to be married to one
who's stronger than I am physically, but that's not what this is talking
about. It's talking about spiritual and emotional weakness. That's
what it's talking about. The wife is by curse as the result
of the fall. The wife is by curse, according
to Genesis 3, made to be the weaker vessel. That means that
her desire is to her husband. Now this is what it means, Gary.
It doesn't mean that Carla is going to have physical desire
for you. That's part of creation. It means that she shall lean
to you and find completion in you and depend on you. Her desire
is toward her husband. A woman is one who is physically
not inferior in any way to a man. Morally and spiritually not inferior
in any way. But at the same time, she is
made by God to be the weaker vessel so that she must, in order
to find completion and happiness in this world, depend upon a
man. That's just the way it is. Giving
honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel as being heirs together
of the grace of life. Now then, you do this so that
your worship of God won't be hindered. What on earth does
he say? His prayers be not in vain. If
we as men and women would live together before God in uprightness,
if we would live together in happy, peaceful homes, if we
would live together to worship God, this is always going to
happen. It's always going to happen.
With a woman leaning to her husband and a man loving and caring for
his wife. It's not going to happen the
other way. Women, I'm going to have my way, pushy, bossy, domineering. Oh no. Oh no. No, no. Grace makes women different.
And grace makes men different. Grace causes women willingly
to live for the glory of God in their homes. And grace causes
men to willingly rule their for the glory of God, makes it that
way. And they were both naked, the
man and his wife, and were not ashamed. They were as God created
them, holy and upright. They needed no clothes to protect
them, no clothes to conceal any part of their bodies which God
had made, and they were not ashamed because they had nothing to be
ashamed of. There was no sin in their nature, no sin in their
consciences, no wickedness in their actions. But they didn't
remain in that blessed condition. As soon as they sinned, they
were under the curse, and as soon as they were cursed, they
were ashamed, and they began to try to cover themselves. Now,
we are all by nature inheritors of their shame, because we are
by nature inheritors of their guilt. Now, here's the third
thing. What does this teach us? What
does the Holy Spirit teach us here? Without question, without
question, blessed is that woman who receives and bows to the
word of God and teaches her daughters to do so. Women want authority. Women want to be teachers and
preachers. Folks get upset because we don't have women teaching
and preaching in the house of God. We won't have women ruling
in the house of God. We're not going to violate God's
word to suit our society or to suit anybody else. It's not going
to happen, not here. But you want to teach. You want
to teach, you ladies? You want to teach. Teach like
God says. Teach your children to take care
of their houses, to love their husbands, and take care of their
children. Well, I want more than that out
of life, then don't get married. Don't do it. I want more than
that out of life, then pursue whatever you want and go on to
hell if that's your determination, but don't drag other folks down
with you. Godly women teach their children, teach their daughters
to love their husbands, to take care of their houses, and they
love their husbands. Blessed is that family who has
such a woman. In Verse 31, Paul calls her a
virtuous woman. Oh. Happy, happy, happy is that
man. who has a virtuous woman for
a wife. Happy, happy, happy are those children who have a virtuous
woman for a mother. It do you well to read Proverbs
31 real often and find out what it's all about. But there's something
more glorious than this here. The marriage performed by God
in the Garden of Eden, this marriage of Adam and Eve is a picture
of that marriage performed by God in grace. The marriage of
Christ and his church, his Look in 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. There is a
second representative man, Christ Jesus our Savior. He's not just
the second Adam, he's the last Adam. He's the last representative
man. 1 Corinthians 15 21. For since
by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam, all who are in him die. Even so in Christ
shall all, all who are in him, be made alive. The first Adam
sinned, the last Adam obeyed God perfectly as our representative. The first Adam brought death
to all his race, the last Adam brought life, eternal life, to
all his race, those represented by him. As we born the image
of the first man Adam, so we shall bear the image of the last
man, the Lord Jesus Christ, if indeed we are in him. Now there
are five things I want to give you here, and I'll wrap this
up very quickly. Number one, the last Adam shall not be alone
any more than the first Adam. Our Lord Jesus Christ is going
to have a people to serve him, a people gladly married to him,
a people who find their completion, fulfillment, and happiness in
him. God's elect do. Secondly, the
Lord God made a body of flesh for his dear son, just as he
made Adam out of the dust of the ground. The woman he made
of a man, but here is a man who was made of a woman by the hand
of God. He's called the God-man. Thirdly,
the Lord God caused the deep sleep to fall on his son. Just
as he put Adam into a coma, God Almighty put his son into death
and into the tomb. And as the Lord Jesus Christ
died for us, The soldiers pierced his side and came out water and
blood. And so we were drawn to have
life everlasting out of the pierced side of God's dear son. Fourthly,
in the fullness of time, in the fullness of time, God will bring
his chosen bride to his son by the effectually irresistible
power and grace of his spirit. And they will willingly come.
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest. and calls us to approach
unto them. And one last thing, they are
not ashamed. Rex Bartley, he's not ashamed
to call us brethren. And we're not ashamed to call
him master. He has taken us though naked
and vile before him and robed us with his righteousness, with
his blood washed away our sin and our guilt. And we stand now
before God Almighty unashamed. He that believeth on the Son
shall never be put to shame. Amen. All right, Lindsay will
teach the lesson next week. And I didn't know he was going
to be back today, but Lord willing, you can pick the lessons up there
on the front view there, and he'll teach the lesson next Sunday.