It is good not to be alone.

 

Sermon for Epiphany 2, January 18, 2026

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ, our Savior, Bridegroom, and Lord.  Amen.

Genesis 2:18-25  ¹⁸The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.”  ¹⁹Out of the soil, the Lord God had formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them.  Whatever the man called every living creature, that became its name.  ²⁰The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for Adam no helper was found who was a suitable partner for him.  ²¹The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep.  As the man slept, the Lord God took a rib and closed up the flesh where it had been.  ²²The Lord God built a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man and brought her to the man.  ²³The man said, “Now this one is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.  She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.  ²⁴For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will remain united with his wife, and they will become one flesh.”  ²⁵They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed. (EHV)

It is good not to be alone.

Dear fellow believers dressed in wedding-white,

            Preaching on marriage in today’s world can feel a bit like taking a walk in a mine field.  You never know when you might hit a spot that blows up on you.  Still, God’s Word indicates that this teaching is highly important, so we are assured God’s blessing if we approach marriage faithfully.  Today’s text teaches us that It is good not to be alone.

As God created the world and everything in it, He came to the peak of His creation which is mankind.  This text is not a second creation account but rather, it gives further insight to how God created man on the sixth day.  With our modern, rationalistic minds, it might be hard to comprehend how all of this could happen in one day, but we again realize that God is God and He does not lie.  Therefore, we trust that the Holy Spirit gave Moses the exact history as he wrote this account.

As we begin, notice how God emphasizes for Adam and for us, the importance of marriage.  The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.”  God paraded all the animals of creation before Adam so that Adam would recognize the value of the person God would soon give him.  It is not simply that a man needs company, but that a man alone cannot fulfil what God intends for mankind.  We could explain it as a need for a mate to reproduce, but I am convinced that God’s intention flows far deeper than just that.

As we explore this connection, we learn what God means by the term “helper.”  The woman God built up (and yes that is the literal translation of the word) out of Adam’s rib would be the exact complement for his need.  Eve was created in such a way that Adam would instantly recognize the perfection of her fit with him.  She would be his perfect complement physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Since God began the creation of woman by taking out of Adam’s side, the woman would be, both, of the same kind as man, yet be built differently as well.  Equal in value before God, equally created in God’s image, yet formed with some differing attributes to serve a complementary role in human existence.  We see the result as Adam rejoiced when he met this newly created woman.  He said, “Now this one is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.  She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.  For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will remain united with his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect harmony with each other and with God.  In those first days after creation, they lacked nothing.  With no sin to trouble them, being naked gave them no thought of shame or lust or any other emotion contrary to God’s will.  Of course, I think all of us have heard how sin entered the world and consequently, that perfect holiness and peace was shattered. 

Immediately after they were corrupted by sin, bitter accusations flew between the two and against God.  Death entered the world because of sin.  Ever since, sinful lusts and desires have corrupted God’s good will for marriage.  Men and women often struggle to find that partner who is an ideal fit for them.  In addition, the devil’s deceptions have caused people to seek the good things of marriage apart from the relationship God instituted to provide those good things. 

In our times, many people listening to the devil’s deceits and our own corrupted desires and thoughts come together in physical union before marriage.  Others seek happiness in breaking the union they have asked God to bless so they can seek contentment elsewhere.  Same sex unions and polygamous marriages are again falsely imagined as being equally beneficial. 

However, these corruptions aren’t new.  They come from a lack of trust in God.  While listing the extensive ways people sin against God in marriage matters, St. Paul wrote, “As they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves.  Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. … For this reason God handed them over to disgraceful passions.” (Romans 1:24-26)  Just as so much of the ancient world sought pleasure in sexual immorality rather than to preserve the marital relationship in a God pleasing way, so such deviations have become even more common in our times.

For just this reason, God built a fence around marriage for the good of those who will follow Him.  In The Sixth Commandment, God declared, “You shall not commit adultery.”  What does this mean?  The catechism explains, “We should fear and love God, so that we lead a chaste and decent life in word and deed, and that husband and wife each love and honor the other.”  God intended that man and woman would honor the marriage bed even before they find someone to marry.  He intended this union to be a one man with one woman arrangement for as long as they both should live.  As Jesus declared, “The two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mark 10:8-9)

Among the many beneficial reasons God gave marriage to mankind, God wanted marriage protected from our evil desires for an eternal reason.  In His Word to mankind, God compares marriage to the union He would reestablish with those who believe in Hims for forgiveness and salvation.  In the Old Testament, there were many times when God identifies Himself as a husband for the Children of Israel.  In other words, God had chosen that people as His own beloved Bride upon whom He could pour out blessing after blessing.  He would protect and provide for them, guard them against all enemy forces, provide them with a glorious bridal gown of righteousness, and build them into a great kingdom of uncountable numbers.

Unfortunately, Israel often turned away from God to prostitute themselves with idols and the desires of the world.  Time and again God called for that nation to return to Him for forgiveness and peace.  Through Jeremiah, God pleaded, “Return, unfaithful people,” declares the Lord, “because I am your husband.  I will take you—one from a city, two from a family—and bring you to Zion.” (Jeremiah 3:14)

So, what does all this mean to you and me.  First, God protects marriage in this commandment, in order to protect those of us He loves.  It is God’s desire that our relationships on earth reflect the perfection and peace we have with Him through faith in Jesus Christ.  The New Testament equates the Christian Church as a bride for God’s Son.  The Church is made holy and radiant through the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  Therefore, inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul implores us, “Flee from sexual immorality!  Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought at a price.  Therefore glorify God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

Today, as we compare our marriages to the perfection God planned for us and the perfection He promises through union with His Son, we all have to admit that we fail.  We have lusted in our hearts.  We have failed to love our wives as perfectly as we should, and wives have failed to submit to their husbands as perfectly as they should.  Too many people have pretended that so-called trial marriage (or living together without marriage) is a good thing.  Others have promised to love until death parts them but soon let the world and frustrations drive them apart.  None of us can claim holiness through obedience to the command.  That is why we need Jesus.  That is why It is good not to be alone.

To be alone without Jesus is to subject ourselves to the eternal condemnation we deserve.  However, Jesus has been ever faithful to His promise of love for all of us sinners.  God’s Son came into this world to be the scapegoat who bore our sins away.  By His perfect obedience to all the commands and to His Father’s will, Jesus has provided us with a royal wedding dress that far surpasses even the most elaborate royal wedding gown that has ever been seen on earth.  Dressed in the righteousness of Jesus, the Christian Church will shine in heaven with the glory of God for Christ has covered us with His holiness and made us, His Bride, the most beautiful of all creation.

Now, because sin has corrupted the world, not every man nor every woman will find the perfect match.  Some may never desire to be joined with another person in marriage.  God has His plan for each of us.  At the same time, God invites every person on earth to believe in the love He has for us in His Son, Jesus.  Through prophets, apostles, and evangelists, through pastors and teachers, mothers and fathers, the call has gone out to the world to come into relationship with our One true love who will never leave us and never fail us.  Through His prophet, the Lord our God has declared, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.  I have drawn you with mercy.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

By the power of the Gospel and the water and Word of Baptism, God has drawn to Himself a holy Bride, people like you and me made holy by the blood He shed for all on the cross.  Again, He invites us to dwell with Him to be healed of all sin, and to remember that with Christ Jesus, It is good not to be alone.  Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.