Adam was the only male in God’s creation at that time, typifying Christ as God becoming the unique male in the universe. In the Old Testament many times God likened Himself to a husband and His people to a wife (Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 3:14). The New Testament many times also reveals Christ as the Bridegroom who marries the bride (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7). Christ is the unique male in the universe; He is the unique object of our pursuit and the One to whom we eternally belong.
After Adam was created, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart” (Gen. 2:18). Then God brought to Adam every beast and every bird that He had created. And Adam gave names to all of them, but he did not find a complement, a counterpart, to help him (vv. 19-20). This typifies that none among God’s creation can match Christ as His counterpart, for none was out of Christ, and none had the same character, life, or nature as Christ to be a perfect match to Him.
Because none among the creation could match Adam to be his complement, his counterpart, God caused him to fall into a deep sleep and opened his side (Gen. 2:21). This is a type of Christ sleeping in death and being pierced in His side (John 19:34). At the end of the crucifixion of Christ, a soldier pierced His side with a spear, causing His side to be opened and to flow out blood and water (John 19:34). Blood is the negative aspect of Christ’s death; it is for redemption, which is for the purchasing of the church (Acts 20:28). Water is the positive aspect of Christ’s death; it is for imparting life, which is for the producing of the church (Eph. 5:29-30).
With the rib which was taken out of Adam, God built a woman as Adam’s counterpart (Gen. 2:22-24). The rib taken out of Adam signifies the flowing water and the unbroken bone mentioned in John 19:34 and 36. When Christ died on the cross, His side was pierced and the water of life came out, strong as an unbreakable bone, to produce the church as His counterpart. Thus, the sinner whom God created and who became fallen, after being redeemed and transformed by Christ’s death and resurrection, becomes the woman in the universe to be married to Christ.
Just as Adam is a type of Christ, Eve is a type of the church. Eve was built by God with a rib taken out of Adam. Therefore, Adam said that Eve was “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:21, 23). Eve’s coming out of Adam in this way typifies that the church comes out of Christ in the same way. The church is produced by the life-dispensing water which flows out of Christ. Hence, the church has the essence of Christ and comes out of Christ.