Guest Post By: Kate Kenaston

Pt I:  THE HELP

The sun rose.

The moon shone.

The earth revolved.

The grass grew.

Trees bore fruit.

Animals walked silently through the trees.

…and everything was good.

So God created a perfect world,  then placed two ignorant humans inside it who had the capacity to ruin everything.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

Ephesians 1:4

“ Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.”

Even before He first called light into being God saw His Son welcoming His bride and as He formed man and woman, all the decisions He made and pieces He put into place was to that end.

So let’s dive in…

What is it that makes us who we really are? We all know we aren’t our appearance.

If we get past our preferences, insecurities, personalities and thought patterns, we realize that the part of us that only really matters is the part of us that will live forever. 

Now, let’s read the Genesis account and take note of the nouns and pronouns.

Genesis 1:27 “God created man (singular) in his own image. 

In the image of God He created him (singular); 

male and female He created THEM. (plural)

Genesis 5:1-2 “When God created man, (singular) he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them,(plural)  and he blessed them (plural) and named them Man (singular) when they were created.” 

In John 4:24 Jesus says, “God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.” He made our spirit like his own. Eternal.

God created the human spirit. In His own image he made it. 

Then He created male and female bodies and put that human spirit inside. 

Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

Angels are gender neutral.

Our spirits are also gender neutral.

And it’s the same Spirit in both genders.

A complete human being is made up of our spirit, soul and body. 

Our soul and body are intertwined with our gender while our spirit is not defined by it. 

Genesis 2:18, 21-25 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him….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.”

I want you to take note of how Adam spoke the woman’s identity over her as soon as he saw her.

He placed his stamp of complete approval over her life.

She was accepted.

She was his pride and joy.

• We know that man and woman were BOTH created in the image of God.
• Both man and woman are partakers of the same name and nature before the fall.

 The “man” made in the image of God is in Hebrew  “Ish” and “Ish-shah.” 

The word “woman” literally means “man-ess.” 

• Both man and woman were created to rule together and have dominion over the earth. 
• Both man and woman were blessed by God to live in partnership. There was no hierarchy in the relationship God created. Male and female completed and complemented each other perfectly.
• Both man and woman were equally responsible and accountable to God for their deeds.
• It is only AFTER the fall that Eve is named, and thereby the woman comes to have a separate identity from the man.

So with all that clarified, lets go back to God’s reason for creating Eve. I think it’s important to realize that she wasn’t an afterthought. God intended to create her all along–and His biggest obstacle was making man aware that he NEEDED her. God created Eve to be VALUED, and He knew Adam would never truly value her unless he experienced life WITHOUT her. I also think it’s important to realize that OUR CALLING is NOT a result of the fall. Because it was BEFORE the fall that God stated that her role was necessary.

 And so God states, “It is not good for a man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  

The Hebrew language specifies the woman to be a “helper corresponding/mirroring” the man.

“So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman and brought her to the man.’ Genesis 2:22 

So what is a “help suitable”?

Because in order that we fulfill our calling, we need to know what we are called to. 

(to be continued, guest post by Kate Kenaston)