God’s Design and Purpose in the Creation of Man and the Marital Union
by: Rebecca R. Brown
Humanity’s sexuality was designed by God. It is an intricate part of each human being. It will not be ignored, nor should it be. However, it should be understood in light of God’s purpose and design.
God is not haphazard in the things that He does. He acts with purpose and is meticulously detailed in His design, leaving nothing to chance. He never threw a bunch of stars or planets into the sky to see where they would go. He made certain things for specific purposes, to fulfill a plan which He had before He began the creation of our world. What He did do is utterly amazing. Our solar system is an incredible system created by an extraordinarily loving God, who saw to it that everything was in perfect order before there was life on planet Earth before He created man in His own image and placed him here to live in peace.
What is peace?
According to Webster's 1913 Dictionary, it is –
Peace =... to make an agreement …
A state of quiet or tranquility, freedom from disturbance or agitation; calm; repose; …
God’s divine plan for all things is for all to work in harmony – the absence of war for
1. mind and will
2. body and soul
3. physical body as opposed to sickness
4. man and life
5 family
6. man and God
7. God and man
The peace that God intended for His man would be for all things to function after His intended order or arrangement. Man has caused himself many discomforts and problems by not following God’s plan or obeying His voice. Consider how beautifully He set our world in order. Before man sinned against God, the atmosphere was perfect and the vegetation on earth did not even need rain in order to receive the moisture it needed to live and grow.
Genesis 2:5+6 … for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
mist - ( in the sense of enveloping); a fog:– mist, vapor (Strong’s Exhaustive Con.)
from - prop. a part of; hence (prep.) from out of in many senses … (Strong’s Exhaustive Con.)
One can imagine that with mist, or moisture coming up out of the earth, that the roots of the plants would receive moisture even before it was seen on the surface of the land. Today farmers depend on rain to fall from the sky and hope and pray there will be enough to soak down far enough into the earth to reach the roots so that the plants will be able to live and grow. Imagine what a difference there would be if all things worked according to the original design of Father God!
What of the creation of man? Would not man function best if he too functioned according to his maker’s original design and purpose?
Man was created to be the image of God; a reflection of Him. Scripture tells us that man is the glory of God.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1 Cor. 11:7 – For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: …
So, in the beginning, God set out to create man in His own image; man who would be the glory of God.
But what is God like?
In what way is man His reflection?
The word ‘God’ in Genesis 1:26 is the word elohiym; el-o-heem.’ It is the plural of the word elowahh, which means ‘God.’ Elohiym then, shows the plurality of God.
Deut. 6:4 Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.
If we look at the original Hebrew words that these were translated from, we can better see the plurality of the one and only, true and living God. The word, 'Lord' comes from the word Yehovah, which originally was without vowels and was most sacred. It means – (the) self-Existent or Eternal: Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: - Jehovah, the Lord. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
The word ‘God’ here, is - the word Elohiym. (Strong’s)
The word ‘one’ is - echad; a numeral from achad, prop. united, that is, one; or (as an
ordinal) first …. (Strong’s)
Considering the meanings of the words in this verse, we might see it as saying - Hear O Israel, our self-Existent, plural God, is united (one), Yehovah.
While such a God may be hard to fathom, can you imagine what it would be like to create a reflection of this God? But He did so when He created man!
Genesis 1:27 So God created man (a human being [Strong’s]) in his own image, in the image of God (elohiym [plural]) created he him, male and female created he them.
Now go with me to look at how God did this.
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
First, God formed man out of the dust of the ground. Before He breathed into his nostrils, he was man! But he was a man without life. He was an amazing body consisting of everything he needed but with no life with which to activate or motivate him. Look at the awesomeness of the human body with a heart only slightly larger than a human fist that beats some 80,000 - 100,000 times a day and pumps about 2,000 gallons every day. There is a small intestine, coiled in the center of the abdominal cavity that is approx. 20 feet long, not to mention the large intestine.
We are told - https://www.fi.edu/heart/its-alive that – “Each drop of blood is full of living red and white blood cells that deliver essential elements and remove harmful waste.”
There is the brain, that is like a magnificent computer. There are many essential organs and so much more. We understand that every organ has its own significant role to play in the health and well-being of the body. If any organ is misused or abused it can be harmful to the body and in some cases can bring about death.
Yet we understand that none of the internal organs would have operated without the breath of God bringing Adam’s body to life and setting it in motion.
When God breathed His very own breath, the breath of life, into Adam, this man became a living soul. Notice it does not say that he was not a man before God breathed into him. It does not say that the soul was the real person and the body just a house for him to live in. It does not say that there was a soul waiting for a body to live in. Though many such ideas have been considered and some believed, it is not what the Word of God says. We are told here in Genesis that when God breathed into the man’s nostrils, he became a living soul.
living - chay; alive, hence raw (flesh; flesh …) (Strong’s)
soul - nephesh; prop. a breathing creature (Strong’s)
The man that God had created became a living, breathing creature, the moment he received God’s breath of life! His flesh came to life as well as his mind. This first human, Adam, was created in the image of Father God, in that he was created with the ability to ‘father.’ But - the image of Elohiym was not yet complete!
The Word of God went on to say, “male and female created he them.” God, is a composite. That is to say -
1: made up of distinct parts or elements - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/composite
This being so, His image would also require the same. This is reflected in the human body which, as has been said, is made up of various parts all making up one complete body. But let us look at how God made His image and what this has to do with sexuality.
Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him
Genesis 2:20 … but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him.
Verse 18 is a key verse of great importance. It tells us that it was not good for the man to be alone and it tells us specifically God did to remedy the situation. It tells us that God said he was going to make an aid or help for Adam. The steps He took to do this had great purpose and significance.
There has been great misunderstanding based on this word ‘found.’ It was translated from the Hebrew – matsa; mean. prop. to come forth to, that is, appear or exist …. It is not suggesting that God and Adam looked all over the place and just couldn’t find a help meet that was suitable or that would please and satisfy Adam. It is telling us that a help mate for Adam did not yet exist. She had not yet ‘come forth,’ for God had a plan to create her from Adam’s own body. God already knew what He had planned to do even before He began creating the Earth.
Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Heb. 4:3 … although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Keep in mind that God’s intention was to create His own image. So, He began the process which He had planned from the beginning
Genesis 2:21 - 24 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and He slept: and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman, and brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother. and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The first thing we are told that God did, was to put the man to sleep. Adam had to submit himself into the hands of God, trusting himself and his life to God, in order to receive his bride. One day, in the future, Jesus would submit himself into the hands of His Father and be put to death, in order to receive His bride.
We can see many representations of the work of our Lord and Savior, in the process of creating the woman, including Adam’s sleep. Adam was put to sleep and interestingly, in the New Testament, Christians who died were referred to as being asleep; those who sleep in Christ. When a child of God dies, it is known that he will get up again, so sleep is a good description of his condition.
So, Adam being put to sleep is representative of the death Christ would suffer in order to receive a bride. While Adam slept God opened his side and took out a rib. It does not say a piece of a rib, but a rib.
While Jesus was on the cross His side was opened, and he shed blood. Not one of His bones were broken. As far as we know not one of Adam’s bones were broken in the process of the creation of his bride, but one was removed. Adam would say, after he was awakened, that the woman was both bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. Apparently, some of Adam’s flesh was taken to be used in making the woman.
Verse 21 tells us that God “closed up the flesh instead thereof.” In Hebrew, the words ‘closed up” is the word - ‘cagar,’ meaning to shut up; figuratively - to surrender: close up, deliver (up) … The meaning suggests that God actually opened Adam’s flesh. He did not supernaturally remove it without an operation. Rather He put him to sleep and opened him up. If we took the meaning “to surrender up or to deliver up,” He might then be saying that Adam surrendered a piece of his flesh to the Lord to be used in creating his bride. The blood is in the flesh. The life of the flesh is in the blood.
Leviticus 17:14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof:... for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof:...
So, Adam shed blood in order to receive a bride that would truly be a part of himself. He gave lifeblood, or flesh with life in it. And the reason Adam’s flesh had life in it is because God had breathed that life into him.
Jesus would one day shed His blood in order to receive a bride for himself. Adam shed blood to receive his wife. After this, women would shed blood when the hymen was broken in intercourse. She would shed blood in order to receive her husband. Intercourse was never to happen without the covenant of marriage. I believe we can this to be a serious blood covenant.
Now here is something to consider.
Genesis 2:21 - …he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
flesh 1320 basar; flesh (from it’s freshness); by exten. body, person; also (by euphemism) the pudenda of a man: – …
Pudenda n. pl. ["., from pudendus that which one ought to be ashamed.] (anat.) the external organs of generation. [1913 Webster]
instead 8478 – tachath; the bottom (as depressed); only adv. below (often with prep. pref. underneath), in lieu of, etc:- as, beneath, …
If the words ‘closed up,’ means to ‘surrender up’ - could we be being told that Adam surrendered up flesh (‘instead thereof’ or from beneath) from the pudenda or genitals? Might this be the foreskin since one of the meanings for ‘flesh’ can be a euphemism, for the pudenda, or the genitals? If it was, then Adam would have shed blood from that which would be joined to his wife, as woman later would shed blood when first receiving her husband in sexual intercourse. If so, this could also be a clue as to why circumcision was chosen as the sign of the covenant between God and His people, Israel. This could be a symbol of two becoming one flesh. It would also mean that woman was made from that which covered the most intimate part of the man. (Something to consider!)
When Adam saw his wife for the first time, he was looking at his own rib, his own flesh, and his own blood likely flowed through that flesh, - Adam’s blood. While woman was indeed an individual, yet at the same time, she was a very real part of her husband. They truly were one flesh.
Now Adam, being created by God, had never seen a marriage before. He had never seen a human father and mother together nor witnessed human birth. Yet with knowledge and understanding, he made this statement, upon seeing the woman “… This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
When Adam first saw Eve, he knew what had taken place while he slept. He also knew that after this, God would not be putting every individual male to sleep to perform the same operation on them in order to receive a wife. He knew that children would come by means of the marital union of man and wife and that in due time a man should leave his parents and, by choice, join himself to one woman. He was to cleave to his wife and the two of them were to be considered literally one flesh.
To cleave, according to the Hebrew, is to – impinge, that is, cling or adhere …. There was a reason for this. Adam said “… Therefore shall a man …” Therefore - or because of the way God had taken Eve out of Adam and created her out of his own bone and flesh, that is to say, because God made the two of them to be one, which is in the likeness and image of God, every man after this is to view himself and his wife in the same manner.
God could have simply taken some dirt and created the woman in the way he had created Adam. But he chose to go through this intricate process in making the woman, for a reason. This reason had to do with the image of Himself that he was creating. If this is not understood and/or is overlooked or cast aside as unimportant, something of great importance is lost.
God had said that it was not good for the man to be alone, or that is, incomplete.
Now, we need to back and take a closer look at what God said about it not being good for man to be alone. The word ‘Alone,’ in the Greek, means something quite different than it does in the English language. ‘Alone’ - (Greek, Strong’s) – bad; prop. separation; by impl. a part of the body …. It was not good for Adam to be only a part of the body, but not yet completed, so what did God do? He created something to solve this problem. He created the thing that would complete the man and thus complete the image of God which man was meant to be. He created a woman to accomplish this!
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
In the creation of Adam is the evidence that God knew before he created him, that he would be creating a help that was suitable for him, who would complete him and the image of God. Adam was in the image of Father God, in that he was made with the ability to ‘father.’ He had all of his reproduction organs and was wired to respond to a woman before he had even laid eyes on one.
How do we know that it was woman he was meant to respond to? Because it was specifically a woman who God created to be his help meet, to complete him and receive his seed. There is no place provided in the male body, to receive seed. There was no other creation that was created to fulfill this purpose. Adam had the ability to unite with one other being who would complete him. This physical connection was to be through the physical union of two parts that when coming together would make one whole.
Adam had the ability to give seed, but there was no one to receive it and no garden for it to be planted in. He had all of his reproduction organs. The muscles, nerves, and blood vessels were all in working order to produce penile erection and the giving of seeds, capable of beginning new life when absorbed by a female ovum. All this was a part of Adam before his help mate appeared on the scene, because God had His plan set before he made Adam. He had known the end from the beginning. When Adam did see the mate that God had created for him, out of his own body, he saw the vessel for which these things were created; the vessel to carry his seed; in whom was the garden for it to be planted in; the incubator to hold it, and the vessel to nurture and protect it until it came forth as new life! He saw his counterpart; that which completed him.
1 Thes. 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.
1 Peter 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife … that your prayers be not hindered.
Not only did God create this vessel for a specific purpose, but the scriptures tell us that every man – not only some men – but every man – was to know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor and to live with them according to knowledge. He does not suggest that there may be alternatives to God's plan and design, but there was a need for knowledge and understanding, which is greatly lacking in our society today.
God prepared this vessel perfectly, including every minute detail. Even the entrance to man’s garden was prepared with specific care and honor for both the man and the woman, who were one. The woman was created with a vagina that is self-cleansing, which will self-lubricate during sexual arousal, in order to reduce friction, when she receives the male penis. It cleanses itself to receive the man and his seed.
According to www.atihealth.net.com – “During sexual excitement, droplets of fluid appear along the vaginal walls and eventually cover the sides of the vagina completely. The vaginal tissue does not contain any secretory glands itself, but is loaded with blood vessels, which when engorged as a result of sexual arousal, press against the tissue, forcing natural tissue fluids through the walls of the vagina.”
What amazing design by a loving and perfect God! Yes, every detail was planned and set in order for the union of the male and female, when God created man! Adam’s help mate was created perfectly to receive and unite with him! Nothing was left to chance! When Adam woke from sleep and saw his help mate, he knew what God had done, the purpose of what had been done, and what it was to mean in the future.
Genesis 2:23+24 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Notice that there was no question in Adam’s mind as to what was to take place from that time on. He stated as fact, that after this a man ‘shall’ - not might want to, or might make the choice to, or might like the idea of, or find this to be one option of many - but ‘SHALL’ leave his father and mother and cleave, or that is, glue to or attach himself to his wife and the two; the man and his wife, the male and the female, would be one flesh. It was not necessary for God to tell us that He does not mean for animal and man, male and male or female and female to become one flesh, for He clearly stated what was to be. He was very clear when he stated that a man and his wife were to be joined together and become one flesh.
IF GOD HAS SAID HOW IT IS TO BE – IT IS ENOUGH!
Matt. 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.
What did God join together? Male and female, man and wife!
Notice it says, “no more” and these are not hard words to understand - not ever again! Do you notice that the union of the man and woman is said here to be something that God has done? It was He who joined them together. Again, it is shown, that this was God’s own design and plan and that He takes it very seriously. Why? Well for one very good reason, this was HIS image; HIS reflection on the earth. When God created man in his own image, male and female created he them! He was not going to approve a breaking up or distortion of His own image! Take a look at Genesis 5:1+2 –
1 This is the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God
(Elohiym) made he him. 2 Male and female created he them, and blessed them and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
On the day that God created man, he created them male and female and called both of them by one name – Adam! Some Bible translations have left out the words “called their name” and just said something like “called them man, or human, or mankind. But I consider this a dangerous error. In the Hebrew, the word for ‘name’ is shem; … through the idea of definite and conspicuous position; ...]; an appellation, as a mark of individuality; by impl. honor, …
According to the dictionary, appellation is – 1. The act of appealing; appeal 2. the act of calling by name 3. the word by which a particular person or thing is called and known; name; title; designation. [1913 Webster] It seems that God was not just speaking of humankind in general but was calling the man and the woman by a particular name that would identify them, and that name was Adam. In other words, God called them both, who were one flesh, by only one name in the beginning.
It was a mark of individuality, as God saw them as one. This word ‘name’ is the same word used in Genesis 16:15, when Abram called his son’s name Ishmael. It is important to see the truth of this and to understand the extent that God considered the man and his wife to be one. I am not making too much of too little. Too often people have made too little of much. It is not wise to always skim over what is written in the Word of God. We need to take time to look closely at what is being said.
It was after the woman sinned that we read that Adam called his wife by a name separate from his own. Indeed because of sin, even today, husbands and wives often seek more for individual recognition, than the joining together as one, and self-denial for the love of their spouse.
Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Again, in Mark, God’s intention is made known.
Mark 10:8 And they twain (two) shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
This agrees with what is written in Ephesians chapter 5.
Eph. 5:28+29 – “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh …”
Again, we see how serious God takes the marital union. Remember the marriage was to reflect the image of God.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one.
John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
First God created man in His image, the two to be one, as God the Father and Jesus Christ are one. Later, after salvation was brought by Jesus Christ, God called all those who were redeemed, his body and called for a oneness, or that is, to be unified; - each member as being part of the body of Christ; individual members a part of each other in Christ. Both were to have the Holy Spirit in their lives.
The truth of the Godhead; who is a composite yet singular God, who is the one and only true and living God, can be seen reflected in all of creation, but especially in the way He created man; male and female created He them!
Am I saying then, that God is both male and female? Not in the sense that we know it. Remember we are a reflection, not an exact duplicate. There are things in the make-up of feminine man that reflect certain aspects of God and His character to a greater degree and things in the make-up of the male that reflects other aspects of God to a greater degree. One alone is an incomplete image. But when the two are joined together there is a more complete whole and reflection of God.
There is blessing and there is peace in following God, honoring Him, His Word and His will. His will is seen when we look at what He did in the beginning; how and what He created. Walking in His Spirit, and his will, according to His plan and design, brings peace, for we are not at war with how He set things in motion.
Can you imagine, however, how Satan must have felt upon seeing God create an image of Himself and then to give them dominion over all the earth? Satan had tried to lift himself above God but failed. Now a position of authority and power is handed to the man without any effort on his part. Satan desires to rule, without seeing the image of God at every turn; having to watch him have what he wants for himself! It is no wonder he set about quickly to put a stop to both the image and the dominion! He is still working hard to keep mankind from understanding God or man’s purpose and power in Christ. Many have turned from God’s plan to live their own way, rejecting God and His design. Some do not even understand what they are doing, why it is wrong, nor the insult it is to God to pervert His image. But consider what happens when a man goes against the plan of God. This is vital information that Satan has hidden from multitudes.
Romans 1:7, 16-28 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
You may not be in Rome, but are you beloved of God? Are you called to be a saint of God? Grace to you! Peace to you! This grace is, in the Greek, charis; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstr. or concr.; lit. or fig. or especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude. May you have the peace of God and His divine influence upon your heart and may His influence be reflected in your life!
16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and to the Greek.
17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith. (Note; - The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ!)
18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
The wrath of God is revealed against all unrighteousness and ungodliness.
Wrath = (Greek) orge, or-gay’; prop desire (as reaching forth or excitement of the mind), that is, (by anal.) violent passion (ire, or [justifiable] abhorrence); by impl. punishment:- anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath.
ungodliness = asebeia, as-eb’-i-a; impiety, that is, (by impl.) wickedness: – ungodly (-ness).
impiety = 1. The quality of being impious; irreverence toward the Supreme Being; ungodliness; wickedness. [1913 Webster]
hold = katecho, kat-ekh’-o; to hold down (fast), in various applications (lit. or fig.): – … possess, retain, … withhold.
WHY?
19. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shown it unto them.
20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
manifest = (Greek) phaneroo, fan-er-o’-o; to render apparent (lit. or fig.):- appear, manifestly declare, (make) manifest (forth), shew (self).
When a person does not show reverence and respect to God, this is ungodliness. Such an attitude and behavior result in the wrath of God. Wrath is more than being a little displeased but bespeaks of violent passion, abhorrence, vengeance, and punishment. What is it that stirs God so? It is the fact that man has the evidence of God and His power manifest or made known ‘in’ him and yet lives ungodly and unrighteously.
The evidence of how the human body is to function can be seen and understood. God's design is there, and the purpose is known. A physician can affirm the purposes of our body, whether Christian or not. Yes, the truth of God is right there inside of each of us! It is in our make-up. God and His eternal power; the things of God that we cannot see with our eyes, can be clearly seen and understood by the very things God has made; even the things from the creation of the world! So, there is no excuse to be irreverent toward God and to live with disrespect toward Him!
The invisible things of God are clearly seen and understood by the things that He made! We have already seen how God made man in His image in the beginning, and now we are told that what may be known of God is ‘in’ man. God wrote a story of himself in us!
Romans 1:21-27Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
23. And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Notice it does not say that they had no understanding from the start, but contrariwise, they did know, but their heart became darkened. The truth of God is written within us, even if we have been told a lie that seemed very persuasive! Even if we search for reasons to believe something contrary to His truth.
24 Wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
uncleanness = (Greek) akatharsia, ak-ath-ar-see’-ah; impurity (the quality) phys. or mor.: uncleaness.
Where did this lust come from? Their own hearts.
Man changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man.
We have seen in 1 Cor. 11:7 that man is the glory of God. The eternal power and Godhead is to be seen in what God has made and He has made man in His image! Man is a reflection, an image, not an exact duplicate. When man is seen, a reflection of God is to be seen. If you change the image, you cause a distorted and untrue picture to be seen. But man took it upon himself to change the glory of the incorruptible God.
What foolish pride to try to change the glory of the incorruptible God - into something on man’s level and of his own making, rather than to recognize the image of God that He has placed in us and to glorify Him for the magnificence of what He has done and for WHO HE IS!
25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Who changed the truth of God into a lie! Do you hear the scriptures? This is exactly what perversion is! Pervert = To change something from its correct use or original purpose: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/pervert
Do you hear the scripture? Some may say that homosexual behavior is a private matter and hurts no one - or - no one but the participants. But this is a matter between God and the man He
created. These actions are calling God a liar! It is serving-self - man creating his own gods; worshiping what was created rather than God himself! When a person says, “God may have made it that way, but I want to go another way,” he is rebelling against God Himself.
Of course, the truth will always be the truth. We have heard it said that someone has twisted our words or changed what we have said. What was said, was said. This cannot really be changed. But it can be misrepresented or lied about. Man has taken it upon himself to turn away from the true image of God as is to be seen in the marital union of man and woman and to proclaim that it is just as acceptable; that it is justifiable to have union, man with man or woman with woman, thus changing the truth; perverting the image, - changing the truth of who? Changing the truth of God into a lie!
This is giving oneself a position above God, His divine plan, will, and purpose! If you had a beautiful portrait of your late mother, who was a refined, modest lady, hanging in your house; a picture that expressed, not only her physical beauty but also seemed to reflect the loving, caring person she had been, you would not appreciate someone coming in and altering the picture. If someone were to paint a bottle of whiskey in her hand, a cigarette hanging from her lip, rips in her dress and hair in her face, you would likely be furious! Not only had the picture been destroyed, but the character and heart of your mother slandered. Her image was perverted!
But for man, the image of God is to be reflected in himself. To pervert that image is serving-self over God. We find that in the worship of other gods, that are not Jehovah God, often homosexual activities have been involved. As they chose not to honor the creator, they defiled His image in their heathen worship. An article on connelodonovan.com says this – The worship of Horned Apollo includes ecstatic naked dancing and feats of acrobatics (including an early form of two-man ritual volleyball with a bright purple ball!) followed by sex performed by young men.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, concerning homosexuality in ancient Greece – in classic antiquity writers such as Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Athenaeus, and many others explored aspects of same-sex love in ancient Greece. The wide-spread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece were between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys, known as pederasty. (However, marriages in Ancient Greece between men and women were also age structured, with men in their 30s commonly taking wives in their early teens.) Though homosexual relationships between adult men did exist, at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role. It is unclear how such relations between women were regarded in general society, but examples do exist as far back as the time of Sappho.
Rom. 1:26. For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
change = (Greek) - , met-al-las’-so; to exchange: – change.
natural = (Greek) - phusikos, foo-see-kos’; “physical”, that is (by impl.) instinctive: – natural.
use = (Greek) - cabak; chersis, Khray’-sis; employment, that is (specially) sexual intercourse (as an occupation of the body): – use
nature = (Greek) - phusis, foo’-sis; growth (by germination or expansion), that is, (by impl.) natural production (lineal descent); by extens. a genus or sort; fig. native disposition, constitution or usage: – ([man-]) kind, nature ([-al]).
Here a person might be quick to say that natural use would be that which is natural or instinctive to an individual. So then, if homosexuality is natural to a person, it is acceptable. But in truth, the scripture is saying quite the opposite, for it is speaking of women – exchanging - a natural use for something that is against nature. What should have been natural to them is rejected and they have embraced an alternative lifestyle.
It must always be accepted when speaking of ‘nature’ - scripturally speaking - that God is the basis for all truth. Nature must be understood to be (as seen in the definition) the natural, or that is, God-given production: what God himself produced, that is, designed and created. Otherwise, there is no foundation for truth at all.
A serial rapist can say that raping victims comes naturally to him. Whatever a person gives himself over to and makes a habit of doing may come to seem natural to him. This can be especially so if it was developed as a child. If a tiny child learns to lie and gets by with it, after he is grown, he may never remember a time when he did not lie and so say that it is natural to him. But God did not create us to lie.
If a person is abused at a very young age, when he is older, he may not be able to remember what he was like before this happened to him. Though he may become shy and fearful, he may have once been light-hearted and confident before the abuse took place. However, he may not be able to remember ever feeling joyful or confident.
God is obviously speaking of an exchange. There was something that was natural, or according to the design of God in the woman’s very body, but she decided to exchange that for something that was not. God created the woman to receive the man physically and the seed of the man. He stated that her union was to be with man; that they were to cease being two and become one. Her body naturally produces ovum that are ready to unite with the sperm of the man, then be planted in her womb, thus treasuring and valuing the seed of man and life itself. This is the design of God and so it is natural and fitting to her design.
If she exchanges this natural use, for something else, turning away from the male to find sexual pleasure in another way, she is going against nature, or, that is to say, against God’s own design and purpose. There are Lesbians who desire to carry a child in their womb and have children of their own, even though they have rejected the natural use of the man. It is a part of their natural makeup to desire children. Some will get with a man just for the purpose of receiving his seed and having a child. Others will adopt a child. While she rejects the male as a partner, she cannot altogether ignore the design of the creator, for without the man she cannot bear a child! The result of women leaving the natural use of the man was that God gave them up to vile affections. A lesbian may want the seed of the man so that she can become pregnant and bear a child, but her affection is not for him. Her affections have become vile. God gave them over = (Greek) paradidomi; to surrender, that is, yield up, ….
What did he yield them up to? Vile affections. Vile = (Greek) atimia; infamy, that is comparative indignity, (obj.) disgrace: – dishonour, reproach, shame, vile.
Affections = (Greek) pathos; prop. suffering, (“pathos”), that is (subj.) a passion (espec. concupiscence): – (inordinate) affection, lust.
God surrendered them over to passions, lust, suffering, and inordinate affections, that were vile, or that is, shameful.
Inordinate In-or-di-nate. … Not limited to rules prescribed, or to usual bounds; irregular; excessive; immoderate; as, an inordinate love of the world. [1913 Webster]
Merriam-Webster – definition of inordinate = 1. archaic: disorderly, unregulated 2. exceeding reasonable limits: immoderate
These affections that God gave them up to were ‘inordinate,’ that is, they were not limited to prescribed rules or bounds, which God himself had put in place. They did not honor God or respect His image; the reflection of himself on earth! They were irregular, excessive and immoderate, all of which are opposite of God. Doesn’t this sound like the belief system of our day and age? How many proclaim that they should have no rules or boundaries, but only do as they please, without having to concern themselves with God?
27. And likewise also their men, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another: men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their error which was meet.
Here again, we have the leaving of the God-given, natural use, designed into man’s being, for something other than God’s intention. “Likewise,” or that is, similarly to what the women did, men (Greek arrhen= male) were leaving (Greek aphiemi= … forsake, to lay aside, leave) the natural use of the woman.
It would seem that a person must have a strong need to change the truth of God, or a fear of facing their own true condition, to deny what is clearly written in Genesis about the natural use of the woman, or to deny nature; that which her body is clearly designed for.
No reasoning will change the fact of the woman’s body including her hormones. Any medical doctor can tell us what the womb, vagina, and ovaries etc. are for. To deny these facts is to let your foolish heart be darkened.
But the men being spoken of in these scriptures had chosen to forsake the God-given use of the woman and do something else instead, something of their own choosing. They burned in their lust, man for man.
Burned (Greek) = to inflame deeply: – burn.
Lust (Greek) = excitement of the mind, that is, longing after: lust.
If this was not God’s intended use, then it is an idea that comes from His adversary, who surely must hate the idea of seeing the image of God spread across the earth. Whether through divorce, heterosexual, or homosexual fornication, or worse, he has worked hard at destroying that image; keeping it from ever being seen or understood, and/or perverting it completely. Through assaults on children that confuse their understanding of who they are and what their bodies are meant for, through lies and deception, by pornography and its shocking effect on the human psyche, playing havoc with the emotions, hormones, and mental understanding etc. He has worked diligently to keep the image of God from being known and God himself from being honored.
These men burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and not glorifying God in their bodies, which are supposed to belong to the Lord.
working (Greek) = to work fully, that is, accomplish; by implication, to finish, fashion: – cause, do (deed), perform, work (out).
unseemly (Greek) aschemosune = an indecency; by implication the pudenda: – shame, that which is unseemly.
Merriam-Webster – definition of - pudendum - the external genital organs as a human being and especially of a woman – usually used in plural pudenda.
It is interesting to see that in the definition of the word ‘unseemly’ includes the word pudenda, which is the external genital organs, or organs of generation. They performed, with their pudenda, that which was indeed indecent; that which was against ‘nature;' the design of God.
There is no valuable use for the sperm, in the homosexual act. God’s purpose is set aside, forsaken, left. The life-giving sperm that should be appreciated and respected, for which God had prepared a place, a garden in which to be planted, is, in the homosexual act, discarded as so much waste.
God prepared a self-cleansing place for the male penis to enter and give his seed, but in the homosexual act, again and again, it is thrust into a place God prepared for dung to pass through and be discarded. What a fitting insult to God the creator. It is as if to say, I reject the image that was to be reflected in me, your image. I reject my ability to father. I reject your purpose. I not only disrespect and disregard the life-giving flow you supplied my body with, but I cast it into the place of uncleanness made for dung! I will never honor you or your image with it! No! I will not retain the knowledge of my creator and reflect Him in my body or be the image he created me to be!
Having worked that which is unseemly, or that is, shameful with the pudenda, these men receive in themselves the recompense (compensation) of their error which was meet. They received the compensation that is as it should be.
God’s Word tell us that our body is for the Lord and He is for our body
1Cor. 6:13, 18 +20 … Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
18 Flee fornication …
20. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Yet their bodies, which were for the Lord, in which they were to glorify Him and in which his Spirit was to live, were not used for this purpose. They claimed ownership of their bodies, making themselves their own Gods, honoring their own vile lusts and seeking whatever pleasure they could find. They used their bodies to pervert the image of God while glorifying themselves. The result was -
Romans 1:28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
Notice it does not say that God gave them a reprobate mind. Rather that He surrendered them
to, or yielded them up, to that which they had chosen.
What is a reprobate mind? reprobate = (Greek) unapproved, that is, rejected; by impl. worthless (lit. or moral): – cast away, rejected, reprobate.
The word ‘mind’ here is = (Greek) nous; the intellect, that is, mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will); by implication meaning – mind, understanding.
They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. The word ‘knowledge; here means (Gr.); recognition, that is, (by implication) full discernment, acknowledgment: – (ac) knowledge (-ing – ment). They did not like to retain God in their full discernment or their understanding. Remember that the invisible things of God can be clearly seen by that which is made, and God is manifest ‘in’ us. But these did not like to retain a clear image of God, who and what He is, as represented in the creation of His image – MAN. So, He yielded them up to those things that are not convenient.
There are those who desire to be Christian and to praise and worship God in various ways, while retaining a homosexual identity, or while living in heterosexual fornication. But those who believe they are doing so are deceived. We cannot truly worship and honor a creator, who we refuse to acknowledge for who and what He is.
He is light and light has no fellowship with darkness. Those who have done and lived in the actions described in Romans chapter one, have dishonored God and not been willing, and/or not known how to fully retain Him in their knowledge and have dishonored themselves as well.
It is no wonder that it may be hard for a homosexual to grasp and fully accept the words of scripture as given here, if they have been given over to a mind that is separated from God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They have a mind that on the one hand, is determined to have its own way and be a God unto itself, while still wanting to honor the God of the universe and it cannot be done.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
These are double-minded people who are unstable in all their ways.
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
They are blind because they refuse to perceive God as He is.
Matthew 15:14 … And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Yet anyone who will come into agreement with the Word of God, whether fully understood or not; who will say “Let God be truth and every man a liar” has the opportunity of being healed from unnatural ways they have gone against God.
First, they must agree with God, acknowledge the error of their ways and repent. Then and only then can they be delivered and healed.
This is not to say that all who have lived in error have done so with a conscious intention to go against God, or that they even know how their condition came about. Still, it is vital to come into agreement with God and His Word and humble one’s self before Him, in order to receive forgiveness and deliverance.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come in the presence of the Lord;
The lifestyle a person has lived may have been the result of things done to them at such a young age, they cannot even clearly recall the immediate effect of the act; including the fear, confusion, and pain. When Satan attacks a person, he desires to hurt and win a victory over God. He knows how God loves His creation, and he wants to keep them from comprehending God as He is, or seeing God’s
reflection in themselves and others on the earth.
But God is a supernatural God. It doesn’t matter how much you think you have tried to change, or to the contrary, how much you have attempted to convince yourself that the thoughts and lusts you have, that go against the Word of God, are really acceptable to Him. God remains unchanged, and His Word will endure forever. He is still able to heal, change, and deliver you; to help you become the person you were meant to be. He will help you come to know the real you, you have never yet known. Many have never known who they were really meant to be or how to live free from the bondages which they cannot shake and that have been there for as long as they can remember. Still, God’s ability to restore you has never diminished. He is willing and able to save to the uttermost and to give you the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Heb. 7:25 Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar, as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
AMEN! SO BE IT! PRAISE GOD FOR ALL TIME!
