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"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be
the propitiation for our sins" (I John 4: 10).
The love of God was shown in that He did not withhold His Son from the cross
(Rom. 8: 32, cp. Gen. 22: 12, 16); the other side being demonstrated in the
"obedience" of the Son (Phil. 2: 8, cp. the same in Isaac Gen. 22: 7, 8). The picture
of Abraham and Isaac fulfilled in the Father and the Son, demonstrates for ever the
meaning of true love, that it is closely related to obedience.
Adam did not exhibit "true love" for Eve in allowing himself to be persuaded to act
contrary to the Lord's will; affection maybe, but not that love which knows obedience.
True love in Adam would have caused him to exercise his headship against all
persuasion, for he would have recognized in this his wife's greatest good. No
relationship can be lived out contrary to the Lord's will and expect to enjoy true
harmony, or experience true love.
The lesson of Eden concerning the headship of man, is a lesson for all time. "Male
and female" ignore it to their own loss and the dishonour of the Lord. No man shows his
love for his wife by opting out of his responsibility as head, however well meaning his
action may appear to be, and likewise no woman usurping this position given by the Lord
to her husband can claim that this is any demonstration of the love she has for him. Love
and obedience to the will of the Lord go hand in hand. Herein lies the failure in Eden,
and herein also is the tragedy which the world and the professing church are courting.
No.7.
The Failure in Eden (continued).
pp. 207 - 213
It has so far been seen that the failure of Adam consisted in the fact that he did not
assert his God-given position as "head", so that he listened to the voice of his wife
instead of to the word of God. He exhibited a weakness in allowing his wife to usurp his
position, which divulged upon him the responsibility for the garden, "to dress it and to
guard it" and the commandment concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
(Gen. 2: 15-17). This responsibility was given him before the building of Eve, a
significant fact upon which Paul bases N.T. truth (I Tim. 2: 11-14).
The transgression of Adam involved disobedience, and it is to be noted that in his fall
he was not deceived, no doubt suggesting that as "head" he was properly equipped to
withstand any temptation from the Evil One. (If he was to guard the garden and the
commandment concerning the tree, it is logical to reckon that he had been already
equipped by the Lord for such responsibility, for does the Lord give any a job to do
without first equipping them?).