1
00:00:00,090 --> 00:00:02,350
He is elusive. Itmight be something

2
00:00:02,350 --> 00:00:04,610
different outside thehouse than inside the

3
00:00:04,610 --> 00:00:06,224
house, and we can get

4
00:00:06,224 --> 00:00:08,934
it wrong. And it is

5
00:00:08,934 --> 00:00:11,081
far more dependentupon environment than

6
00:00:11,081 --> 00:00:12,512
we would like to

7
00:00:12,512 --> 00:00:15,496
admit. Well,

8
00:00:15,496 --> 00:00:18,101
this passage that wejust read teaches us

9
00:00:18,101 --> 00:00:20,380
that actually teachesus what what I'm

10
00:00:20,380 --> 00:00:22,984
saying now as ittries to instruct us

11
00:00:22,984 --> 00:00:25,915
on a principal way inwhich we find our

12
00:00:25,915 --> 00:00:28,840
identity. So I

13
00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,716
want to look at itwith you this

14
00:00:31,716 --> 00:00:34,234
morning. We're we'rereading in this first

15
00:00:34,234 --> 00:00:36,391
couple chapters ofGenesis. We've been

16
00:00:36,391 --> 00:00:37,830
reading for a while.

17
00:00:37,830 --> 00:00:39,628
We have one more week

18
00:00:39,628 --> 00:00:42,505
back when things werevery good and we're

19
00:00:42,505 --> 00:00:45,022
reading about thetime when the royal

20
00:00:45,022 --> 00:00:46,101
bearers of God's

21
00:00:46,101 --> 00:00:48,910
image. We're

22
00:00:48,910 --> 00:00:51,004
walking before,before the time when,

23
00:00:51,004 --> 00:00:53,448
when they fell, thatimage was broken.

24
00:00:53,448 --> 00:00:55,542
They became thebroken image bearers

25
00:00:55,542 --> 00:00:58,335
that we're familiarwith now that we see

26
00:00:58,335 --> 00:01:01,127
in ourselves andothers. And we see in

27
00:01:01,127 --> 00:01:03,571
these first couple ofchapters the origin

28
00:01:03,571 --> 00:01:06,364
of many things weread about the origin

29
00:01:06,364 --> 00:01:08,801
of many institutions. And we're finding,

30
00:01:08,801 --> 00:01:10,414
aren't we, that when

31
00:01:10,414 --> 00:01:12,027
we look at God's

32
00:01:12,027 --> 00:01:13,639
creation, we find out

33
00:01:13,639 --> 00:01:15,252
a lot about God's

34
00:01:15,252 --> 00:01:18,075
character as well, aswell as the

35
00:01:18,075 --> 00:01:20,898
institutions of ourlives? And today we

36
00:01:20,898 --> 00:01:22,511
just read thispassage.

37
00:01:24,781 --> 00:01:26,405
About the institution

38
00:01:26,405 --> 00:01:28,029
and the instituting

39
00:01:28,029 --> 00:01:30,946
of marriage. Right,

40
00:01:30,946 --> 00:01:32,604
We would say from

41
00:01:32,604 --> 00:01:35,506
from verse 18, atthat point there's

42
00:01:35,506 --> 00:01:38,408
still only onehominid on the face

43
00:01:38,408 --> 00:01:40,481
of the earth and to

44
00:01:40,481 --> 00:01:42,140
whom God has breathed

45
00:01:42,140 --> 00:01:45,042
the breath of life,formed his divine

46
00:01:45,042 --> 00:01:47,944
image. But that wasabout to change

47
00:01:47,944 --> 00:01:50,431
through a profoundand divine operation.

48
00:01:50,841 --> 00:01:52,001
That takes place.

49
00:01:53,461 --> 00:01:55,871
Puts him to sleep,takes out his rib.

50
00:01:57,841 --> 00:01:59,421
And you know, often

51
00:01:59,421 --> 00:02:01,001
at weddings you hear

52
00:02:01,001 --> 00:02:02,581
the the, the little

53
00:02:02,581 --> 00:02:04,161
ditty that when, when

54
00:02:04,161 --> 00:02:05,741
God took from Adam,

55
00:02:05,741 --> 00:02:07,321
he didn't take from

56
00:02:07,321 --> 00:02:10,212
his head. Lest she

57
00:02:10,212 --> 00:02:12,935
would rule over him. And he didn't take

58
00:02:12,935 --> 00:02:15,317
from Adam's foot. Lest he would trample

59
00:02:15,317 --> 00:02:17,019
on her. But no, he

60
00:02:17,019 --> 00:02:18,380
took from her. He

61
00:02:18,380 --> 00:02:20,871
took from his rib. So

62
00:02:20,871 --> 00:02:23,102
that she would alwaysbe around his heart.

63
00:02:25,542 --> 00:02:27,682
So whatever thatmeans.

64
00:02:30,222 --> 00:02:32,708
It's not somethingI've ever said at a

65
00:02:32,708 --> 00:02:35,195
wedding, but I I knowit said whatever

66
00:02:35,195 --> 00:02:37,059
we're talking abouthere, it's something

67
00:02:37,059 --> 00:02:37,992
very deep, friends.

68
00:02:39,452 --> 00:02:41,074
Whatever the pointthe author is trying

69
00:02:41,074 --> 00:02:42,928
to make is, it'ssomething that has to

70
00:02:42,928 --> 00:02:44,087
do with the very guts

71
00:02:44,087 --> 00:02:46,577
of a man. Something

72
00:02:46,577 --> 00:02:47,942
about his identity.

73
00:02:50,612 --> 00:02:53,120
And so he does thisoperation and he

74
00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,628
brings the woman andwe witness the 1st

75
00:02:55,628 --> 00:02:58,090
wedding. 1st wedding

76
00:02:58,090 --> 00:02:59,945
here, right here in

77
00:02:59,945 --> 00:03:01,337
this passage, and

78
00:03:01,337 --> 00:03:03,657
it's set in the Royal

79
00:03:03,657 --> 00:03:05,048
Temple Garden of

80
00:03:05,048 --> 00:03:08,010
Adam. God did the

81
00:03:08,010 --> 00:03:08,372
flowers.

82
00:03:12,132 --> 00:03:14,037
He also gave away the

83
00:03:14,037 --> 00:03:16,704
bride. And you know,there's that one

84
00:03:16,704 --> 00:03:18,228
moment when Adam is

85
00:03:18,228 --> 00:03:19,752
standing there and he

86
00:03:19,752 --> 00:03:21,276
sees Eve coming down

87
00:03:21,276 --> 00:03:23,943
the aisle and heutters the first

88
00:03:23,943 --> 00:03:26,229
recorded words thathe spoke, first

89
00:03:26,229 --> 00:03:28,515
recorded words, andthey are poetry.

90
00:03:28,515 --> 00:03:30,800
There's that specialmoment when she's

91
00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,571
coming down. And letme translate the

92
00:03:33,571 --> 00:03:34,482
Hebrew for you.

93
00:03:35,762 --> 00:03:36,652
Wow.

94
00:03:38,833 --> 00:03:40,894
Wow, that's prettymuch what the Hebrew

95
00:03:40,894 --> 00:03:43,843
is saying. Wow.

96
00:03:45,473 --> 00:03:46,583
First time.

97
00:03:48,843 --> 00:03:50,200
And something changed

98
00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,009
in the bones and

99
00:03:52,009 --> 00:03:54,270
flesh of atoms. Something got

100
00:03:54,270 --> 00:03:57,001
defined. And then in

101
00:03:57,001 --> 00:03:58,733
the in the following

102
00:03:58,733 --> 00:04:00,464
verses, verses 24 and

103
00:04:00,464 --> 00:04:02,629
25, we see that sex

104
00:04:02,629 --> 00:04:04,793
flows out of thisdefinition.

105
00:04:07,353 --> 00:04:09,573
And So what I want to

106
00:04:09,573 --> 00:04:11,423
point out to you here

107
00:04:11,423 --> 00:04:14,013
first is, is thatwe're not only

108
00:04:14,013 --> 00:04:15,863
witnessing thecreation of marriage.

109
00:04:17,103 --> 00:04:18,884
We're witnessinganother creation

110
00:04:18,884 --> 00:04:20,220
here, and this

111
00:04:20,220 --> 00:04:22,892
passage drives us tothe understanding

112
00:04:22,892 --> 00:04:25,563
that the creation ofmarriage is

113
00:04:25,563 --> 00:04:28,235
inextricably bound upwith another creation

114
00:04:28,235 --> 00:04:30,461
at the same time, and

115
00:04:30,461 --> 00:04:33,133
that's the initiationof human gender.

116
00:04:34,463 --> 00:04:36,515
Other gender and andanimals that existed

117
00:04:36,515 --> 00:04:38,568
on the earth, buthere it's the

118
00:04:38,568 --> 00:04:40,620
initiation of humangender at the same

119
00:04:40,620 --> 00:04:43,470
time. And it tells us

120
00:04:43,470 --> 00:04:45,512
something, a couplethings, a couple of

121
00:04:45,512 --> 00:04:47,554
observations we canmake about that. One

122
00:04:47,554 --> 00:04:49,888
of them, it tells ussomething about God,

123
00:04:49,888 --> 00:04:52,222
tells us that he isneither male nor

124
00:04:52,222 --> 00:04:55,119
female. That Godcan't be

125
00:04:55,119 --> 00:04:57,420
characterized as oneor the other because

126
00:04:57,420 --> 00:04:59,065
they both come out of

127
00:04:59,065 --> 00:05:01,714
Him. You know, there

128
00:05:01,714 --> 00:05:03,816
are, you know,overwhelmingly the

129
00:05:03,816 --> 00:05:05,497
the imagery used of

130
00:05:05,497 --> 00:05:07,598
God in in the Bible

131
00:05:07,598 --> 00:05:09,279
is male is masculine,

132
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:10,960
but there are places

133
00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,641
Psalm 66, no Isaiah

134
00:05:12,641 --> 00:05:14,743
66, Psalm 131, God is

135
00:05:14,743 --> 00:05:16,424
pictured as a mother.

136
00:05:18,244 --> 00:05:21,147
A couple otherplaces. But really

137
00:05:21,147 --> 00:05:23,106
the hard evidencecomes from the

138
00:05:23,106 --> 00:05:25,065
chapter we readbefore chapter 1

139
00:05:25,065 --> 00:05:28,004
where it says thatGod made man in his

140
00:05:28,004 --> 00:05:29,963
image, male andfemale created. He

141
00:05:29,963 --> 00:05:32,575
then tells us thatmale and female both

142
00:05:32,575 --> 00:05:35,514
are found in God,that God is not one

143
00:05:35,514 --> 00:05:38,217
or the other. And

144
00:05:38,217 --> 00:05:40,644
so really what wehave here are two

145
00:05:40,644 --> 00:05:41,857
flavors of the image

146
00:05:41,857 --> 00:05:44,424
of God. God's image

147
00:05:44,424 --> 00:05:46,474
comes in twodifferent flavors.

148
00:05:50,124 --> 00:05:52,569
And so that's

149
00:05:52,569 --> 00:05:54,199
something to

150
00:05:54,199 --> 00:05:56,868
contemplate. As we

151
00:05:56,868 --> 00:05:59,015
look about at themeaning of this

152
00:05:59,015 --> 00:06:00,856
passage, anotherthing I think it

153
00:06:00,856 --> 00:06:03,003
tells us veryimportant is that in

154
00:06:03,003 --> 00:06:04,537
this creation, thiscreation called

155
00:06:04,537 --> 00:06:06,776
gender. The genders

156
00:06:06,776 --> 00:06:08,823
are defined indistinction to one

157
00:06:08,823 --> 00:06:11,179
another. The rib

158
00:06:11,179 --> 00:06:13,920
tells us that, youknow, just as there's

159
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,319
not an Eve withoutatom, Adam doesn't

160
00:06:16,319 --> 00:06:17,689
come to know himself

161
00:06:17,689 --> 00:06:20,331
without Eve. You

162
00:06:20,331 --> 00:06:22,942
know, and that's whyyou kind of picture

163
00:06:22,942 --> 00:06:24,574
visually thisarrangement and the

164
00:06:24,574 --> 00:06:27,186
yin Yang symbol. Iknow if you can

165
00:06:27,186 --> 00:06:29,471
separate it fromDaoism there, it's a

166
00:06:29,471 --> 00:06:32,082
great visual image ofgender. You can't see

167
00:06:32,082 --> 00:06:33,388
one part without the

168
00:06:33,388 --> 00:06:36,131
other. And that

169
00:06:36,131 --> 00:06:38,498
tells the generalgender is is an

170
00:06:38,498 --> 00:06:40,188
existence inrelationship to the

171
00:06:40,188 --> 00:06:42,377
other gender. That's

172
00:06:42,377 --> 00:06:44,839
how it's defined. Now

173
00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,759
what I want to do isestablish 2 things

174
00:06:47,759 --> 00:06:50,354
with you this morningand then talk about

175
00:06:50,354 --> 00:06:52,301
the implications andthen the applications

176
00:06:52,301 --> 00:06:54,572
of them. So 2propositions I want

177
00:06:54,572 --> 00:06:56,519
to establish fromthis passage with

178
00:06:56,519 --> 00:06:59,438
you. If you're goingto listen to what the

179
00:06:59,438 --> 00:07:01,709
author is saying,what he's trying to

180
00:07:01,709 --> 00:07:03,007
teach here, I want

181
00:07:03,007 --> 00:07:05,305
to, I want to. Make 2

182
00:07:05,305 --> 00:07:06,655
propositions and then

183
00:07:06,655 --> 00:07:08,455
talk about what it

184
00:07:08,455 --> 00:07:10,705
means for them to go

185
00:07:10,705 --> 00:07:12,955
together. The twopropositions are

186
00:07:12,955 --> 00:07:14,305
this. Proposition A

187
00:07:14,305 --> 00:07:16,105
is that marriage is

188
00:07:16,105 --> 00:07:17,455
predicated on gender

189
00:07:17,455 --> 00:07:19,429
difference. Marriage

190
00:07:19,429 --> 00:07:22,154
is predicated ongender difference and

191
00:07:22,154 --> 00:07:23,970
proposition B is that

192
00:07:23,970 --> 00:07:25,786
marriage is the place

193
00:07:25,786 --> 00:07:28,511
is a place tounderstand your

194
00:07:28,511 --> 00:07:31,264
identity. OK, so

195
00:07:31,264 --> 00:07:33,741
let me just let's tryto establish the

196
00:07:33,741 --> 00:07:36,218
first one with youthat this is really

197
00:07:36,218 --> 00:07:38,695
what the author issaying. Moses in in

198
00:07:38,695 --> 00:07:41,171
verse 24 tells usthat marriage is a

199
00:07:41,171 --> 00:07:43,958
matter of gender. Hesays you see in verse

200
00:07:43,958 --> 00:07:45,506
24 he says for this

201
00:07:45,506 --> 00:07:48,033
reason. Managed toleave his father and

202
00:07:48,033 --> 00:07:49,271
mother. Well, he'snot talking about

203
00:07:49,271 --> 00:07:50,716
Adam and Eve, he'stalking about the

204
00:07:50,716 --> 00:07:51,747
institution ofmarriage because they

205
00:07:51,747 --> 00:07:54,501
don't have a fatherand mother. You're

206
00:07:54,501 --> 00:07:56,216
saying for thisreason people get

207
00:07:56,216 --> 00:07:57,074
married? Well, for

208
00:07:57,074 --> 00:07:59,263
what reason?Because

209
00:07:59,263 --> 00:08:00,654
of gender. Because of

210
00:08:00,654 --> 00:08:02,046
what he just created.

211
00:08:04,916 --> 00:08:06,360
To In other words,

212
00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,249
the man is no longerdefined by his

213
00:08:09,249 --> 00:08:10,332
parents, but instead

214
00:08:10,332 --> 00:08:13,179
by his wife. To

215
00:08:13,179 --> 00:08:14,896
find definition inthe complement.

216
00:08:17,286 --> 00:08:20,270
Jesus is very clear. Jesus is even more

217
00:08:20,270 --> 00:08:22,881
clear about themeaning of that. For

218
00:08:22,881 --> 00:08:25,492
that reason, when hegives his commentary

219
00:08:25,492 --> 00:08:28,104
on this verse inMatthew 19, Jesus

220
00:08:28,104 --> 00:08:29,596
brings up this verse.

221
00:08:30,336 --> 00:08:33,258
For this reason andhe he goes back,

222
00:08:33,258 --> 00:08:36,181
Jesus does and heYanks out of chapter

223
00:08:36,181 --> 00:08:38,738
1, Genesis chapter 1,the male female

224
00:08:38,738 --> 00:08:41,661
thing, and then Ramsit up against this

225
00:08:41,661 --> 00:08:44,248
verse. So what Jesus

226
00:08:44,248 --> 00:08:46,813
says is God createdthem male and female.

227
00:08:46,813 --> 00:08:48,736
For this reasonpeople get married.

228
00:08:50,296 --> 00:08:51,437
Because Jesus goes

229
00:08:51,437 --> 00:08:53,340
out of his way to

230
00:08:53,340 --> 00:08:55,622
make marriage aboutgender. The meeting

231
00:08:55,622 --> 00:08:57,144
of these two flavors

232
00:08:57,144 --> 00:08:59,046
of the image of God.

233
00:09:00,416 --> 00:09:02,799
Apostle Paul alsodoes in in first

234
00:09:02,799 --> 00:09:05,182
Timothy too, when hebrings up this

235
00:09:05,182 --> 00:09:07,225
passage in dealingwith marital roles,

236
00:09:07,225 --> 00:09:09,608
he brings up thispassage and the

237
00:09:09,608 --> 00:09:12,332
importance of genderand even in the next

238
00:09:12,332 --> 00:09:14,375
chapter, Genesis 3,when when we

239
00:09:14,375 --> 00:09:15,396
witnessed the great

240
00:09:15,396 --> 00:09:17,423
fall. And when

241
00:09:17,423 --> 00:09:18,859
marriage falls, we

242
00:09:18,859 --> 00:09:20,772
find it's it's very

243
00:09:20,772 --> 00:09:23,643
gender specific, theconsequences of what

244
00:09:23,643 --> 00:09:25,556
Adam and Eve do.

245
00:09:26,487 --> 00:09:29,321
Come out in in the in

246
00:09:29,321 --> 00:09:31,211
the place where they

247
00:09:31,211 --> 00:09:33,100
as as individually as

248
00:09:33,100 --> 00:09:35,462
man and woman tend to

249
00:09:35,462 --> 00:09:37,824
place their theirdeepest significance

250
00:09:37,824 --> 00:09:40,271
respectively. So the

251
00:09:40,271 --> 00:09:42,457
fall of marriage isis gender specific.

252
00:09:43,757 --> 00:09:46,333
So what this issaying to us,

253
00:09:46,333 --> 00:09:47,805
friends, is that this

254
00:09:47,805 --> 00:09:50,381
this gift of our mostintimate relationship

255
00:09:50,381 --> 00:09:52,221
is meant to be across

256
00:09:52,221 --> 00:09:54,513
the genders. That's

257
00:09:54,513 --> 00:09:55,487
Proposition 1.

258
00:09:57,047 --> 00:09:59,288
Proposition 2,Marriage is a place

259
00:09:59,288 --> 00:10:01,529
to understand yourdeep identity. Not

260
00:10:01,529 --> 00:10:04,518
the only place, andI'll talk about this

261
00:10:04,518 --> 00:10:07,132
a little later, butit's a principle

262
00:10:07,132 --> 00:10:08,1000
place and we can see

263
00:10:08,1000 --> 00:10:11,988
this easily, I thinkin the passage. We

264
00:10:11,988 --> 00:10:14,976
can see it a numberof different ways.

265
00:10:14,976 --> 00:10:16,792
OK, verse 18. He

266
00:10:16,792 --> 00:10:19,643
says. I want to

267
00:10:19,643 --> 00:10:21,935
make a suitablehelper. A suitable

268
00:10:21,935 --> 00:10:23,845
meaning shecorresponds to him

269
00:10:23,845 --> 00:10:26,174
helper. And that word

270
00:10:26,174 --> 00:10:28,804
helper you might haveheard before is a

271
00:10:28,804 --> 00:10:31,105
word in the OldTestament that's very

272
00:10:31,105 --> 00:10:33,078
often used todescribe God. When

273
00:10:33,078 --> 00:10:34,722
God says I'm going to

274
00:10:34,722 --> 00:10:37,352
make a helper for forAdam, the word

275
00:10:37,352 --> 00:10:39,982
helper, well, she's19 times in the Old

276
00:10:39,982 --> 00:10:42,612
Testament and 16 outof those 19 times

277
00:10:42,612 --> 00:10:43,599
it's referring to

278
00:10:43,599 --> 00:10:46,502
God. So you

279
00:10:46,502 --> 00:10:49,161
see, the emphasishere is on the need

280
00:10:49,161 --> 00:10:50,157
of the man.

281
00:10:51,637 --> 00:10:53,871
And the crucial role

282
00:10:53,871 --> 00:10:56,863
of Eve. In filling

283
00:10:56,863 --> 00:10:57,518
that need.

284
00:10:59,788 --> 00:11:00,959
What's the need?

285
00:11:00,959 --> 00:11:02,911
Well, I would say to

286
00:11:02,911 --> 00:11:04,863
you, the need is the

287
00:11:04,863 --> 00:11:06,424
man's need to define

288
00:11:06,424 --> 00:11:07,986
himself, to find out

289
00:11:07,986 --> 00:11:09,938
that elusive Who am I?

290
00:11:11,998 --> 00:11:14,798
That's why when she,when she comes and is

291
00:11:14,798 --> 00:11:17,599
brought to him and hegreets her, what is

292
00:11:17,599 --> 00:11:20,400
his greeting? This isthis is flesh of my

293
00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,578
flesh. This is boneof my bone.

294
00:11:24,848 --> 00:11:26,600
It's about himunderstanding

295
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,352
himself. I could tell

296
00:11:28,352 --> 00:11:29,666
you personally that

297
00:11:29,666 --> 00:11:31,418
this is how I've

298
00:11:31,418 --> 00:11:32,732
experienced it in

299
00:11:32,732 --> 00:11:34,922
life, you know, as a

300
00:11:34,922 --> 00:11:35,798
single person.

301
00:11:37,758 --> 00:11:39,449
I was a lot of

302
00:11:39,449 --> 00:11:41,816
things, but if youasked people around

303
00:11:41,816 --> 00:11:43,507
me when I was single,

304
00:11:43,507 --> 00:11:44,860
you know, to describe

305
00:11:44,860 --> 00:11:47,458
me. Probably 1 of the

306
00:11:47,458 --> 00:11:49,918
words they would usefor me is silly.

307
00:11:52,288 --> 00:11:54,298
There are a lot ofmature single people

308
00:11:54,298 --> 00:11:56,057
here, so I'm nottalking about you,

309
00:11:56,057 --> 00:11:57,062
I'm talking about me.

310
00:11:57,062 --> 00:11:59,323
But I've found that. I've found that in my

311
00:11:59,323 --> 00:12:01,332
life. You know, I wasbouncing around all

312
00:12:01,332 --> 00:12:03,845
over the place. Iwas, I was silly in a

313
00:12:03,845 --> 00:12:06,322
lot of ways. And it

314
00:12:06,322 --> 00:12:09,307
was it. It took anumber of things, but

315
00:12:09,307 --> 00:12:10,633
one of them was

316
00:12:10,633 --> 00:12:13,020
loving a woman. To

317
00:12:13,020 --> 00:12:14,378
make me into a man.

318
00:12:16,838 --> 00:12:18,641
That was somethingthat took place in

319
00:12:18,641 --> 00:12:21,125
me. Through just kind

320
00:12:21,125 --> 00:12:22,351
of what's being

321
00:12:22,351 --> 00:12:25,216
described here. So

322
00:12:25,216 --> 00:12:27,531
I can see this andand it resonates with

323
00:12:27,531 --> 00:12:29,781
me. You know again

324
00:12:29,781 --> 00:12:32,029
not that this is theonly way to

325
00:12:32,029 --> 00:12:33,996
understand yourself. This is the way it

326
00:12:33,996 --> 00:12:36,507
worked for me. And

327
00:12:36,507 --> 00:12:39,292
that's why you lookagain in verse 23.

328
00:12:39,292 --> 00:12:41,729
What's going on withthis naming business?

329
00:12:42,989 --> 00:12:45,986
This name is reallyshows this definition

330
00:12:45,986 --> 00:12:47,698
by the other gender

331
00:12:47,698 --> 00:12:49,411
also because up to

332
00:12:49,411 --> 00:12:51,552
this point in the in

333
00:12:51,552 --> 00:12:54,121
the narrative, thenarrator has named

334
00:12:54,121 --> 00:12:57,118
him only by hisrelation to the

335
00:12:57,118 --> 00:13:00,115
ground, Adama only byin his relationship

336
00:13:00,115 --> 00:13:02,836
to the work. That

337
00:13:02,836 --> 00:13:05,174
he's doing. But when

338
00:13:05,174 --> 00:13:07,477
Adam speaks. Adam

339
00:13:07,477 --> 00:13:09,451
names himself in

340
00:13:09,451 --> 00:13:11,902
relationship. To the

341
00:13:11,902 --> 00:13:14,820
woman. Right when he

342
00:13:14,820 --> 00:13:17,355
names her Ishah, he's

343
00:13:17,355 --> 00:13:19,889
also naming himselfIsh.

344
00:13:24,189 --> 00:13:26,959
Woman is the Shah,man is Ish.

345
00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:30,443
So you see that in

346
00:13:30,443 --> 00:13:33,264
naming her, he's alsofinding a name for

347
00:13:33,264 --> 00:13:35,396
himself. Umm. You

348
00:13:35,396 --> 00:13:37,542
don't wanna try tospell women a

349
00:13:37,542 --> 00:13:39,994
different way, Youdon't want to go in

350
00:13:39,994 --> 00:13:42,139
that direction, don'twanna spell it WO.

351
00:13:43,009 --> 00:13:45,859
MYN instead of MEN.

352
00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,367
That's going in thewrong direction. You

353
00:13:49,367 --> 00:13:51,524
don't want to say,well, we want to

354
00:13:51,524 --> 00:13:53,141
make, you know, womenindependent because

355
00:13:53,141 --> 00:13:56,068
you're losing thegender thing. You're

356
00:13:56,068 --> 00:13:58,860
losing what gender isabout in that.

357
00:14:00,1000 --> 00:14:03,682
This naming shows howcoming together with

358
00:14:03,682 --> 00:14:05,980
this other genderdefined him and

359
00:14:05,980 --> 00:14:07,130
defined her too.

360
00:14:10,620 --> 00:14:12,681
And through it, hefound himself, found

361
00:14:12,681 --> 00:14:15,457
his identity. OK, so

362
00:14:15,457 --> 00:14:16,651
those are the 2

363
00:14:16,651 --> 00:14:19,506
propositions. That Ithink this text

364
00:14:19,506 --> 00:14:20,410
brings before us.

365
00:14:21,540 --> 00:14:23,963
Again, one, marriageis predicated on

366
00:14:23,963 --> 00:14:26,791
gender difference andtwo, marriage is a

367
00:14:26,791 --> 00:14:29,618
place, even furtherwe could say, where

368
00:14:29,618 --> 00:14:30,830
man finds himself.

369
00:14:32,530 --> 00:14:34,493
So reason with me if

370
00:14:34,493 --> 00:14:36,455
you cannot havemarriage without

371
00:14:36,455 --> 00:14:37,240
different genders.

372
00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,466
A&B if marriage is a

373
00:14:41,466 --> 00:14:44,053
place where weunderstand our

374
00:14:44,053 --> 00:14:46,981
identity. Then

375
00:14:46,981 --> 00:14:49,325
it follows thatgender difference is

376
00:14:49,325 --> 00:14:51,278
given to us to help

377
00:14:51,278 --> 00:14:52,450
us find ourselves.

378
00:14:56,150 --> 00:14:57,247
You see, that's why

379
00:14:57,247 --> 00:14:59,653
marriage was made. To

380
00:14:59,653 --> 00:15:00,951
combine these two

381
00:15:00,951 --> 00:15:02,682
flavors so that you

382
00:15:02,682 --> 00:15:03,980
find your identity.

383
00:15:04,850 --> 00:15:07,462
You know you need thestrawberries to bring

384
00:15:07,462 --> 00:15:09,420
out the tastes of thechampagne.

385
00:15:11,970 --> 00:15:13,908
OK, we have onechampagne drinker

386
00:15:13,908 --> 00:15:16,700
here. How

387
00:15:16,700 --> 00:15:19,014
about that? You need,you need the garlic

388
00:15:19,014 --> 00:15:21,328
to bring out theolive oil, right? And

389
00:15:21,328 --> 00:15:23,931
you need the oliveoil to bring out the

390
00:15:23,931 --> 00:15:24,221
garlic.

391
00:15:26,291 --> 00:15:29,228
No, OK. You

392
00:15:29,228 --> 00:15:31,240
need the peanutbutter to bring out

393
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:32,964
the richness of thechocolate. How's

394
00:15:32,964 --> 00:15:34,401
that? There's alowbrow example.

395
00:15:40,081 --> 00:15:43,001
You see what's goingon?Or as.

396
00:15:44,651 --> 00:15:46,984
Someone in thischurch put it love is

397
00:15:46,984 --> 00:15:47,859
a many gendered

398
00:15:47,859 --> 00:15:50,834
thing. All right,

399
00:15:50,834 --> 00:15:53,138
those. Those are the

400
00:15:53,138 --> 00:15:55,487
propositions I wouldput before you, and

401
00:15:55,487 --> 00:15:57,837
when we put themtogether, it it

402
00:15:57,837 --> 00:15:59,180
brings it, it there

403
00:15:59,180 --> 00:16:01,027
are implications. So

404
00:16:01,027 --> 00:16:02,909
let me take a few

405
00:16:02,909 --> 00:16:04,414
minutes now just and

406
00:16:04,414 --> 00:16:07,048
bring out the someimplications for us

407
00:16:07,048 --> 00:16:08,553
from this, OK? This

408
00:16:08,553 --> 00:16:10,811
is why, my dearfriends, same-sex

409
00:16:10,811 --> 00:16:12,316
unions are wrong for

410
00:16:12,316 --> 00:16:13,821
you and for me.

411
00:16:15,131 --> 00:16:17,941
There's a loss ofgender there because

412
00:16:17,941 --> 00:16:20,751
the gender is definedby the other.

413
00:16:22,261 --> 00:16:24,441
So in same-sexunions, there's a

414
00:16:24,441 --> 00:16:27,348
failing to find yourreal identity as a

415
00:16:27,348 --> 00:16:30,203
man. And as a

416
00:16:30,203 --> 00:16:33,075
woman, if you makeyour your most

417
00:16:33,075 --> 00:16:34,717
intimate relationshipa same-sex

418
00:16:34,717 --> 00:16:36,769
relationship, thenyou're you're not

419
00:16:36,769 --> 00:16:39,641
getting defined inthe ways that God.

420
00:16:40,641 --> 00:16:41,818
Made you to be

421
00:16:41,818 --> 00:16:44,788
defined. It's a

422
00:16:44,788 --> 00:16:47,052
way of of getting theidentity wrong.

423
00:16:49,392 --> 00:16:52,292
Now this this may bedifficult to believe.

424
00:16:53,002 --> 00:16:55,810
For people who are ina homosexual

425
00:16:55,810 --> 00:16:58,255
relationship. It'shard for them to

426
00:16:58,255 --> 00:16:59,897
maybe accept this. Ifyou're here and

427
00:16:59,897 --> 00:17:01,539
you're entered such arelationship may be

428
00:17:01,539 --> 00:17:02,477
hard for you to

429
00:17:02,477 --> 00:17:04,550
accept. Because of

430
00:17:04,550 --> 00:17:06,266
the benefits that you

431
00:17:06,266 --> 00:17:07,553
see in the

432
00:17:07,553 --> 00:17:10,123
relationship. You

433
00:17:10,123 --> 00:17:11,327
know, there's,there's confusion

434
00:17:11,327 --> 00:17:13,134
over the wordlifestyle. I think

435
00:17:13,134 --> 00:17:15,543
now people say, ohh,they're in the gay

436
00:17:15,543 --> 00:17:17,651
lifestyle are comingout of the gay

437
00:17:17,651 --> 00:17:19,457
lifestyle. What, whatexactly does that

438
00:17:19,457 --> 00:17:21,264
mean? Because forsome people that

439
00:17:21,264 --> 00:17:23,071
means just being in asame-sex

440
00:17:23,071 --> 00:17:24,576
relationship. Forother people, it

441
00:17:24,576 --> 00:17:26,082
means a lot of other

442
00:17:26,082 --> 00:17:28,190
stuff, like a lot ofpromiscuity that's

443
00:17:28,190 --> 00:17:30,548
going on. In in some

444
00:17:30,548 --> 00:17:33,150
circles, you know,and I know you don't

445
00:17:33,150 --> 00:17:34,776
really see thepromiscuity these

446
00:17:34,776 --> 00:17:36,077
days in the media,

447
00:17:36,077 --> 00:17:38,675
but. Well, let me

448
00:17:38,675 --> 00:17:40,801
assure you thatpromiscuity is alive

449
00:17:40,801 --> 00:17:42,573
and well in the gay

450
00:17:42,573 --> 00:17:45,054
scene. But that's notwhat I'm talking

451
00:17:45,054 --> 00:17:47,180
about this morning. I'm talking about

452
00:17:47,180 --> 00:17:48,952
people who want to be

453
00:17:48,952 --> 00:17:51,078
in a monogamous, youknow, committed

454
00:17:51,078 --> 00:17:52,850
relationship. Justtalking to those

455
00:17:52,850 --> 00:17:55,331
people, you might bein a same-sex

456
00:17:55,331 --> 00:17:57,102
relationship, andthis might be.

457
00:17:57,582 --> 00:17:59,546
Difficult for you toaccept what I'm

458
00:17:59,546 --> 00:18:02,070
saying, and if that'sso, I want you to

459
00:18:02,070 --> 00:18:03,472
look with me at verse

460
00:18:03,472 --> 00:18:06,386
9. OK verse 9

461
00:18:06,386 --> 00:18:08,693
tells us that all the

462
00:18:08,693 --> 00:18:10,1000
trees in the midst of

463
00:18:10,1000 --> 00:18:13,953
the garden. We're

464
00:18:13,953 --> 00:18:16,105
good for food. Right

465
00:18:16,105 --> 00:18:17,520
in the middle of thegarden, friends,

466
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:19,138
there's a tree calledthe Tree of the

467
00:18:19,138 --> 00:18:20,755
Knowledge of Good andEvil. You're going to

468
00:18:20,755 --> 00:18:22,373
look at actually in acouple of weeks.

469
00:18:23,513 --> 00:18:24,913
Which God forbid them

470
00:18:24,913 --> 00:18:27,624
to eat from. But I

471
00:18:27,624 --> 00:18:30,348
want you to know thattree had fruit.

472
00:18:30,348 --> 00:18:32,391
According to thispassage, that was

473
00:18:32,391 --> 00:18:33,413
good for food.

474
00:18:35,613 --> 00:18:37,173
That was good for

475
00:18:37,173 --> 00:18:39,933
food. It was stillforbidden.

476
00:18:44,083 --> 00:18:45,153
It's still forbidden.

477
00:18:46,683 --> 00:18:48,677
You know, in the nextchapter, that's what

478
00:18:48,677 --> 00:18:50,671
Eve uses to justifywhat she does. She

479
00:18:50,671 --> 00:18:52,914
looks at the truth. She says this is good

480
00:18:52,914 --> 00:18:54,659
for food, and infact, it's pleasant

481
00:18:54,659 --> 00:18:55,905
to look at all. These

482
00:18:55,905 --> 00:18:58,017
are good things. So

483
00:18:58,017 --> 00:18:59,673
why not stillforbidden?

484
00:19:02,783 --> 00:19:05,242
And there are thingsthat we can be

485
00:19:05,242 --> 00:19:07,393
involved in this lifethat give pleasure.

486
00:19:07,393 --> 00:19:09,851
I'm sure that whenEve took that fruit

487
00:19:09,851 --> 00:19:10,773
and ate it.

488
00:19:12,553 --> 00:19:14,957
It tasted good. Itwas pleasurable. It's

489
00:19:14,957 --> 00:19:16,675
hard to, it's hard to

490
00:19:16,675 --> 00:19:19,079
fathom that might besomething that God

491
00:19:19,079 --> 00:19:20,452
says, No, this really

492
00:19:20,452 --> 00:19:23,200
isn't good for you. Imean, pleasure is

493
00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,128
good. And

494
00:19:26,128 --> 00:19:28,243
I would go evenfurther, I would say,

495
00:19:28,243 --> 00:19:29,565
as she was chewing on

496
00:19:29,565 --> 00:19:31,868
that fruit. And

497
00:19:31,868 --> 00:19:34,766
swallowing. I would

498
00:19:34,766 --> 00:19:36,666
even say that therewas probably some

499
00:19:36,666 --> 00:19:38,294
nourishment beinggiven to her body.

500
00:19:39,814 --> 00:19:42,394
Don't go that far. Still forbidden.

501
00:19:43,884 --> 00:19:45,715
Because while she waschewing it and while

502
00:19:45,715 --> 00:19:47,089
even while she wasgetting nourishment

503
00:19:47,089 --> 00:19:48,234
from it, was killingher.

504
00:19:52,244 --> 00:19:54,684
The same is true ofsame-sex unions, I

505
00:19:54,684 --> 00:19:56,708
would say. You might

506
00:19:56,708 --> 00:19:59,201
look at them and someand say you know

507
00:19:59,201 --> 00:20:00,033
there are great

508
00:20:00,033 --> 00:20:02,792
benefits to this. And

509
00:20:02,792 --> 00:20:04,464
there are, you know

510
00:20:04,464 --> 00:20:07,389
you can, there arebenefits to any

511
00:20:07,389 --> 00:20:09,897
relationship by God'scommon grace, good

512
00:20:09,897 --> 00:20:12,823
things that come ofthat. Certainly there

513
00:20:12,823 --> 00:20:14,913
are especially,especially if you

514
00:20:14,913 --> 00:20:16,584
have been rejected by

515
00:20:16,584 --> 00:20:18,256
your family, if you

516
00:20:18,256 --> 00:20:19,928
have been isolated by

517
00:20:19,928 --> 00:20:22,255
your desires. Of

518
00:20:22,255 --> 00:20:24,538
course there is,there's comfort and

519
00:20:24,538 --> 00:20:26,060
of course, of course

520
00:20:26,060 --> 00:20:28,724
there are. There iscomfort in that

521
00:20:28,724 --> 00:20:30,799
relationship. There

522
00:20:30,799 --> 00:20:32,824
are things thatreally help.

523
00:20:34,734 --> 00:20:36,372
It's still forbiddenbecause ultimately

524
00:20:36,372 --> 00:20:39,319
God is saying this isnot what what is

525
00:20:39,319 --> 00:20:41,939
going to help youfind who you really

526
00:20:41,939 --> 00:20:44,932
are. Ultimately thisis stunting you. It's

527
00:20:44,932 --> 00:20:46,034
stunting your gender.

528
00:20:53,004 --> 00:20:53,474
Hmm.

529
00:20:55,724 --> 00:20:58,172
Making your mostintimate

530
00:20:58,172 --> 00:21:00,743
relationship. The one

531
00:21:00,743 --> 00:21:02,715
of the same gendermeans a loss ofgender.

532
00:21:05,275 --> 00:21:07,980
Now let me draw outone other implication

533
00:21:07,980 --> 00:21:09,671
for us here in terms

534
00:21:09,671 --> 00:21:11,700
of how we look at all

535
00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:14,406
of our relationshipsto help us then talk

536
00:21:14,406 --> 00:21:16,435
a little bit aboutapplying this.

537
00:21:21,525 --> 00:21:23,175
In certainrelationships in our

538
00:21:23,175 --> 00:21:25,485
lives, gender comesinto play. In other

539
00:21:25,485 --> 00:21:28,079
ones it does not. And

540
00:21:28,079 --> 00:21:30,820
it has to do with theintensity of the

541
00:21:30,820 --> 00:21:33,536
relationship. For

542
00:21:33,536 --> 00:21:35,642
example, in themarketplace, in the

543
00:21:35,642 --> 00:21:38,449
in the workplace orin the body politic,

544
00:21:38,449 --> 00:21:39,853
gender does not come

545
00:21:39,853 --> 00:21:42,835
into play. A

546
00:21:42,835 --> 00:21:43,735
gender shouldn't

547
00:21:43,735 --> 00:21:46,528
matter. In the

548
00:21:46,528 --> 00:21:48,885
gender of a personrunning for office

549
00:21:48,885 --> 00:21:50,905
shouldn't shouldn'tmatter. I mean women

550
00:21:50,905 --> 00:21:53,262
and men are going tobring different

551
00:21:53,262 --> 00:21:54,608
things to to their

552
00:21:54,608 --> 00:21:57,021
roles. For example,

553
00:21:57,021 --> 00:21:58,005
men are dense.

554
00:22:00,415 --> 00:22:03,204
I mean literallydense. Actually. In

555
00:22:03,204 --> 00:22:05,992
the temporalneocortex,researchers in Spain

556
00:22:05,992 --> 00:22:08,781
have recently foundmen have more

557
00:22:08,781 --> 00:22:10,913
neurons. OK, they're

558
00:22:10,913 --> 00:22:12,728
they're more dense in

559
00:22:12,728 --> 00:22:14,543
that area, which is

560
00:22:14,543 --> 00:22:17,265
probably why men arebetter generally.

561
00:22:17,265 --> 00:22:19,534
It's spatialperception and women

562
00:22:19,534 --> 00:22:21,349
can talk faster and

563
00:22:21,349 --> 00:22:23,164
remember more of what

564
00:22:23,164 --> 00:22:24,525
they hear probably.

565
00:22:25,395 --> 00:22:26,595
But there aredifferences,

566
00:22:26,595 --> 00:22:28,095
obviously, betweenmen and women.

567
00:22:28,915 --> 00:22:31,334
They're going tobring that to to

568
00:22:31,334 --> 00:22:34,026
their roles. But,

569
00:22:34,026 --> 00:22:35,931
and you can, you can

570
00:22:35,931 --> 00:22:38,217
evaluate that, but,but gender shouldn't

571
00:22:38,217 --> 00:22:40,883
really matter becausein the body politic,

572
00:22:40,883 --> 00:22:42,788
relationships aren'tintense enough. They

573
00:22:42,788 --> 00:22:45,455
don't reach the levelof defining our

574
00:22:45,455 --> 00:22:48,090
identity. It's saying

575
00:22:48,090 --> 00:22:50,728
what the workplace,you know, it's A1

576
00:22:50,728 --> 00:22:52,236
dimensionalrelationship that you

577
00:22:52,236 --> 00:22:54,874
share with people inthe workplace. You

578
00:22:54,874 --> 00:22:57,512
know, you're there tocooperate, to get

579
00:22:57,512 --> 00:22:59,774
certain job done,certain bottom line.

580
00:22:59,774 --> 00:23:00,904
It's it'sone-dimensional.

581
00:23:00,904 --> 00:23:03,166
Gender should notplay a role.

582
00:23:05,336 --> 00:23:06,382
Now when you come

583
00:23:06,382 --> 00:23:08,760
into the church. Your

584
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,063
relationships aremeant to be closer.

585
00:23:11,063 --> 00:23:13,750
They're meant to befuller. They involve

586
00:23:13,750 --> 00:23:16,053
more of youridentity. And so

587
00:23:16,053 --> 00:23:18,356
guess what? Gendermatters in the

588
00:23:18,356 --> 00:23:21,043
church. There arecertain roles that we

589
00:23:21,043 --> 00:23:22,962
take that have to do

590
00:23:22,962 --> 00:23:24,498
with gender. OK. And

591
00:23:24,498 --> 00:23:27,185
in the most intenserelationship of all,

592
00:23:27,185 --> 00:23:29,406
that of marriage. Gender really

593
00:23:29,406 --> 00:23:31,804
matters. And that's

594
00:23:31,804 --> 00:23:34,559
why in the NewTestament, all

595
00:23:34,559 --> 00:23:36,854
instruction that'sspecifically said to

596
00:23:36,854 --> 00:23:38,690
be about marriage is

597
00:23:38,690 --> 00:23:40,985
gender related. It'sgender specific

598
00:23:40,985 --> 00:23:43,280
instructions aredifferent from men,

599
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:45,116
for husbands, forwives.

600
00:23:49,306 --> 00:23:51,690
Both share the imageof God, but with

601
00:23:51,690 --> 00:23:53,478
different steps inthe dance, different

602
00:23:53,478 --> 00:23:56,428
flavors. And when

603
00:23:56,428 --> 00:23:58,437
a marriage works theway it's supposed to.

604
00:23:59,397 --> 00:24:00,877
You find your deep

605
00:24:00,877 --> 00:24:03,371
identity. And you

606
00:24:03,371 --> 00:24:04,157
find it gendered.

607
00:24:06,017 --> 00:24:07,910
Kind of speaking ingeneral ways about

608
00:24:07,910 --> 00:24:09,532
how to look atrelationships, but

609
00:24:09,532 --> 00:24:11,425
that's an implicationthat we should draw

610
00:24:11,425 --> 00:24:12,507
from this, I think.

611
00:24:14,357 --> 00:24:16,791
Now this is an answer

612
00:24:16,791 --> 00:24:19,225
for us. How come it's

613
00:24:19,225 --> 00:24:21,172
it's not right to

614
00:24:21,172 --> 00:24:23,606
have our mostintimate relationship

615
00:24:23,606 --> 00:24:26,427
the same sex?You

616
00:24:26,427 --> 00:24:28,677
say because it's notthe way in which we

617
00:24:28,677 --> 00:24:30,427
really find ouridentity, which is a

618
00:24:30,427 --> 00:24:31,177
difficult thing to

619
00:24:31,177 --> 00:24:33,750
find. But let me go

620
00:24:33,750 --> 00:24:35,254
even deeper thanthat. There's a

621
00:24:35,254 --> 00:24:36,006
deeper reason for

622
00:24:36,006 --> 00:24:38,697
this. Why this

623
00:24:38,697 --> 00:24:41,482
is?If

624
00:24:41,482 --> 00:24:43,157
you look at verse 24.

625
00:24:45,687 --> 00:24:48,471
It says that it'stalking about them

626
00:24:48,471 --> 00:24:50,858
coming together, Adamand Eve coming

627
00:24:50,858 --> 00:24:52,847
together. It saysthey're united.

628
00:24:52,847 --> 00:24:54,835
They're united. Veryinteresting because

629
00:24:54,835 --> 00:24:57,619
it's The author isspeaking in covenant

630
00:24:57,619 --> 00:25:00,594
terminology. He'stalking in the

631
00:25:00,594 --> 00:25:02,339
language of covenantcommitment. That's

632
00:25:02,339 --> 00:25:04,434
significant in thisbook because this

633
00:25:04,434 --> 00:25:06,877
book is all aboutcovenants being made.

634
00:25:07,597 --> 00:25:10,417
Book of Genesis hasfour different

635
00:25:10,417 --> 00:25:12,738
covenants. And the

636
00:25:12,738 --> 00:25:15,363
covenants that aremade are between God

637
00:25:15,363 --> 00:25:17,239
and his people as an

638
00:25:17,239 --> 00:25:19,864
expression of lovebetween God and the

639
00:25:19,864 --> 00:25:22,490
people that he isworking with four

640
00:25:22,490 --> 00:25:25,116
different times. Soin this passage, to

641
00:25:25,116 --> 00:25:27,366
use the kind ofcovenant terminology,

642
00:25:27,366 --> 00:25:29,992
it's inviting us todraw a parallel

643
00:25:29,992 --> 00:25:32,380
between what's goingon between. Husband

644
00:25:32,380 --> 00:25:35,280
and wife and what'sgoing on between God

645
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:36,368
and his people.

646
00:25:40,078 --> 00:25:42,371
There must besomething done about

647
00:25:42,371 --> 00:25:43,899
this firstrelationship, about

648
00:25:43,899 --> 00:25:45,810
the creation ofgender, that's

649
00:25:45,810 --> 00:25:48,486
crucial to thecovenant of God with

650
00:25:48,486 --> 00:25:48,868
us.

651
00:25:51,638 --> 00:25:53,519
And let me cite again

652
00:25:53,519 --> 00:25:55,024
Warren Austin Gage, I

653
00:25:55,024 --> 00:25:56,529
think my cited last

654
00:25:56,529 --> 00:25:58,034
week has a wonderful

655
00:25:58,034 --> 00:26:00,668
insights I think intothis. First, the

656
00:26:00,668 --> 00:26:03,302
early chapters hereof Genesis and he

657
00:26:03,302 --> 00:26:05,935
points out that ifyou'll notice in

658
00:26:05,935 --> 00:26:08,757
verse 21. How

659
00:26:08,757 --> 00:26:11,748
this bride was formedfor Adam?

660
00:26:13,568 --> 00:26:16,238
We see that Adam'sside was wounded.

661
00:26:17,808 --> 00:26:19,218
To make thismarriage.

662
00:26:24,528 --> 00:26:25,598
Was wounded.

663
00:26:27,708 --> 00:26:30,035
In order to. Make

664
00:26:30,035 --> 00:26:32,892
this bride. And

665
00:26:32,892 --> 00:26:35,837
so also. With the

666
00:26:35,837 --> 00:26:38,232
last atom, JesusChrist, he was

667
00:26:38,232 --> 00:26:39,828
wounded in his side.

668
00:26:40,798 --> 00:26:42,563
On the cross to

669
00:26:42,563 --> 00:26:43,886
secure and constitute

670
00:26:43,886 --> 00:26:46,816
his bride. John

671
00:26:46,816 --> 00:26:48,653
tells us in John 19

672
00:26:48,653 --> 00:26:51,594
that a spear wasthrust into the side

673
00:26:51,594 --> 00:26:54,534
of Christ on thecross, and out came

674
00:26:54,534 --> 00:26:57,106
blood and water. Blood to purchase the

675
00:26:57,106 --> 00:26:59,679
church and water topurify the church.

676
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:04,949
The first atom andthe last atom. A

677
00:27:04,949 --> 00:27:07,539
wound in the side tocreate the bride.

678
00:27:09,549 --> 00:27:12,144
God puts the firstatom into a deep

679
00:27:12,144 --> 00:27:14,974
sleep. In order to

680
00:27:14,974 --> 00:27:16,329
make his bride.

681
00:27:17,839 --> 00:27:19,702
God put the Son of

682
00:27:19,702 --> 00:27:22,312
Man into an evendeeper sleep, the

683
00:27:22,312 --> 00:27:25,293
sleep of death, toform us, His people,

684
00:27:25,293 --> 00:27:26,039
His bride.

685
00:27:28,319 --> 00:27:31,009
An atom awoke. He

686
00:27:31,009 --> 00:27:32,809
beheld his bride in

687
00:27:32,809 --> 00:27:34,159
all her perfections.

688
00:27:35,989 --> 00:27:37,439
And Jesus Christ, in

689
00:27:37,439 --> 00:27:39,252
a way, awoke. He rose

690
00:27:39,252 --> 00:27:42,162
from the dead. And

691
00:27:42,162 --> 00:27:44,633
the resurrection thatwill flow from that.

692
00:27:44,633 --> 00:27:47,456
In that resurrectionHe will see his Bride

693
00:27:47,456 --> 00:27:47,809
perfected.

694
00:27:50,179 --> 00:27:52,469
You see, friends,what what this issaying?

695
00:27:57,649 --> 00:28:00,613
This is all aboutGod's love for us.

696
00:28:00,613 --> 00:28:02,095
This is all about

697
00:28:02,095 --> 00:28:03,947
what God would do so

698
00:28:03,947 --> 00:28:05,429
that we could be

699
00:28:05,429 --> 00:28:08,029
defined. He will

700
00:28:08,029 --> 00:28:09,949
be wounded for us.

701
00:28:10,729 --> 00:28:12,476
He'll be wounded so

702
00:28:12,476 --> 00:28:14,223
that we could be

703
00:28:14,223 --> 00:28:15,969
rescued out of this

704
00:28:15,969 --> 00:28:18,590
swirling chaos ofself confusion that

705
00:28:18,590 --> 00:28:21,127
we've lived in. That

706
00:28:21,127 --> 00:28:23,699
God would go to thislane, He would go to

707
00:28:23,699 --> 00:28:26,665
any lanes, He wouldtake the wound. In

708
00:28:26,665 --> 00:28:29,417
order to form us as apeople, in order to

709
00:28:29,417 --> 00:28:31,343
give us an identity,the very identity

710
00:28:31,343 --> 00:28:33,269
that we needed. That's what all this

711
00:28:33,269 --> 00:28:36,099
is about. And

712
00:28:36,099 --> 00:28:38,493
in marriage, inmarriagerelationship, we

713
00:28:38,493 --> 00:28:39,690
imitate that gospel.

714
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,632
That's why this isimportant. That's the

715
00:28:45,632 --> 00:28:48,549
real reason. So

716
00:28:48,549 --> 00:28:50,782
that we can preservethe understanding in

717
00:28:50,782 --> 00:28:52,490
our lives. And

718
00:28:52,490 --> 00:28:54,746
imitate it. Of what

719
00:28:54,746 --> 00:28:56,010
God has done for us.

720
00:28:56,750 --> 00:28:59,093
To make sure. That

721
00:28:59,093 --> 00:29:01,753
crazy amorphous thingcalled our identity

722
00:29:01,753 --> 00:29:04,063
is secured. And

723
00:29:04,063 --> 00:29:06,163
that's what Jesusdoes on the cross. He

724
00:29:06,163 --> 00:29:06,950
secures our identity.

725
00:29:08,140 --> 00:29:09,663
Defines us as his

726
00:29:09,663 --> 00:29:11,187
bride, as those who

727
00:29:11,187 --> 00:29:12,710
are loved by him.

728
00:29:14,790 --> 00:29:16,351
Umm, OK, briefly. Now

729
00:29:16,351 --> 00:29:18,303
let me try to apply

730
00:29:18,303 --> 00:29:21,034
these things. Justhelp you to think

731
00:29:21,034 --> 00:29:22,596
about how to take

732
00:29:22,596 --> 00:29:25,327
this and obey it. Because you know,

733
00:29:25,327 --> 00:29:28,059
this passage gives ussomething to obey,

734
00:29:28,059 --> 00:29:29,620
calls us to action.

735
00:29:32,270 --> 00:29:33,537
Let me give you three

736
00:29:33,537 --> 00:29:36,203
ways. To obey here,

737
00:29:36,203 --> 00:29:38,208
to serve God in light

738
00:29:38,208 --> 00:29:41,188
of these things. OK,

739
00:29:41,188 --> 00:29:43,125
first thing to do is

740
00:29:43,125 --> 00:29:45,646
help marriages. Be

741
00:29:45,646 --> 00:29:48,346
sure to honor this

742
00:29:48,346 --> 00:29:50,371
institution. And you

743
00:29:50,371 --> 00:29:52,345
know, could. So much

744
00:29:52,345 --> 00:29:54,965
to be said here, butlet's just say if if

745
00:29:54,965 --> 00:29:57,839
you're a wife. Look,

746
00:29:57,839 --> 00:29:59,674
Christ requiressingular fidelity

747
00:29:59,674 --> 00:30:02,349
from his Church. Even

748
00:30:02,349 --> 00:30:04,651
greater loyalty thanto father and mother.

749
00:30:05,491 --> 00:30:08,160
Trust in him. Ifyou're a wife, trust

750
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,126
in your husband. Gives singular

751
00:30:11,126 --> 00:30:12,453
fidelity to him,

752
00:30:12,453 --> 00:30:14,223
trusting in him even

753
00:30:14,223 --> 00:30:15,551
more than parents.

754
00:30:18,431 --> 00:30:19,687
If you're a husband

755
00:30:19,687 --> 00:30:22,525
here. Be wounded for

756
00:30:22,525 --> 00:30:25,055
your wife. Every day

757
00:30:25,055 --> 00:30:27,190
I get up in themorning and take the

758
00:30:27,190 --> 00:30:27,901
hit for her.

759
00:30:31,971 --> 00:30:32,901
Every day.

760
00:30:34,391 --> 00:30:35,741
And corporately.

761
00:30:36,761 --> 00:30:39,138
Support the coming ofpeople together in

762
00:30:39,138 --> 00:30:41,514
marriage. You know,we certainly do that

763
00:30:41,514 --> 00:30:43,212
as a church here, in

764
00:30:43,212 --> 00:30:46,130
fact. We take

765
00:30:46,130 --> 00:30:48,646
more personal effortwith couples that are

766
00:30:48,646 --> 00:30:51,163
getting married herethan any other church

767
00:30:51,163 --> 00:30:52,241
that I know.

768
00:30:54,231 --> 00:30:55,923
Why do we do that

769
00:30:55,923 --> 00:30:58,291
here? Because of thispassage, because we

770
00:30:58,291 --> 00:30:59,644
understand howimportant marriage

771
00:30:59,644 --> 00:31:02,012
is. We want to makesure they're

772
00:31:02,012 --> 00:31:04,042
supported from thevery beginning, that

773
00:31:04,042 --> 00:31:06,749
they're strong. Notthat, you know, I do

774
00:31:06,749 --> 00:31:08,440
this with my wife in

775
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:10,808
our sessions, but notlike we're great

776
00:31:10,808 --> 00:31:12,500
marriage counselorsor anything, but

777
00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:15,272
we're going to giveyou. Everything wegot.

778
00:31:18,322 --> 00:31:20,102
Because theimportance of this.

779
00:31:21,742 --> 00:31:23,808
So anyway, helpmarriages, that's

780
00:31:23,808 --> 00:31:25,048
number one, number

781
00:31:25,048 --> 00:31:28,043
two. We need to

782
00:31:28,043 --> 00:31:30,725
help single folksdevelop their gender

783
00:31:30,725 --> 00:31:33,383
identity. Now some

784
00:31:33,383 --> 00:31:35,560
of us maybe need to

785
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:36,866
be encouraged toward

786
00:31:36,866 --> 00:31:38,862
marriage. You know,

787
00:31:38,862 --> 00:31:40,512
you have kind of set

788
00:31:40,512 --> 00:31:43,152
up your life in acertain way. Maybe

789
00:31:43,152 --> 00:31:45,132
you've gotten alittle bit too

790
00:31:45,132 --> 00:31:47,112
comfortable in insetting up being

791
00:31:47,112 --> 00:31:48,762
comfortable beingsingle. Some people

792
00:31:48,762 --> 00:31:51,072
need to be encouragedmarriage, but some

793
00:31:51,072 --> 00:31:52,062
people don't get

794
00:31:52,062 --> 00:31:54,490
married. Not

795
00:31:54,490 --> 00:31:56,331
everybody getsmarried. And if

796
00:31:56,331 --> 00:31:57,436
you're here and

797
00:31:57,436 --> 00:31:59,524
you're single?You

798
00:31:59,524 --> 00:32:01,710
might be asking,well, where do you

799
00:32:01,710 --> 00:32:03,271
get your genderidentity developed?

800
00:32:03,271 --> 00:32:05,457
And so if you havelistening, listening

801
00:32:05,457 --> 00:32:07,642
to the implicationsof what I've been

802
00:32:07,642 --> 00:32:10,140
saying, you shouldsee it. First of all,

803
00:32:10,140 --> 00:32:12,013
you need tounderstand that God

804
00:32:12,013 --> 00:32:12,950
has given you

805
00:32:12,950 --> 00:32:15,733
families. As places

806
00:32:15,733 --> 00:32:17,475
to discover, well who

807
00:32:17,475 --> 00:32:19,217
you are, it's very

808
00:32:19,217 --> 00:32:21,540
important. And so

809
00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:24,133
your family is a giftto you, however

810
00:32:24,133 --> 00:32:26,077
imperfect. There's aplace where gender

811
00:32:26,077 --> 00:32:28,021
does come into play,those relationships.

812
00:32:28,021 --> 00:32:29,318
Gender does come into

813
00:32:29,318 --> 00:32:30,614
play, and it matters.

814
00:32:30,614 --> 00:32:33,530
That's why, you know,as far as causes of

815
00:32:33,530 --> 00:32:35,830
homosexuality areconcerned. Factors

816
00:32:35,830 --> 00:32:38,402
and families continueto be, it's complex,

817
00:32:38,402 --> 00:32:40,975
but factors andfamily continue to be

818
00:32:40,975 --> 00:32:42,813
discussed asimportant fact. Right

819
00:32:42,813 --> 00:32:45,753
now the the researchis going on as

820
00:32:45,753 --> 00:32:48,325
talking about birthorder in families as

821
00:32:48,325 --> 00:32:49,428
an important factor.

822
00:32:49,428 --> 00:32:52,378
Very interesting. But

823
00:32:52,378 --> 00:32:54,899
so that's somethingfor you to know, and

824
00:32:54,899 --> 00:32:57,421
it's something for usto respond to. As

825
00:32:57,421 --> 00:32:59,942
parents, we need torealize the role that

826
00:32:59,942 --> 00:33:02,269
we're playing. In in

827
00:33:02,269 --> 00:33:04,689
our children's lives,in defining their

828
00:33:04,689 --> 00:33:06,905
gender. And helping

829
00:33:06,905 --> 00:33:09,187
them understand whothey are, these inter

830
00:33:09,187 --> 00:33:10,817
family relationshipsthat are so

831
00:33:10,817 --> 00:33:13,485
important. And

832
00:33:13,485 --> 00:33:15,321
this is very

833
00:33:15,321 --> 00:33:17,669
important. If you're

834
00:33:17,669 --> 00:33:20,093
here and you'resingle, I want you to

835
00:33:20,093 --> 00:33:22,518
know, I want you herein the village

836
00:33:22,518 --> 00:33:23,427
church, that you

837
00:33:23,427 --> 00:33:25,649
belong here. Don't

838
00:33:25,649 --> 00:33:26,752
let all these babies

839
00:33:26,752 --> 00:33:28,733
fool you. Yeah.

840
00:33:31,913 --> 00:33:34,509
Think that make youfeel out of place

841
00:33:34,509 --> 00:33:36,678
instead?Sign up with

842
00:33:36,678 --> 00:33:38,535
Rebecca for theHalloween Festival

843
00:33:38,535 --> 00:33:41,507
because you need somekids in your lives

844
00:33:41,507 --> 00:33:44,107
and actually morethan that, they need

845
00:33:44,107 --> 00:33:45,593
you in their lives.

846
00:33:47,083 --> 00:33:49,118
That's a that's animportant thing to

847
00:33:49,118 --> 00:33:51,735
do. But you know morethan that. If if

848
00:33:51,735 --> 00:33:53,770
you're single, youneed to know you're

849
00:33:53,770 --> 00:33:56,096
not second class. Youknow, if God has

850
00:33:56,096 --> 00:33:58,421
another track foryou, it's a good one.

851
00:33:58,421 --> 00:34:00,747
And it's also one ofself discovery. But

852
00:34:00,747 --> 00:34:03,654
the church is a placeto find it. You know,

853
00:34:03,654 --> 00:34:05,980
a church is a placewhere gender also

854
00:34:05,980 --> 00:34:08,729
comes into play. Itmatters. And that's

855
00:34:08,729 --> 00:34:11,032
also where we findout that we're men,

856
00:34:11,032 --> 00:34:11,896
we're and we're

857
00:34:11,896 --> 00:34:14,037
women. I'll tell you

858
00:34:14,037 --> 00:34:16,581
work that way. Forme, when I was

859
00:34:16,581 --> 00:34:18,806
single, the churchwas very important in

860
00:34:18,806 --> 00:34:20,078
helping me learn to

861
00:34:20,078 --> 00:34:22,316
express myself. And

862
00:34:22,316 --> 00:34:24,126
learn what it was to

863
00:34:24,126 --> 00:34:26,298
be a man, to find out

864
00:34:26,298 --> 00:34:29,108
who I was. In a

865
00:34:29,108 --> 00:34:31,040
gendered way. Soyou're important to

866
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,939
me. You know, you'rein the image of God

867
00:34:33,939 --> 00:34:36,193
and, and, and Iunderstand that the

868
00:34:36,193 --> 00:34:39,092
church is one of themain places for you

869
00:34:39,092 --> 00:34:41,024
to be exploring yourgender identity.

870
00:34:43,114 --> 00:34:45,766
And so that's numbertwo. Number three,

871
00:34:45,766 --> 00:34:47,281
friends, one more. We

872
00:34:47,281 --> 00:34:49,176
need as a church to

873
00:34:49,176 --> 00:34:51,070
embrace people whostruggle with

874
00:34:51,070 --> 00:34:53,343
same-sex attractions. We need to. And

875
00:34:53,343 --> 00:34:55,616
that's why we'revolunteering at the

876
00:34:55,616 --> 00:34:58,472
Bailey House. Youknow, that's why

877
00:34:58,472 --> 00:35:00,314
we're wanting to togive to.

878
00:35:02,684 --> 00:35:04,823
To the Aaron DiamondAIDS Research Center,

879
00:35:04,823 --> 00:35:07,686
it's because. When

880
00:35:07,686 --> 00:35:09,658
you embrace someone,you take on their

881
00:35:09,658 --> 00:35:12,550
problems as yourproblems. So the

882
00:35:12,550 --> 00:35:14,881
problems of the gaycommunity are our

883
00:35:14,881 --> 00:35:15,214
problems.

884
00:35:17,674 --> 00:35:20,449
And so we need to bedoing in all these

885
00:35:20,449 --> 00:35:22,738
different ways. What

886
00:35:22,738 --> 00:35:25,285
we can to assistthese people, it's

887
00:35:25,285 --> 00:35:27,832
certainly not turningthem away. It's a

888
00:35:27,832 --> 00:35:29,287
heart, aheartbreaking story

889
00:35:29,287 --> 00:35:31,834
of Josh and Josh'sfriend there because

890
00:35:31,834 --> 00:35:34,381
I think it's theexperience of many

891
00:35:34,381 --> 00:35:37,150
people. We need

892
00:35:37,150 --> 00:35:38,132
to offer compassion

893
00:35:38,132 --> 00:35:40,168
to the confused. We

894
00:35:40,168 --> 00:35:42,520
need to assist thosewho struggle to walk

895
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:44,871
with them, to explorewith them what it

896
00:35:44,871 --> 00:35:47,222
means to follow Jesuswhen you have this

897
00:35:47,222 --> 00:35:49,280
struggle and youmaybe want to change

898
00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,043
and you getabsolutely no support

899
00:35:51,043 --> 00:35:51,925
from your culture.

900
00:35:54,025 --> 00:35:56,058
To affirm to themthat God does not

901
00:35:56,058 --> 00:35:58,092
tell you and give youcommands that are

902
00:35:58,092 --> 00:36:00,891
impossible to keep. That there is hope.

903
00:36:00,891 --> 00:36:02,198
Where he commands, he

904
00:36:02,198 --> 00:36:04,901
empowers. And

905
00:36:04,901 --> 00:36:07,592
to help those peoplewho want to be

906
00:36:07,592 --> 00:36:09,275
following Christ'steaching aboutintimate

907
00:36:09,275 --> 00:36:11,293
relationships, givethem a place where

908
00:36:11,293 --> 00:36:12,302
they can reaffirm

909
00:36:12,302 --> 00:36:14,649
their gender. Help

910
00:36:14,649 --> 00:36:16,493
them stand against

911
00:36:16,493 --> 00:36:17,722
defining themselves

912
00:36:17,722 --> 00:36:19,565
by their desires.

913
00:36:20,665 --> 00:36:23,284
To know that the bodyof Christ really does

914
00:36:23,284 --> 00:36:23,575
care.

915
00:36:26,355 --> 00:36:28,870
And that's why, youknow, finally, that's

916
00:36:28,870 --> 00:36:31,386
why we asked thequestion, are you

917
00:36:31,386 --> 00:36:34,338
game?And we're

918
00:36:34,338 --> 00:36:36,445
going to be havingmore discussion

919
00:36:36,445 --> 00:36:38,903
downstairs about thisgame is our gender

920
00:36:38,903 --> 00:36:41,335
affirming ministry. Ensemble.

921
00:36:44,655 --> 00:36:45,894
That's, that's,that's because,

922
00:36:45,894 --> 00:36:48,061
friends, somebody inthe city needs to

923
00:36:48,061 --> 00:36:50,538
stand up and say,come here, you have

924
00:36:50,538 --> 00:36:52,396
an alternative hereat the village

925
00:36:52,396 --> 00:36:54,873
church. And you mightsay, well, well, you

926
00:36:54,873 --> 00:36:56,422
know, this is acontroversial

927
00:36:56,422 --> 00:36:58,899
subject. Why shouldwe be doing this? Why

928
00:36:58,899 --> 00:37:01,686
do we need to do it?Because we can.

929
00:37:02,636 --> 00:37:05,591
Friends, we have thethe the theological

930
00:37:05,591 --> 00:37:08,546
weight here to beable to provide

931
00:37:08,546 --> 00:37:10,656
reasonable answersfor the questions

932
00:37:10,656 --> 00:37:13,611
that culture isasking. And we have

933
00:37:13,611 --> 00:37:15,931
the heart. Of more

934
00:37:15,931 --> 00:37:18,474
than one man in thevillage church who

935
00:37:18,474 --> 00:37:20,699
struggles, for whomthis is a struggle,

936
00:37:20,699 --> 00:37:22,606
knows what thestruggle is about.

937
00:37:24,956 --> 00:37:27,869
And we also have theheart, I think, in

938
00:37:27,869 --> 00:37:30,135
all of us awillingness now to

939
00:37:30,135 --> 00:37:31,106
live for others.

940
00:37:34,616 --> 00:37:36,979
We have Jesus Christ,friends. We have it

941
00:37:36,979 --> 00:37:38,456
all. That's why wecan.

942
00:37:41,026 --> 00:37:44,008
So let me encourageyou, think upon these

943
00:37:44,008 --> 00:37:45,871
things as we come to

944
00:37:45,871 --> 00:37:48,853
the table, enter intothe love of God's

945
00:37:48,853 --> 00:37:51,090
creative gifts, andknow yourself. Amen.

946
00:37:51,090 --> 00:37:53,326
Would you pleasestand with me?