Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Gen 1:26-31, NKJV (Italics added for emphasis)
It was very good! Not only was God’s creation of Man good, it was very good. It should be clear that anything God does is very good. Could it be anything else? God’s plan is perfect, and out of His will comes only good. We are, in fact, told that God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all.
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5, NKJV
So it stands to reason that God’s works are very good. And yet, in this passage, God makes it clear that this particular work was especially good. Why? It is my personal belief that one reason it was very good was because of His crowning creation – marriage.
My reader may be asking, “Where does this passage say anything about marriage? And how is marriage a part of creation?” These are fair questions. Let us go back to Genesis and examine the next body of text…
Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
And 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. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to 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 a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Gen 2:15-25, NKJV (Italics added for emphasis)
Did you notice that Man was alone (of his kind) when he was placed in the garden? The garden was perfect. The trees and foliage were perfect. The other beasts were perfect. Yet; it was “not good” yet. Why? Because man was not complete. Of himself, man is only part of what he was created to be. No garden, plant, animal or anything else can complete man. Only the woman has the capacity to complete the man. She who comes out of man is the one who completes him. And here is the picture of Marriage – that Woman was made out of Man and given back in order that he may be complete. That the two may become one.
God took woman out of man and gave her back to him as his companion. That companionship is formalized and consecrated through the rite of marriage. Now let’s look at some other passages that may shed some light on the nature of the relationship between the Man and Wife…
Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
Ps 45:10-11, NKJV
And…
“When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord GOD.
Ezek 16:8, NKJV
There are many other passages like this. Intimate passages – passages describing the relationship between a man and his wife. But these scripture passages are not about a man and his wife. Instead, they are about God and His wife! Some of my readers may be a little confused by these passages; does God have a wife? How could that be? So let me set that record straight. God doesn’t have a wife as we do. There is no “Mrs. God, Queen of Heaven”. No; these passages are figurative. But if figurative, who is the bride? God’s people. Think carefully about what God is saying in these passages. Is there any closer relationship than the intimate relationship between a man and his bride? We often think of intimacy as the physical part of a marriage relationship. But it is so much more than that. Marital intimacy involves a weaving of physical, emotional and rational interplay between a man and his wife. This is the closest we can get to an understanding of the relationship that God wishes to have with His people. Does that offend you? Does it make you uncomfortable that the Creator of the universe desires an intimate relationship with His people? This is a concept that may be foreign to many of my readers. How could our God desire this type of relationship with us? With me? And yet, it’s His words, not mine.
I have mentioned in a former blog the concept of physical/spiritual parallelism. In general, what was true of God’s people Israel in the physical world is true of the Church in the spiritual world. Israel was a foreshadowing of Abraham’s spiritual children, the Church. So the Creator’s words in the previous passages relate not only to His people Israel, but ultimately to the Church itself. Let’s take a look:
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Eph 5:28-31, NKJV
Many Bible teachers stop here. They use this passage to teach husbands to love their wives. In fact, I used this same passage in a toast in my beautiful daughter’s wedding to her Godly groom. And for good reason – this is God’s perfect instruction to husbands, as modeled by His son and our savior. But God does not stop there. Let’s examine the very short passage that follows…
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Eph 5:32, NKJV
Do you see it? Husbands ought to love their wives just as the Lord loves the church. Supportively. Sacrifically. Intimately? When Paul mentions this “great mystery”, what is he speaking of?
For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Eph 5:30 and 31, NKJV
This is the mystery. How can the two become one? This is truly a great mystery. But notice: this passage is not about a man and his wife, Paul is talking about Christ and the church! And who is the church? Those that have believed in His name. Those whom Christ has purchased with His blood.
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Acts 20:28, NKJV (italics added for emphasis)
Marriage, then, was created for two reasons. First, to give us a relationship that completes us – that of a man and his wife. The woman, taken out of man, and returned to him to complete him. This relationship is the most wonderful gift that God could have provided us in this life. Not only because of the wonder and glory of a marital relationship, but because of the second (but primary) reason for its creation – to help us get a glimpse of the relationship that God desires to have with us. And the relationship that we will someday have with Him in our perfect and completed bodies. I find this truly amazing. It truly keeps me “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Titus 2:13-14, NKJV Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
I pray that my reader will allow the depth of this specific study to fill them with wonder and amazement. A wonder that can only be fulfilled through the two becoming One. Selah.
May God bless and enrich your study of His word!
YouJi