Study 10. The Seven Days of Creation.
Adam and Eve Part 2
(Genesis chapter 2:15 -25)
God is never stingy when it comes to providing for those who walk in fellowship with Him. As it is written, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, (spirits) who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). As we have seen the Lord had provided everything that Adam and Eve would ever need for life and happiness. They were like two innocent children who had a wonderful world open to them filled with the wonders and joys of discovery.
God’s generosity and benevolence
God in His wonderful generosity had given them access to every tree in the garden and the freedom to eat of its fruit. He held nothing back from them but had made available His infinite wisdom and knowledge about everything in the universe. The only tree they were not to eat from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This tree was not a literal tree but an area of knowledge that they would come to know about in time but were never to experiment with. They also had access to the Tree of Life and were able to eat of its fruit. The Tree of Life was also not a literal tree but an area of knowledge and wisdom freely available to them to enjoy. This Tree was also a person, namely the pre-existent eternal Son of God, of course not in flesh, but certainly in human form and capable of walking and talking with both Adam and Eve in the garden in the cool of the day. Of course God did not want them idle but actively working towards establishing the human race. (1:28) His intention was that they grow in their knowledge and understanding of Him and procreate a race of beings that would reflect His glory and splendour.
God wanted to relate to His creation
While God is perfectly sufficient within the Godhead and enjoying the angelic realms He wanted to create a race of beings in His own image and likeness so that He could enjoy a personal relationship with them. This was His delight and pleasure. There was always joy and happiness when God exercises His creative power. When the Lord was laying the foundations of the earth all of the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy. (Job 38:4-7)
Now let’s look at the text.
(Vs 15) “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
Work was never intended to be a burden for man. It was only after the fall that work became a burden instead of a delight. (3:17-19) God had a specific plan and purpose for Adam and Eve and He fully intended to let them discover and develop in their knowledge of His will and pleasure. God was practical and did not create man to sit around just to have a good time but created him to progress in knowledge and in wisdom and to produce a race that would reflect the glory and splendour of their creator and bring honour to Him. God held nothing back from them at all but made the treasures of His wisdom and knowledge freely available to them. This wisdom and Knowledge was available to them through their relationship with the Lord Jesus before He came in to the world. Indeed it is written of Him, “Namely Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and Knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). And again it is said of Him, “Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
God ordained work
Now then the garden was the place where God had put them and He had a specific plan and purpose for their lives. They had a responsibility to look after what God had given them. God Himself ordained work and whatever we do in life whether it is ministry or secular work it is intended to bring glory to Him. It is very important how we conduct ourselves at work. When we do our job well as a believer it brings honour and credit to the Lord Jesus whom we serve and the blessings of God into our daily lives. God ordained work itself. For the believer who has been made a new creation in Christ whatever they do should be a delight. As it is written, “Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him” (1 Corinthians 7:20). For some, when they are saved will be called to full-time service, however, others will stay at work and bring honour to the Lord in the workplace.
Having successfully completed the will of God
Whatever we do is sacred to God. Just because a believer becomes a missionary, a preacher or a full-time worker does not diminish the role of a believer who works at a regular job on a daily basis. The one who works diligently and as they were doing it unto the Lord will most certainly be rewarded just as much as the believer who serves the Lord on the Mission field. After all it is God who works in all of His children to do His good will and pleasure. True success in life is to have successfully completed the will of God for our life. This is true prosperity from God’s perspective. As it is written, “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might as unto the Lord and not to please men.”
(Vs 16-17) “And the Lord commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The Garden of evil was a literal garden with literal trees. The trees themselves speak of the variety of knowledge and wisdom that God had made available to Adam and his wife. They had unlimited access to the wisdom and knowledge of God and to a knowledge of the whole universe and in time they would increase in that wisdom and knowledge. God had withheld nothing from them. His desire was to see them grow and develop under His hand and to increase in wisdom, stature, in knowledge and in favour with Him.
Experimenting with good and evil
The only thing that God commanded them not to do was to experiment with good and evil. They were to know about it as they had access to all knowledge and wisdom but they were never to actually partake of it. God knew that it would destroy their relationship with Him and their very lives. The Lord did not create them to be robots but to have a free will. He enjoyed them as beings that could freely exchange ideas with Him and relate to Him as free will beings and not as clones. Yes He took a risk it would seem in creating man with the capacity to act independently from His creator but never the less that is what the Lord did.
Barred from access to God
The penalty for violating God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good evil was that it would kill them. Spiritually they would die instantly and ultimately die physically. Not only that but God knew the terrible consequences there would be for the human race. If they violated His command then His divine nature and life would be withdrawn from their spirits. They would no longer have access to Him or to the Tree of life, the pre-incarnate, Eternal Son of God Himself. Now let’s continue.
(Vs 16-20) “The Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.”
Before man fell into sin he had a very unique relationship to the animal world. There was harmony between both species. Whether they were large or small every living creature was in harmony with man and this included the birds of the air. Indeed it was a paradise on earth for all of God’s created beings. Now it seems that God wanted Adam to have some fun and to exercise the great intelligence that He had given to him and so the Lord brought all of the animals and birds to Adam for him to name. Adam had to think up the names. Of course he had the unlimited wisdom of God at his disposal and had the God-given capacity to name each creature. God had endowed man with tremendous intellectual ability. There was nothing that man would not be able to accomplish in time under the hand of God.
A help mate
Now as Adam named the animals and birds he came to realise that there were males and females and that each creature had a mate but he did not have one. As Adam named the animals he would have noticed that there were males and females and that each one had a mate that was similar to it, yet different. This helped Adam prepare for a suitable helper for him. At this point in time God was about to create a mate for Adam that would be for him someone beyond imagining. In His wisdom and love God would provide for Adam a beautiful bride and bring her to him. She would complete him in every way and together they would become as one. This has always been God’s intention in marriage, however, through the entrance of sin relationships between men and women have been broken down and it is only in Christ that those relationships can be fully restored. This union between Adam and Eve is a picture of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride the Church. Adam represents Christ and Eve His bride the Church and by extension Israel the wife of Yahweh Himself. And so let’s continue…
(Vs 21-22) “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.”
In the Bible when we read of believers sleeping it is speaking of their death, yet it is not a permanent state but a temporary one, hence the Bible uses the term for the death of the believer as “sleeping.” (John 11:11) (Daniel 12:2) (1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:51) (1 Thessalonians 4:14) In the Old Testament when we read that a king “slept with his fathers” the Bible is telling us that he died and went to Abraham’s bosom, to a place in Sheol where the righteous were at peace awaiting the resurrection. This place of rest is clearly seen in the account of Lazarus and the rich man. (Luke 16:19-31)
A ‘deep’ sleep
Now we are told that, “the Lord God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep”. This “deep sleep” speaks of the death of the Lord Jesus who gave His life to produce a bride for Himself, namely the Church or as the New Testament describes it as the Body of Christ. This “body” is part of the Lord Jesus and is joined to Him. (1 Corinthians 6:15) (Ephesians 3:6, 4:25, 5:30) The Lord Jesus is called the last Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:45) In Genesis Adam “dies” as it were producing his wife. In the New Testament the Lord Jesus dies producing His bride the Church. The Lord Jesus paid the ultimate price to purchase a bride for Himself, so in a sense, the Church was created from the wounded side of the Saviour. The marriage between a Christian man and women is a picture of the marriage between Christ and His bride the Church. As it is written, “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27).
He brought the woman to Adam
Once the Lord had created the woman from the side of the man He brought her to the man. Likewise when the Lord has finally completed the Church also called the Body of Christ or the bride of Christ He will present it to His Son perfectly complete in every way just as He presented Eve to Adam. As it is written, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7). And again it is written, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).
The Bride of the Lord Jesus
Through the ministry of the blessed Holy Spirit indwelling the believer the Lord is preparing a bride for His Son. When the Lord Jesus comes back He is not coming for a dirty bride who has no care for her spouse but for one who is now making herself ready by laying aside every weight and sin that so easily besets them in this life and running the race for the prize of being with the Lord Jesus for time and eternity. They are running the race set before them with perseverance and are among those who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God that are “yes” and “Amen” in Christ! They are divesting themselves of everything that contaminates body and spirit and with the aid and strength of the Holy Spirit and by the power of the blood of Jesus and the Word of God are perfecting holiness out of reverence for God for they know that without holiness no-one shall see the Lord. As it is written, “If we walk in the Light as He is in the Light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses (is cleansing) us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
“Clothed with fine linen, bright and clean!”
When the Lord Jesus comes back His bride the Church will shine throughout the ages of eternity. She will be clothed in true righteousness and holiness, clothed with fine linen, bright and clean, which stands for the righteous acts of the saints. As it is written, “Those who impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). As it also is written, “On the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who believe” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
The Lamb is its lamp
Like the stars in the sky the bride of the Lord Jesus will shine out into the vastness of the universe. In the New Jerusalem all of the nations on the earth will walk in its light and nothing impure will ever enter it. As it is written, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and the honour of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:22-26).
The Lamb’s Book of Life
Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of life? Have you been clothed with the garment of Jesus righteousness by faith in Him or are you still laying and wallowing in the filthy pits, the cesspools and the pigsties of sin and rebellion? The Lord Jesus has died for you, He wants to be your spouse and bring you to heaven. He wants to present to Himself a glorious bride without spot and wrinkle and one that is free from the contamination by the world, the flesh and the devil and He wants you to be in the wedding feast with Him and with all the saints. Through His blood He has made this possible for it is written, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” And again it says, “Know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.”
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
He has entered into heaven and His blood has been placed on the Mercy Seat there before the throne of God. The shed blood of the Lord Jesus is the only basis upon which God can and will forgive your sin and becomes effective in your life when you repent and turn back to Him. As it is written, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7). And again it says, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, “Everyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame… For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9-11, 13).
The table of God’s richest delights!
So then when we see God bringing the woman to the man we have a beautiful picture of God bringing the bride to His Son. Indeed the wedding feast will be something beyond imagining. There at the that great table in the Millennial reign of the Messiah will be Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all of the saints through the ages that the Lamb Himself has purchased with His own blood and clothed with His own righteousness. Indeed the true remnant of Israel Jew and Gentile alike will feast at the table of God’s richest delights. Indeed on that day those who have loved His appearing will be filled with joy inexpressible as they gaze upon the splendour and the beauty of the One who has purchased them for God! You can be a part of this great wedding feast, but without the garments of salvation you will be shut out from the presence of God for time and eternity and forever dwell in that place of outer darkness where there is only weeping and grinding of teeth because of what could have been and should have been yours.
In conclusion…
(Vs 23) “The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.”
Through the work of the cross and by the very wounds of the Lord Jesus has come forth His bride the Church. Every believer is intimately joined to the Lord Jesus and living upon His life and power and living in the greatness of His indestructible life. Through Adam God brought forth Eve His bride, likewise through the Lord Jesus Christ God the Father brought forth His bride, the Church of the Living God.
(Vs 24) “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
The Lord Jesus left the glory of heaven and the eternal relationship He had with His Father to come into the flesh and to live among men in order to take a bride for Himself. To be “one flesh” is the same word God Himself uses to describe the Trinity in the great Shema of Israel where it is written, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Or it can be translated, “The Lord is Oneness” describing a plurality of persons that are One God, and equal in divinity. Adam and Eve were separate personalities yet One. This union of man and woman itself illustrates the truth of the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. Marriage reflects this truth especially when the child comes because the family then becomes three separate persons yet one! This is a profound mystery how God can be One God yet three persons. Never the less the word for “One flesh” used here in Genesis is the same word uses in Deuteronomy 6:4.
(Vs 25) “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
In their innocence Adam and Eve were both naked. There was nothing hidden between them. They were completely transparent with each other. There union was totally complete in every way. There was no embarrassment but total physical and spiritual oneness. This is how a marriage should be and can be in Christ where two are walking under the control of the Holy Spirit and according to the Word of God. Adam and Eve lacked nothing and although they were one in heart and soul they were still two independent people. However, they were one with the Lord and when God called one of them they both responded to Him as they were of one heart and soul.
We will be as He is!
What a picture of the relationship between the Lord Jesus and His bride the Church with each member at one with the other, yet enjoying an individual relationship with the Father, and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit. However, while we are in this body there are many obstacles to overcome because we have a fallen nature and desperately need the grace, the love and the power of God everyday and so it is with marriage. While there will always be conflict at times in the best of marriages there can be intimacy, transparency and openness with one another like it was in the garden but only in Christ. Of course as believers we still see in a glass dimly as it were and it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He appears we will be as He is! We will know as we are known! Amen!
