‘This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates. The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.’ Genesis 2:4-25(NLT)
‘The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”’ Genesis 3:1-11(NLT)
God designed earthly marriage and He blesses marriage. It was no coincidence that the first miracle Jesus performed on earth was at a wedding! Marriage gives us a physical picture to grasp onto to help us understand the intimate love relationship Jesus wants to have with us.
God formed Adam from the dust of the earth, then formed Eve from his rib. The Bible says that “for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” What does this tell us? Adam and Eve were created to be married, united, and in full submission to one another. That was God’s design from the beginning.
Have you ever seen the reality show called “Naked and Afraid”? I haven’t either (and I don’t ever want to), but the title definitely makes me laugh. It also sums up how we often feel about intimacy with each other—and at times, with God. We’re afraid to be exposed or vulnerable.
Adam and Eve started out completely exposed to God and to each other, but they felt safe. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Not the naked in public part (ha!), but the feeling that you’re perfectly loved and don’t have to hide who you are. Before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve didn’t know or understand shame.
Satan, our accuser, exposes us and embarrasses us. He wants us to hide from God and feel isolated and alone in our guilt. Jesus fights for us and purifies us to cover our shame. He wants us to be completely vulnerable and safe with Him.
This physical picture of marriage mirrors our spiritual relationship with Christ. When we get married in this life, we’re bound together with our husbands and become one flesh. We’re joined together physically in the most intimate act of sex, and we’re joined emotionally as we lean on one another and battle through the ups and downs of life together.
As the bride of Jesus, our spiritual intimacy with Him won’t be a sexual union. But like the act of sex, we’ll reach full spiritual intimacy with Christ. We’ll be completely “naked” before Him and feel no shame. Our union in the physical mirrors our union with Christ in the spiritual.
In Jesus, we’re completely accepted and loved. Our marriages here on earth are stained with sin, and as a result of living in a fallen world, we experience pain and heartache, even in the happiest of unions.
In our spiritual glorified bodies, though, there will be no sin to stain our relationship with Jesus. We’ll be presented to Him as a pure bride, washed completely clean of sin. It’ll be better than any love we’ve ever known.
To sum it all up, we see the first example of a marriage relationship in Adam and Eve. The two become one flesh, and they were naked and unashamed. But when sin entered the world, they felt ashamed and exposed.
God clothed Adam and Eve with flesh, just as Jesus clothes us with robes of righteousness, our wedding garments. Now, we await the hour when we’ll meet our bridegroom face to face as husband and wife. What a moment that will be!
from Will You Marry Me?