1. SESSION 2 GOD’S DESIGN ESTABLISHED & DISTORTED: CREATION & FALL

2. Session 2: God’s Design Established & Distorted God’s Design Established: Creation (Genesis 1-2) God’s Design Distorted: The Fall (Genesis 3) Andreas J. Kostenberger

3. God’s Design Established: Creation Genesis 1: God’s creation of the universe, including man and woman, in general. Genesis 2: God’s creation of man and woman in particular, in relation to each another. Andreas J. Kostenberger

4. God’s Design Established: Creation Genesis 1:26-28: 26 Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Andreas J. Kostenberger

5. God’s Design Established: Creation Genesis 1:26Let us make ādām in our image … 1:27So God created hā-ādām in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. 1:28And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply …’” Andreas J. Kostenberger

6. God’s Design Established: Creation Genesis 1:26-28 makes 3 important points: 1. Humanity has God as its source. He is our Creator, and we are his creatures. 2. The plurality of man and woman stems from the plurality of the Godhead, “Let us make man in our image.... male and female.” 3. Humanity bears resemblance to God. The image of God is primarily concerned with humanity’s function: to rule the earth for God. Andreas J. Kostenberger

7. God’s Design Established: Creation God gives 5 imperatives to indicate humanity’s role (Genesis 1:28): 1. Be fruitful 2. Multiply 3. Fill the earth 4. Subdue it 5. Have dominion Andreas J. Kostenberger

8. God’s Design Established: Creation These commands are given to man and woman as a unity in plurality. Ruling the earth is a joint function of the man and the woman. Neither can accomplish the task alone, and procreation is an essential part of the task. Andreas J. Kostenberger

9. God’s Design Established: Creation Is there anything in Genesis 1 that differentiates between man and woman? The name for man (ādām), first used in Genesis 1 and continued throughout Genesis 1-5, suggests male headship. This idea will come into sharper focus in chapters 2-5. Andreas J. Kostenberger

10. God’s Design Established: Creation English Translation with Hebrew Term for “Man”/”Woman” (hā = Hebrew article) 1.Creation of Humanity (1:26-28) “Let us make ādām in our image.” So God created hā-ādām in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply.” 2.Creation of the Man (2:7-8) Then the LORD God formed hā-ādām of dust from the adāmāh [ground] And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, And hā-ādām became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put hā-ādām whom he had formed. Andreas J. Kostenberger

11. God’s Design Established: Creation English Translation with Hebrew Term for “Man”/”Woman” (hā = Hebrew article) 3.Creation of the Woman for the Man (2:23-25) Then hā-ādām said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ishah because she was taken out of ish. Therefore an ish shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his ishah, and they shall become one flesh. And hā-ādām and his ishah were both naked and were not ashamed. 4.God’s Judgment on the Woman and the Man (3:16-17) And to hā-ishah he said... And to ādām he said... Andreas J. Kostenberger

12. God’s Design Established: Creation English Translation with Hebrew Term for “Man”/”Woman” (hā = Hebrew article) 5.Creation of First Offspring (4:1) Now hā-ādām knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man (ish) with the help of the LORD.” 6.Recap of Creation of Humanity (5:1-3) This is the book of the generations of ādām. When God created ādām, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them ādām when they were created. When ādām had lived 130 years... Andreas J. Kostenberger

13. God’s Design Established: Creation God gives the command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to the man since the woman hasn’t been created yet (Genesis 2:15-17). It is the man’s responsibility to pass the command on to the woman. Andreas J. Kostenberger

14. God’s Design Established: Creation Genesis 2:18 prepares the way for the creation of the woman. God says, “It is not good that a man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” What happens next is surprising! Andreas J. Kostenberger

15. God’s Design Established: Creation Rather than creating the woman, God parades a series of animals before Adam, who names them, realizing that none of these creatures are a helper fit for him (Genesis 2:19-20). What Adam needs is another human, someone similar yet different to help him fulfill the cultural mandate (i.e. exercise dominion over the earth) he received from the Creator. Andreas J. Kostenberger

16. God’s Design Established: Creation The man and the woman are both fashioned uniquely by God. The man is created first, and the woman is created from him and for him. The man then names the woman, deriving her name (ishah) from his (ish; Genesis 2:23; similar to the English “wo-man”). The man and the woman are not pitted against each other but enjoy unity, harmony, and intimacy. Andreas J. Kostenberger

17. God’s Design Established: Creation The woman is the man’s “suitable helper” (Genesis 2:18, 20).  “Suitable” (k e n e gdo) means congenial (unlike the animals).  “Helper” (ezer) means brought alongside the man to rule the earth together with him. The man is not called the woman’s “helper.” Their roles are not reversible or interchangeable. By being designated the man’s “helper,” the woman is placed under his care and responsibility. Andreas J. Kostenberger

18. God’s Design Established: Creation The role of “helper” indicates not only subordination but also partnership. The man and the woman are jointly given the task of ruling the earth for God. In the Psalms, the term “helper” is even used with reference to God, indicating that no personal inferiority is in view (Psalms 20:2; 33:20; 70:5; 115:9-11; 121:1-2; 146:5). Male authority and male-female partnership are both present before the fall, suggesting that male leadership and complementary male-female roles are good and part of God’s original design. Andreas J. Kostenberger

19. God’s Design Established: Creation In marriage, the man and the woman are called to a “one-flesh” relationship (unity in plurality). They work together to fulfill God’s plan of exercising dominion over the earth (male-female partnership). As they do, the man is entrusted with care and responsibility for his wife (male leadership), and she is tasked with helping him (helper). Andreas J. Kostenberger

20. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall What kind of impact did the entrance of sin into the world have on male-female relationships? Genesis 3:1a: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the L ORD God had made. He said to the woman,...” The devil addresses the woman, not the man. Andreas J. Kostenberger

21. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall Genesis 3:1b, 4-5: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”... But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The devil twists God’s words and casts doubt on God’s generosity, integrity, and motives. Andreas J. Kostenberger

22. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall Genesis 3:6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” When Adam enters the picture, he simply follows his wife’s lead. This reverses God’s original design, which puts the man in charge. Andreas J. Kostenberger

23. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall In God’s response, he addresses Adam first because he is the one who was given primary responsibility. Genesis 3:9: But the L ORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” At the same time, God addresses both the man and the woman as responsible individuals (Genesis 3:16, 17-19). Eve is addressed first (perhaps because she sinned first?). Andreas J. Kostenberger

24. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall Genesis 3:16: To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” The consequences affect the woman’s roles as mother and wife, both of which are central to her role as the man’s partner in exercising dominion over the earth as God’s representatives. Pain in childbearing affects the woman’s experience in giving birth. Andreas J. Kostenberger

25. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall The second consequence, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you,” points to the woman’s desire to control. Compare Genesis 3:16 with Genesis 4:7: Genesis 3:16: “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” Genesis 4:7: “[Sin’s] desire is for you [i.e. to control you], but you must rule over it.” Andreas J. Kostenberger

26. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall The woman’s desire to contest her husband’s leadership introduces marital strife into their relationship. Where there had been male leadership and male-female partnership, there would now be a struggle for control. Note that the fall does not introduce (male) authority but the potential abuse of authority as part of the male-female tug-of-war. Andreas J. Kostenberger

27. God’s Design Distorted: The Fall The remainder of the book of Genesis and of the OT demonstrates the consequences of the broken male-female relationship with regard to God’s original design:  Polygamy  Adultery  Divorce  Homosexuality Andreas J. Kostenberger

28. What’s Ahead While God’s design for man and woman was subverted and distorted by sin, it did not change. In the next session, we’ll see how God’s design continues to obtain in the rest of the OT and how salvation history moves inexorably toward the restoration of God’s design for man and woman in and through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Andreas J. Kostenberger