GOD\’S DESIGN FOR FAMILY
Lesson 1
FAMILY, A DIVINE INSTITUTION
Family is a divine institution. Family was created by God.
In Genesis 1:26 , God said let us make man in our own image and own likeness.
It was a collaborative effort by God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Spirit.
Family is special to God. No other creature that God made did He say
\”let us\”.
It was on the sixth day after God had created the Heavens and the earth
and all plants and animals that he created man. God made an environment
suitable for man to live. Gen 1:28-31
What does it mean, let us create man in our own image and likeness?
Let me suggest that God gave man the power to reason and think.
Since God is creative, God the Father made man with the ability to be creative.
God the Son gave man the Word.
God the Holy Spirit gave man the power to live according to the Word .
In Genesis 2:18 God said, It is not good for man to live alone.
God decided that Adam needed a help mate. He made us dependant on
each other. By God\’s design, we are social creatures.
1 Corinthians 11:11
In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
God performed the first surgery. He was the anesthesiologist and surgeon.
God put Adam to sleep, took a rib out of his side and formed Eve.
When Adam awoke, God presented Eve to Him. The first
marriage was ordained and performed by God
THE BEGINNING OF FAMILY
Family began with an adult man and adult woman who were married.
When God presented Eve to Adam, he said, she is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. One man and one woman.
In Genesis 1:28, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply.
Therefore God ordained sex. Notice it is sex between to adults, a male
and a female.
Thus family consist of a man , a woman and children. Not two men and children,
not two women and children. Family has the ability to reproduce itself.
Can two men produce a child? Can two women produce a child?
Homosexuality is the devil\’s doing. It did not come from God.
Homosexuality is the devil\’s way of destroying the family unit.
The norm for our society is anything goes. Same sex marriages have been
legalized in all 50 states. Many of our television personalities, both men
and women are openly homosexual.
Leviticus 18:22
22 \”\’Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Romans 1:26-27
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Because of the universal acceptance of homosexuality, the Church has to teach
family values. If we don\’t emphasize God\’s family values, our children will
accept what the world teaches them. Never think that your children are not
influenced by what they see.
This problem is nothing new. The events of the book of Leviticus is dated
1400 years before the birth of Christ. Our values may change, but God does not.
Numbers 23:19 states \” God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not
fulfill?\”
THE MARRIAGE
What does the marriage look like?
MARRIAGE HAS A HEAD
The head of the man is God. The head of the woman is man.
1 Corinthians 11:3 states \”But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.\”
By God\’s design, man should be the head of the family.
THE HEAD
What does God mean by man being the head?
The word \”head\” is the Greek word \”kephale\” which means taking hold of, top,
or cornerstone.
Christ is the cornerstone of the Church. The husband is the cornerstone of the marriage,
According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, the word head suggest two things,
subordination and origination.
Christ was subordinated (subject) to the Father in His work as an agent to the creator
(the Father).
Man , the head is subject to Christ and also an agent of Christ.
The Husband as the head of the family follows Christ because he is the agent of Christ
in the marriage.
THE HUSBAND
Ephesians 5:25-29
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
THE WIFE
Ephesians 5:22 states, \” Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord\”
1 Peter 3:1-2 states, \” Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.\”
Since the marriage is an agent of Christ, then it ought to operate like a localized Church.
In the Church there is praise and worship. In the Church there is preaching and
teaching of the Word of God. Out of the Church come evangelism. In the Church
there is private and cooperate prayer.
In the family there should be Bible Study, prayer, praise and worship lead by the head.
WHAT A MAN LOOK\’S LIKE
What does a man look like? How would you describe a man to you daughter?
How would tell your son what a man is?
If you just point to yourself as a male and say a man looks like me,
Your son or daughter want get the full picture.
What are the characteristics of an adult man. He is not just some male who can have
sex and produce a baby. Dogs do that. All of us ware a mask that hides who
we really are. Your clothes, make up, shoes are what we put on. Just because
someone looks good does not make them good. You can buy looks good out of the
store.
Strip away the clothes and the good looks and what do you have?
Lets see what God says:
1. FOLLOW GOD\’S HOUSE RULES
We live in God\’s creation. 1 Cor 1:26
Before God made Eve, God put Adam in the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam a home.
Adam had a relationship with God. Adam listen to the Word of God.
God gave Adam some house rules. You may eat from every tree in the Garden except
the tree of knowledge and of good and evil. One quality of good man is he
follows God\’s commands. Gen 2:17
2. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
The first characteristic of a good man is he has a relationship with God.
Gen 1:26
3. PLACE OF HIS OWN
The second characteristic of a good man is he has a place of his own.
Ladies if you are looking for a man, you might want to find out
what he owns. Does he live with his momma. Does he have his own place.
Gen 2:24
3. MAN SHOULD HAVE A JOB
The next thing God did for Adam was to give him a job. God made Adam responsible for
the up keep of His Garden. A responsible man has a job.
God made Adam responsible for taking care of His garden. Gen 1:28, Gen 2:1, 2:15
4. ABILITY TO MAKE RIGHT DECISIONS
A man should have the ability to make good decisions. God brought all the animals to
Adam to see what he would name them. Genesis Gen 2;19
WHAT MAKES A GOOD HUSBAND
There is a difference between a man and a husband.
Every man is not suited to be a husband.
1. RESPECT FOR HIS WIFE
God presented Eve to Adam after he was established.
Adam owned his marriage. She is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
Adam had respect for his wife. Gen 2;23
Not every man want to be married. Not every man want the responsibility of
raising and taking care of children. Not every man want to be the cornerstone
of the marriage.
God made Adam and Eve compatible. Ladies, every man is not for you. Men, every woman is not for you. We have to teach that to our children.
The worst thing you can do is overlook what God has presented to you
about a man before getting into a relationship.
2. THE DESIRE TO BECOME ONE WITH HIS WIFE
In Genesis 2;24 God said the two should become one flesh. In marriage, there is
no longer me, but us.. It not what I want but what we want. 50 percent of all marriages fail because they never get to that point. If the marriage does not start with a man that
wants to be cornerstone, it will be hard to get to be one flesh.
3. A DESIRE TO BE UNIFIED
From the beginning of the human race, God said, \”let us\”. There is unity in the
Holy Trinity. For a marriage to survive there has to be unity. One common goal.
There should be one unified voice
A house divided cannot stand. Luke 11:17 states, \” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: \”Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.\”
My wife constantly reminds me, that we have to be on the same page.
4. PROVIDE A LIVING SPACE
A married couple must have their own space.
Genesis 2:24 says a man shall leave his mother and father and be joined
to his wife.
A man and his wife must be free from the control of their parents.
By all means, they should seek the advice and council from parents.
But any decisions in the marriage should be made by the couple.
We have to teach our sons and daughters God\’s directions for marriage.
The Word says that you should not be unequally yoked.
For those of you who are not married, consider God\’s directions
5. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
When we are considering a relationship, it should be with
a person who has a relationship with God.
One who believes in God should not consider marriage to one who
rejects God.
2 Corinthians 6:14 states, \” Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? \”
It is up to us to chose the right mate based on God\’s instructions.
We can\’t blame God if we chose wrong.
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Toll Way North
Houston, Texas 77041
