When looking at the love between man and woman, it is important to note that the Word of God primarily speaks of man in his origin as a created spiritual individual consisting of two character traits. Because God is Spirit, He created man according to His image (see Genesis 1:26a.27 i.c.w. John 4:24a).

 

26a Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, …

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

 

24a God is spirit, …

 

 

The creation of man in the image of God was not firstly about an earthly being but about the spiritual being of man which was later divided into two beings by God, using the substance of earth or soil.

 

The Heavenly Father first created spiritual 'Adam', and then the 'body' of his soul, because later God breathed His already existing breath 'Adam' (see Genesis 1: 26a.27) into the immaculate body of the soul of man (see Genesis 2:6-7).

 

… 6 but streams (note: a mist) came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

 

 

When God took the woman's personality out of Adam, because he did not want man to be alone, the man's desire for the woman was aroused, as can be seen in Adam's recognition of the woman (see Genesis 2:18.21-24).

 

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” …

21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs (note: a part of the man's side) and then closed up the place with flesh.

22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

 

The Hebrew word for 'ribs-side' is 'ȥēla`' and means 'plank; it describes as well a mountain side, the longer side of the ark of the covenant and the tent of meeting; the side of the altar or sides of the temple, planks, girder'. (Partial excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible with the word key number: 6907)

 

This means, the woman assigned to the man by God is the string of a bow, so to speak, from which God shoots His revelatory arrows.

 

The assigned woman carries within her the potential to expand (see Ephesians 3:18-19), which contains the understanding of God's greatness (note: mountain side), the being of Jesus (note: the longer side of the ark of the covenant), His presence (note: the longer side of the tent of meeting) and also His heart (note: the altar).

 

This width/length also bears the knowledge of the priestly movement of Jesus Christ, who moves from east to west, as the high priest went from east to west into the holy of holies, and is furthermore related to the revelatory power and the coming of Jesus (see Matthew 24:27).

 

27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

 

 

God's sacred apportionment of the character traits of man meant that from that point of time man was able to fall in love with a woman.

Since this sacred apportionment by God, a holy search and longing exists within man and woman alike to become like the image of God that He originally created.

 

At this point, it is necessary to note that the man as well as the woman in their present existence are not half-valued creatures, but fully mature personalities.

Nevertheless, in the individual character traits assigned by God to both genders, there are things - if viewed from the perspective of the divine origin of man (note: man and woman) - which are not complete unless a discovery (note: recognition) takes place on both sides.

 

 

Generally speaking, the man as well as the woman carry within themselves a longing through the will of God which is evoked by the feeling that something is missing in them, and must be supplemented, so that they can perceive themselves as complete.

Finally, it is about being in unity before God and being one with Him (see Ephesians 5:31-32).

 

31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

32 This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.

 

 

According to the Word of God, man and woman form a unity each in their own male and female uniqueness.

Through the sexual intimacy or union between man and woman in marriage, the origin from the image of God is manifested, thus reflecting the spiritual reality.

It is God's longing, through the desire of true love, to give man the opportunity to transform into His original image by sexual intimacy in marriage.

 

 

In God's understanding, the duty of man includes, among other things, that he is destined to protect, to defend and to watch. The woman, on the other hand, has the duty to provide for the generations and to make herself available to support the man, among others. The reason lies in God's nature, for He is protective, provident and helping (see Genesis 2:15; Genesis 2:20.22; Luke 13:34b).

 

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

 

20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. …

22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

 

… 34b how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

 

As mentioned above, the divine apportionment of the human being into man and woman is the core of sexual attraction. This attraction can physically express itself through different impulses, and can, for instance, make itself felt by a rapid pulse to the point of physical longing for the other person (note: in the relationship between a man and a woman or vice versa).

 

 

It is God's aim for man and woman to marry and to become one in marriage through sexual intimacy in order to appear before Him as a whole spiritual being, whose source of life is God alone.

 

Even though, if people (note: man and woman), who are destined by God for one another, went different ways in the past and suddenly the point of time comes, where the man is longing for a woman or vice versa, then this is not essentially a purely human behavior, but from the perspective of the Word of God it is a physical manifestation of the mystery between Jesus Christ and the church (see Ephesians 5:31-32).

 

31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

32 This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.

 

This, however, does not mean that the principle of God is not fundamentally connected with the production of new life. The Lord is, of course, a God of generations and thus of new life. It is not just about the preservation of life in itself, but about the image of God which is reflected by the sexual intimacy in marriage between a man and a woman in the visible and invisible realm. Consequently, the establishment of the image of God in the union between husband and wife leads to new life coming into the world.

Sexuality And Holiness

Hence the sexuality between husband and wife is elevated to a position of holiness, because it takes place in a protected and separate context before God, and not in the way, the media of our time wants to convey it.

Even if it doesn't come to any new life through sexual intercourse in marriage (note: for example because of an old age or for medical reasons), it nevertheless carries holiness, because it is the unity of man and woman before God that reflects His image.

If someone has sex outside of marriage, he or she can receive life, but this act is not considered holy before God. Only through the marriage between man and woman does sexuality bear the character of holiness and is therefore a divine experience.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm