Genesis 2:20–23 (ESV)

²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

       “This at last is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

       she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.”

O Palmer Robertson [1]writes, “ Paul  states that the man was not created for the woman. Instead, the woman was created for the man (1Corinthians 11:9). The purpose of the man’s existence, as created, is not to be a help to the woman. But the purpose of the woman’s existence as created is to glorify God in being a help to the man.

 The words “being a help to the man” in the scripture presents the woman in a marriage, as to be a helper. Corresponding to him, that means uniquely and specifically only for him. To put in a way that no one else can do the job. Genesis 2:20 says, “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.”

“Fit for him” in Hebrew means corresponding to him.[2] This is a tremendously important statement because there was no one else compatible to Adam. And hence Adam was feeling lonely. And God came in and provided a specific helper to add his lonely life.

From here we can tell God is a God of Providence in a real way, a transcendent way, that no one else in the world can!  He meets his needs, when Adam was lonely. God provided. As suitable helpmate for him. And the word “helper” in Hebrew language is a specific help that no one else can fulfill that role. It’s not a general help. But it’s a specific, unique, helpful Adam. You see God’s Providence? Is much better than your own. Provision for yourself.

Now the word helper for the woman to the man only happens in this world because when we all get to heaven there is no marriage. And the woman’s role as helper to the man will cease. The helping of the man is to fulfill the glorious call of God to glorify him in our culture in this world. Therefore man and woman in their marriage relationship has to glorify God in this world and that’s a calling of God for the couple together.

The Bible also says therefore a man shall cleave to the therefore a man shall leave his parents and cleave to his wife and become one flesh that cleaving can only happen to the woman that God has given to him.

Genesis 2:24–25 (ESV)

²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

There is no such thing as a man leaves his parents and cleaved to another man because that is against the divine order, the order of creation. And the reason man is cleaving to the woman is because first and foremost the woman was created from the man and therefore the man is going back to the woman and become one flesh just like in the original creation of God.

Genesis 2:20 says that no way in creation could be found a helper corresponding to the men. Only the woman as created from the man corresponding to him in a way that will make her appropriate help he needed. This is very significant. Because the role of woman is very unique and specific to the man that God has ordained for her. No one should downwash marriage. Therefore marriage is sacred because it’s part of the ordination of God. Anyone disrupting that created order will face the consequences of the judgment coming as in the book of Revelations.

Now it must be clear the distinctive of the woman indicates their role is no less significant than the man with respect to a person. Equally with the man she bears in herself the image and likeness of God Genesis 1:27. Only as equal in personhood could the woman correspond to the man.[3] Says Robinson. So therefore that corresponding to the man as created by God means they are equal in personhood in significance, even though woman is to be helper to the man. That helper is in the sense of doing the things that men cannot do perfectly in the call to glorify God in this world. Therefore the man needs the woman as much as the woman needs the men. This world tries to disrupt that divine order, and that would disrupt the perfect harmony God has created and ordained for this world. Creations would groan and moan because of that disruption, and there will be consequences.

Woman’s role as a helper to the men is for the purpose of bringing all creation to its consummation goal. In heaven, man neither marry nor are given in marriage Matthew 22 verse 30. O Palmer Robinson says once the consummate state has been realized, the woman’s role is helped the man would come to an end. Bearing God’s image in her own person, the woman should enjoy consummation in her own completeness. [4]

This is tremendously significant because woman would reach her own completeness independent of the man or with teamwork with a man. But I just want to emphasize the individual calling of God for both genders. These two genders ought to work together to subdue the earth to the glory of God. Eve joined Adam in his task of forming a culture glorifying to God the creator called me and that is the case till today in counting until the final consummate state with Christ returns.

Robertson wrote the ultimate condition of the woman finds asked a logical anticipation in the equality of men and women with respect to the gospel. There is neither male nor female with respect to the privilege and responsibility of responding in faith to the gospel of God Galatians 3:28. [5]

Now this is another significant statement by Palmer Robinson that in the end time logical anticipation of the woman is to reach in heaven when we all are married to the groom our savior Jesus Christ. For now we are responsible to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Marriage stands as the creation ordered intention for men, no contradiction must be seen when Paul says “it is good for men not married” in 1 Corinthians 7 one is set aside that creational “it is not good that man should be alone “genesis 2:18 on the basis of the necessary gift to remain in the single state, and due to the present stress in 1 Corinthians 7:28, A woman maybe may remain unmarried.

In creation God commanded meant multiplying, fill the earth this commandment contains significant implications to the role of men in the marriage relationship. Men must love and cherish his wife. He must care for her particularly as she fulfills her role in bearing children. Paul says husband is to love his wife even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for its Ephesians 525. He therefore has the responsibility of functioning as head in the marriage relationship. Yet he must function not as bloated head nor a domineering head but as saving head.[6]

1 Cor 11:11-12 “.. in the Lord neither is woman independent of a man, noise man independent of woman. First the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman, and all things originate from God. So the main owes his existence to the woman and vice versa the woman too.”

To cherish and love your wife is a very high calling as much as for the wife to submit to the husband it’s a high calling. That’s only possible because we serve the God of high calling. Eventually we will all be married to the bridegroom that is to come. Amen.

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[1] O. Palmer Robertson, The Christof the Covenants, 80-83

[2] Ditto

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid