1. Lesson 1: The Home in the Beginning
The Family & the Home
Lesson 1: The Home in the Beginning

2. Three Premises
We will not approach this study like a secular, liberal approach to anthropology or sociology
Our approach to the family and the home will begin with three premises…
1. God is (Psa. 19:1)
2. Jesus is God’s Son (Jn. 20:30-31)
3. The Bible is God’s word (2 Tim. 3:16)

3. Why Study the Family & the Home?
First, the home is important
It is important to God
It is important for the well-being of the husband & wife
It is important for the well-being of the children

4. Why Study the Family & the Home?
Second, God made three institutions: the home (Gen. 2:18-24), civil government/society (Rom. 13:1-7), and the church (Eph. 3:10-11); they are all inter-related
We must follow the God’s blueprint, plan, and design for building our home (Psa. 127:1; Prov. 9:1; 14:1; 24:3-4)
We must expose and avoid all man-made philosophies that undermine the divine institution of the home

5. Why Study the Family & the Home?
Third, the home is under constant attack…
It is in decline; values are changing relative to the home
It is being ruined by man-made philosophies in our modern society: divorce, feminism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, abandonment, abdicated roles and responsibilities, atheistic evolution, humanism, etc.

6. Why Study the Family & the Home?
Third, the home is under constant attack…
Attacked by the Devil (Gen. 3:1ff; Rom. 1:20- 32; 2 Tim. 3:1-5)
Homes, religions, and governments are failing in this country and around the world

7. Go Back to “The Beginning”
It is good to go back to “the beginning” of something before it was changed by man
We go back to “the beginning” to find God’s original purpose and ideal for mankind and marriage (Mt. 19:4-8)
We go back to “the beginning” to find God’s design and standard for the family and the home, not what people want in modern society today

8. Go Back to “The Beginning”
Without a divine standard for the home there is confusion, worldliness, and failure

9. Genesis 2:18-25 Divine Necessity Divine Miracle Divine Institution
18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for man there was not found a help meet for him. 21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: 22 and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And the man 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 unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Divine Necessity Divine Miracle Divine Institution

10. The Home in “The Beginning”
The home in “the beginning” was a…
Divine necessity, not a chance accident (Gen. 2:18-20; see also 1 Cor. 11:8-9; Tim. 2:13)
Divine miracle, not an evolution of naturalistic processes (Gen. 2:21-22; see also Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7 and 1 Cor. 11:7)
Divine institution, not a man-made arrangement (Gen. 2:23-25; see also Mal. 2:14-16 and Mt. 19:4-8)

11. Review Questions
1. What three premises do we begin with in our study ? 2. Why study the family and the home? 3. Why is it important to go back to “the beginning” of the home for our understanding of the home today? 4. What three things do we learn about the home from Genesis 2:18-24?