"The second creation story is distinguished by its account of the creation of the first woman, Eve [from a rib taken from Adam, causing him to say, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh"].
(Gen. 2:21-25)
"Immediately following this passage, Genesis 3 begins with its account of the Fall of man, linked with …the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (Gen. 2:17). From then on, Adam and Eve find themselves in an entirely new situation — their world is turned upside down.
"In the state of original innocence, Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good and evil. Then, at the prompting of the evil one …, they disobeyed God's instruction …. In the second situation, our first parents experienced sin and its consequences.
"These two situations correspond to two different aspects of human nature: our created nature and our fallen nature. When Christ referred his questioners back to the beginning, he was directing them to look at man's created nature.
"To learn God's intent for marriage, we must look back to that state of original inocence. 'Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard,' Jesus says. "But it was not this way from the beginning.'
"Even though man has lost his innocence and our hearts have grown hard, God's design for marriage hasn't changed."
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