Not just Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Milton have expressed such views; but also Herman Bavinck – and, "suprahistorically"(!), even Karl Barth. For such views seem to be implied in Holy Scripture. Genesis 1:26-28; 2:1-3; 2:21-25; 3:8-15f; 4:1-4,26; 5:1-5; Hebrews 11:3-4.
God created Adam and Eve. Later, He gave them a family. The Lord did so in order that mankind, even in families, might worship the Triune God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, at its very outset, stated it thus:10 "Man's chief 9 B.M. Palmer: The Family in its Civil and Churchly Aspects, Richmond Va.: Presb. Committee of Pub., 1876, p. 11. 10 Westminster Shorter Catechism, in Subordinate Standards of Free Church, Edinburgh: Church Offices, 1933, Q. & A. 1.
