Genesis 17 – The Helper

God's word is from Genesis chapter 2, verses 18 through 23. Please listen attentively to God's word.

 

"The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.' Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 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. 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 and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 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.'" Amen.  

 

Structure of Genesis 2: Problem and Solution

Today's passage is not only frequently quoted in wedding sermons but is perhaps one of the most read passages in the entire Bible. We have been examining Genesis continuously for several months now. Through the story of the tree of life, we learned our life depends on God. And through the story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil examined last week, we also realized that by eating this fruit, we commit the sin of placing ourselves, instead of God, at the center of our lives and making all judgments centered on ourselves. The story of these two trees will be dealt with importantly once more in the story of chapter 3, which will be covered next.

 

The Genesis chapter 2 we are examining contains content about two major moments of transformation or change. The first was the content of chapter 2 verse 5, which we examined before, and the second change is being explained in today's passage, verse 18.

 

"Not Good": Theological Significance of Creation Order

In today's verse 18, a very important word appears. It is precisely the sentence where God saw Adam alone and said, "It is not good". This verse 18 is what God said after creating Adam, but before creating Eve, that is, the woman. Then, which day of God's 6-day creation does this correspond to? Yes, naturally it would be something that happened on the sixth day. Then what did God say after finishing the 6-day creation? Did He say it was good, or 'This part is a bit problematic'? Not just good, but He said it was very good. However, the content read today was included in that sixth-day creation process. There was something God did not consider good. That's why this passage is very interesting and also important. Through today's passage as well, we can easily see that this 6-day creation is not simply listing the order of time. Rather, through the listing of its themes, God is conveying very important meanings to us in this 6-day creation. Let's return to verse 19 of today's passage. It says this: "Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky." Did you perhaps find this part a bit strange while reading? Two facts must be noted. One is the order in which the beasts of the land and the birds of the sky were created. Were the beasts and birds made after man was made, or before man came into being? According to the preceding text, we can know they were made before man was made. Because according to the content of Genesis chapter 1, man appears to be made last. However, today's passage records God created them to bring them to Adam. So it's recorded as if man was made first. Then, at this point, we might think this is slightly different from the previously recorded Genesis content. However, the confusion about the order, which seems contradictory like this, can be explained this way. In the Hebrew sentence expressing God created various birds and beasts from the earth, the tense of the word "created" is not a simple past tense, but uses the pluperfect tense, indicating a completed situation in the past. Therefore, if viewed as a tense preceding the creation of man, there wouldn't be much problem with the order in which beasts and man, made on the same sixth day, were created. But the problem is the story of creating various birds. This verse clearly records birds were also created along with wild animals. Then do you remember which day the birds were made? Birds were made not on the sixth day but on the fifth day. Are you starting to feel a little confused from here? When I explained the order of creation before, I mentioned the structure of 1, 2, 3 and 4, 5, 6. That is, on the first day there was light, and the sun, moon, and stars that make that light were made on the fourth day, I said. Since He made the sky and the sea on the second day, correspondingly on the fifth day, He created the birds and fish that fill the sky and sea, and on the land made on the third day, beasts and humans were made on the sixth day, I said. However, in this passage today, those birds and wild animals seem to have been made on the same day. But when reading this content, rather than thinking something is wrong, thinking about God's intention in recording in this way is a much better method of reading the Bible. Let me give an example. Suppose in a certain house, a child was studying late into the night preparing for an exam the next day. But that night, a thief happened to break into that house. So the police were dispatched, and a very big commotion occurred. But what happened to the child? Could they study properly for the exam? They couldn't finish studying and probably failed the exam the next day. So the child's heart was very hurt. Then, if that child wrote a diary about what happened that day, how would they have recorded the events of that day? They could have written in detail chronologically, but it's more likely they recorded it like this: "Today was the exam day, and I got 0 points on that exam. It wasn't that I didn't intend to study, but a thief broke in that evening. So the police were even dispatched, and because of that, I couldn't study." Even with this description, you can sufficiently understand what happened that night, right? But looking only at the sentences, it's recorded as if taking the exam came first. Then why would the child describe it that way? Because the most important thing to the child who wrote this was precisely doing well on their exam. Then, if the mother described the same event, how would she have done it? It probably would have been a writing filled entirely with the story of the thief. What items were stolen, and how the police caught the thief—it would have been about such content. But both these writings are writings that definitely recorded the facts that happened. It's the same way. The content of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 are both God's accurate records of the events that happened. They both speak the truth, but were merely restructured for the core message they intend to convey, and due to this, the content might appear slightly different. That is, it's a method to reveal the core message intended to be emphasized. So today, through this Genesis chapter 2 passage, God expressed it as if Adam was made first, followed by the creation of birds and wild animals, in order to reveal one central thing.

 

Emergence of Animals: Naming and Ruling

Then what theme did God emphasize by speaking like this? That is the core of today's passage. And that core theme is precisely that Adam was lonely because he was alone, and the reason was precisely because he had no suitable helper. This story is the theme God wants to let us know in today's message.

 

Adam's Realization: Loneliness and Need for a Helper

And structurally too, this passage today is included in the entire creation story as very important content. In Genesis 1:2, the Bible tells us the fact that the earth was formless and void. Then this chaos and darkness existed as the problem at that time. And God resolved that problem by establishing order on this earth through creation. That is, dividing the sky and the sea, causing the land to emerge from that sea, and filling the water and land He made with living things. Establishing order like that, creating life in that place, and filling it abundantly with all things that should be—this is the important flow of content expressed in Genesis chapter 1. However, the exact same structure of expression is repeated in Genesis 2:5. But in this part, something was missing. Rain had not come, and there was no person to cultivate, so there were no plants. And God resolves that deficiency by making it rain and creating man. By resolving this deficiency, the earth became full of plants and He made this Garden of Eden abundant and full. And, a similar repetition appears once again in 2:18. In this verse, God presents another problem once again. Then what was that problem? It was precisely that the man was alone and had no helper suitable for him. This is the third part concerning the important transition of creation found in Genesis that we will examine today. Can you now see the important structure revealed in these three transitions of creation? First, after presenting the problem, God Himself resolves the problem, and we saw this repeated twice before, and today He presents the third problem and shows us the method to resolve it. As we meditate on the creation account of Genesis recorded in this format, we come to know what kind of being God, who created all this, is, what kind of existence humans, His creatures, are, and what meaning is contained in this creation. It's not simply describing the past facts chronologically, but the intention is to make us realize God is trying to convey something to us through all these facts.

 

"Helper Suitable" and the Ultimate "Helper" God

As briefly explained before, God clearly said at the end of the sixth day's creation that it was very good. However, in the next chapter, in the part explaining in detail what happened on that sixth day, He says it was not good to see the man Adam He had made alone. That is, He speaks by attaching a prefix with a negative meaning before the Hebrew word "tov," meaning good. In Hebrew, if "lo" is attached before a word, it signifies strong negation of the word that follows. For example, when we studied Hosea, the Hebrew word for "The Israelites are my people" is "Ammi," and when using it in reverse, the word used to say "They are no longer my people" was precisely the word "Lo-Ammi," using the prefix "Lo". Then, what is the opposite of "tov," meaning good? Yes, it is precisely "lo tov". And that word is the word used today after creating Adam. Therefore, it shows there was definitely something God was not pleased with after creating Adam. We often think this creation God performed is good, a state where everything is satisfied, and there is no deficiency at all. However, in today's creation account, we can clearly see there was a part God did not consider good. And the end part of that creation day concludes again with the record that it was very good. Therefore, today's creation account on this day is undoubtedly a part holding very important meaning throughout the entire process of creation. We easily understand God's creation as everything finishing with a single word. However, as can be seen even in today's passage, the Bible doesn't explain all the events that occurred in detail, and especially looking at the process of creating the most important human being, we can know that all this was by no means simple. And God lets us know that even within that process, there was a part that was not good, a part God was not satisfied with. When understanding this passage today, you must clearly know the fact that expressing it as "not good" was by no means used with the meaning "evil". This expression is an explanation used in the sense of "less good" compared to something better. God created man and was pleased. He was pleased having created Adam, and creating this man was not evil at all. However, there is a better state than this state Adam is in, and God is leading this creation towards that stage. That is God's creation. Therefore, God's creation is not something completed and finished with just one command, but rather, all important meaningful processes are permeated within it. Then why are these many processes so important? I will tell you today one of the most difficult things I faced after believing in Jesus. I was so happy about the fact that I believed in Jesus and was saved. Unable to suppress the overwhelming emotion, I sang hymns, and just thinking about it, I couldn't stop the tears of joy and emotion. I think probably everyone here has had similar experiences. But the problem was precisely the fact that the joy didn't last very long. And the Holy Spirit came into my heart, but the fact was I was seeing my unchanged self. Accepting that self was really difficult. Not long after, I fought with my younger sibling again, disliked listening to my parents... The house I lived in when young had a coal briquette furnace. So the briquettes had to be changed properly on time, and if that time was missed and the fire went out, someone had to go to that furnace, use a lightning briquette, and endure the stinging smoke to change the briquettes. After receiving grace, the first few times, I really did it happily with a volunteering heart, even when it wasn't my turn, but as this continued once or twice, resentment slowly began to arise about why only I had to keep doing this. It didn't take very long for that to happen. There was no genuine change within me. And that was a truly difficult problem for me. But what was an even bigger problem for me was that it wasn't just something from that time when I first started believing deeply in Jesus, but it still resides within me even now. Perhaps you too might have had similar thoughts looking at your inner self.

 

In passages other than this one today, this "helper" was used for beings other than humans. It's from Deuteronomy: "Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights." He said He would fight the war for the Israelites, and called this a "helping shield". That is, the word "helps" was used in the sense of God fighting the war for humans, and the exact same word was used in today's passage. That is, this suitable helper means helping this Adam just like God who fights alone for the Israelites. The same word is used in Psalms as well. "We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield." It's a poem confessing God is our help, and the same word was used. As such, in the Bible, the word "help" was used with the meaning of God's unilateral grace performed for us. That is, when describing the name of the God of grace, the word "help" was mainly used. Therefore, the meaning of "suitable helper" in today's passage can be said to include a very special meaning. For men, it might be a passage requiring a slightly deeper understanding. The statement that the wife is a suitable helper is not just about doing housework for the husband and helping with the husband's business, but speaks of service like God helping Israel. When God is said to serve Israel, He serves not only like your children but also serves like your wife. If you now understand the meaning of this suitable helper today, you realize that God helping Adam, this is precisely the important content this first Adam is learning. Knowing that God is the real helper. And realizing the source of that suitable helper is in God. And that help comes from God, and Adam is now looking for an existence that will directly convey that help of God to me while living on this earth. He is looking for one who can enjoy God's help together as the image of God.  

 

Creation of Woman: Completion of God's Image

It cannot be but a very surprising concept. We will study this part more deeply over the next 2-3 weeks, dividing it into sections on family, and man and woman. The phrase "he called its name" used in today's passage can mean grasping the nature of the object, and means coming to rule over it. And through this work, Adam came to realize his identity. He realized he was a completely different existence from them. He came to know what the image of God is, and also realized the image of God does not exist among those beasts. But perhaps the most important realization among them was that he needed a suitable helper to do these things together, and that the first suitable helper was precisely God. Adam first realized there that God was the most important, and the first existence of the "helper". It might be slightly difficult to understand. Then let me explain this concept of "helper" a bit more clearly. In the Bible text, this "helper" was translated as "suitable helper". It's a good translation. However, the misunderstanding that can arise from this word is that this helping subject presupposes only marriage. In fact, translating more accurately, this suitable helper is a masculine noun. It's not feminine. That is, the word suitable helper itself does not just talk about Adam's spouse as we might easily think. Rather, it's a word with a slightly broader meaning. Its original meaning, if translated, is "one who helps me suitably, appropriately, fittingly". This word "fittingly," translated a bit closer to the original meaning, means "stands slightly more on the opposite side". That is, I am standing here, and my counterpart is on the opposite side, and it doesn't mean opposite as in against me, but one who is on that side to complement me. That is, it means an existence standing on my opposite side to complement me. An easy example would be an existence like the South Pole and the North Pole. These two poles exist in opposite directions to complement the entire Earth. That aligns most with the meaning of "matches, appropriate, suitable, fitting," which is the explanation of the word suitable helper today. That's why English translations use the word "Counterpart". A suitable helper implies a relationship that complements each other. Therefore, we learned that within this verb word "helps," a very profound and important meaning is included. This passage today is the passage we hear most often in wedding sermons. So the wife became a suitable helper, faithfully helping the husband became like a duty, and so one might think the meaning of helping is about the extent of doing housework, laundry, raising children, and making the husband comfortable at home. However, if you look at how this word "helps" was used in the Bible, you will be able to understand well what kind of person a suitable helper with a deeper meaning is, not just the simple suitable helper we think of.

 

Adam's Song: "Bone of My Bones"

As examined in Genesis chapter 1, God said He created man according to God's image, in God's likeness, and created them male and female. Therefore, the image of God was completed with man and woman. That is, the fact that creating woman following man precisely explains the image of God. Now in this chapter 2, Adam was created first, and this was the image of God, but that image was not yet complete. That is, by saying it was not good for him to be alone, He revealed Adam was not yet complete as the image of God. And He said that image of God was finally completed when Adam had a suitable helper. Let's examine in the Bible how we can know this content.

 

Humans: Relational Beings, Forming Community

It's the same concept of plurality already explained in Genesis chapter 1. That is, the same concept of plurality explaining the Trinity of God is well revealed in this event of creating man and making man and woman. Of course, this concept of plurality does not exist limited only to man and woman. In the Bible, these plural concepts of God appear in various places. For example, the work of creating plants. To feed humans, God made grass. And even with just that plant, human food was sufficient. Of course, for people like us now accustomed to eating meat, it might have been difficult, but when humans were first created, they were meant to live eating only plants. So Adam and Eve also ate plants, and the fruits of trees and seed-bearing vegetables were their staple food. That is, we are beings who can live eating only grass. Then what was the reason animals were given to humans? In this Garden of Eden, only man and those plants, fruits and vegetables, were needed. However, birds flew in the sky of the Garden of Eden, and wild animals lived on the land. The reason for that is the same as the reason for creating humans in the plural mentioned in this passage today. Then let's examine that reason from now on. The creation of animals has very similar aspects to humans. Animals were created from the earth just like humans. And when creating humans, He said, "became a living being," and He used the same Hebrew word 'nephesh chayyah' (נֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה) meaning living being when creating animals as well. Just as God breathed breath into the nose and man became a living being, He used this same word 'nephesh chayyah' when creating animals too. And the only difference between these two is precisely the image of God. Humans have the image of God, which beasts do not. And God, by bringing these beasts and birds before man, made him realize he is no longer a being alone, but that humans and all other creatures came to live as a community. It means humans are no longer beings alone, but came to live together with beasts and birds that went through the same creation process. That is, it means becoming a "plural community". Humans cannot talk with grass. Therefore, they probably cannot interact with grass. Is there anyone among you who talks to the dog you raise at home? Nowadays, to raise a dog at home, they say you don't just go to a store and buy a puppy. They say you bring the puppy home through an adoption process like a human. As such, it seems the world has changed a lot in its treatment of dogs raised at home these days. When God made these livestock raised at home, the word "Domestic," meaning an animal raised at home, was used in the Bible from that time. That is, He says among animals, not wild beasts, but livestock raised at home existed separately. That is, He created livestock, animals living together with humans. That is, He created those animals, whose starting point of creation was similar, and whose process of creation was similar, made them form a community with humans, and planned and created everything so that humans would rule over them and not be lonely alone. Although all this order collapsed after human fall, anyway, God, according to His plan, calls all these beasts before Adam after creation.

 

Eschatological Meaning of Marriage

We sometimes frequently talk about seeing the world eschatologically. The meaning of this word eschatological is viewing and interpreting all of today's events from the perspective of the time when the last world will end. Then, if we examine the creation of man and woman in today's passage eschatologically, the purpose is not simply bearing children, multiplying, and forming a family. When the Sadducees came to Jesus and argued there is no resurrection, Jesus clearly stated. When the Sadducees asked which of the seven brothers married to one woman should marry this woman in heaven, Jesus rebuked the ignorance of the Sadducees. And He said marriage relationships do not exist in heaven. That is, marriage exists only on this earth, and is not needed in heaven. Of course, a more detailed explanation would be needed, but the Apostle Paul also came to say it is better to be alone. Of course, this seems like a declaration completely different from the overall flow of the Bible. However, the background allowing Paul to be so certain is because he saw this marriage from an eschatological perspective. From this perspective, whether one is alone or marries and bears offspring, now in Christ, everything becomes blessed. Everything has changed. Explaining this passage is a bit cautious. Because nowadays young friends tend to avoid marriage itself. So I hope you don't misunderstand that living alone is a blessed thing. This is not arguing whether living alone is right or wrong, but means everything we enjoy in Christ now is related to eschatological fulfillment, and that's why Paul could even say that. The overall flow of the Bible explains blessing to us through bearing children through marriage. And we will examine this part, including marriage, in more detail while explaining further in the future.

 

Adam's Learning: His Identity and Need

In today's message, Adam could realize the fact that God is precisely the beginning of all this help. And Adam could also realize the fact that he is not alone, but God is achieving His will through the community He made. And especially, he realized the image of God is necessary for all this, and also realized that as the image of God now, something is lacking. He came to know well what kind of existence he is.

 

Our Creation Process: Imperfection and Faith Doubts

This content we examined today will likely be a lesson needed just as much, perhaps even much more, than Adam for us living the life of faith as believers. We must all realize the fact that we are still in the process of growing up to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Knowing that and not knowing it cannot help but create a very different life of faith. Because if we live the life of faith without realizing that fact, we cannot help but live a life always frustrated and despairing. Because my goal is to become like Jesus, but that doesn't work out well. At times like this, we doubt if perhaps I am a fake believer. We sometimes doubt if I really believe in Jesus. We cannot have any hope in our faith. Of course, it's the same for me too. Because this is our weakness, understanding the correct concept of this creation becomes a very important matter.

 

New Creature: True Check-up in Christ

The first thing you must confirm about creation is not whether I am being created, or how well I am changing, but checking whether I belong in Christ. Confirming what relationship I have with Christ is more important than anything else and must be prioritized. Because what relationship is formed between us and Jesus determines everything about our creation. When we come to be in Christ, from then on, creation begins to happen to us. Therefore, believing in Jesus and going to heaven can be expressed differently as "being in Christ," and we are acknowledged as "new creatures". It's an expression we often heard in Paul's letters, right? We are new creatures, people in whom new creation happens.

 

Paradox of Creation: Comfort and Hope Amidst Deficiency

But how does this new creation happen within us? Does it mean everything ends smoothly once we believe in Jesus? Will a creation happen from then on where miraculous works of the Holy Spirit pour out wildly, and we are so happy we don't know what to do? If not that, now that I have become God's child, will a creation be achieved where the resolve arises to live not in the old way but worthily as God's people, and this is immediately realized in life? If it happened like that, it would be a very good thing, but we immediately face realistic problems. And those many problems bring countless frustrations to our lives of faith. So when discouraged by such things, we cannot help but have strange thoughts. We cannot figure out at all why such things happen to me when the Holy Spirit is with me. However, let's examine today's passage once more. Here in the passage, even at this time when everything was first created and there was still no sin, we can see problems still arose on this earth. Because God said it was not good. However, how did God make that problem? Yes, we can see He leads it towards the state of "very good". The statement that you and I believed in Jesus means the process of that creation happens to you too, and it means we must not miss even a moment of this miraculous process happening in our lives. Then, how do those works of creation happen in our lives? In my life, which I thought ended after believing in Jesus, deficiency always arises instead of abundance, and I cannot help but worry about sin in this world full of sin, and large and small problems constantly arise around life. We thought we would become perfect, but contrary to that, our lives change as if they are a series of imperfections. So it is initially difficult for us to understand that this paradox is the principle of creation, that is, this is part of the process of creation. However, today's passage too shows us that instability and deficiency existed even during the creation process when sin was absent from the world. Along with this, it also shows God leading this deficient and imperfect state towards completed creation. Thinking about the past week, it seems there were many moments that startled me about myself. I sometimes got angry, unable to control my emotions momentarily, and argued with my children due to mutual misunderstandings during conversation. Even immediately after reading the Bible and receiving grace, as soon as I turned around, I poured out all that grace, flared up in anger, and raised my voice. The Bible says hating a neighbor is murder, and like this expression, we are probably people who commit such sins of murder very often. Perhaps so often we can't even remember. In fact, several family members living together in the same house itself could be seen as one kind of war. It probably isn't easy and comfortable for the family to always live together enjoyably and peacefully. Sometimes it's very tiring and difficult. Of course, it's also happy, but simultaneously we always experience being pushed into very difficult situations. Such processes seem like a series of failures for me, continuous anxiety, and filled with constant selfishness. However, today's Bible passage comforts us who despair and ache from this imperfect appearance of ours. And it exhorts us. It informs us the direction the process of creation shown in our lives should head towards is not despair. It tells us the place our lives should head towards is not the side of despair.

 

Goal of Faith: Relying on Christ and Community

A common life goal after believing in Jesus is living worthily as one who believes in Jesus. At least we resolve to live worthily as believers like that. But problems start to arise from here. If I live like that, we always look at others. And we begin to demand the same from neighbors, and start criticizing those who fall short. If I come out for dawn prayer, I evaluate neighbors who don't gather at that prayer time. As such, even while living the life of faith well, we inevitably show this ridiculous appearance of a sinner. Looking closely, one of the many things we do coming to church is precisely critiquing the faith lives of other brothers and sisters. You might have experienced casually throwing out words like, "This deacon is like this, that elder does that, and even the pastor, I found out, is just so-so". I'm not just criticizing or blaming this, but mentioning this example to say I am not much different. It's not about feeling resentful or anything, but since we all live such lives, in a way, it means we are all pretty much the same. We are all living like that. However, we are not happy with this appearance of ours for even a moment, and we dislike ourselves like that very much. Everyone wants to become a fine person of faith. However, today I want to offer you a cautious encouragement regarding this goal. Such appearance of a fine believer is by no means bad. We must become such people, and eventually will. However, we must be cautious if our life's purpose heads only in that direction. If our goal of faith heads only towards becoming a somewhat decent person as one who believes in Jesus, we ultimately cannot achieve that goal, and moreover, it means we cannot help but live a life filled with numerous worries whenever those many moments of failure come. People who lived life with similar goals appear in the Bible. Precisely the Pharisees. These were people who truly tried hard to live like that. They were people who devoted their entire lives to keeping the law well, and actually lived like that, so they thought of themselves as righteous. And what was the result? These people missed Jesus. If those people had realized they were sinners, they would have surely grasped onto Jesus somehow. However, in reality, they did not. Therefore, the goal of our lives and faith should not be believing in Jesus and becoming a plausible person, living impressively, but rather struggling to hold onto only that believed Jesus until the end. We must live only by the grace of Jesus, hold only onto the cross of Christ. Our prayer must be to rely solely on the Lord's grace for all my life, not relying on myself. If we place all our hope in that grace, and live praying for it, will such ridiculous appearances of sin easily emerge in our lives? If we truly struggle to hold onto the cross of Christ, and sincerely confess that the Lord of my life is only Jesus, even then, can we be happy knowing something different from God's will exists in our lives? That would be impossible. We will strive even more earnestly towards the Lord. And it means we won't place great significance on the things I have done, nor rely on or attach meaning to the small and large things happening around me. The appearance of a true believer emerges.

And then, you will see the faith lives of people weaker than you, not ridicule it, but finally begin to consider them better than yourself. That is what the Bible tells us. "Consider others better than yourselves," not "lower," but clearly says "better" [referring to Philippians 2:3]. From now on, thinking like this would be good. "There is no one in this church with lower faith than me". This statement would be correct. It sounds truly difficult to acknowledge. Because we always think, 'I'm not that bad'. But it's not so. We are all sinners. Because we are complete sinners unable to produce even a speck of righteousness ourselves. Therefore, if you see brothers and sisters acting in ways inconsistent with right faith, even then, we must embrace the same heart, that is, realize again the fact we are sinners, and with the heart to go forward together again towards the Lord through this sin, we must talk with them together. One shouldn't advise, "You're still younger in faith than me, so follow as I tell you."

 

It's the same when a pastor preaches. It's not saying the pastor is living this much, so you too should become people of faith as demanded by the Word. We are all the same sinners before the Word. And we always collapse. Therefore, we must hold onto only the Lord. If there is someone among us who appears better, we can praise them. We must rejoice together. However, if you see that seemingly better person and think they are better than you, He says it won't be so. We are all the same sinners. And we were called to become the least. But acknowledging this is by no means easy. We too easily find someone worse than ourselves and evaluate that person. Therefore, we must not forget the fact that we all receive the Word together as the same sinners before God.

 

God Fills Our Imperfection

And simultaneously, we must always remember the fact that God is continuing creation to fill that imperfection of all of us now. Therefore, we must not forget the fact that He is still working to speak the words the Lord delights in most, "It was very good!" to us. The phrase "It was very good" well reveals God's heart, loving us so much and rejoicing greatly in us. And towards that, God is ceaselessly filling you and building you up. If you understood this fact deeply, let's move on to the next message today's word will tell us. That content is not so difficult. Let's examine it together.

 

One strange point we might have reading this passage is mainly this. First, summarizing today's passage simply, it's content about Adam seeming lonely, this not looking good, so God makes a suitable helper. Thus God made woman. Since Adam was man, He made woman, and this seems to be all. However, this is not all; some story is inserted in the middle. That is precisely the story of bringing animals before Adam. So, in a way, it might seem a bit strange. Why on earth does this story appear in this place? It's so clear. He is commanding Adam to find a suitable helper for this task. From Adam's perspective, placing animals like monkeys, rhinos, elephants before him and asking him to find a suitable helper—he could have asked God.

 

To understand this content better, a slight explanation is needed. First, God created man according to God's image. Right? Then when God created man according to God's image, did everything end with creating man? Not so, right? He also created woman. Therefore, when you and I are in Christ, the reason we strive and make effort towards God is not to become better beings, but to live more within the grace and love of Christ Jesus. To experience that grace of Christ more. To realize more desperately that I cannot live without God. That's why, realizing this gospel, our life of faith becomes very different from religious life. Religion all exists to make humans live a slightly better life. Whatever the religion, its goal is for humans to realize something morally and ascend to a better existence. However, the Bible says our goal is not entirely becoming a good being. Rather, it's about how we enjoy the relationship with God. How will I realize that grace of the Lord, how will I hold onto the cross of Jesus and rise from this pitiful appearance of mine, and how must I rise from my helpless self without despairing or being discouraged, and how can I rise—that is what our life's goal lies in constantly getting to know the fact that Jesus came for this.

 

Eternal Satisfaction and Craving for Christ

This is precisely the core of the phrase 'united with Christ'. We are still beings in the process of being completed as the image of God. And we have become those who know God is my "Helper," and that He will accomplish God's work through this suitable helper. Therefore, where does the concept of family presented in the Bible eventually flow? Although it began with man and woman, it eventually flows into the concept of Christ and the church. That's why the concept of this church becomes very important to you and me. Because the work called family, which God first began through man and woman, eschatologically ends with the thing called the Kingdom of God. All these events 맞춰지고 (machwojigo: being fitted, matched, aligned) and eventually achieved—the entire process began precisely in this Genesis. And we are now beings within this path.

 

I repeat once more. Creation is the work of delivering us from the greed and despair due to our deficiency, failure, weakness, and sin, so that we may go towards the work of God, "It was very good." This is what creation does in us. Therefore, we who are in this process must not despair or be discouraged. Because when you and I abide in Christ, it is surely accomplished. God first came to Adam, felt his loneliness and pain Himself, knew that deficiency must be filled, and began that work first. God Himself became the helper. And Adam came to know what is needed for me and why I am lacking. The moment you know your weakness and deficiency, you precisely realize God's grace is most needed for me. Because you know it cannot come from me. Because I cannot make and fill the image of God myself. Only God's love and grace become necessary. We have now become those called thus. Therefore, we can never be satisfied in this place. We can never be satisfied eternally. Because our satisfaction lies only in Christ Jesus. As we get to know Christ Jesus, we want to know more, and knowing him more is our satisfaction. Therefore, you and I, at this very moment Christ is with us, can be eternally satisfied, but simultaneously we are eternally unsatisfied and will ceaselessly drink that cup of grace. Will ceaselessly receive that grace. Knowledge of God will ceaselessly grow in us. Will ceaselessly know Christ Jesus, will ceaselessly resemble him. You and I will eternally taste and live the richness of Christ, that grace, that wisdom, that perfection, that patience and love. The fact that it belongs not to anyone else, but precisely to us, experiencing that daily is precisely the life of a believer. Do not miss that path, do not be discouraged, but walk that path today as well. Walk the path towards Christ Jesus. Readjust the compass that points that path. What are you seeking now, and what path are you walking?

 

Closing Prayer

Let us pray! Lord, You saw us. And today, You knew what I needed. And You were not pleased with that in Your heart, and began to fill it. We were sinners. We could not go to God. The Lord, to fill that, sent the Son. He gave the Son in the place where we should die, and obtained us. Thus, He is leading us now to the Kingdom of God. Lord, what kind of love are we receiving? Lord, what kind of God are we believing in? Lord, what kind of God are we knowing, and are we knowing correctly who I am? Lord, renew us according to the Word, and through that Word, give birth to us again and make us holy. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!