Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of Genesis 2:24-3:19
1. The essence of the Fall in Genesis 3 was separation. That is what death is, and the Fall brought death into the world. There is now separation and alienation where there was once harmony. Mankind is separated from God and from each other. The Fall brought about estrangement in our relationships especially that of marriage.
2. In Genesis 3:15 God promises a Redeemer, through the line of the woman, who would defeat Satan. This is called the "proto-evangelium" or "protevangelium." "The first announcement of the Gospel in the Scriptures..." (Moody Handbook of Theology"
3. Genesis 3 also contains the first act of man-made religion when Adam and Eve sought to cover their sin by using fig leaves. They thought they could cover their sin by their own works. In an act of grace God provided animal skins for their covering thus demonstration their inability to cover their own sin by human effort. It is the consistent teaching of Scripture that humans cannot atone for their own sin (Isaiah 64:6), but must accept God's provision for them by faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).
4. The Fall brought feat into relationships. Gary Smalley in The DNA of Relationships lists the following core fears: For women the fear of disconnection (not being valued), for men it is the fear of helplessness or being controlled. (See http://www.thednaofrelationships.com/)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
God's Design For Marriage, Part 2
Click here to download the sermon file.
Recap of Genesis 2:24-3:19
1. Marriage is a covenant before God in which a man and woman leave one relationship (“father and mother”) and establish a new exclusive and permanent primary relationship.
2. This is described as a ‘one flesh” relationship, consisting of not just sexual union but of spiritual and emotional union as well. The man and woman literally become related to one another as blood relatives. Commenting on this passage, Jesus adds in Mark 10:7-9 that they are no longer two but one, and that God has joined them and no human should separate them.
3. Genesis 2:25 is symbolic of the beauty and innocence of this one-flesh relationship. Their nakedness without shame is symbolic of their total transparency and total ease with each other. There is no distrust, no fear, no potential for evil or exploitation. There is no defensiveness, no need to win at all costs.
4. All this was lost in the Fall in Genesis three when Adam and Eve deliberately disobey God and become sinners (Romans 5:12). Genesis 3 illustrates the change that came into the creation and especially into the relationship of Adam and Eve, and their relationship with God. Their oneness was now interrupted by sin. They knew shame, lost innocence, lost companionship. They now were uncomfortable with God and with each other. Fear and distrust and a sense of the potential for evil and exploitation now enter their world. Guilt and fear and an unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions now mar their relationship with God and with each other.
Recap of Genesis 2:24-3:19
1. Marriage is a covenant before God in which a man and woman leave one relationship (“father and mother”) and establish a new exclusive and permanent primary relationship.
2. This is described as a ‘one flesh” relationship, consisting of not just sexual union but of spiritual and emotional union as well. The man and woman literally become related to one another as blood relatives. Commenting on this passage, Jesus adds in Mark 10:7-9 that they are no longer two but one, and that God has joined them and no human should separate them.
3. Genesis 2:25 is symbolic of the beauty and innocence of this one-flesh relationship. Their nakedness without shame is symbolic of their total transparency and total ease with each other. There is no distrust, no fear, no potential for evil or exploitation. There is no defensiveness, no need to win at all costs.
4. All this was lost in the Fall in Genesis three when Adam and Eve deliberately disobey God and become sinners (Romans 5:12). Genesis 3 illustrates the change that came into the creation and especially into the relationship of Adam and Eve, and their relationship with God. Their oneness was now interrupted by sin. They knew shame, lost innocence, lost companionship. They now were uncomfortable with God and with each other. Fear and distrust and a sense of the potential for evil and exploitation now enter their world. Guilt and fear and an unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions now mar their relationship with God and with each other.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)