On the issue of gender, the Bible is very clear that gender is by divine design, God declared, and must be celebrated as part of the goodness of creation.

Today, marriage is under attack. It is under attack by those who hate God. It is under attack by those who are living in rebellious sin. And it has even suffered friendly fire from those in the church who do not fully grasp the significance and biblical foundation of marriage.

Genesis 2:18-25 is the most fundamental scripture for understanding the Bible’s view of marriage. The Bible will say much more about what marriage is and how Christians are to function as husbands and wives; however, all these other scriptures rest on the foundation of Genesis 2:18-25.

Because marriage is so familiar, you may be tempted to think that having a biblical view of marriage is automatic and assumed, but the truth is that for many today, their view of marriage is more informed by Hollywood, secular pragmatism, and politics.

How then are you to understand marriage from a biblical worldview? This testimony of God’s creation of Eve and ordaining marriage teaches three elements of a biblical worldview of marriage: that it is a good union (18-23), an exclusive union (24a), and a holy union (24b-25).

God made man, unique among creation, to glorify Him, dwell with Him, and enjoy Him forever.

After describing the six days of creation followed by a day of rest, verse 4 of chapter two returns to the sixth day to provide greater details and insights into the purpose and nature of man’s creation. Though at first read it may seem that what is described here is simple, you will discover, with careful study, that these verses flow from deep theological waters.

All of creation is designed to glorify God; however, unique among the creation, man is made to be in a relationship with God. This uniqueness sets man apart from every other part of creation in purpose and responsibility.

This passage’s testimony of God’s creation and provision for man reveals that man was created for God’s glory (4-7), to dwell with God (8-14), and to love God (15-17).

Work and rest are both good and part of God’s created order. Rest is inseparably related to work, as is work to rest, and must be understood and enjoyed according to God’s design.

Work is often perceived negatively as a requirement, and not something good, desirable, or pleasant. This, of course, is the consequence of sin that caused work to become a burden and rest to be a snare. Likewise, though rest seems more desirable than work, it too is corrupted by sin. In sin, rest is often disconnected from work and purpose, and it becomes a sinfully lazy habit.

God resting after his labor on the seventh day and declaring it holy is a testimony both to the purpose and goodness of labor and the purpose and goodness of rest. Genesis 2:1-3 calls the church to honor God with both your work as unto the Lord and rest as a response of obedience.