Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

INTRODUCTION

I’ve been preaching through Genesis for some time now. In the course of working expositionally through the book, I’ve stopped three times now to preach topically on different key issues raised by the text.

First, in light of God’s commission to Adam to “work and keep” the Garden (2:15) I preached a sermon on what the entire bible has to say about work.

Second, in light of Genesis 2:18-25, the description of the marriage of Adam and Eve, the first ever wedding on earth, I preached two sermons on what the bible has to say about marriage.

And third, beginning last week, in light of the sins of Cain recorded in first 16 verses of chapter 4, I preached the first of two sermons on sin. In particular, I began to answer the question of what Christians ought to do when we find sin in our lives. The short version, according to the Apostle Paul (Romans 8:13), is that we need to kill it so that it doesn’t kill us. I argued that the first step to doing so (killing sin) is in gaining an understanding of the nature and process of our sin. Specifically, I pointed out five aspects of the way sin “worked” in Cain: 1) Cain was born with a sinful nature, 2) Cain allowed something other than God to be first in his heart, 3) Cain’s sin grew as he was confronted with his sin, 4) Cain’s sin became increasingly irrational, and 5) Cain’s growing, irrational sin created entirely new desires of his flesh.

And yet, as I mentioned last week, that’s not enough. It’s not enough to simply know how sin “works”. Just as it isn’t enough to know what’s broken in a car or what’s wrong with a sick person, it isn’t enough to simply know how sin corrupts. There’s another step. We also need to know how to fix the car, heal the sickness, and kill the sin. But again, what does it mean to kill sin? Or, how do we do it? Answering that question is the very practical point of today’s sermon. Let’s pray that God would cause us to understand his Word and trust in his promises and insodoing empower us to kill the sin that is in us.

THE MORTIFICATION OF SIN

Where you find sin in your life confess it to God, confess it to anyone you’ve sinned against, do whatever you can to cut off access to your sin, and stop doing it. The bible talks like that regularly. In very simple and unmistakable terms the Apostle Paul commanded those in the Corinthians church to “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:34). On one hand, then, making it more complicated than that has led many to unnecessarily continue on in sin. On the other hand though, at best, those steps can only hold our sin at bay. But God’s Word calls us to something more than merely holding our sin at bay. It calls us to kill it.

In just a couple of minutes we’re going to get as practical as I know how to get in a sermon on killing sin. Before we get there, though, I want to lay just a little bit more of a biblical foundation. Specifically, I want to help you see an important connection between God’s words to Cain in Genesis 4:7 and Paul’s words to the Romans in Romans 8:13. By doing so, I hope to help you see that from the beginning it has been God’s plan for his people to kill sin by trusting in him and working hard. To that end, listen again to the words of the Apostle.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Paul’s charge in v.13 is simple to understand. You, Christian, must fight to put your sins to death, for if you don’t you will die.

Genesis 4:1-16 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

INTRODUCTION

I’m not sure how many times over the past couple of weeks I’ve said/thought, “What a crazy time we’re in.” No one knows quite what to make of all of this. The spectrum of responses I’ve encountered to the coronavirus is extremely broad—spanning from nearly total indifference to near panic.

It’s really hard to get our heads around all of this, isn’t it. What should we think? How should we feel? What should we do? Where should we go and not go? Who should we hang around and who should we avoid? How much of this is media hype and how much is a genuine threat? What will this mean for our jobs? When will all of this end? How can we best love others? What are some ways I can serve? What does it look like to honor Christ in this season of trial? When will we run out of toilet paper? These are just some of the questions that I’ve asked myself and been asked by others. There’s a great deal in all of this that none of us knows or understands.

What we do know, however, is that trials often reveal parts of our heart that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Sometimes those newly revealed parts of our heart are good and honoring to God. Many times, though, that’s not the case. Many times as we dig deeper and deeper, we find areas of sinful rebellion. Where we thought our hope was rightly placed in God we find that it was really in something else (our job or our health or our stability). Where we thought our satisfaction was rightly found in Christ we find that it was really in something else (our comfort or our stuff or our relationships). When trials come where we thought we had courage we find that it was really something else (insulation or ignorance or bravado). Where we thought our identity was rightly defined by the bible we find that it was really in something else (our career or our hobbies or our church). Whatever else they do,

Genesis 4:1-16 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

INTRODUCTION

Our passage for this morning tells of the first two births on earth. That is, it tells of Adam and Eve and two of their children, sons, Cain and Abel. It’s a tragic story in almost every way—just as we might expect under the curse and outside of the Garden. One aspect of this story is of particular interest: God recognized a sinful heart in Cain, graciously warned Cain of it, and showed mercy even after Cain disregarded his warning. This is of particular interest because in it teaches us certain things that are absolutely vital about God (he is holy and just but gracious and merciful), about sin (it is deadly but killable), and about us (we are corrupted and rebellious but loved).

In short, it is my hope that by looking at Cain’s story all of you would see the sinfulness of sin and the need to kill it, with God’s help, whenever you find it in your heart. It is also my hope that you would be freshly amazed by God’s amazing grace in the face of your sin. Please pray with me that these things would be so.

THE BIRTH AND OFFERINGS OF CAIN AND ABEL

I mentioned at the end of last week’s sermon that 3:24 is the gate that divides life in the garden and life out of the garden. Man was made for the garden and the garden for man, but because of his disobedience God cursed him and cast him out. We were left wondering what life outside of the garden would look like. What would happen to Adam and Eve? What would become of God’s commission to man to subdue and tend to the earth? What would happen to God’s commission to the man and woman to fill the earth with their children? We get our first gimps of all of that in our passage for this morning.

The Birth of Cain and Abel

Again, God had charged Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” (1:28). Because of their sin, however, God promised that this was going to be harder than it should have been,

Genesis 3:20-24 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever-” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

INTRODUCTION

Within the U.S. judicial system, once a crime has been committed and the perpetrator apprehended, he or she is brought before a court to be judged. After the trial, the judgment is rendered and the sentence pronounced. At that point, there is some type of delay between the pronouncement and execution of the punishment. If a fine is handed down, the convict isn’t expected to immediately produce a sum of cash. If community service, the convict doesn’t instantly start painting over graffiti. If jail time, the convict at least has to be transported to the penitentiary. You get the idea.

And so it is in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve sinned, the emotional consequences of their sin washed over them and drove them into covering and hiding, and then God confronted them, tried them, pronounced judgment upon them, and then sentenced them. And now, as we’ll see in our passage for this morning, he immediately moved the man and woman toward their punishment.

There is a key difference, however, between the normal way the U.S. judicial system works and the way the garden-court worked. Unlike our judicial system, which can only exonerate or condemn, God promised to help and rescue those whom he had found guilty and sentenced. That is, in 3:20-24, we see the very first expressions of God’s promised curse and cure. God will judge all sin and he will do so justly, but he is no mere judge and he is not merely after justice.

My hope in preaching this Sunday’s sermon is that God would do whatever he sees fit to do with it. That’s always my aim. I have certain ideas of what that might be, but more than anything I want God’s will, not mine to be done. With that, though, I have prayed this week many times that God would do a few specific things in all of us as a result of this text. I’ve asked him to give us a collective increase in our appreciation for God’s different design for men and women, the seriousness of sin, his mercy and grace, and the goodness of trusting in the plans of God. At the same time I’ve prayed for a collective decrease in our desire to know evil and engage in it. Would you join me now in praying for these things?

THE SECOND NAMING (20)

Our passage for this morning begins, oddly enough, with a second naming of the woman.

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

In 2:23 Adam named the helper God fashioned for him “woman”. Here he gives her a second name, “Eve,” which means “life” or “life-giver”. This passage is significant in that it is both another reminder of God’s complementary design for the relationship between husband and wife and an ironic hint at his mercy and grace.

It is a reminder of God’s design for marriage in that Adam’s headship is again reflected in his authority to name his wife. To be clear, this does not mean that Adam was superior to Eve in value or worth (to be the head of something doesn’t imply superiority), but it does mean that he was (in some ways) distinct in role. We’ve already covered this several times so I won’t belabor it here,

Genesis 3:14-19 The LORD God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

INTRODUCTION

Every week in the sermon’s introduction I try to help you understand why you should care about the passage I’m preaching on (beyond the simple fact that it is God’s word). I want you to feel what’s at stake. To that end, consider with me a few of the massive implications of this passage on the curse and cure of God.

There are very few passages in the bible that are able to explain why your life is like it is as well as this passage. There is no area of your life right now that is not touched by these six verses. On the highest level, it explains why there is so much conflict and struggle and lack in the world. Among other things, on a very individual level it explains why it hurt so much when you had your last child, why you had so many difficulties in your marriage last week, and why your job was so frustrating recently. Again, literally, the things you experience every moment of every day only make sense in light of this passage. It is not an overstatement to say that this passage is a key to unlocking real understanding of your life. The point here is that you should care about this passage because it has massive explanatory power for your life.

And yet, in my experience half of those in the Church seem to have failed to grasp this and the other half seem to have rejected it. That is, half of those professing faith in Christ live with Genesis 3 amnesia while the rest live with Genesis 3 denial. Let me be even more clear. On the one hand, well meaning, godly Christians very often fail to appreciate the depth of the curse described here. That shows up in that we so often fail take this passage into account when life is hard (and so we focus on our spouse or kids or boss or circumstances as the main problem). And we’re not much better when it is good (failing to realize that this is not our home, that we were made for more than this, and that even the best things in our life are under the curse). On the other hand, many others who claim to be Christians reinterpret this passage in a way that almost entirely rejects the inherent sinfulness of mankind, the judgment of God, and the true nature and root of the challenges that this passage promises and describes. They, therefore, create entirely new ways of reading Genesis 3 which entirely alter their understanding of God, sin, suffering, mankind, marriage, life, and salvation. The point here is that you should care about this passage because even though you’re in the church you’re likely missing a great deal of it.

At the same time the world around us (outside of the church) is going to staggering lengths to explain the effects of this passage without knowle...

Genesis 3:8-13 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

INTRODUCTION

The first two chapters of Genesis describe God’s very good creation of the heavens and the earth. They also describe God’s very good plan for humanity and humanity’s relationship to the rest of creation. Insofar as creation, and especially mankind, conformed to God’s design there would be only goodness and blessing and life and provision and joy. By chapter 3, however, as we began to see last week, mankind had already chosen not to conform to God’s design. Instead, the woman and then the man—the first and only people on earth at the time—chose to defy God’s direct command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil upon penalty of death.

Our passage from last week ended not with physical death, however, but this way, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” That’s where we pick up this morning. Where was God? Would he find out about this? And if so what would he think and what would he do? What would become of the newly-clothed, open-eyed, disobedient man and woman? And what would become of the tempting serpent?

Let’s pray now that God would grant us insight into this passage and eager obedience to it.

SIN COMES TO LIGHT

The remainder of Genesis 3 is fairly neatly divided into three sections. The first section, which we’ll look at this morning, helps us to see that God sees all sin (3:8-13). The second, which we’ll look at next week, helps us to see some of the specific, ongoing consequences of sin, and also hints at God’s promised provision for sin (3:14-19). Finally, the third section helps us to see God’s immediate provision for the man and woman in their sin as well as the first of the many consequences for it (3:20-23).

With that, let’s look more closely at the events that took place immediately after the man and woman covered themselves with leaves.

God Sees All Sin (3:8-9)

I didn’t understand the way peek-a-boo really works until relatively recently. That is, I didn’t realize that the brain development of babies/toddlers (I’m not sure when it ends) is such that if they can’t see you then they believe you can’t see them either. I suppose I thought of the game more like patty cake—just something silly that kids can learn quickly—than an exercise in brain science.

On the other hand, I have realized that many people (including myself at times) act just like that when it comes to our sin. We act as if there are certain sins—as long as we engage in them in our minds or in places not seen by anyone else—that God cannot see. The first couple of verses in this passage teach otherwise.

The man and the woman, as far as we know, were alone with the serpent in the garden. Having sinned and clothed themselves, the man and woman tried to hide themselves, apparently hoping that God would not find them out.

8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,

Genesis 2:18-25 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

    “This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

INTRODUCTION

If you’re just joining us, welcome. To bring you up to speed (and to refresh those who have been here), I’ve been preaching through Genesis for a little while and we’ve come to the end of chapter 2. This is my third sermon on this passage. In the first, I drew your attention to a few things things—like the incompleteness of man without woman, the creation of the woman, and the special union created by God for this man and woman (marriage). In particular, I made ten observations about the first ever marriage, which is described in this passage. In the second sermon I began to look more closely at each of the ten observations. We got through the first four last week. We’ll get through the rest (and two more) this week.

The goal here is not simply to fill our minds with facts about the first marriage. And it’s not to simply give us a few tips to make our own marriages happier. The goal here is to see marriage in all its God-infused glory, in order that we might enter into and live out our marriages in such a way as to reveal all of their God-infused glory. In short, the goal is to help us approach marriage in such a way as to bring glory to God—to help us marry and be married in such a way as to help our spouse, our kids, our church, and the world around us see the wisdom, love, power, mercy, grace, goodness, and majesty of God. Have you ever thought of your marriage as designed to accomplish all of that? I hope to help you with that again today.

From the outset, however, I want to make three things crystal clear: 1) First, none of us have done this perfectly. All of us—even if you’ve never been married—have already fallen short of the glory of God in marriage in our thoughts, attitudes, expectations, and execution. In looking at Genesis (and all of the bible’s teaching on marriage) we are seeing the ideal marriage, but none of us have attained it. In that way, we’re all in the same boat.

And that leads me to the second thing I want to make clear from the beginning: 2) There is forgiveness, healing, and strength offered to everyone in the gospel. Jesus died to bring us forgiveness for every way we’ve strayed from God’s perfect marriage path; every stray thought, word, attitude, affection, and action. Jesus died on the cross to bring healing for every marital wound and scar; inflicted by and upon us. And Jesus rose from the dead to be our strength for obedience; to enable us to approach marriage as God intends. All of this together means that for those who trust in Jesus, whatever your marital past or present, you can have a fresh start today. It is not too late. It’s never too late in this life.

And third: 3) Your primary identity and help do not come from being married; they come from God.

18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

    “This at last is bone of my bones

        and flesh of my flesh;

    she shall be called Woman,

        because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

INTRODUCTION

So, how’s your marriage doing? How about your parents’ marriage? Your friends’ marriages? On a scale of 1-10, what would you rate the status of the marriages around you? And how confident are you in your grading scale? In other words, do you feel like you’ve got a good handle on what makes for a good marriage?

Last Sunday I preached on Genesis 2:18-25. In that sermon I made ten observations on the marriage recorded in that passage. The final observation was that God intended for this first marriage to serve as a paradigm for all future marriages. I tried to help you see that in this first marriage—untainted by sin—we find the foundation and example for all God-honoring marriage. For that reason, beginning this week (and spilling into next) I mean to expand on those points, focusing on their practical implications. Insofar as this first marriage truly was/is an example for us to follow, then, it’s absolutely critical that we understand it and how it applies to us today.

Therefore, my aim in all of this is to share God’s design for marriage, the most foundational of all human relationships, in the hope that an increasingly godly understanding of marriage would lead to increasingly godly marriages. That is, it is my prayer that as a result of this sermon God might be pleased to increasingly fill Grace Church with the kind of marriages that are built upon the word of God, for the glory of God, and are satisfying, fulfilling, and redemptive.

If you were here two weeks ago you will remember that I broke off of preaching directly from the text of Genesis in order to give a more topical sermon on work (in light of God’s command to Adam to tend to the Garden in Genesis 2:15). In that same way, this morning’s sermon is a more topical sermon on marriage based on the marriage of Genesis 2:18-25. Also, just as I mentioned two books that were of particular help to me in my sermon on work, I’d like to mention (and recommend) two books that were of particular help to me for this sermon as well: Love that Lasts by Gary Betsy and Ricucci, and No Ordinary Marriage by Tim Savage.

With that, let’s pray and then consider in more detail the nature of marriage as God instituted it and its implications for our marriages.

Lessions From The First Marriage For Your Marriage

Genesis 2:18-25 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said

“This at last is bone of my bones

      and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman,

      because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

INTRODUCTION

Our passage for this morning is profound on many levels. It is profound in that it provides the basis for marriage. The very first marriage of all time is described here and presented as the paradigm for all future marriages. In other words, this passage tells us a great deal about what our marriages are and are meant to be. That’s pretty significant in itself. But there’s even more.

This passage is also profound in that it is the basis for a great deal of the New Testament’s teaching on what it means to be a man and woman. It is directly quoted or referenced in Matthew 19:3-6 and Mark 10:2-9 (where Jesus explains divorce to the Pharisees in terms of the leaving, cleaving, and one flesh), 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 (where Paul prohibits sexual immorality, again on the basis of the one-flesh nature of marriage), 1 Corinthians 11:7-9, 12 (where Paul establishes his understanding of the relationship between husbands and wives in light of the created order), Ephesians 5:28-32 (where Paul describes the manner in which husbands should love their wives in light of leaving, cleaving, and one flesh), and 1 Timothy 2:11-13 (where Paul explains how the created order effects the role of men and women in the Church). Again, that’s pretty significant too. But there’s more still.

This passage is profound in that it provides one of the clearest metaphors for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of this marriage, and all that followed it, the Apostle Paul later wrote, “A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31-32).

We won’t be able to get to all of that this morning, but I share them here to give you a glimpse into the great glory contained in this short passage. Please pray with me, then, that God would wake us up to the profound nature of this passage in order that we might live profoundly for his glory.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE

Weddings and marriages are so common among us today that it can be easy to forget where they came from. Actually, in my experience, many people in and out of the Church have never really given it much thought. What’s more, in our current culture many of those who have thought about the origins of marriage believe that it is nothing more than a social construct; something people made up at some point in the past to help continue the species. It’s for that reason that so many today believe that we are free to tweak the meaning of and participants in marriage to fit our interests.

Well, where did marriage come from, what is it for,

Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

INTRODUCTION

Back in 2015, in a sermon on Titus 2:1-10, this was a part of my introduction:

If my math is correct (45 hours/week x 40 years), the average worker in the U.S. works 85,000+ hours in his or her life. That’s almost 10 full years of life spent at work. Clearly, this is a significant topic for most people.

For the most part the people I’ve encountered give themselves to work each day for one of a few simple reasons. Some work primarily to provide for themselves and their loved ones (their motivation is love of comfort), some work primarily to get rich (their motivation is love of money or luxury), some work primarily to gain a sense of self-worth (their motivation is love of reputation), some work primarily because they feel they have to (their motivation is fear of the consequences of failing to work), and occasionally, I meet people who work primarily as a means of honoring God (their motivation is love of God).

The question driving this sermon is this: How do we get in that last group? Or, what does it mean to work as a means of honoring God? I hope that every Christian in this room has already asked themselves that question at some point in their working life. Therefore, I also hope that y’all will be leaning in this morning. Given the fact that so much of our time is spent at work, it’s critical that we get this right.

The answer to that question begins, as you might expect, in the beginning. Last week, from Genesis 2:15, I drew your attention to God’s commission to Adam to “work” and “keep” the garden in Eden. I also mentioned that the implications of this commission were nothing short of profound. What I didn’t mention was what I meant by that and for whom.

And that brings me to the main aim of this sermon today: to help you to see how profound this commission truly is for all of God’s people; including you and me. In other words, my aim in this sermon is to help you see that the seeds of the answer to our question (how do we honor God in our work?) are found in Genesis 2:15, while its mature form is found throughout the rest of the bible.

To guide you through all of this—to help you understand what the bible has to say about your work and how to put that into practice—I mean to share with you a decent handful of thoughts (16) on work from the bible. Each is short, simple, and to the point. Each is also massive in its effect. And each applies to all of us whether you are a kid working at chores, a stay-at-home mom working domestically, blue or white collar, just starting or long retired.

In the end I hope God sees fit to help you appreciate God’s good design for work, give you the tools you need to work for God’s glory, and to help you find genuine joy, satisfaction, and fruitfulness in your work. Would you pray with me that it would be so?

Before we do, however, let me quickly say that much of this sermon is owning to two specific books that are a tremendous gift to the Church: Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller and The Gospel at Work by Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert. If you want to press further into the idea of working for the glory of God, I commend both of them to you.

PRINCIPLES ON WORK

In his book, Every Good Endeavor, Tim Keller writes this, “The commandments of God in the Bible are a means of liberation, because through them God calls us to be what he built us to be” (26). If Keller is correct, and I believe he is, that means two profound things. First, because we are commanded to work, we were made for work. And second,