In the Beginning… He Designed (Genesis 2:4-25)
Here is my sermon from February 15th, 2026 - my second in our new Genesis series. You can listen to the audio here.
Alan Noble, in his helpful 2021 book, You Are Not Your Own, warns of the dangers of what he calls the performative self. Maybe you’ve heard the term “expressive individualism.” Where we’re encouraged today to create this identity and then go express that to the world. But Noble says it’s gotten much worse than that. It’s become a performance, where we’re all tirelessly trying to get people to embrace that identity we’ve created and expressed. And we’re taught not to be satisfied until that identity is affirmed and even celebrated.
You throw up that post about that cause that gets you excited. And you sit and wait and count up the likes. You work on your music; you post that first song. And you sit and wait. You watch and fret. You change your hair or your spouse. Your job or your gender. We must express ourselves. That’s what we’re taught today. And we just can’t rest until others like what we’ve built and cheer it all on. As Noble explains, we can’t just fall back on our being to justify our existence. It depends upon our doing. Proving our worth through our actions, through our performance. In my lifetime, I’ve seen it move from be yourself to express yourself to define yourself to now market yourself.
Now that song and dance ends up really exhausting. And that pursuit of praise is ever-elusive. But what if it was never even necessary? And something better was already ours?
A Note About the Series
Today, we’re going to take a look at most of Genesis chapter two. But before we get there, I want to set things up a bit.
First, one big introductory thought to remember about this series. And then, second, some important points to grasp as we jump into this chapter.
Here’s the big thing to keep in mind, friends. Today, I’m going to hit on, by necessity, a bunch of different topics. But I’ll only have time to mention them in brief. We’re going to come back - and do entire sermons - on most of those topics. We’ll zoom in on those very verses. Be patient with us, please. Until then, ask questions.
Genesis 2:4-25
Last week, we looked at chapter 1 of this book. Where we see these six days of creation, followed by a big day of rest. Here in chapter 2, people have noticed a difference. And they’ve tried to pit the two chapters against one another. And talk how they contradict. How different authors were involved. But I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
You see this in movies. Like The Lord of the Rings. Where you see this aerial view, this panoramic shot, and then the camera quickly zooms in to the action on the ground. It takes my mind to the battle at Helm’s Deep. That what seems to be happening here. We get the wide angle view first in Genesis chapter 1. Here in our section today, Moses zooms in - on the creation of man and woman. And God putting them in the garden.
But there’s also a change in style that we see. Chapter one feels more like poetry. I’d even argue it sounds like a song. Our verses today read more like historical narrative. That we’ll see the rest of the book.
But there’s also a change in how Moses speaks of our God. He moves from just referring to the Lord as Elohim - the Hebrew term for God that’s more general - to calling Him Yahweh-Elohim. “LORD God.” Maybe you’ve heard Yahweh before, the Lord’s covenant name. That more specific title communicates intimacy. He’s not just high and lifted up - distant or transcendent. He’s also immanent. He draws near. Bends to our level. Looks us in our faces. Moses reminds Israel - and us - of God’s relationship with His people. We see what God is like. We see His heart.
Verse 4 kicks off with this repeated phrase - “these are the generations.” Last week, we looked at the prologue, really an introduction to Genesis. That expression - toledot in the Hebrew - always starts a new section, kicks off a chapter in the book. It usually introduces a genealogy - what comes forth from each father. Here, we see who comes from our God - “Adam,” whom Luke calls in his gospel, the very “son of God” - and his descendants that we’ll meet soon.
We next see this world in verses 5 and 6, before humans are made. It harkens back to verse 2, of chapter 1 - this picture of wilderness, of wasteland. And then moves to God preparing this world. This habitat that’s good but not yet developed. As it says in verse 5, “there was no man to work the ground.” It lacks someone to take it and mold it. The pinnacle of God’s creation. So the Lord does something about that. And that leads us into the heart of this text.
Genesis hits on our heaviest of questions. Like who am I anyhow? And why am I even here? We get those answers here in Genesis 2 - along with what we need most as we live in those realities. We’ve been designed by God. See that in three ways today.
Made by Him
First of all, we’ve been made by Him. Last week, we looked at humans made in God’s image. Every human being has inherent dignity and worth. But here, in verse 7, it says Adam is “formed” from the “dust of the ground.” We don’t just have nobility. As Calvin put it,
“Adam’s body was formed from clay and destitute of sense, so that no one can boast about his body. Only an excessively stupid person does not learn humility from this.” (John Calvin)
From “dust” came Adam - that’s what his name means. God gets His hands dirty. And starts the human race. Now do I think God literally did this? And for that matter, made Eve from a rib? I do. There are many miracles in Scripture arguably bigger than this. But even if this ends up being a metaphor, it still should give us a dose of humility. And remind us of our fragility.
But Moses also tells us that God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” This is an exceedingly intimate image. The Lord isn’t just a craftsman - who forms. Or a potter who molds. He’s also a lover. A good and kind Dad. Derek Kidner calls this the “face-to-face intimacy of a kiss.” The Lord isn’t just making. He’s truly giving right here. Of Himself. In a way different than to the animals. And Adam, it says, “became a living creature.”
Aaron next week will talk about science and the Bible. There’s freedom for Christians to tackle these verses differently. But it’s important that we believe that Adam actually existed. Jesus and Paul very clearly did. And all kinds of key doctrines come crashing down when we deny a historical Adam and Eve.
Speaking of Eve, we see her arrival beginning down in verse 18. For the first time in these chapters, the Lord says that something’s not good. And He’s determined to “make him a helper fit for him.” The Lord, as with Adam, uses existing materials. Adam’s made from the dirt. Eve here is made from Adam. She comes from the first man’s side. God, here, is the master surgeon. And a loving Provider. As He gives Adam a partner He desperately needs. Matthew Henry put it like this:
“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” (Matthew Henry)
They’re placed in this garden of abounding blessings. That’s what “Eden” means - a place of abundance, of luxury. They have everything they need. They’re truly in paradise. Blessed upon a mountain. A river waters that garden, and then splits into four that flow down, giving life to the earth. Precious natural resources are found there, as well. “Every tree,” says verse 9, “that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” They have everything they need - and especially God Himself.
But there are also these two other really important trees. First, “the tree of life was in the midst of the garden.” It’s there in the center. “The tree of life.” That’s what they have there in that garden with their Lord. Life. Would they see the Lord as their Wellspring? Would they find delight in Him? And drink from His waters? And eat of His tree? More on that second tree in a minute.
But I want to pause now and ponder what all this means. That we are made by Him.
Our body matters. Though certainly impacted by the fall, our bodies aren’t inherently bad. They’re made by our God and “very good,” says chapter 1, verse 31. We don’t await a future where our souls sour through the sky. Our hope is for a resurrected body some day - like our Resurrected Lord. This means we should care for what we have - and seek to care for those around us. Body and soul. Word and deed. Just like Jesus.
Our sex matters. There they are - man and woman, male and female. Two sexes. Their sexuality not all that they are - but a core part of their identity. We all know there’s much talk today about gender fluidity. As something that can change. Despite what biology might say. But the Bible really knows of no such thing. Man and woman. Male and female. Yes, a binary. Yes, we must be compassionate with those suffering dysphoria. But it’s important we lovingly speak the truth.
And as male and female, we’ve been made with differences. Man and woman here have equal dignity and worth, but, from the beginning, you do see a difference in role and function. That term “helper” points to the man’s call to lead - there at the beginning, before the fall. God gives Adam a partner, a human, that compliments him well. The term isn’t a demeaning one at all. In fact, that term in Scripture often refers to God. He is our helper! But Eve comes alongside Adam, assisting him in this vocation we’ll soon see.
Our love matters. Every person we encounter has been designed by God - “fearfully and wonderfully made” as Psalm 139 puts it. As chapter one explains, we’re all made in His image. We all reflect and represent our Creator. Racist social media posts make God angry. So does covering up sexual abuse. And putting people in cages because they’re slightly more brown or speak more Spanish.
But God also hates abortion on demand and assisted suicide. And shooting people with their hands up. And letting old people rot in homes. All human beings have been fashioned by the Lord. He has breathed life into every last one. He loves them. And so should we.
This is who we are, church. Made by Him. Perhaps you’ve seen ball games, where people, dressed as mascots, bounce from trampolines and then dunk the ball. At one venue recently, they gave other people a try. It was hilarious watching person after person crash and burn, fall way short, not even get close. That’s how we look going against His design. Except it’s worse. It’s more like us putting on a cape. And leaping from a building. Trying to make our own reality. But gravity always wins. Amy likes to talk about jumping out of planes. But it’s why her back really hurts. That illustrates what sin is and does. Let’s move on to the next thing we see.
Called in Him
Second of all, we’ve been called by Him. Scholar Nancy Guthrie points out a couple of important things. Eden was good, but not as glorious as it could be. No. It needed to be developed. It also was abundant, but not as expansive as it should be. Adam and Eve were called to be fruitful and multiply. To build a dynasty. But also to have dominion over the earth. To make this garden spread. And that helps us understand our calling.
Verse 15 says God “took the man and put him in the garden to work it and keep it.” He tells man and his partner, as verse 28 of chapter one puts it, to “fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion” over all His creation, the animals and plants, heaven and earth.
This is what’s been called the “cultural or creation mandate” - our calling as humans to build and to create - to take this world God has made and imitate His creativity, turning it into culture, making something out of this world in which we’ve been placed. Expanding the garden. Building cities.
Adam and Eve are the first farmers, horticulturists, working in this garden. They’re also the first zoologists. We see, in verses 19 through 20, the Lord bringing all the animals He’s made, allowing Adam to name them. Giving man authority over them. Adam and Eve serve as King and Queen over the garden, under the Lord, ruling over a kingdom, seeking its expansion.
In addition, those words, “work” and “keep” are also used in Numbers chapter 3 with reference to the Levites in the tabernacle. Many have pointed out that Eden also functions as a sanctuary, a place of worship, meant also to be expanded across the globe. Adam and Eve serve like priests there to spread God’s glory.
But back to those two trees, in verse 9. “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” That second tree represents a choice the couple has to make. Not, will they have knowledge or not. But will they try to have it apart from their Lord. Will they submit and flow with the current of their Wellspring? Or will they assert their autonomy? Express themselves as individuals? That’s this test of that tree in the garden. Will they choose life or death - as they’ve been given this calling?
With that, let’s pause again, and consider what this means. That we are called by Him.
Our world matters. Matter matters. Just to be clear. God made all this. He’s called us to rule over all this. He made it good. And put us here for a purpose. We look ahead to a new heavens and new earth. We won’t care much about our jobs - or take good care of the earth - if we think our goal is to be carried away with Jesus in a chopper, as we watch the world burn to the ground. No. The Lord will come down to earth. And reign right here. Our future will be material. We’ll have bodies. We’ll be here on earth.
Our work matters. Work is inherently good. In His new world, we won’t just be chilling on a beach. We’ll no doubt be working throughout eternity. But with the curse lifted. Minus the problems we have here. It’s now meant to be a blessing - to us, to the world. Whether you’re handing out smiles and hugs as people walk into Walmart. Or you’re performing a surgery or framing up a house. Our work matters.
This also infuses our art with meaning. As we image our creative God, through a poem or a painting. Penning and performing a song. God, as He creates, He’s not just about utility, right? But also beauty! Through our cultivating - and through our creating - we image and honor our God. We go about our role of serving under Him, ruling over this world He has made. With rhythms of work and rest, just like our God here. As an act of worship, bringing glory to Him.
Our stewardship matters. Not only do we “work” this world. We also “keep it.” Now that word “keep” carries also this need to protect. This in part hints at Adam’s need to keep out that serpent. But it also speaks to our calling to care for what God’s made. We’re stewards of His creation. We don’t own it. He lets us use it. And expects us to care for it. This is a call to conservation of our resources. This is a call to creation care, to stewarding our environment.
Note, though: Adam and Eve aren’t just the first humans. They’re the first scientists. Watch them waxing taxonomic there on opening day. Science rests on - it’s built upon - the fact that we have a designed world that’s observable, predictable, able to be studied and tested. Faith isn’t opposed to science. It gives a basis for science. We’re meant to work and care for - and yes, study and marvel at - this amazing world that our Lord has made.
Picture a woman digging a hole. Temperatures are in the high 90s. Sweating like crazy. Planting a bur oak tree. Her son moans and groans about how pointless it is. But she looks at the kid and explains her good attitude. “Someday a family’s going to have a picnic right here. People will drive from miles away to marvel at the size of this tree. They’ll rest in its shade. They’ll lean against its trunk. And look at the stars. And they’ll talk about my God who designed this tree. Stop whining, son, and get to worshipping - and digging.”
We see here in Genesis 2 why we’re here. This is our calling - our vocation. That word comes from the Latin word for “voice.” God spoke these words to Adam and Eve, to Israel, and to us. He’s put us here to labor and care for His creation. To fashion things true, good, and beautiful out of all He has made. We’re called. This is why we’re here. We’re called.
Joined in Him
Third, and finally, we’ve been joined in Him. In verse 18 again, we see the first time in this account, where God says something is “not good.” “It is not good that the man should be alone.” And that says something pretty profound about us.
Here we see the very first marriage. In verse 22, we see God our Father, give His son His bride. I can remember almost 25 years ago, when Amy walked down that aisle. I still get emotional, at that moment doing weddings. The Lord brings Eve to her man. And Adam can’t believe what he sees. He immediately erupts in praise. Verse 23:
Genesis 2:23 Then the man said,
“This last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
This is the one that comes from him - that is also perfectly made just for him. The Lord explains then what this marriage means. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” There are three components to that explanation. Leaving. Cleaving. Weaving.
“Leave.” Now most couples in that day didn’t actually move out. The son would stay with his family. The woman would move into that. This is talking about loyalty. From that point on, the husband and wife’s priority is to each other.
Cleaving - or “holding fast” - is the language of covenant. It’s committing your lives to one another. Forsaking all others. Joining together for life.
Becoming “one flesh,” yes, is talking about sex. But it’s so much more than that. It’s fully connecting your lives, having completely intimacy - emotionally and spiritually - and physically. And there, before the fall, they have exactly that. They leave, cleave, and then weave their lives together.
Verse 25 reads that “the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” This state of total innocence. Where they’ve not yet sinned. They experience complete vulnerability. This is how we’re meant to live before one another. But that all evaporates in just a few verses.
Let’s jump in again here to what all this means. That we’re joined in Him.
Our community matters. Our God is a Trinity, God in three persons. He’s forever existed in a relationship of unity and love. One way we image our God is living in that same kind of community. “You are not enough.” You and I need the Lord. But we deeply need other people, His church.
People like to say they’re ok with Jesus. But they’ll do without His people, the church. From the first page of the Bible, the Lord has always called out a people. And carried them to Himself. To live as His child and to live out His mission, you need His people. And I’m not just talking about showing up on a Sunday. But giving your life to the people of God. Committing to love and be loved. Living in openness and vulnerability. The Lord covenants with us. How can we not make that same commitment?
Our marriage matters. Fewer and fewer people are getting married today. Cohabitation is on the rise, which causes even more divorce. The Lord wants us to experience safety and vulnerability within the covenant of marriage. Marriage as exclusive. As permanent. Becoming one.
Divorce isn’t God’s intention. And neither is adultery. Weave two lives together in this way. And you tear it apart. Both cuts of fabric are damaged. And certainly any children. Sure this all happens - in the world of Genesis 3. And the Lord can restore the years the locusts have eaten. But He can also prevent all of that, through the work of Christ in our lives.
Marriage here is between a woman and a man. No matter what culture says, this is what the church has always taught. And it goes back to creation. And the culture has always pushed back against what Christians believe. Israel in the land of Canaan. The church there in Rome. Everybody thought followers of Jesus were crazy.
But, whether we’re talking about same-sex marriage or people transitioning genders, we shouldn’t be the ones screaming at the school board. We don’t have to fret and freak out and picket at the capitol. We’re in a pluralistic culture. We’re in a fallen world. But we can say: this is what God’s word says. This is what’s best for us. We’re all sexually broken, trying to live out what God says. We seek to persuade - and point people to Jesus.
Our sexuality matters. There are so many mixed messages about sex here today. People say it’s no big deal, just a physical thing we do. But it’s everywhere we turn; it slaps us in our faces. Something central to our identity, but can change day to day. Really? Fundamental or fluid? A need? A god? Something good and beautiful. A gift from Him. It’s been profaned, defiled. Onlyfans. Pornhub. Don’t even get me started on Tinder.
Author Todd Wilson says that marriage is mainly about companionship today. And sex is something that we just do for pleasure. That we think takes things next level. And makes people even closer. No mention of commitment. No thought at all of children. It’s just assumed today: if you’re dating, you’re having sex.
But that sells us short. Wounds us all deeply. And it goes against God’s design.
He writes:
“For the Christian, then, sex has a dual purpose: to unite and to procreate. It serves to unite lives in a one-flesh union and to bring forth new life from this one-flesh union. According to the Bible, this is the purpose of sex. This is what sex is for.” (Todd Wilson)
It’s a lie to say that sex is “no big deal.” It’s just meant to be experienced in the context of marriage. And as Ray Ortlund says, it’s like fire. Keep it in the right place - the fireplace - and it is a massive blessing - but get it out of there, it burns everything down. Church, sex matters because marriage matters - and deep, vulnerable community matters. God joins us together as we go about this calling. This is His gift. His blessing.
The Two Trees and Our Choice
Let’s briefly return to these two trees of verse 9 - the “tree of life” and the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” A few verses down, the Lord warns Adam and Eve, regarding that second tree, “you shall not eat” (of it), “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” He gives them that choice - between life and death. And though we’re on this side of the fall, and the redemption of Christ, we’re still prone to run back to that tree.
Our humility matters. As our eyes wander over to that second tree, will we not admit - we don’t know as much as we think we do? We need God’s word. We need His wisdom. Will be humble ourselves? And trust His currents to carry us?
Our trust matters. As we see the fruit hanging from that tree of life, will we acknowledge that He is what we truly desire? That the waters of His fountain are what our souls need? Will we believe Him in that? That He’s good? That He is enough?
Our Jesus matters. Church, listen to Ephesians 5, verses 31-32.
Ephesians 5:31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Ephesians 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Here Paul quotes these very same words. And tells us: it’s all about Jesus. In sex and marriage, we either tell the truth about His love. Or we lie and mislead. We tell a story about the gospel. We give a picture of our God. Just as we join our lives in community. And as we work and create. As we go and bear His image. What message are we telling?
Another Note about the Series
Now here’s the second thing to remember as we go through Genesis. There’s a pretty high likelihood we’ll at some point make you mad. But think about this: if God’s as big as they say, wouldn’t He challenge our beliefs? And if He believes all you do, might you be making Him in your image?
Tim Keller argued that the early church was known for at least five things. They were:
Multi-racial and multi-ethnic
Highly committed to caring for the poor and marginalized
Non-retaliatory, marked by a commitment to forgiveness
Strongly and practically against abortion and infanticide
Revolutionary regarding the ethics of sex
Those early Christians were just trying to live out the Bible. The first two are seen as “liberal” today. The last two as “conservative.” The middle one, neither, but so desperately needed. Is it really anything different today?
We may feel some whiplash during this series. Conservative? Progressive? We really don’t care. We’re the people of God. We care what He thinks. And think He knows best. And in this angry world, we can show the way to forgive.
But don’t we all fail? Trying to walk in these ways? Because we ate from bad branches and are tempted by them still, He willingly hung on the tree, so that we could once again eat the fruit of life. And He sends us out in His grace. We’re blessed - to go be a blessing. Living out this calling. Giving people a vision of who they can be in Christ.
Jumping Off the Stage
And we should want all the spotlight, all the attention, on Him. Most of all, we’re created to bless our Lord. So much of the time we’re like little kids, in our thrown-together costumes, doing a song and dance. Spinning and bowing. Begging for applause. But the performance is terrible. And it’s altogether unnecessary.
But it also couldn’t be farther from the point. We’re not the main character. It’s not about us. We weren’t meant to be filled up by what others think. But meant to praise His glory. Our Designer. Not beg for their applause. But hear this, friends: in Christ, we already have His!
As John Starke puts it:
“In Christ, we have a received identity rather than a curated one that requires constant upkeep, improvement, and filters.” (John Starke)
So much of the time, what we’re trying to build - the platform, our brand - it ends up going against what God has revealed. Trying to do things our way. Define ourselves without Him. Eating from that bad tree. It leads us away from His life. His gaze. His love.
Friends, where is it that you’re finding your identity? Are you looking within yourself trying to discern who you are or even somehow to define who you are? Are you looking outside of yourself for those to recognize your achievements, or to applaud your performance? Or are you looking upward? To the One who’s made you? The only One who can define you? Who can speak of your worth? In creation, we’ve been designed in these ways. In redemption, Jesus can restore us right back. Like those rivers, flowing out of Eden, His mercy flows. He’ll wash us. And refresh us.
We’ve been designed by Him, given an identity and purpose, in relationship with Him and others. It would do us well to receive and rest in what He gives, and live in line with what is true, good, and beautiful in Him. Let’s pray.