Sermon on Genesis 2:18-25 | The Perfect Match

Married Couple

The Perfect Match (Genesis 2:18-25)

This world needs more marriages which are established on rock–Today, more than 50% of all marriages end in divorce. If more marriages are established on rock, we can show the world that indeed good marriages are possible.

God intended for marriages to be solid and good. Marriage is so serious that sexual immorality is the only reason to terminate a marriage and marry again (Matt. 19:9). “Marriage is honorable among all” (Heb. 13:4). “Honorable” refers to something that is valuable, precious, of great worth or value. Marriage is not something to be taken lightly–it’s precious and valuable. We dare not enter marriage hastily–there’s no turning back. We dare not get out of a marriage unless there’s fornication involved. We dare not joke about marriage.

Martin Luther said, “There is no more lovely, friendly or charming relationship, communion or company, than a good marriage.” Marriage should be the place where our needs for love, friendship, communion, and company are met. Let’s examine the first marriage to see why this is so.

Man Needs Companionship, vv 18-20

God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. Throughout Genesis 1 as God looked on his creation, he found that his creation was good-Over and over, Moses says, “And God saw this-or-that and saw that it was good.” Yet, here God sees that his creation is not totally good, for it is not good for man to be alone. Man needs a companion. Notice it is God himself who says that it isn’t good for man to be alone–it wasn’t Adam who said this; it was God. Man is not complete by himself. Man was not created to live by himself; God created man as a social being. God created humans male and female so that man could have social interaction (Gen. 1:27).

God decides to make a helper suitable for the man. “Helper” means “assistant,” “source of help.” The helper God would make the man would be his assistant in life. This assistant would be comparable to the man–she would be like him.

No helper was found among the animal kingdom. God brought all the animals before Adam to see what Adam would name them. In the Ancient Near East, the right to name something or someone gave one superiority over what he named. Naming the animals shows man’s superiority over them. Man is to subdue the animals (Gen. 1:26). No helper was found Adam among the animals. This exercise seems to have had two purposes:

  1. This would show Adam that he was superior to the animals, and
  2. This would show Adam that he needed a companion, that he was alone.

Man needs companionship to be complete. “Two are better than one” (Eccl. 4:9). When Jesus was distressed in the garden, he took Peter, James, and John with him (Matt. 26:37). Loneliness causes many problems. A study by psychoanalyst Michael Whitneburgb, who runs stress clinics in Liverpool and London revealed that the greatest fear of the British is the fear of being alone.

We cannot live to ourselves–we need to establish healthy relationships. This destroys the feminist concept that women would be better off without men–After all, woman was created for man (1 Cor. 11:9). This demonstrates the importance of marriage. Some want to claim that marriage isn’t that important, that it is really outdated. Yet, man needs marriage to be fully complete- “He who finds a wife finds a good thing” (Prov. 18:22).

God Made the Companion, vv 21-23

God caused Adam to go into a deep sleep. In Genesis, individuals would often sleep while God entered into a covenant with them. God established his covenant with Abram in a vision (Gen. 15:1). God established his covenant with Jacob while Jacob slept (Gen. 21:11).

Here, man is about to enter into a covenant with his wife, and Adam sleeps while God acts. Marriage is a covenant: “She is your companion And your wife by covenant” (Mal. 2:14). In a covenant, both sides would appeal to a deity to show that their arrangement was unalterable-In marriage, we appeal to God to witness that our marriage is unalterable.

God took one of Adam’s ribs and closed up the flesh from where he had taken it. God took the rib and made the woman and brought the woman to the man.

Adam awakes to Eve his wife. He exclaims:

  • “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” This verse shows Adam’s loneliness–it’s almost as if Adam says, “Finally, I have a companion.” “Bone of my bones” is a Hebrew idiom similar to our “blood relations”–Adam recognized the woman as coming from him.
  • The companion would be called ‘woman,” for she was taken from man; The words for “woman” and for “man” are very similar in Hebrew.

God made men and women the way they are. The differences between men and women aren’t something to be dismayed about. There are many differences between men and women–men to be more analytical while women tend to be more emotional, women tend to like to talk openly about their problems while men tend to keep things to themselves. We need to appreciate these differences, for they come from God.

God Creates Marriage, vv 24-25

A man shall leave his father and mother. This refers to the social impact of marriage. When two individuals marry, they decide to live with one another in a social contract. Part of establishing that contract is leaving, one’s parents. Leaving one’s parents establishes the commitment to marriage–this is a new beginning.

Young married people need to leave their parents. They don’t need to depend upon their parents any longer; they need to take responsibility for themselves. Too many young people still depend upon their parents after they get married-when there are problems in the marriage, they go to Mom and Dad instead of trying to work out the problem with their spouse; when they want something they can’t afford, they go to Mom and Dad and ask for money.

The man shall be joined to his wife. This presents the idea of marital faithfulness. A husband and wife are to be joined together and live together. Things that are joined together aren’t easy to separate–a husband and wife aren’t to be easy to separate.

The two shall become one flesh. This has reference to the sexual union-Paul applies this passage to sexuality (1 Cor. 6: 16). God here creates sex. Sex is nothing dirty, nothing of which we should be ashamed. Sex is a beautiful act between a husband and a wife. God here places sex in marriage. Sex is only to be enjoyed in marriage.

Yet, this has reference to much more than just sex. A husband and wife should really become one. Their goals, hopes, aspirations, desires, etc. should be one. A husband and wife need to communicate with one another so that this oneness can take place.


This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at the Owingsville church of Christ in Owingsville, Kentucky.

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