Genesis 2:15-25

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we open our Bibles to Genesis 2:15–25, we are invited back to Eden. Let me remind you that this is not just ancient history—it is holy ground.

Genesis 2:15-25

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 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. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Here, before sin entered the world, we see God's original design for humanity: for work, for obedience, for relationship, and for covenantal marriage.

In this passage, the foundations are laid for understanding who we are as men and women created in God’s image, what our purpose is, and how all of it points forward to Jesus Christ. The Reformers taught us to see all of Scripture through a covenantal lens and to behold Christ as the center of it all—and Genesis 2 is no exception.

Let us walk through this passage under four main headings:

1. Man’s Covenant Calling: Work and Obedience

2. God’s Provision: The Gift of the Woman

3. The Covenant of Marriage: Unity and Mystery

4. Naked and Unashamed

I. Man’s Covenant Calling: Work and Obedience

Vv. 15

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Remember verse 15 gives us Adam’s divine assignment. God places him in Eden not for leisure, but for labor. The Hebrew verbs “to work” (ʿabad) and “to keep” (shamar) are significant. These are the same words used later for the duties of the priests in the tabernacle (cf. Numbers 3:7–8). In other words, Adam is not just a gardener—he is a priest-king, called to cultivate and guard the sanctuary of God's presence.

Work, therefore, is not a curse. It is part of our original calling. The Reformed tradition has always emphasized the dignity of vocation. Whether one plows a field, teaches children, or leads in worship, it is all sacred when done for the Lord.

Colossians 3:23

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

But God’s commission to Adam includes more than work. It includes obedience. God gives a single command:

Vv. 16-17

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Here we see the establishment of what Reformed theology calls the Covenant of Works. As the Westminster Confession explains:

WCF 7.2

“The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works, wherein life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.”

The offer was life—but the condition was obedience. Adam was on probation, not for himself alone, but as the federal head of all humanity.

Romans 5:12, 18-19

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

In Adam’s disobedience, we all fell. But praise be to God: where Adam failed, Christ—the second Adam—obeyed. The covenant of works makes us long for the covenant of grace.

II. God’s Provision: The Gift of the Woman

Vv. 18

18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

For the first time, something in creation is “not good.” Man is alone. Though surrounded by animals and beauty, Adam lacks a partner who corresponds to him.

Vv. 19-20

19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

God parades the animals before Adam—not for entertainment, but to make the absence of a suitable companion painfully clear. And then, in mercy, God acts:

Vv. 21-22

21 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. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Out of Adam’s side, God forms the woman. As the Puritan Matthew Henry said:

“She was not made out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled on, but out of his side to be equal with him…”

This creation of woman reveals equality in dignity, yet distinction in role—a biblical complementarity. She is his “helper”, a term often used of God Himself.

Psalm 46:1

1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

In the Reformed tradition, this moment is understood not merely as romantic but covenantal. Woman is a gift from God, made for union with man, so that together they may fulfill the creation mandate and reflect the Triune God.

III. The Covenant of Marriage: Unity and Mystery

Vv. 23

23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Adam responds with the first recorded human words in the Bible—and it’s poetry! He recognizes in Eve not a rival, but a reflection of himself. She is his own flesh. This is the birth of marriage:

Vv. 24

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Here is the divine blueprint: marriage is not a manmade institution. It is a covenant union, divinely instituted, exclusive, permanent, and intimate.

Ephesians 5:31–32

31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Paul interprets verse 24 and reveals its mystery:

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

In other words, the first marriage was a living prophecy. Just as Eve came from Adam’s side, so the Church comes from the pierced side of Christ. Just as Adam rejoiced in his bride, so Christ rejoices over His Church. Every marriage points to the Gospel.

IV. Naked and Unashamed

Vv. 25

25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

What a beautiful image of innocence—no guilt, no fear, no shame. This is humanity as it was meant to be: fully exposed and fully accepted.

But soon, sin enters. Shame comes. Fig leaves are sewn. Humanity hides.

Yet even then, God pursues.

Genesis 3:21

21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

He covers them, foreshadowing the atonement. John Calvin says: “The clothing by God prefigures the righteousness by which alone we are covered when we appear before Him.”

Indeed, in Christ we are clothed not with fig leaves, but with His righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

And one day, we will dwell with Him in a new Eden, where we will be forever clothed in glory.

Genesis 2 is not just about beginnings—it is about being. It tells us who we are, what we are made for, and where we are headed.

• God created man to work, to keep, and to obey.

• God created woman to be a helper, a partner in covenant.

• God instituted marriage as a one-flesh union that reflects Christ and the Church.

• And God, in His mercy, covers our shame through Christ, the true and better Adam.

So let us live out our callings—whether as husbands, wives, workers, or disciples—not in our own strength, but by grace through faith in Christ alone.

Soli Deo Gloria.