Meeting Date: May 14, 2007

God’s Order

What is the man’s role as a husband, father, or leader?

Verses covered:

• Ephesians 5: 1-33 Read the entire chapter. In verse 1, Paul writes that we are to be imitators of God as dear children who will walk in love, as Christ also loved us. Walking in love is the opposite of what we find in verses 3 and 4, yet it is often were we are found in this world. As men and saints, our daily lives are to reflect the light that is found in verse 8 as opposed to living like the examples found in verses 3-7. In verses 18-20, Paul gives us the first clues about the order God expects of us. In verse 21 He wants us as men and believers in Christ to submit to one another in the FEAR of God, meaning, a healthy understanding of God’s love for us and discipline in our lives as the Leader and LORD of our lives. He then takes the order and further defines submission between husbands and wives and how we are to sanctify our wives by cleansing with the “washing of water by the word.”

• Colossians 3:17-25 The order is further clarified (and repeated) Husbands loving their wives, children obeying parents, fathers not provoking children, employees obeying their employers and lastly declaring “whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”.

• 1Timothy 3:1-7 Paul is teaching his good friend and soon to be Pastor Timothy the qualifications of a church leader whether Pastor, Elder or Ministry leader. The key is found in verse 5, “for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?” We infer from this that Timothy must understand what it means to correctly “rule his own house” from God’s point of view. We also noted in verse 7 that we must have a good testimony among those who are on the outside which would include your neighbors, fellow workers, un-saved family members perhaps? Would you have a good testimony from your surrounding worldly court witnesses who saw you in action?

• 1Peter 3:1-7 Peter teaches the same message as Paul about the order of submission, but he goes a step further to explain to women that they should continue to live as a Christian woman even if their husbands are not obeying the word and to be able to win them (their husbands) by their Godly conduct. How can this condition exist if we are obeying what Paul taught us as men about washing our wives in the word? Do not find yourself in this place as a Christian man.

• Proverbs 22:6, 22:19-21 Here we find that we are to train up our children in the ways of the Lord. We also find in verses 19-21 that the Holy Spirit speaks to us directly in that we have already been instructed as He has written all of it down for us. If we learn these truths as presented by God, we then can train up our children accordingly.

• Genesis 1:1 through 3:24 We covered God’s order in creating the world, God’s order in creating the animals, and God’s order in creating man in His own image. Each day as presented is followed by the word “then” which shows us that God took His time and created everything in the order that He determined. God gives Adam one command only, one order, to not eat of “ the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” or else Adam would surely die! After receiving this command, God creates the woman (which is from the Hebrew 'ishshah, when translated to English we get the word wife and female) as a “helper comparable to him.” She was not better nor the same, but comparable. Why? Because God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” Everything that God did up to this point was good except that He determined that man should not be alone.

God then creates the woman from Adam. He commands them to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” It would appear that God has blessed them with the ability to have sex to produce their children and He encourages then to do so! Adam is so happy that he even notes that she is, “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” In verse 24, we find the words that are used at our wedding ceremonies. (Isn’t it something that the first social order that God gives humankind is not governments, but the wedding vows and marriage? God blesses marriage and uses it as an example even to this day. Jesus calls us His bride. He also blesses sex within the confines of this marriage as a gift from Him.) You will note that he did not say blood of my blood. Adam and the woman did not have blood flowing through them; they were in their glorified bodies with the lifeblood of God flowing through them. They were covered by God’s glory and able to be in His presence. We noted that God had given Adam rule and authority over everything. He was responsible to be the ruler and Godly leader that God had given him appointment to. In verse 25, we noted that they were naked but were not ashamed. That is because God had created them in His beauty and ordained them as holy and set apart. Please take note that the woman has not yet been named.

In chapter 3, we see the woman having a conversation with the upright serpent. (We asked the rhetorical question; if she can have a conversation with the serpent, could they speak with the other surrounding animals too?) We find the woman getting her information wrong. When the serpent asked about the fruit, she not only replied that if she eats it she will die, but adds, “nor shall you touch it, lest you die” which was not God’s command. He has her wrapped around his finger, nervous, showing that it is good and pleasing to the eye and would make one wise, and she took and ate. Note in verse 6 that she “also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Adam was there the whole time! Why didn’t he defend his wife as the leader God had ordained him to be? Here, Adam catches her changing God’s word to them and he doesn’t do anything. Not only that, he also eats of this forbidden fruit. This is the heart of our sin. We get a little nervous because we know deep inside that it is wrong. We see that it is pleasing to the eye, and we think that having it will make us wise whatever sin we do which is always forbidden fruit.

God’s judgment on the woman is tough, but he judges Adam even harsher because Adam was given the responsibility for her, not let her try it out first! For her she will have great pain in bringing forth children. My personal belief is that she is already pregnant with Cain and Able at this point. He then creates the desire in the woman, which “shall be for your husband,” meaning that she will constantly desire to rule over her husband. Why? In 3:17, God makes it clear to Adam that, “you have heeded the voice of your wife” as opposed to the word of God, which had been given to Adam directly. God declares that Adam will rule over her in verse 16, but it will be a rule with contention, as she will always desire to rule over him. In 3:20, we see Adam give the woman the name Eve that means “Life for the living” or “The mother of all the living.” I believe that this supports the idea that she was already pregnant and was about to give birth.

The order was out of order which is how Eve was able to eat from the tree in the first place. We as the husbands, fathers, and leaders must be sure that we know God’s order for our lives. We must take the responsibility of our households with the love and care that God has shown us. Jesus gave His life for us in love to correct the error that I believe Adam prayed he had never made. If you do not think that sin in our life affects anyone else, see what not washing your wife in the word has done for us all.