Man. God created man from the dust of the earth (mann). Man-isan (Isa, Easan, Easwaran) in Thamizh. And woman. Made from man. Man–isi. (Ishi, Easwari) in Thamizh. Isan is the reflector of the glory of God, the one who is made in God’s likeness and one who bears His image.

Adam. Aadmi. Aadhan. Aadhi – The first. The beginning of the human race. And Eve. Hava. Avva. Avvai. The first woman.

God created everything else by calling them into existence. “God said”. But, when it came to man, God did not say. He took the dust of the earth and shaped man. It was an act of designing and making a special creation. God made man of flesh and bones and breathed in his nostrils. Man became a living soul.

Man. The superior-most creation of God. This is because God made man in His own image and in His own likeness. Man is spirit, soul, and body (and God beholds man in that order). God gave man (1) life in his spirit that would make him conscious of his Creator and commune with Him who is a Spirit, (2) life in his soul that would make him self-conscious of his existence by its faculties – will, intellect, mind and ego and (3) life in his body that would make him conscious of his surroundings (atmosphere, living and non-living things) through his five senses – and communicate with his fellow-beings. The first man Adam would be His son. (The second Man Jesus, His Son).

Man is called so because he has a “man” (man in Sanskrit and manam / aanma in Thamizh) – soul – the sixth sense. Manu or Manisan are other terms. Animals don’t possess a soul. Unfortunately, man is degrading himself to an animal, being ruled by basic animal instincts – craving for food, sensual pleasure, and sleep.

(The ancient Thamizh poet Tholkappiyar put such people together with animals that possess only five senses. He also talks about real man as the one who possesses the sixth sense). Like how an animal goes around naked and is not ashamed of it, mankind craves to expose the body publicly in the name of fashion and is not ashamed of nakedness. (Exposing the body to one’s spouse is not a shameful act!). In fact, there are professions (Film acting, modeling, flesh trade) that are pursued for money through indecent exposure of the flesh. Some tend to expose their bodies publicly under the shroud of animal welfare and environmental consciousness (Blue Cross and PETA). Pornography and XXX content have flooded the internet that lures not only the whoremongers but also innocent young minds that are searching for answers to their sexuality in their menarche years. It is a subtle way of trapping the gullible into a filthy sinful life. Once the person falls victim, it is difficult to let go of the habit and might become an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Beware the internet!

Christian women (and men) and growing children and teens must dress to conceal, not to reveal. Their body and organs are not for sale and they should not hang a “To Let” board by exposing their private parts – cleavage and midriff included. Low-cut and transparent tops, mini and micro skirts, and tight-fitting garments that reveal the body contours are a strict “no” to a believer. Those who dress immodestly don’t show love but sow lust. Printed text and pictures on ladies’ T-shirts and tops attract hawk-eyes to more than the external content. Believers, beware of the fashion of the world!

God put the first man in the Garden of Eden. Paradise (பரதேசம்). God handed over the dominion of this earth and all that is in it to man. The man was to lord over it all. Man would exercise this God-given authority to rule over God’s creation.

God wanted man to leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife after marriage. Any attempt by the couple themselves, parents (and in-laws), or the couple’s other “loved ones” (“man” is any human being in this contest) to separate them (put asunder / divorce) is against God’s design of putting them together.

Monogamy is the God-approved design from the beginning. Multiple wives or husbands (polygamy or polyandry) is against the divine design. This is also based on the spiritual union that the Bible proclaims between Christ and His Church. Christ is betrothed to only one “Bride” and will make this “Church” His wife when time shall be no more to dwell with “Her” forever in the New Earth. Polygamy of the patriarchs is in every case against the ideal design of God. God did not and does not approve multiple (Deu 17:17) marital relationships. Why point to Abraham, Jacob, and David when we have ideal examples in Isaac, Job, and Moses?

“Leave his father and mother” does not mean that man should leave his parents to themselves for their sustenance and support, especially when they are in their old age. Believers who leave behind their parents at home, migrate to another country, and settle down there unmindful of their parents’ anxiety and loneliness are failing in their duty to their parents. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you”. – Exod 20:12 would also mean that the Son is obliged to take them with him when he settles down in the land that the Lord is giving him. Joseph did this immediately when he knew that Jacob is alive – he brought him to Egypt. This holds good for the daughters in the family too (in the absence of sons).

Many are the parents that are yearning for proximity to their only son/daughter who has settled down far from home unmindful of their plight. A loving conversation, a caring gesture, and an affectionate hug mean a lot more than a mere monthly deposit of money in the bank (alimony?) or paying for geriatric care at old age homes. Who does not know that parents that are asked to travel to the ‘freezing’ USA, Canada, and Britain ‘use’ them as cheaper ‘babysitters' as the working couple’s sole aim is to earn more money (and lose the parents’ love?). The culture and the climate of the new country are intolerable for many parents that they “beg” (at least in their minds!) their children to leave them alone back at home.

The excruciating trouble by irresponsible children and grandchildren at home might also make them hard-hearted that they let go of their children when they ‘announce’ their migration plan. Paul advises that old widows must be taken care of at home by their children, not exposed to the hardships (and humiliation) in a social environment. (1 Tim 5:16). And did not Jesus care for His mother when he handed over the responsibility of taking care of the middle-aged woman (widow?) after His death to His doting disciple John? (Jn 19:27).

God wanted man and wife to be one flesh. Eve was Adams's bone of bones and his flesh of flesh. They would reflect the same characteristic of God in their flesh as God exhibits in His Spirit – oneness in nature and substance. Father in the Son, the Son in the Father, and the Spirit in the Son and in the Father. This is the same oneness that God wants to exhibit in His believer. Jesus in the Father, the Father in Jesus, and the Father and the Son in the believer when the Spirit starts indwelling the believer, all the while the believer also in the Spirit. The believers are the members of Christ’s body, of His flesh, and of His bones – of the same nature and substance.

God approves only a union between a man and a woman (not homosexual) as marriage. God ruled that marriage was honorable in all and the (marriage) bed undefiled – Heb 13:4. The intimate physical relationship (sex) between the husband and wife is not a sin. It is a physical expression of mutually profound love. The Bible euphemistically mentions this as “know”ing. The only love that is richer than this is the love between God and man. So, knowing God is loving Him intensely as He does. Knowing about God is only intellectual. God prefers the heart, not just the head!

The husband and wife, though being naked, should not feel ashamed of it in the other’s presence. Until sin entered, the man and the woman were naked, but they did not know it. The immediate effect of sin in man was the opening of the eyes to the awareness of nakedness. Sin, suspicion, and infidelity will result if one denies the other the intimacy.