I love the sport of wrestling.  No, not that jump up and kick or fly through the air garbage that you see on television, but the true competition that takes place across the country in junior high schools, high schools, and colleges during the bleak cold dreary winter months.  Two opponents who have trained, sweated, and have sacrificially given up many things to participate walk across the mat with a steely eyed stare, and get ready to engage their fellow combatant in a battle of strength, wit, and will!  There is no other sport that requires the conditioning, strength, sacrifice, determination and skill that wrestling requires.  I know because I have done it, coached it, and participated in many other sports for comparison.  After three 2-minute periods of power, strength and speed, one winner emerges with his hand being raised in victory by the referee!  Often, the loser is defeated by a more qualified opponent, but once in awhile, a superior wrestler underestimates his opponent’s abilities and goes down in defeat.

As Paul stated in Ephesians 6:12, we do not battle a physical enemy, but one that is powerful and of the dark world.  These spiritual combatants want nothing more than to destroy us and they will do everything and anything they can to pour that destruction on us.  How often in our everyday struggles do we underestimate the power of the dark grapplers that ensnare us?  How many times do we under train for the onslaught that comes at us by the dark forces, and thus, succumb to their arrows of internet pornography, drugs, adultery, alcoholism and many other sins?

When we understand the power and strength of our enemy, we start to understand the necessity of spiritual training.  A few minutes a day glancing over a dusty Bible or a hurried half-muttered prayer will not strengthen us to fight the good fight.  To gain true spiritual strength, we must train daily, and train as if our lives depend on it!  Brothers and sisters, run the extra mile, sweat those stairs, spend the extra time in the weight room…translated…don’t underestimate your opponent and the powers and principalities of the dark world.  Read and study Scripture daily, pray fervently, train with a brother/sister in Christ, so that you can resist the sinful temptations that bombard us daily.  Don’t be beaten down, ask God for strength…stay extra time in the weight room…the Bible.  Trust in the Lord!

I recently read the newest book by John Walton of the Wheaton Graduate School: Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology.  We would not necessarily agree with Walton on some points—or even understand him others!—but his central effort is to expose the “cognitive environment” of the ancient Near East (ANE) toward hearing Genesis 1 as the original Hebrew audience, and indeed the other inhabitants of the ANE world, would have heard it.

Walton compared Genesis 1 and 2 with other ancient cosmologies (defined as the science of the origin and development of the universe [oed]), identifying striking similarities, but also notable differences, that spotlight the authority and uniqueness of God’s Word.

Among the striking similarities was the central intent.  Walton wrote (194), “The most important question answered by every ancient cosmology is: Who is in charge?”  Genesis 1 is certainly no exception to that characteristic!

 One of the notable differences is that “the God portrayed in Genesis 1 does not set up the cosmos to function for himself but for humanity alone…” (194).  And the big picture in Genesis 1 presents people as God’s image-bearers, “thereby delegating to them a ruling role in the cosmos…; it views them as serving (him) not by meeting his needs [as in other ANE cosmologies] but by caring for sacred space” (194-5).

Human beings are the pinnacle of God’s creation.  We are vice-regents on His behalf, given dominion over all He made.  But we are creatures.  We owe our very existence to God.  And more, we owe our essence to Him—our defining characteristic(s).  That we are is a direct, unilateral act of God.   But so is what we are—those creatures made uniquely for worship and fellowship with Him.

The unavoidable implication of being a creature is that we are indebted—more than that, accountable—to God.  When we make something, we own it.  God made us.  Therefore, He “owns” us.  And given our status as creatures, it does not matter in the least whether we grant our accountability to Him, or even agree with it.  It is present in any case!  Put another way, our accountability to God is something we need to realize even if it is not something we are inclined to accept, because our refusal to accept it does not remove it.

When we bear witness to the gospel, we need to help people see that we must talk with them about their status as creatures.  Awareness of accountability to God is not widely granted in this day and age.  And some (many) think it is exceedingly odd, or even offensive, when they are first introduced to the idea.

But, first, people’s objection to hearing of their accountability to God does not change the fact that it is true.  And, second, if we keep this information from those who have not yet realized it, or even been given opportunity to realize it, we are not loving our neighbor as ourselves—we are withholding vital truth from them!

Grace Church of DuPage will host a Youth Basketball Camp for boys and girls grades 1-8 on June 25-28

Grades 1-5 (8-9:30 a.m.)

Grades 6-8 (9:30-11:30 a.m.)

$25 Registration fee per child (includes T-shirt)

Send registration form along with payment made to “Grace Church of DuPage” 27W344 Galusha Ave., Warrenville, IL 60555

You may also register by stopping at the church M, T, Th 8:30-500, W 8:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. or call the church office at 630-393-7344.

How in the world do two become one flesh?  What does it mean? 

As we have considered prior, the most poignant and lasting clarification is seen in the union of Christ and the Church.  Inherent within this metaphor is helpful, practical instruction for daily life as husband and wife. 

However, Bible students throughout the centuries have polished several different facets of meaning on this biblical jewel. 

One wrote, “‘Becoming one flesh’ involves the complete identification of one personality with the other in a community of interests and pursuits, a union consummated in intercourse” (Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, vol.1, p.137).  This focuses on spiritual, emotional, and experiential oneness that is both represented by and ultimately realized in the sexual joining of husband and wife.

In addition to Ephesians 5:31, Genesis 2:24 is quoted on two other occasions in the New Testament: once by Jesus (Mat.19:5; Mar.10:8) to oppose divorce, and once by Paul (1Co.6:16) confirming the appropriateness of understanding it primarily as a metaphor for sexual union.  In all three mentions the one flesh image stands at the center of the reference with strong allusion, at very least, to the all-encompassing oneness of a man and a woman in marriage. 

As such, one flesh also offers a compelling reason to separate from parents as a marriage is established: “This union is of a totally different nature from that of parents and children; hence marriage between parents and children is entirely opposed to the ordinance of God” (Keil/Delitzsch, The Pentateuch, p.91).  In fact, the clear implication is that any departure from the model of a one man/one woman union would offend God’s design.  The Law of Moses eventually spelled that out in detail (Lev.18).  Perhaps it seems odd even to make such statements, but with the redefinition of marriage that is taking place these days, nothing can be assumed!

There is at least one more potential meaning for one flesh which cannot be ignored.  It could refer to the “product” of the sexual union between husband and wife, namely, a child.  This opens our eyes to a form of symmetry in Genesis 2:24 in that it begins by mentioning “father and mother” and ends perhaps with a reference to their offspring.  Truly, “children are a heritage from the Lord” (Psa.127:3).  But I wonder whether, even among those who would say “amen” to this affirmation, we truly realize the extent to which our little ones are not only a blessing but a depiction of the fruit of salvation itself?

How indescribably glorious is this design of man as male and female!  What a vision it provides of our loving, creative, covenant-making God!  As the creatures who bear His image establish covenant relationship with one another, the act of love that knits their hearts and minds and bodies into a plural union not only satisfies them deeply on every level, but it also paints a portrait of their relationship with Him, then produces life in imitation of the eternal life He bestows!

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” (Gen.2:24).  Familiar words, but what do they mean?
Clearly Moses was not suggesting that God uttered this summary purpose of marriage to Adam and Eve personally—neither of them left father and mother to be united to one another!

No, the meaning of this statement extends well beyond just them.  It is bigger than the perfect union of a man and a woman in a sinless paradise.  It echoes the magnificent, mysterious melody of an infinitely grander symphony of love.  It anticipates the eternal, nuptial union of the unique Son of God Himself.

The Apostle Paul quoted Moses verbatim, acknowledging the profound mystery of his words; then he explained them with breathtaking efficiency: “I am talking about Christ and the church” (Eph.5:31-32)—the Redeemer and the redeemed, the sinless Savior and the sanctified sinner.  All the way back in the Garden of Eden, before the fall, the plan of redemption was already in God’s mind.  With Paul’s pronouncement, the ultimate sense of Moses’ mystery was revealed.

The relationship of marriage was affirmed to be, in essence, a metaphor.  As such, it is not something which is to be pursued based primarily upon its own merits; rather, it finds its truest meaning when it is pursed as an illustration, an object lesson lived out by husbands and wives day by day.  It is a work of art, a wedding portrait of the Son and His bride—He, the humble Savior sacrificing Himself to cleanse her from sin, and she, the deceased and hopelessly dirty bride, made alive and clean through His redemptive love.  The eternal Groom and the chosen bride pose as the tragically beautiful subjects whose portrait should be painted anew by each man and woman who pledge their lives to one another before God in marriage.

So what does this look like in daily life?  What impact should it have on how one acts and interacts as a husband or a wife?

If only every husband would genuinely ask himself in a rigorously biblical way, “What would Jesus do?  How would Jesus respond in this situation—to this comment, this request, this conflict?”  Or else, “Where did I depart from what Jesus would have done in His expression of love for my wife?”  That would be a great start!

If every wife would ask herself, “What would I do differently if Jesus were present?  How would I respond in this situation if it were He who said that?”  Or, “Where did I depart from a pattern of behavior that would be pleasing to Jesus?”  Before too long changes would begin!

The implications of asking such questions in our marriage relationships are many and varied.  And as we begin to act on the answers, they will make a genuine difference in the level of happiness and satisfaction we find as husband and wife.

At one time in my life (younger days!), I believed that I could do almost anything athletically that I chose to do.  Now that I have reached the “seasoned” stage of my life, just bending over takes a little forethought.  A coach used to say do this or do that, and without thinking, I would perform whatever was asked.  I always strove to be the best at whatever the task was.  Now I have to “coach” all body parts to perform whatever body function that I ask them to do.  If I kneel or fall down, I look for other things to do while I am down there! 

When I was coaching and making out my daily practice schedule, I would try to find a verse in scripture that had an athletic reference to it.  I would then put it at the bottom of the schedule for everyone to read.  If you read Paul’s letters, he would use athletic references to illustrate his thoughts.  Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to prove my point.  He would express that as Christians we are all “athletes” in the game of life, not just spectators.  No matter what your athletic ability, your height or your age, God wants you in the game.

When I was competing or coaching, I believed that sometimes desire meant more that mechanics, tactics or strategy.  Give me a group of athletes with heart and desire, instead of a group of self-centered star athletes, and we will win more often than not.  The devil wants to convince us that we don’t have what it takes to be victorious in Christ.  He declares that we’ll never live up to God’s expectations.  Sometimes, when we are down or facing adversity, we believe these threats and lies!  Jesus said the devil is a liar (John 8:44).

If we believe our Lord instead of the devil, we can overcome, overtake and overpower the enemy with two simple truths:

1. Live in the confidence that the One within you is greater than the one in the world (1 John 4:4).
2. Desire to please the Lord through faith (Hebrews 11:6).

As athletes, we know that we must workout and practice, so that our mechanics, tactics and strategies are all part of the competition that we may be part of.  But we’ve all seen athletes, who by sheer guts and desire, made the play, caught the ball or made the tackle.  That’s what the Lord wants us to see, that through Jesus Christ and a deep desire to please God, we can all and will be winners.

Questions to consider: Have you been listening to the lies of the enemy? Do you have a deep desire to please God?  What will it take for you to believe that you are a victor and not a victim?

Read for reference:  1 Corinthians 16:13, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Galatians 3:26, James 1:5-6.

A short prayer to help you get through the day…. “Lord help me walk by faith to overcome, overtake and overpower the evil one.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen!”

Sometimes it’s hard to see the connection between things.  Why, for instance, does a beautiful red sunrise foreshadow foul weather?  What’s the connection?  I’m sure a meteorologist could tell us, but no one less qualified has a clue.  Why do additional cars slow expressway traffic?  What’s the connection between volume and velocity out on the road?

Genesis 2:18 records the Words of God: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”  But God’s next action was entirely unforeseeable.  As Moses told it, He “formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air” (Gen.2:19a).  Then He paraded them before Adam for them to be named!  What’s the connection between Adam’s need for a suitable helper and God’s creation of hippos and hawks and such?

Observing and pondering the uniqueness of every living thing introduced Adam to the full breadth of God’s creation.  Undoubtedly he was enriched by the experience and engaged by the challenge, but there is no record that he was overwhelmed by any emotion.   Yet, most probably without even being aware of it, Adam had been prepared by God to appreciate just how suitable his new helper might be.

“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” (Gen.2:21-22). 

Adam’s response?  Various commentators have labeled it a “jubilant welcome,” or a “cry of joy,” or an expression of “joyous astonishment.”  In the mildest language Adam was stunned!  He was overwhelmed!  He was delighted!  He had never seen anything like this! 

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” Adam celebrated.  “She shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen.2:23).  “Woman” was translated by Martin Luther as “a female man.”  This helper was so suitable that she was a perfect match in an opposite sort of way.  That may best capture the essence of Adam’s expression in Hebrew.  She was more like him than any of the other creatures had been; and yet she was altogether unlike him, but in a way that matched!

Matthew Henry observed that the woman was “not made out of his head to top him, not 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” (Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol.1, p.20).

Are we as stunned as Adam by this suitable helper God has brought to us, husbands?  And, wives, are you equally aware of the joy you can bring to your husband’s heart simply by honoring that which God has created you to be?

How often have you found yourself in a conversation with a friend, an acquaintance, or even a stranger, discussing some issue or current event and wishing you had given more time to thinking through it in light of the gospel?

This new series of Graceful Living essays is intended to help us do just that.  We may not address every single topic that arises in public dialogue, but we hope to hit a sampling of them: the existence of God, creation and its daily implications, the significance of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, abortion, homosexuality and marriage, the role of government and right responses to it, etc., etc., etc.

When we as Christians find ourselves engaged in discussions on such topics with one or several others who do not share our worldview, we can easily feel ill-equipped or out of step or under-informed or irrelevant.  We may know what we believe, but we may have lost touch with how to represent our beliefs in winsome and persuasive ways.  At such times a dividing wall of separation can rise up between us (the believing community, the church) and the “outside world” that is a real hindrance to great commission living.  And once we lose touch with great commission living, we have lost touch (although we may not realize it, or identify it as such) with the primary purpose of our ongoing habitation of this fallen world.  That is to say, once we come to saving faith, our central focus for the remainder of our lives is to bear witness to the gospel.  The gifts we possess, both “natural” and “spiritual,” the careers we pursue, the places we reside, etc., are all appointed by our sovereign God as the arena in which the unique expression of our light is appointed to shine (cf. Mat.5:13-16; Act.17:24-27; Eph.2:8-10).

As we seek to keep our primary purpose primary, and our thoughts regarding it clear and conversant, the one thing with which we must never lose touch is the foundation on which it is built—the starting points from which it flows.  We cannot lose touch with the fact that there is a God!  He exists.  He has created.  He has communicated to His creation.  And His creatures, being created, are accountable to Him as their Creator.  There is no escaping these starting points, these so-called “presuppositions.”  There are good arguments for their existence (we may even write an essay or two addressing these), but they still stand as presuppositions, and often it is most helpful in conversation just to acknowledge them as such (and in our day and age these sorts of beliefs are often more agreeable to people than they have been in previous times).  We may find ourselves needing to defend our presuppositions as some of their implications begin to emerge in our dialogues, but you’d be surprised at how easily those defenses may form once you’re established in the flow of a thoughtful discussion.

So let’s get started!

Seven times in Genesis 1 God called His creation “good.”  “God saw that the light was good” (4).  He made the sea and the dry lands and He “saw that it was good” (10).  He added vegetation, “And God saw that it was good” (12).  He set the sun and moon and stars in the heavens and they, too, were “good” (18).  He added sea creatures and birds, all “good” (21).  Then He added livestock and all the beasts of the earth—“good” (25).

Following this, God made the man and woman in His image.  He equipped them to rule over all creation on His behalf.  And He blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” (28).  And finally, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (31).

The seven-fold goodness of creation reached its apex in the fashioning of human beings in the image and likeness of God in Genesis 1.  So grand was this achievement that it was worthy of a reflective retelling in chapter 2; but initially it described only the person and dwelling place of Adam, not Eve.

What a shock it is, then, to arrive at verse 18 and read, “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good….’”  How was it possible to make such a statement about anything in God’s creation at that point?!  What could possibly have qualified for such a negative assessment?

“It is not good…for the man to be alone.”  Solution: “I will make a helper suitable for him.”  Perfect God, perfect universe, perfect man—imperfect without a suitable helper, a like companion, a complement to the man.  To be clear, though, “imperfect” here should not be understood to mean “morally deficient;” the scenario prior to the creation of Eve was imperfect only in the sense that it was incomplete, unfinished.

God finished his work of creation when He crafted Eve for Adam “according to his opposite;” that is the sense of the expression in the original language.  She is like him, yet unlike him.  She shares God’s image, but she is different from the man.  She is a complement.  She fits and fulfills him spiritually and physically and emotionally.

She will be called “Woman” as we will see a few verses later.  But before that we must pause to recognize that perfect creation is incomplete without this perfect complement.  There would be no way for God’s firstborn image-bearer to enter into His blessing (Gen.1:28) without her.

Questions to consider:

As you consider your wife, husband, or your wife-to-be, is she as important, as essential, as precious to you as God intended her to be?  As you interact with her and respond to her, do you treat her in such a way as makes this evident?

Wife, ask yourself the same questions about your husband.  He according to whose opposite you have been fashioned, do you find your joy in being his complement?  And how have you demonstrated that this day?

On the sixth day “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness….’  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).

Thus, “man” was created “in the image and likeness of God” as “male and female.”  Curious.  Theologian Geoffrey Bromiley wrote, “In some way that is not defined, this creation of man as male and female seems to stand in relation to creation in God’s image, which is also not defined.  Possibly the existence of two distinct beings, man and woman, who are both generically man, reflects in a loose way God’s own being as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are all equally God” (God and Marriage, p.1).

It’s hard to know the fullness of meaning captured in Moses’ God-inspired description, but it is at very least true that God created man and woman as alike and equal, unique among all creatures in their likeness to Him.  And He charged them, together, to reproduce and to rule over all He created.

Implicit in this two-fold blessing is a necessary complementarity that is central to marriage.  But before we dig more deeply into that profound mystery, we must pause to reflect on the essential equality of man and woman before God—equally His image-bearers; collectively rulers over His dominion and cooperatively populators of it; after “the fall,” equally in need of reconciliation with Him and equally redeemable by the eventual bruising of the woman’s offspring (Gen.3:15).

Centuries later the Apostle Paul clarified: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus….  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal.3:26-28).

What does this mean for wives and husbands?  More fundamental to our identities than our roles within marriage, more basic even than our natures as woman and man, is our value, and our poverty, before God.

Husbands, before she is your wife she is your sister, sought and saved and sanctified by the same gracious God who sought and saved and sanctified you.

Wives, before he is your husband he is your brother, prized and purchased and perfected by the same merciful God who prized and purchased and perfects you.

Questions to consider: Are you extending grace and mercy to one another similar to that which God has extended to you?  Are you loving one another with similar love, honoring one another with similar honor?  Are you cherishing one another with comparable extravagance to that which God has lavished on you in Christ?  Are you treating one another as an equal image-bearer of the great and glorious God of all creation?