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02A - God's Design for Excellent Relationships
Critical
Easy
Video/Text
Divine Design
9 Lessons
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About 02A - God's Design for Excellent Relationships
The design of anything indicates the probable best way it needs to work. For example, the design of a butter knife lets you know that it works best when used spreading soft things like room temperature butter. If you try to use it to cut harder foods or materials, you will see that it is not designed to do that.
God has done the same thing with men and women – He had a clear purpose for creating man and woman. Additionally, He designed a man to be different than a woman so that the two of them would not only be complimentary, but, more importantly, would display His image to a lost and dying world.
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02A - God's Design for Excellent Relationships
Critical
Here is what Dr. Roy Zuck says in Biblical Theology of the Old Testament. One would naturally expect the Bible, as a historical and theological treatise, to commence its story with creation... If, however, there were theological concerns that transcended creation and its purposes, one could have every right to expect the inspired record to begin with these because the canonical shape is not always exclusively sensitive to chronological concerns. Therefore, the very priority of creation both historiographically and canonically should point to its theological centrality.
Critical
Since God had a specific purpose for mankind on the earth, it makes sense that God would design man and woman to fulfill that purpose. In Genesis chapter 2, God provides insight into the design of men and women. Starting with man, look at the following verses and see the specific reasons God created him.
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Why is the design of man so essential to know? Because not knowing or paying attention to the design of something increases the probability of misuse. Consider a time you decided to use a butter knife as a screwdriver. You can make it work, but that is not what it was designed to do. Knowing your design is critical. Otherwise, you do not know if you are using it properly.
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Work Is Good & From God - God INITIATED Work (Genesis 1:1) - God INTENDS for Man to work (Genesis 2:8) - God INVENTED Man to Work (Genesis 2:15) - God INVENTED Man’s Work - God INSTRUCTS Man’s Work (I Cor. 10:31, Proverbs 21:30) - God belongs at the INCEPTION of Man’s Work (Matt 6:33, Prov. 16:9, Prov. 21:21)
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And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” – Genesis 2:18 Do you remember that God said it was “not good that man should be alone?” It was God. And do you remember what God wanted for man? “A helper comparable to him.” So, God made exactly what man needed – Woman.
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Do not miss God’s clear reasoning here for creating woman. She is to be a helper to man. Other versions say the helper will be “suitable,” “meet,” or “as his counterpart.” And, men, God clearly states you need a helper.
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Despite the clarity of the different designs and unique roles, people choose to see it differently. That is especially true when the agenda compares men to women to elevate one over the other.
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Back to the farming metaphor, women are designed to help, nurture, and support the seed. A woman bears, births, assists, aids, and gives relief to what was planted. Like a man, a woman does not do this alone because she is the complimentary companion to help the man and his aloneness, which men often unrecognize. Finally, a woman’s design is best utilized combined with a man’s design, joining in complementary oneness.
Critical
If you use an agriculture metaphor, God designed women to help, nurture, and support the seed. A woman bears, births, assists, aids, and gives relief to the seed. Like a man, a woman does not do this alone because she is the complementary companion to help the man and his aloneness, which he often does not recognize. Notably, a woman’s design is best utilized in combination with a man’s design, joining in complementary oneness.