The First Marriage and The Last Adam

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Gen. 2:24

This verse is quoted by Jesus in Matt 10:6-9 and Mark 19:4-6. Why is the idea of marriage, particularly marriage between one man and one woman in a lasting union so important to God? Let's look at the first union of man and woman in the Bible and see what we can glean.

My understanding and insight into the scriptures was hindered my whole life until God brought me to the realization that every word, every place, every name, every number, every letter, every story points to Jesus Christ.

That being said, it is puzzling how Paul could say in Romans 5:14 that " death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come" When Paul says that Adam is “similitude” or foreshadowing of "him that was to come” who is he talking about? Well “him that was to come” is of course none other than Jesus Christ. This verse in fact gives us one of the many names we use for Christ, that being the "Last Adam" 1st Corinthians 15:45. So how is it that Adam, who sinned by taking the forbidden fruit, be a figure or foreshadowing of Jesus Christ?

The most important part of this story is to realize what caused Adam to sin. We can find the answer to this in1st Timothy 2:14 "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." If Adam was not deceived, then we can conclude that Adam knew what he was doing. He knew the consequences that this sin entailed and yet he knowingly and willingly took this sin upon himself. So again we ask how could Adam be a figure or a Jesus Christ? The answer is really quite touching.

Let’s look at what had taken place up to the point in which Adam was offered the fruit. Eve had been deceived and she had sinned; her eternal salvation had been forfeited. She was doomed to be eternally separated from God due to her sin. She would now have to face the world and death completely alone, for there were none who shared her predicament.

Adam on the other hand, before he took the fruit mind you, was perfect, he walked with God, he dwelt in paradise, he partook of all the blessings and joy that God offers one who is in perfect communion with Him. Adam, had he chosen, could have left Eve to her terrible fate. He had not sinned and was not subject to the punishment she would certainly endure. However that is not what Adam chose to do at all. Adam knew that Eve's fate was sealed and he knew exactly what partaking of her sin would ultimately cost him, yet he loved her so much that he chose to leave his Father’s side and made Eve's sin his own so that his bride would not have to face a world of sin and death alone with no hope of redemption. You could technically say that he "became sin" for her.

I don’t think it’s too difficult to realize that our Father is trying to show us is that this is exactly what Christ did for us "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." And just like Adam, Christ, out of the immense love He had for His beloved bride, left His Father’s side, stepped into a sinful world, took His bride’s sin upon Himself and ultimately gave His life so that she, His bride, would not have to face this world of sin alone with no hope of redemption. "God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 Adam’s story is just the opening stanza of a love story, written in blood on a cross in Judea over 2,000 years ago.

So that brings us back to the original question. Why is the idea of marriage between one man and one woman in a lasting loving union so important to God? Because marriage offers us a way to experience if only in a small way the love that Christ, the groom, feels towards us, His bride, and the love and reverence that we, the bride, should have for Christ, our groom. Marriage provides a way for us to experience the relationship Christ desires with us in a way that is impossible by any other means.

It is also worth mentioning that because Adam took on this sin, it provided means by which offspring would be produced through which the God of Eternity would be born of a virgin in small Judean town and ultimately take that first sin and all that will ever be committed upon Himself and do exactly for us what Adam did for his bride.

“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:9

Note: I would like to point out that Adam did sin and betrayed God. No sin is justified, and God does not cause people to sin for his own purposes. However God in all his glory used what Adam had done to give an example in the earliest parts of the scriptures of the price Christ would ultimately pay for his beloved bride. Remember that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was not a tragedy, it was an accomplishment, it was a victory, it was the culmination of a plan laid down before the world began. Christ when speaking to the two men on the road to Emmaus about His suffering and death on the cross ask "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" Luke 24:26. Christ himself tells us that it happened exactly the way it was supposed to. What an amazing God we serve!!

For another story about marriage from the Bible see my post titled Christ's First Miracle
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