The Creation of Marriage

When it comes to marriage what better place to start then at the beginning.  If we open the Bible to Genesis 1, we find that marriage between a man and a women was in God’s plan from the beginning. Let us take a look at the verse that describes the creation of mankind:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Gen. 1:26-28)

Similarly the following verse restates the creation of mankind:

This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man." (Gen. 5:1-2)

The verses above reference to "man" in the context of man as a species and not just the male gender, but the verses also indicates that there are two unique persons within mankind, and they are male and female. If we look closely at these verses we see that the creation of mankind was a two-step process. The first step was the creation of Adam; this is indicated by “in the image of God he created him” (Gen. 1:27) and “he made him in the likeness of God” (Gen. 5:1). The second step is described in Genesis 2:

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now the LORD God 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. 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. 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." (Gen. 2:18-23)

It is at this stage that God says that It is not good for the man to be alone (Gen. 2:18). I believe the Lord is saying that it wasn’t because Adam was flawed, but that he still lacked something. If Adam was created in God’s image what possibly could be missing? The answer is -- relationship and the ability to create.  God in the Trinity is part of a relationship between each of the members of the Trinity, and the Trinity created the universe. If we continue with the remainder of Genesis 2:18, we discover God’s solution, “I will make a helper suitable for him.” Webster defines helper as “One that furnishes or administers a remedy.” In Genesis 2:19-20, God and Adam went through creation to find a helper for Adam but none was to be found. Nothing in creation was at a level to which Adam could have a relationship near to the level within the Trinity. As well , God created all other life to interact “according to its kind” meaning that they could not join Adam within the process of creation. God created Eve from one of Adam’s rib, and at the same level within creation as Adam.  She was both physically and spiritually at the same level as Adam. She could join Adam in relationship similar to that of the Trinity, and also create children as the Trinity created man. Eve was a helper that fulfilled the Webster’s definition of “One that furnishes or administers a remedy,” and not a helper in terms of being a servant.
Finally, let us look at the final two verses of Genesis 2:

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (Gen. 2:24-25)

Although these verses seem out of place in the context of the creation account, they do describe the similarities between mankind to the Trinity. Even though a man and a woman are two distinct entities, God says they are one flesh in the state of marriage just as the Trinity is one. They were naked and not ashamed, just as the three persons of the Trinity have no barriers between them.
How should the creation account of man impact our marriage?  Firstly, everything discussed so far came before the fall of man! So this was God’s perfect example of a marriage, a man and a woman coming together as one flesh in relationship with their God. If we start thinking in terms of us and not me and you, we are now one together with the Holy Spirit.
Second, at this point there is no mention of authority, headship or submission. These things did not come until after the fall. There is only the relationship between the man and the woman and God giving mankind the ability to create. The relationship is first and foremost in the relationship. God created authority and submission within the marriage to help protect that relationship within our sinful world.
Finally, God’s design was not that any one should be single. In the New Testament, Paul writes that it is good not to marry (see 1 Corinthians 7).  But here Paul is speaking in context of after the fall of man.  The original plan was that it was not good for the man to be alone. In Proverbs 18:22 God says, He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.  Even after the fall of man, marriage is still good in God’s eyes.
Marriage is the reflection of the oneness within the Trinity. It is the insight into the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is knowing the joy that the Trinity had when they created the universe. It is our view into who God is.