By WordExplain

Introduction:

             1.           In whose likeness did God propose to create man (Gen. 1:26) and proceed to do so (Gen. 1:27)?

             2.          In what way did God create man like himself? (Caution: It is not a physical likeness, for God is essentially spirit (John 4:24). It must have some other meaning.)

             3.          How does God’s resolve to create man in His own likeness relate to the statements in the text of Gen. 1:26 and 28?

A.       Paradise Perfected

             1.           God placed Adam, the first man, in a near-perfect environment. But God said there was something that was not good about Adam's environment. Gen 2:18

                           a.          God is a social being.

                           b.          Since God created man in His own image He made man a social being.

                           c.          APPLICATION: God made man to exist in a meaningful relationship with Him and also with other people.

             2.          What, in this passage, is the first reason for which God created woman? Gen. 2:18a

             3.          What, in this passage, is the second reason for which God created woman? Gen. 2:18b

             4.          What is a third reason for which God created woman (implied elsewhere in Gen. 1:28a)?

B.       What Is Marriage?

             1.           It is A UNION. Genesis 2:24

                           a.          Who is united in a marriage?

                           b.          What family unit is left to create a marriage?

                           c.          How is the union described?

             2.          It is AN UNCONDITIONAL UNION. Gen. 2:24

                           a.          Are there any conditions attached to this union?

                           b.          Did God provide for a termination of this union?

             3.          It is A DIVINELY-BONDED UNION. Gen. 2:18-22, 24

                           a.          God planned it. Gen. 2:18-20

                           b.          God brought it into existence. Gen. 2:21-22

                           c.          God actually joins two people together into one flesh. Gen. 2:24; Matthew 19:6b

                           d.          Jesus stated that, in a marriage, God joins a man and woman together. Since God has joined the two together, what does Jesus exhort man NOT to do? Matt. 19:6b

             4.          It is A UNION OF MALE AND FEMALE. Gen. 1:26, 27

                           a.          Can two men ever make a marriage?

                           b.          Can two women ever make a marriage?

             5.          It is a UNION OF ONE MALE AND ONE FEMALE. Gen. 2:22-24

                           a.          Does God’s design promote pre-marital sex?

                           b.          Does God’s design promote adultery?

                           c.          Does God’s design promote polygamy

                           d.          Does God’s design promote promiscuity?

             6.          It is a LIFE-LONG UNION. Gen. 2:18-25

                           a.          Did God’s design include a Trial Marriage?

                           b.          Did God’s design include Divorce? (See also Matt. 19:2-8)

                           c.          Did God’s design include Death?

             7.          It is a UNION INITIATED BY ONE PERSON. Gen. 2:24

                           a.          What is God’s design as to who proposes marriage?

                           b.          What is God’s design as to who responds to the proposal of marriage?

             8.          It is an INDEPENDENT UNION. Genesis 2:24

                           a.          What independence does God mandate in a marriage?

                           b.          Upon marriage, a wife’s primary loyalty switches from her ___________ to her ____________.

             9.          It is a UNION IN WHICH THE WIFE, AS COMPANION, ASSISTS HER HUSBAND IN DOING WHAT? Gen. 1:27-28. (In addition to reproducing themselves, a wife is to assist her husband ... )

                           a.          In doing what with the earth?

                           b.          In ruling over what?

The Main Idea: If you want your marriage to succeed, you must view marriage the way God does!

Study 3, Paradise Perfected

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-25; Matt. 19:2-8

Prepared by James T. Bartsch

Originally published January, 2008. Updated November 2, 2018

Published online by WordExplain.com

Email Contact: jbartsch@wordexplain.com

Bible quotations and Bible Study questions are based upon the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. (www.Lockman.org)

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WordExplain by James T. Bartsch

(Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.  Used by Permission.)