The Family, The Bible, The Battle Lesson 1: Creation, Corruption, Correction
by Pastor D. Kris Minefee
The Family: Introduction
Matthew 19:3-6
The Pharisees also
came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put
away his wife for every cause? And he
answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the
beginning made them male and female, And
said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to
his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath
joined together, let not man put asunder.
Jesus gave the definitive answer about marriage and the
relationship between man and woman.
1. He which made them. Jesus points out that in the creation
God made man and woman.
2. Next God said, “For this cause (marriage, the joining of
man and woman) they leave their family and become one flesh (a union of body,
family and spirit). They are not two but one.
3. Then Jesus concludes with an unalterable statement about
marriage, “Therefore what God has joined together do not permit man to
separate.”
Jesus definition and today’s society
Jesus words were a warning to the Pharisees about the danger
of easy divorce in their society. It is also a warning, even more important to
us in today’s society when marriage is begin cut asunder by divorce,
cohabitation, same sex marriages and transgenderism. Though the attacks have
change or intensified, the word of Christ have not changed. “What therefore God
hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Today more than ever we must understand God’s original
intent for marriage and do all that we can to honor, protect and cherish it
lest in destroying marriage and the family we destroy ourselves.
The Family: Creation
Creation Genesis 2:18-25
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him an 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 an 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 (Heb ishshaw, woman, out of
man), 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.
God Is the Creator Of The Family
Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him an help meet for him
Adam was incomplete until Eve was created.
As Adam (man, mankind) named the animals, probably brought
before him in pairs, it was soon apparent that though all the animals had both
a male and female, he did not have a mate. there was no female counterpart. The
scripture notes that it was not good for the man to be alone. God then created
Eve (life) to as a helper for Adam’s work of tending the garden. She was a
helper meet, suitable, for him.
Eve as not inferior to Adam, she was in no way a slave or
the property of Adam. Though the curse would change the relationship between
Adam and Eve and all male/female relationship that followed, in the beginning there
was no conflict, no selfishness, no competition between the sexes.
Eve as created to make up what was missing or lacking in
Adam and in Adam was found those things which Eve did not have. They were meant
by God from the beginning to compliment and complete one another through their
union.
A Jewish tradition states, “God did not take Eve from Adam's
foot, lest he try to dominate her, or from his head, lest she see herself as
above him. Instead God took Eve from Adam's rib, that the two might go through
life side by side.” - Bible Reader's Companion.
Matthew Henry made a similar great observation about the
creation of Eve and her relationship with Adam. “She was not made out of his
head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out
of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his
heart to be beloved."
Paul observed in 1 Corinthians 11:7 For a man indeed ought
not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the
woman is the glory of the man.
Warren Wiesbe commented, “for if man is the head, then woman
is the crown that honors the head.” - Bible Exposition Commentary - Be Basic
(Genesis 1-11).
Marriage Was The First Institution
God put man and woman together in the Garden that they might
complete one another, in their God given relationship we have the first
marriage, and marriage becomes the first institution of all human society and
civilization.
Merriam- Webster defines institution as a significant
practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture. i.e.. the
institution of marriage.
As the first institution it is the foundation of all other
institutions that follow it. All others, from government, education, churches
or hospitals are built upon the institution of the family. Without families
there can be no others and if the institution of the family is weak then the
institutions built upon the family will also be weak.
The destruction of the family is always a precursor and
warning to the collapse of a society or a nation.
The Family: Its Purpose
God's Purposes For the Family
Genesis 1:27-28, So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth.
1. Genesis 1:28, Bringing New Life – Be fruitful and multiply, replenish the
earth.
2. Genesis 1:28, Serving God together – Subdue (the earth) have
dominion over all living things upon the earth.
3. Genesis 2:18, Fellowship with each other– It is not good
that the man should be alone.
4. Genesis 2:18, Completion one of the other– I will make
him an help meet (a compatible, suitable helper)
5. Genesis 2:24, Unity between husband and wife – therefore shall a man leave his father and
his mother, and shall cleave (cling, adhere) unto his wife.
God created the family, the first institution and entered
into a covenant with Adam and Eve. In the Edenic Covenant were also found the
first parameters of God’s relationship with man and the purposes of the family.
The Edenic Covenant – Gen. 1:28-30; 2:16-17
Genesis 1:28-30 And God blessed them, and God said unto
them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is
upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a
tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every
fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there
is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.
In the Edenic Covenant, man is charged with responsibility
for...
propagating mankind,
subduing the earth,
exercising dominion over the animals,
caring for the garden in Eden,
and to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
The Family: Corruption
Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was
more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden? And the woman said unto the
serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall
be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good
for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat.
The Adamic Covenant
The consequences of man's fall necessitated a changed
relationship between man and God including the following elements:
A curse on the serpent: Gen 3:14
The first promise of a redeemer (the proto-evangelium).
A changed state of woman including bondage and subservience
to man's headship, and suffering and pain in motherhood.
Loss of the garden in Eden as a dwelling place and light
occupation changed to heavy burden of work because of a cursed earth.
Inevitable sorrow and disappointment in life.
Shortened life span and tragedy of death
Satan Corrupts Man and the Family
The Corruption of the first family was through temptation,
Genesis 3:6 the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
desired to make one wise.
Eve’s temptation was in three specific areas. The tree was….
Good for Food
Pleasant to the Eyes
Desirable for wisdom
Corruption Through Temptation Today
The further corruption of each of us as individuals and as
families is still though temptation today. As Satan tempted Eve and Adam, we
will also be tempted. If we give in to the temptation, then sin will destroy us
and our families as it did in the Garden. The temptation attack is launched in
much the same way today as it was then. Satan hasn’t changed a successful
formula.
In John’s first epistle, the last apostle labels these
temptations.
1 John 2:15-17 Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust
thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Eve’s temptation had three areas of attack and our
temptation today still fall under those attacks.
|
Us
Today - 1 John 2:16
|
Eve
and Adam - Genesis 3:6
|
|
Lust
of the eyes
|
It
was to be desired
|
|
Lust
of the flesh
|
It
was good to eat
|
|
Pride
of Life
|
It
would make one wise
|
Even the temptation of Christ, was still along these three
avenues.
Matthew 4:1-11 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an
hungred. And when the tempter came to
him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made
bread. But he answered and said, It is
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God. Then the devil
taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the
temple, And saith unto him, If thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels
charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any
time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them; And saith unto
him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship
me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee
hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him
only shalt thou serve. Then the devil
leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Now, using the table, compare the temptation in Genesis 3:6,
Matthew 4:1-11 and 1 John 2:16
|
1 John 2:16 |
Genesis 3:6 |
Matthew 4:1-11 |
|
Lust of the eyes |
It was to be desired |
All the kingdoms of the world |
|
Lust of the flesh |
It was good to eat |
Stones into bread |
|
Pride of Life |
It would make one wise |
Let the Angels catch you |
Satan's Purpose In Corruption
Genesis 3:12, And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest
to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Selfishness replaces of Fellowship
Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply
thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and
thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Domination in place of Cooperation and Serving Together.
Genesis 3:19 In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for
out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Pain and death instead of bringing new life.
We see the fulfillment of Satan’s corruption in in the
society’s today.
Selfishness, me first, my rights, my needs, my career, my
friends instead of the unity that God intended.
Domination in the form of nagging, bossy wives and abusive
insensitive husbands instead of the cooperation and serving together that God
intended.
Even extinction in place of replenishing the earth. As many
as 25% of many pregnancies in large cities end in abortion. 50% of new marriages end in divorce and most
of the world’s nations are not having enough children to even replenish their
own populations.
If we are to overcome the attacks and temptation of Satan
then we must rely not on our own senses and strengths as Eve did and failed but
instead look to Christ and His strength. He was and is the only one to overcome
the temptations of Satan and then to win against the most powerful attacks of
Satan, sin death and hell, when He arose in power from the grave.
The Family: Correction
Genesis 3:14-15
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the
field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of
thy life: And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Christ is the Corrector of the family
Genesis 3:15, Christ is promised to undo what Satan has
done.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a
sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.
Christ is the virgin born seed of woman
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the
devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Christ bruises the head of the serpent and destroys the
works of the devil.
Christ's purpose in Correcting the Corruption
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Ephesians 5:31-33 For this cause shall a man leave his
father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one
flesh. This is a great mystery: but I
speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as
himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
In Christ we have reconciliation and fellowship between God
and man in salvation relationship and also between husband and wife in the
marriage relationship.
Now by the power of Jesus we can have cooperation and
completion instead of competition in the marriage, just as God intended in his
creation of marriage.
Psalm 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and
the fruit of the womb is his reward. As
arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of
them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the
gate.
Replenishment and new life now comes through the bond of
marriage and children are understood as a gift of God and are to be cherished
and bring happiness and pride.
Conclusion
When you consider all the dangers and hinderance against
marriage and the family in this modern world, we should realize that if our
families are to have any hope then it must be through the power of Jesus
Christ. Not only did His sacrifice on the cross bring salvation and
reconciliation to man but in Him and in the Word is the hope our families need.
We must read often and deeply the passages that define the
family, instruct us in our roles as fathers, mothers and children. God intends
us to act and live according to the design He created for the family. That
design is our only hope in today’s battle for the family.
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