Marriage Design - Genesis 2:15-25

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

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 Now out of the ground the Lord God had 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.

1.   If you are married, say something like this to each other this week (in CG or in private, or both!): “You are bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. You are a blessing to me and I receive you as a gift. I will never leave you.”

2.   Have you considered that you cannot fully image God without the opposite sex? Might that change how you pursue community?

3.   For married couples, how can you be priests together?

4.   For married couples, what keeps you from seeing your spouse as your own flesh and blood?

5.   Who are the people you can be most honest and real with? Why? If you are married, what enhances or detracts from feeling safe with your spouse?

6.   Do you really know God will never leave you? What difference does that make in your life?