In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of waiting before the Lord and exercising judgment in making decisions. He highlights the task given to man by God to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, which requires the establishment of families. The speaker encourages committing marriages and families to the Lord, as this will lead to opportunities to exercise judgment. He uses the example of Adam naming the animals to illustrate the need for a counterpart and the importance of seeking God's will in finding a suitable partner.

I had in mind of speaking something else, but last night when we were together during the time of fellowship, it came to me that I had to say something different this morning. I think the whole expectation, the whole atmosphere is such that anything other than on the matter of the family will be out of order. So this morning I would like to share with you from the word the origin of family. Now shall we read from the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter one. Genesis chapter one, we'll read from verse 26. And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens and over the cattle and over the whole earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. And God created man in his image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens and over every animal that moveth on the earth. Chapter two, verse 18. And Jehovah Elohim said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate, his like. And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim had formed every animal of the field and all fowl of the heavens and brought them to man to see what he would call them. And whatever man called each living soul, that was its name. And man gave names to all cattle and to the fowl of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But as for Adam, he found no helpmate, his like. And Jehovah Elohim called a deep sleep to fall upon man, and he slept. And he took one of his ribs and closed up flesh in his stead. And Jehovah Elohim built the rib that he had taken from man into a woman and brought her to man. And man said, this time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This shall be called woman because this was taken out of the man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Family is not something accidental. It is not something that originates from the will of the parents. Nor it is something initiated by the emotions of a man and a woman. Nor is it governed by the custom of this world. Family originates from God. It is a divine concept. I think this is very important to know. Oftentimes we think of family as something purely human. And it is. And because it is human, we tend to think that it comes from the thought, the idea of man. But the Bible tells us very clearly that family is God's idea. It is not man's idea. Even in the very beginning when God created man, he had that concept in him. The Bible says God created man in his image. Now what is the image of God? Of course it is impossible for us to comprehend the image of God. But one thing we do know, and that is, our God is a God of Trinity. In other words, God said, let us make man in our image. There is only one God. And yet in the Godhead, you find the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now of course this is a mystery to us. It is impossible for us to phantom this mystery. God is one, and yet he is three in one. There is a unity in God, and yet there is a plurality there. In other words, you find one principle of the Godhead is corporateness. Not individualism, but corporateness. And because God is such a God, when he said, let us make man in our image, you find the man that he made is also. In his image he created man. He created male and female. In the very creation of man, the corporateness is there. The principle of corporateness is already in the creation of man. The male by himself is not complete. Neither is the female by herself. In the will of God, the man in the mind of God is a union of a male and a female. It is built on the principle of corporateness. And that is family. So brothers and sisters, we must remember that family is God's idea, and it originates from God. In the very beginning, when God created man, the family is already there. Now of course today, family seems to be a big problem. And not only today, but even at the time of Christ, you find it was a problem. You remember one day some Pharisees came to the Lord and said, is it all right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? And the Lord said, in the beginning, God created male and female. And God joined them together as one. What God has joined together, let not man separate. But these Pharisees say, well, why is it that Moses said to us that if we only give a letter of divorce to the woman, he can divorce his wife? Why? And the Lord said, it is because of the hardness of your heart. But in the beginning, it was not so. Anyone that divorces his wife except for fornication, and he shall marry another woman, he commits adultery. And anyone who married a divorced woman commits adultery. And you know, when the disciples heard about that, now remember, not the Pharisees, but the disciples. When the disciples heard about that, what did they say to the Lord? They said, now if the relation between a man and a woman is such, then it is better not to marry at all. Even at the time of Christ, you find family had become a problem. And some people will even go on to say, now does not Paul say in 1 Corinthians 7, our brother just quoted from 1 Corinthians 7, did not Paul said, he wished that everybody will be like him, and that is remain single. And he said, if you are not yet married, if you are a virgin, or if you are a widow, then it is much better to remain as such. Because the days are difficult, the time is straightened, and there will be lots of hardships. And Paul said, I say this, not to control you, but to spare you. So people say now, if that is the case, isn't it much better? In view of the difficulties of our time, in view of the soon coming of our Lord, is it not better that people just remain single and not get married? There are exceptions. And exceptions prove the rule. Even our Lord Jesus said, when His disciples complained about this matter of marriage, even the Lord Jesus said, He said, it is a gift. Whoever is given that gift can remain single, but it is not a gift given to everybody. Some are born unique, others are made unique by man, and some made themselves unique for the sake of the kingdom of God. But to who it is given, it belongs to whom? And Paul, in saying these things, does not notify marriage or family life. He only gives us the exceptions. So dear brothers and sisters, marriage and family originate from God. And the concept of a family was there before sin ever entered into this world. Even though after sin had entered into this world, marriage and family has become such a problem, that sometimes you may think it is better not to enter into family. And God grants that they are exceptions. And yet remember one thing, sin does not nullify family, which God had conceived even before sin ever entered into this world. And thank God, in the redemption of our Lord Jesus, He is able to restore not only individuals, but He is able to restore our family into the original thought. So brothers and sisters, this is where we stand. We believe that family originates from God. And we believe that even though sin seemed to have spoiled the whole matter of the family in this world to such an extent, and yet the redemption of our Lord Jesus is able to restore it to the very thought. Now why family? Why is it that when God created man, He created a corporate man? Not just an individual, but it is a union of two persons. Why? Because man is not only created in God's image, but man is created for a special work. God has a special task for man to fulfill. You remember after God had created man, God said, God blessed man and said, multiply, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Now how can one individual be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth? That takes a family to do that. And not only to fill it, just to fill it, but the Bible says to subdue it. That is to say, to bring the whole earth back to God. That God may be glorified in all the earth. And this is a tremendous task committed to the man whom God has created. And it can never be done by one individual. It has to be done corporately. It has to be done by the family. And as the family multiplies into many families, and as the family of God comes into view, then you'll find through the church, the family of God, the earth is to be subdued. The kingdom of God is to be brought upon this earth. And brothers and sisters, family is the unit of God's operation. You know, oftentimes we think of individual as the unit of God's operation. But if you see that the man whom God creates is a corporate man, then you have to come to the conclusion that family is the unit of God's work. It is the unit of God's operation. If God could have a family, and families, and be family, His work can be done upon this earth. And that's the reason why Satan is trying his very best to destroy family. Not just to destroy individuals, but to destroy family. But thank God, the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus is not only for individuals, it is for families. God created Adam. He used the red earth and formed the body of the man. Then He breathed the breath of life into the nostril of this body. And man became a living soul. Here was Adam. But after Adam was created, God said it is not good for man to be alone. It is not good. Why? Because in God's concept, it is the family. It is not just one man. And one man can never do the work that God will give to man to fulfill. So God said it is not good for man to be alone. You know, often times we think when God says it is not good for man to be alone, it's because Adam is too lonely. He was lonely. But there is something more than just loneliness. Because it did not fit with God's concept. It could not fulfill God's purpose. So God said it is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helpmate, his like. I will make him a counterpart. He is just a part. I will make him a counterpart. To fit the two parts together and make it complete. And this counterpart is his like, just as he is. And this counterpart is to help him. By the cooperation, the partnership of the two, the work of God shall be done. And because of that, you find God made Adam to sleep. And God opened his side, took out something, a rib or something, and God built a woman with that rib. Woman is built on man. With the same material. And God brought the woman he made to Adam. Brothers and sisters, the Bible said God brought the woman. Who is the matchmaker? You know, according to our old Chinese custom, marriage in the old days were all done by the will of the parents and the word of the matchmaker. The man and the woman to be married never saw each other. I remember my own father. When he was married, he never saw my mother. It was his parents will. It was the word of the matchmaker. And my father was educated. And because he was educated, you know, he was a little bit uneasy about it. Because he didn't know the woman that he was to marry. And he couldn't see that woman. It was against the custom. So finally, he asked the help of a missionary lady. And asked the missionary lady to visit that family and try to see the woman for him. Because my father had never seen my mother until the day they were married. Now that was the way it was done in the old days. And now in modern days, in here, in this country, it was no longer the will of the parents nor the word of the matchmaker. They don't need any matchmaker. Why? They match themselves. You'll find they are trying and trying to find each other. It's all on their own. But dear brothers and sisters, the word tells us that in the matter of marriage, it is neither the will of the parents nor the will of the people themselves. It is God who is the matchmaker. God brought the woman to the man. Adam did not go around and try to find a woman. God brought the woman to man. For some of the young people here who are not married yet, some young people have talked with me about marriage. And sometimes I ask the question, have you prayed about it? Lots of young people who really love the Lord and who pray for different things of their lives, they know that they have to seek the will of God in their lives, about study and about this and about that. But strange to say, they they are very hesitant to pray to the Lord as to their mates. Sometimes you ask a young brother or young sister, have you ever prayed about it? He says, never. It seems to be something shameful. Something that you have to do it yourself. You cannot ask God for it. Now brothers and sisters, marriage, family, this is one of the greatest events of your life. It is a lifetime thing. Now how comes that you never really seek the Lord about it? Why is it that in other matters you ask the Lord, you seek the Lord, and in this matter of marriage, in this matter of a family, you do it by yourself? You don't seek the Lord's face? Instead of running around, you should really make it a matter of prayer. You should go to the Lord and tell the Lord that if it is his will that you should get married, then he should bring that mate to you, committed to the Lord. Seek his mind, seek his will about it, and if you do, he will bring her or him to you. But when God said, it is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helpmate, just like. Did God just go ahead and made the helpmate right away? You'll find in the Bible after God has said, I will make him a helpmate, just like. Immediately after that, what did God do? God brought all the animals to Adam. God brought all the fowls of the heaven, all the beasts of the field, and all the things, you know, living things to Adam. God brought all these creatures to Adam, and let Adam name them, give their names. Now, I wonder why did God do that? Immediately after he said, I will make him a helpmate, his counterpart. God knew there was no counterpart. God knew there was no mate for Adam, and yet before God proceeded to make that helpmate, he brought to Adam all these living creatures. Why? I think God gave man enough opportunities to choose, even though God is the one who really match the marriage. And yet, God does it in such a gracious way, he does not just force you into something. God never does. He still gives you plenty of opportunities to make your choice. Brothers and sisters, if you commit your marriage, your family to the Lord, you will find God will sovereignly raise up all kinds of opportunities for you to exercise your judgment. It is not for Adam to be emotional. To the extent when he sees, say, a monkey, say, holy shit, that's almost a like. That's good enough. He will miss the whole will of God. You find here Adam was looking at all these animals. You have to be before the Lord. When Adam saw these animals coming by, he must be before the Lord. He was not so emotionally motivated. He had to exercise a very cold mind. He would look at every animal and gave name to each, and the name just fits. Every animal had his place, but he couldn't find his home. There was no registration within him. There was no counterpart. He was looking for counterpart. No counterpart. And because there was no counterpart, no help. Brothers and sisters, sometimes young people are too impulsive. Oh, they jump into it, but that's good enough. You cannot wait. Don't be in such a hurry. Lay it before the Lord, and the Lord will raise up opportunities to, to, to enable you to exercise your judgment. You have to weigh everything carefully before the Lord, and even it may seem to be hopeless. All the animals have been there, and there was none. Don't give up hope. God will make an eve for Adam. So brothers and sisters, especially in this matter of mating, you find that the Word of God does show us that it is something that you should really be before the Lord about it. You should really commit it to the Lord. Seek the Lord's will. You know, oftentimes it's our own selves that confuse everything. But if we really seek the Lord, the Lord will provide opportunities for you to exercise your judgment. And when the right person comes, there will be registration. When Adam sought Eve, this is it. This is born of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This is woman. And the two are joined together in one. And brothers and sisters, when God puts the two together into a family, then through that family, God's work is to be done. So this morning, I will just mention this. The origin of family. It originates from God. And it is for the work of God, for the glory. Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee, because family is Thy concept. How we praise and thank Thee. It is honorable. It is glorious. How we praise and thank Thee. Sin cannot nullify it, but Thy redemptive work has restored it to its glory. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee. We just ask Thee to remember our brothers and sisters who are going to be entering into family. We pray that Thy glory will rest upon that family, that together they really may serve Thee and serve Thy purpose. And Lord, we just commit the family of God, especially into Thy hand. We pray that Thou, the head of the house, may bless Thy house and bring Thy house into such that it may be a true testimony to Thy name. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.