Now we come to the third step. The first step was to make the vessel, the second was to put this vessel in front of the tree of life, and the third is to work God into man as life. How can God work Himself into man as life? Praise the Lord that we have an allegory to help us understand. We need to have a clear view of this allegory. Although you are familiar with the story of Adam's marriage, perhaps you have never been impressed with its significance.
God created the heavens, which are for the earth, and the earth, which is for man. Then God created man, who is for God, with a spirit to receive Him. Man typifies God as the real, universal husband who is seeking a wife for Himself.
After man was created, God said of him, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his complement" (Gen. 2:18, Heb.). Although man was perfect, he was not complete. For example, a human head is perfect, but without the body it is incomplete. Every person resembles a half of a watermelon. Since he is just a half a watermelon, he is incomplete. Although he is perfect, he needs a counterpart to complete him. It takes the two halves of a watermelon to make a whole melon. Likewise, a man and wife, resembling the two halves of a watermelon, together make a complete unit. This is why I frequently tell the young people to get married. If you are unmarried, though you may be a perfect person you are incomplete. Thus, as God looked at Adam, He seemed to say, "Adam, you are perfect, but you are only a half a unit. You are too lonely. I will make a complement for you. I will make you a counterpart."
Man is a type of God, the real, universal husband. Before God had secured the proper man, He was alone. It was not good for God to be alone. Although God is absolutely and eternally perfect, He is not complete. To say that God is imperfect is to speak blasphemy. Our God is eternally perfect. Nevertheless, without the church He is incomplete. Without the church He is like a husband without a wife or like a head without a body. Therefore, when God said that it was not good for Adam to be alone, it meant that God Himself was incomplete and that it was not good for Him to be alone. Adam's need for a wife typifies and portrays God's need to have a complement. If we see this, every aspect of Genesis 2 will be clear.
Out of the ground God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them to Adam (Gen. 2:19). When God brought a horse to Adam, perhaps Adam said, "This is a horse. This animal can never match me because it has four feet and I have two." When God brought a cow before Adam, perhaps Adam said, "This is a cow. It has two horns. It does not resemble me and it cannot be a complement to me." God brought item after item to Adam, and Adam gave names to all the cattle, to all the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but he did not find among them a complement for himself (Gen. 2:20), one that could match him. Although Adam, having wisdom, named all the creatures, he seemed to say, "All of them are far removed from me. They don't look like me. How can I have any of them as my counterpart?" After fulfilling the task of naming all the creatures, Adam, in a sense, was disappointed. Among the entire creation he could not find one to match him, to complement him. However God knew exactly what He was doing.
Then out of a rib taken from Adam's side the Lord God builded a woman and brought her to the man (Gen. 2:22). When Adam awoke from his sleep and looked at Eve he said, "This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. 2:23, Heb.). Adam seemed to say, "This is not like the former times. Before it was a lion, a horse, a dove, a turtle...This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Certainly this is my other part, my second part. This is my counterpart that fully matches me." When he and Eve, the two parts, are joined, they become one flesh, one complete unit. By this we can see that the wife, Eve, was the complement to the husband, Adam. Without Eve, Adam was incomplete. Eve was taken out of Adam and returned to Adam that the two of them might become one flesh. If we see this, we have the basic understanding of the significance of the allegory in Genesis 2.
In the same way that Eve was the complement of Adam the church is the complement of Christ. Figuratively speaking, so many things in Christianity are just "horses, cattle, turtles, doves" because they are not out of Christ and cannot match Christ. Only those who are regenerated of Christ and who live by Christ as the church can match Christ and complement Him. When Christ sees this He surely says, "This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Eph. 5:30).