Created for Relationship

Well, good morning, everyone.

My name's Steve, Senior Pastor here.

So if I'd like you to open your Bibles in those passages,

beginning, it's pretty easy.

It's right at the beginning of the Bible.

Past the introduction and the cable of contents,

you'll find Genesis there.

The 17th century mathematician and philosopher,

Sir Isaac Newton, had a miniature replica,

was a model of the solar system in his study

and had a large ball in the middle of it

which represented the sun and other planets in their place.

They were all attached to rods.

There was all these gears and belts

and all that sort of stuff in there,

make sure everything was in its correct place

and circulating around and everything.

And one day, he was visited by a friend

and his friend just marvelled at this thing

sitting in the study and he said,

my, Newton, what an exquisite thing.

Who made it?

Newton said, nobody.

Nobody?

His friend asked, that's right.

All of these balls and clogs and belts and gears

just happened to come together

and wonder of wonders,

by chance they began revolving

in the set orbits at the perfect time.

Now, Newton was obviously making a point there

with his unbelieving friend.

The existence of this machine,

a perfectly ordered machine,

presupposed a maker

and even more so,

the Earth and its perfectly ordered solar system.

If you have just joined us for the first time here,

just checked in online for the first time,

we are working our way through the early books of Genesis.

And what it does is it lays out for us

the beginning of creation.

And what we see here is

the beginning of creation

and the Bible's teaching of creation

is very, very different

from every other

religion or philosophical system.

More significantly,

what the book of Genesis does for us

is it gives us the beginning

of the doctrine of God.

We know who God is

from his creation.

We come to understand

who God is,

what he's like,

and therefore,

who we are

and what we are like

and what our purpose might be.

And one of the key differences

that we will see today

between the biblical idea

of the creator God

and all other views

is in this realm of relationships.

And there are three things

that I want us to see this morning.

It's up there on the screen.

This is the trajectory.

So if you've got the Sir Paul's app as well,

you can see an outline there

that will help you track through

today's message.

One of the things we notice

in point number one,

we need relationships.

At every step of the creation

from Genesis chapter one,

what we read is

he created,

he created,

he created,

he created.

However,

when it comes to humanity,

there is a shift in the language

in Genesis two,

Genesis one

and then into two.

It says,

let us make man

in our image and likeness.

This is the very earliest glimpse

in the Bible

of what become

throughout the Bible

the Christian teaching

on the triunity of God

or the doctrine of the Trinity,

the triunity of God.

The one God

is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It's profound

that in the creation

of humanity,

his plurality comes out

in a way that his plurality

doesn't come out

in the rest of creation.

Saint Augustine said

that the Trinity

is the only version of God

in the history of humanity,

in the history of humanity

that has personal relationship

at its very core.

Only the God of Christianity

is a community.

God in himself

is self-sufficient.

He is self-sustaining.

Three persons

delighting in

and loving each other.

What is significant

about that

and compared to all

other creation accounts

is that if God

was a singular being,

then love

and relationship

is secondary

to that being.

It's derivative

from that being,

not core

to the being.

Only in the Trinity

do we see

personal relationship

as primary,

the very essence

of who God is.

relationships.

That is,

relationships

is not a means

to an end.

It is the centre

of life

and reality itself.

And that,

frankly,

is the only way

we can come to terms

with chapter 2,

verse 18.

The Lord God said

it is not good

for the man

to be alone.

Here's the interesting thing.

Up to this point

in creation,

up to this point

in Genesis,

everything that God

has made

has been declared

good.

Good,

good,

good,

good,

good,

good,

good.

This is the very

first time

in the creation account

where we read

the words

not good.

Not good.

There is

something

not good

about Adam.

And it's not

a design flaw.

God has,

he hasn't made

a mistake

with Adam.

I mean,

Adam is in

paradise.

He is in

paradise.

There's no sin.

He's walking

and talking

with God

and yet still

something is missing.

There is a missing

piece.

And the missing

piece is humanity

is made

in the image

of God

who is

an us,

not a me.

He's an us,

not a me.

Adam was

made in the image

of an eternal

community,

a pre-existing

community.

He was created

for community.

personality.

Personal

relationships

are the

essence

of our

humanity.

We

are made,

the very

essence of

humanity

is that we

are made

for relationships

because we

are made

in the image

of an us,

not a me.

So,

there are

three needed

relationships.

being made

in the image

of an us

God,

a God

of community.

What kind

of relationships

do we need?

The first

is a deep

relationship

with God.

Genesis

1.26

needs to

be read

in conjunction

with two

other creation

accounts in

the Bible.

One of those

creation accounts

is in Proverbs

Proverbs 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

And in

Proverbs

Proverbs 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8,

so,

for instance,

in Genesis

1,

we've already

looked at this

already,

Genesis 1,

it is God's

word that

creates,

God speaks

and it

happens,

God's

word create.

But in

Proverbs

8,

God's

wisdom,

or his

word,

is actually

personified.

This is

what God's

word,

his wisdom

says in

Proverbs

8.

I was

there when

he set

the heavens

in place,

when he

marked out

the horizon

of the

face of

the deep,

when he

established

the clouds

above and

fixed securely

the fountains

of the deep,

when he

gave the sea

its boundary

so the

waters would

not overstep

his command,

and when he

marked out the

foundations of

the earth,

then I was

constantly at

his side.

I was filled

with delight

day after day,

rejoicing always

in his presence,

rejoicing in

his whole world

and delighting

in mankind.

So God's

word in

Proverbs 8

is personified.

It's a

poetic

personification

of the

word of

God in

the creation

account.

Now the

other

creation

account where

we see this

personification

of the

word of

God is

John 1

in the

New Testament.

But in

John 1,

the word

is a

divine

person,

Jesus

Christ.

This is

how John

puts it.

I'll stick

together the

key verses

if you like.

In the

beginning was

the word,

and the

word was

with God,

and the

word was

God.

He was

with God

in the

beginning,

and through

him all

things were

made.

Without

him nothing

was made

that has

been made.

The word

became flesh,

made his

dwelling amongst

us.

We have

seen his

glory, the

glory of

the one and

only Son,

who came

from the

Father,

full of

grace and

truth.

Grace and

truth came

through

Jesus

Christ.

No one

has ever

seen God,

but the

one and

only Son,

who is

himself God,

and is in

closest relationship

with the

Father,

has made

him known.

So the

picture of

Proverbs

8,

and of

John 1,

and in

fact we see

it at the

beginning in

Genesis,

is one of

closeness,

intimacy,

delight,

delight,

love.

In

creation, the

Father, the

Son, and

the Spirit

were wrapped

up in

love and

delight and

enjoyment in

each other

and in the

creation, and

particularly the

creation of

humanity in

their image.

In fact, the

word delight,

which is there

in Proverbs

8, means to

dance, it

means to

frolic, it

means to

play.

The

creation of

humanity is

a community

event in

Genesis 2.

Creation

flows out of

delight and

love, loving

and being

loved, knowing

and being

known, enjoying

and being

enjoyed.

God says,

let's make

man in our

image that

they might

give what

we are able

to give

each other.

Let's make

them capable

of entering

into our

play, into

our delight

and

frolicking.

This is

what we

were created

for.

And it is

frankly nothing

what the

average person

thinks religion

is or the

Christian faith

is, at

all.

it is

delight, not

duty.

Now the

second

relationship we

need is

deep unity

with another

human being.

Back to

chapter 2

verse 18

again, the

Lord said,

it is not

good for the

man to be

alone.

God created

us in such

a deep

need for

human

relationships,

deep need

for human

relationships,

that not

even paradise

itself will

satisfy.

God has

ordained it

that many

of the

things that

he wants

to give

us now

in life

and show

us now

in life

can only

come through

other people.

And the

implications for

this is

massive.

First of

all,

the implication

is that what

is being said

here is the

total opposite

of the

society of

which we

live in

today and

the way we

operate day

by day.

The message

of our

culture,

you'll see

it everywhere

on Facebook,

every retirement

magazine,

every travel

magazine,

is the

great life,

the garden

of Eden

life,

a life of

pleasure and

beauty and

plenty,

only will

come to

you if

you put

relationships

on the

back burner

for a

whole heap

of years.

If you

want to be

successful,

then you

have to

move around

to take

up every

opportunity

that's there

to see

that you

rise and

rise and

rise.

And the

cost of

that is

no real

stable

friendships.

on top

of that,

you have

to put

so much

time in

establishing

yourself

that you

won't

actually see

much of

your family

at all.

I actually

heard those

lips come

directly from

someone who

was doing a

presentation

on how to

build personal

wealth.

wealth.

He said,

what you

need to

do is

you need,

and your

family will

understand

this,

you need

to put

them on

hold in

order to

build personal

wealth and

then enjoy it

together.

And it

will take

10 to 15

years.

I would

have loved

to have

an insight

into the

relationships

of that

individual.

Paradise

was only

paradise

because of

who was

there,

not because

of what

was there.

That's what

made paradise

paradise.

Satisfaction

in life

will never

come without

putting personal

relationship as

the highest

priority in

your life.

The second

huge

implication is

that we

cannot know

God or

grow to be

like him in

any way

without

community.

You cannot

grow in

wisdom,

you cannot

become more

loving,

courageous,

joyful,

or stable

in life

without the

community of

God and

his people.

It is an

impossibility.

It is against

your divine

nature.

We cannot

know who

we are

supposed to

be or

grow into

it without

a community.

In our

modern

individualistic

society, we

don't like

accountability.

We love to

guard our

privacy.

We love to

hold commitment

to groups

at an

arm's

length.

And we

have bought

into an

American

theology that's

dominated the

Western world

of having a

personal

relationship with

Jesus.

That's true.

It is a

personal

relationship with

Jesus.

What comes

with him is

the thing

called the

church.

church.

And you

can't have

one without

the other.

We always

want to

control our

journey.

We prefer

friends that

don't challenge

us, who

don't stretch

us, or

cost too

much.

What we

all need is

a community

in our

lives who

have the

freedom to

tell us

exactly who

we are.

Hebrews 3.13,

encourage one

other daily as

long as it's

called today,

so that none

of you may be

hardened by

sin's deceitfulness.

The first

premise in that

verse is we

need to have

people who

see us

often enough

and in

different

contexts enough

to see who

we really

are.

Who we

really are.

Not just

people in

our lives who

check in

occasionally,

or someone

that we're

communicating

with over

the internet.

The second

premise is

that we

must be

sharing who

we really

are and

that they

have permission

to speak

into our

lives about

the stuff

that they

see.

Without

that kind

of community,

we don't

actually know

who we

really are.

We cannot

truly see

ourselves.

ever

had the

experience,

I had

this

experience

because I'm

recorded

often,

but ever

had the

experience

where you're

listening to

a recording

of yourself

and you

think,

that doesn't

sound like

me at

all.

And

someone

says,

of course

it's you.

You know,

I mean,

it's hard to

ignore the

fact when

it's got my

name attached

to it,

my recording,

and I know

I said those

words,

it doesn't

sound like

me.

Or you

see a

photo of

yourself and

you go,

oh my

goodness,

that's a

terrible photo

of me,

I look

terrible,

and your

friends go

quiet.

That's because

that's exactly

how you

look.

That's exactly

how you

look.

It's

interesting

that I

find for

myself in

that,

I always

find myself

look better

in the

mirror than

I do

in a

photo.

I can't

work it

out.

It's the

same eyes

looking at

both things.

I can't

work it

out.

Anyway,

it's because

I cannot

truly know

myself.

We need

a community

who know

us.

If we're

trying to

find God

and grow

in him

as an

individual,

if that

is your

goal,

to truly

know who

you are

and your

God,

then you

can't just

simply attend

church and

attend

classes.

You need

to be

known.

We need

to be

known by

people who

love us,

who affirm

us,

who confront

us,

who challenge

us,

who care

for us.

And if

you do

not have

those people,

don't sit

back waiting

for it,

create them.

Create

those people

for yourself.

If you're

not in a

group,

let me just

say this,

if you're

not in a

group and

you are

not pursuing

those kinds

of relationships

in your

life,

you are

in a

church.

You cannot

know God

individualistically.

In his

book,

The Four

Loves,

C.S.

Lewis has

this great

chapter.

You should

get the

book,

The Four

Loves by

C.S.

Lewis,

has this

great chapter

on friendship.

and Lewis

himself was

one of

three friends

who was,

the three

of them

were BFFs.

There was

Lewis,

a guy named

Ronald,

and a guy

named Charles.

Tragically,

Charles died.

As Lewis

was grieving,

he sort of

consoled himself

with the

thought that

at least I've

got Ronald

still.

And he

assumed that

now that

Charles is

not there,

somehow that

he would be

able to lean

into Ronald

and that he

would get

more of

Ronald now.

But as the

weeks and

the months

passed,

Lewis came

to understand

that in

actual fact,

he got less

of Ronald

than more

of Ronald.

He discovered

there was

something

about Charles

that drew

more of

Ronald out

that he

was able

to discover

that he

himself could

not draw

out of

Ronald.

And his

point is,

it takes a

community to

really know

an individual.

It takes a

community.

No individual

is enough

to draw the

whole person

out because

people made

in the image

of God

are way too

complex,

way too

deep.

It's the

same with

Jesus.

You want

to know

Jesus better?

Then we've

got to do

it together.

The deeper

we get

into the

spiritual

life of

friends,

the deeper

we get

into Jesus

together,

and the

deeper of

unity and

our love

as a

church

family will

grow.

together.

The third

relationship

we need

is with

people who

are different

to us.

Now, when

we read

Genesis

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

and particularly

the bits that

Aidan read out

for us this

morning, we

automatically

think this is

going to be a

sermon about

marriage and

sex, and

it's not.

Now, it

does say a

lot.

This passage

does say a

lot about

marriage and

sex and

gender,

but let's

just step

back for a

minute and

let's not

miss the

forest for

the trees.

When Adam

had a deep

relational

need, all

the animals

came past

and he's

like looking

at them and

going, I

like you,

but, you

know, and

they kept

going.

And then

God brings

him Eve.

Now, does

that mean,

therefore,

application that

we must be

married to

have all of

our deep

relational

needs met?

Well, of

course not.

1 Corinthians

7 and

Ephesians 5

are very

clear in

their

affirmation

of singleness

as a

viable

lifestyle.

Absolutely

viable.

You are

not less

a person

if you

are single

in any

way

whatsoever.

And in

fact, I

would declare

that the

Christian faith

is unique

in its

affirmation

of the

single

lifestyle.

according to

Ephesians

5, the

ultimate

brother you

need is

Jesus.

The Bible

does not

say that

unless you

are married,

you cannot

have your

deepest

relational

needs met.

God

brings Adam,

the animals,

they weren't

enough.

But notice

God does

not bring

Adam another

bloke

either.

So,

therefore,

is the

Bible

against

pets

and

against

blokes

having

friends?

Well, no,

not at all.

What does

God

does here

is he

brings

someone

to him

who is

mysterious

to him.

he

doesn't

bring to

Adam

someone

just

like

him.

Step

back and

look at

the general

issue here

that's

going on.

We all

need people

on the

other side

of the

wall

to us.

We all

need people

on the

other side

of the

racial,

the

gender,

the

temperament,

the class

barriers in

our life.

Adam

gets a

woman.

God

brings him

someone

who we

read there

very clearly,

God brings

someone who

is equal

to him.

Equal,

not lesser,

equal to

him.

But

different to

him.

Someone

mysterious.

Someone

who's

hard to

get to

know.

Someone

who's

going to

stretch

him like

he's

never been

stretched

before and

get him to

see things

differently.

The key

word here

is the

word

helper.

The word

helper in

this verse

does not

mean someone

to take

care of

the washing,

the cooking,

the cleaning,

the shopping,

the child

raising.

that is

not what

the word

helper

means.

The word

help,

and blokes,

this is a

humbling

moment for

you,

the word

help in

the Bible

is nearly

in every

instance is

used of

God.

And it's

used where

God helps

those who

are different

to him

and are

in need

because they

are powerless.

It's the

exact same

Hebrew word.

Helper

here means

Eve has

stuff that

Adam does

not have

and he

needs help.

Not an

assistant,

not a

support,

an addition

to.

Adam and

Eve are

complementary

to each

other.

That's what

the word

helper

means.

The

implication

here is

we all

need to

have a

deep

community

with

people

on the

other

side

of

the

barrier.

Now,

I'm not

going to

go into

the whole

gender

thing

with

this

passage,

but it's

very helpful

in that

sense of

understanding

what the

word

helper

actually

means.

Just as

a side

point,

which is

not in

your

notes,

I'm

looking

forward

to

kicking

off

2025

looking

at

five

steadfast

women

of

faith,

historical

women

of

faith,

preached

by five

steadfast

women

of

faith.

I'm

looking

forward

to

kicking

off

2025

with

that.

last

point.

What is

the key

to

relationships?

Because

there is

a key

here.

There is

a key

to these

relationships

flourishing

that Adam

and Eve

had here

in the

garden

that we

do not

currently

have,

which is

why our

relationships

today are

far from

ideal.

So the

key to

relationships

flourishing,

and if you

want to

take notes,

get your

pens out,

here it is.

we need

to get

naked.

Let's

close in

prayer.

Sorry,

hang on a

bit.

Let me

just unpack

that a

little bit

for us

before we

start

applying

that.

Hold

the

horses,

people.

Hold

your

horses.

Adam

and

Eve,

Adam

sees

Eve,

and he

says,

some

people look

at this

because they

just think

it's about

sex and

relationships

and marriage

and stuff.

So some

people,

translation

is that

Adam

sees Eve

and goes,

whoa,

fantastic.

But that's

not quite

what's

happening

here.

Verse 23,

this is

now bone

of my

bones and

flesh of

my

flesh.

She

shall be

called

woman for

she was

taken out

of man.

The word

now there

is the

Hebrew word

for

finally.

It's the

word,

Adam is

effectively

saying here,

all the

animals have

gone by

at last.

At last.

It's a

word for

finality

and

contentment.

Is that

how you

would describe

your

relationships?

Finality

and contentment?

Because

often in

our world,

our

relationships

are

superficial.

Unfortunately,

often in

our world,

our

relationships

are

manipulative

and abusive.

And

even the

best

relationships

in our

world

will break

down.

The

reality

is

every

single

one of

the best

relationships

in the

world,

every single

one,

I mean the

greatest

relationships

in the

world,

I mean

the very

best

marriages

in the

world,

they

will

all

end

with

tragedy

and

with

deep,

deep

pain

when

someone

is

lost.

That's

the

reality.

So can

we ever

say

finality

and

contentment?

Adam

and Eve

had something

in the

Garden of

Eden

that we

have

lost.

But it

is something

that we

can get

back

through

Jesus

Christ.

The

key to

all

great

relationships

in

verse 25,

Adam

and his

wife

were

both

naked

and

they

felt

no

shame.

The

issue

here

is one

of

transparency.

They are

able to be

in the

presence of

each other

completely

exposed

and there

is no

shame.

There is

nothing that

they need

to hide.

There is

no

personal

spin

needed

here.

There is

no

control

of an

image

that

needs

to be

projected

in order

for me

to be

loved.

They

weren't

afraid

of

exposure.

They

weren't

afraid

of being

explored

or judged.

They

were

unashamed.

Entirely

transparent.

They

were,

if you

like,

entirely

comfortable

in their

own

skin.

And that

is exactly

what we

all need.

We

all need

to be

fully,

totally

known

and at

exactly

the same

time,

fully,

totally

loved.

We

need to

be

naked,

totally

known,

and yet

unashamed,

totally

loved.

And we

can't get

it.

We

can't get

it.

Too

many

think that

we can

get love

and

acceptance

and

admiration

if we

try to

be

someone

that

we're

not.

Because

we're

ashamed.

We

work so

hard at

hiding

the

flaws,

things

like the

pride,

the

selfishness,

the

ignorance,

the

anxiety.

If we

are truly

known for

who we

are,

we would

be ashamed

and

therefore

we will

not be

loved.

Why is

it so?

We're

going to

find out

in the

coming

weeks,

but the

short story

is this.

The moment

that Adam

and Eve

rejected

relationship

with their

creator

God,

shame

filled

their lives

and they

immediately

had to

cover up.

They

immediately

had to

cover up.

Deep

down,

all of us

know that

there is

something

deeply