Family
Over the next week or so I am going to start a series on the family. The family is the cornerstone of society. As the family goes, so goes society. If we want to solve the problems in our nation and in our churches we must first solve the problems in our families. In this first article I want to look at the origin and the purpose of the family. I also want to look at the order of responsibility in the family.
Genesis 1:26-28 gives us the origin of the family: “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. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
There was something different about the creation of man. Mankind was created in the image of God. Note that it says “male and female.” The man and the woman are a matched pair. He did not make some half and half. The design of the family and the first command given shows this. They were to multiply, and through multiplication, replenish the earth. The second purpose for mankind is the dominion over all other creatures.
Man was not spoken into existence like the other creatures. God reached down and formed him out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils. (“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.” Genesis 2:7 )
Man was created before the woman, but man needed the woman to be complete. (“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 2:18)
Many have taken the two words “help meet” and made them into one word. The word “help” means one to assist and lend strength. The word “meet” means one fit, suitable, made especially for. The woman is in no wise inferior to the man, she is his partner.
Genesis 2:21-23 informs us of the very special way that God created the woman: “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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.”
She was formed from Adam’s rib. Although it doesn’t say so, but I think it was a rib from the left side of Adam, the heart side, There is much symbolism in her creation. She was not created from a foot bone so man could walk on her, nor from a head bone so she could lord over him. She was mad from a bone near the heart so man would love and care for his wife.
Man was created to work. He was to dress and keep the garden. Dressing it had to do with the care of the plants. Keeping it meant to build a hedge around it to protect it. Prior to the fall protection would not have been necessary, but God knew what was coming.
Man was given only one restriction. In Genesis 2:17 he was told not to eat of one tree. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” They were allowed to eat the fruit from every other tree, but eating from this one carried a death penalty. The choice of food was beyond our imagination so there was no need for eating from this tree.
The death penalty was twofold. Spiritual death was immediate and physical death followed in due time. We all know the rest of the story.
Their responsibilities to one another is given in 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. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
They were one flesh. This means what is in the interest of the one is also in the interest of the other. What harms the one also harms the other.
They were to leave their fathers and their mothers and cleave one to the other. Cleave means to stick or adhere to. The husband and the wife to be glued one to the other until the death of one or the other. Marriage is meant to be permanent.
God has established order in the family. Ephesians 5:23-24 establishes that order: “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”
Just as Christ is the head of the church, the husband is the head of the wife or the family. Men sometimes like this because they think it means they get to make all the decision and that their wife us just to submit and say nothing. There are a couple of problems with this attitude. First of all, the husband and the wife are one flesh and as such each should put the interests of the other first.
Secondly the head may have authority in the final decisions, this implies responsibility for the results of those decisions. It also implies responsibility for provision and protection of the family. The husband is to be the spiritual leader in the home and ensure that the family is fed spiritually. This means that he is to teach God’s precepts in the home and have his family in a good Bible believing church.
Protection is not just about protecting from the bad things of this world. In includes protection from spiritual dangers also. He is responsible for what his children do and who they are friends with.
The wife’s submission to her husband doesn’t mean is in slavery. She has the right to speak her mind and be listened to. She is not a second class person. Subject means to be under the husband’s authority. She must remember that he is responsible to God for her and she is under his protection. The husband who doesn’t listen to his wife is a fool.
Let me finish this introductory article on the family with the responsibilities of the children. Ephesians 6:1-3 sums up the children’s responsibility: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
They are to honor and obey their parents. This commandment has a promise with it. It will lengthen their lives. This doesn’t mean they won’t die young. It means they will live longer if they obey and honor their parents.
Obedience is owed to the parents as long as the child is under the parents authority. Remember, when they marry they are to leave their parents and cleave to their spouse.
Honor is due their parents as long as they, the children, live. This means that they should hold their parents in high esteem and respect them. Their lives should be lived to show this honor.
The family is the basic building block of society. Our first responsibility is to God and our second is to our families. The family exists for order and protection. A man an a woman are strengthened by the bonds of matrimony. Each strengthens the relationship by having strengths that compliment the weaknesses of the other. A family is to function as a unit. That is why it is under attack today. If our families can be destroyed our society can be remade in the image of the destroyers.. We will learn in this series how to strengthen our family and thereby our society.
Dr. Pierre Coovert was saved at the age of 17 over 50 years ago. He has been a missionary, pastor, and evangelist for more than 30 years. He is greatly concerned about the state of modern Christianity and his desire is to see Christians return to the righteousness of the Scriptures. See his blog at http://awaketorighteousness.com
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