Understanding God's Blueprint for Marriage
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The First Institution Established And Elevated To The Most Intimate Of Relationships
Marriage is a divine institution, ordained and regulated by God’s word. It is found in every human culture. God formed humanity as male and female with the intent that a man leave his father and mother to cling and commit to a permanent union with one woman (Gen 2:24). It is the first institution established and elevated to the most intimate of relationships by God and the only one founded before the Fall. Many people throughout the ages have questioned, rebelled against or attempted to change the shape of this ideal covenant forged by God. Rooted in a divine origin, marriage is an institution that is not subject to the human electoral process, political correctness or even the cultural trends that influence the tide of traditional or liberal thinking today. When some Pharisees confronted Jesus about grounds for divorce, his response affirmed God’s original and perfect blueprint for marriage—the Creation ideal (Mt 19:1-6).
The Institution Of Marriage
Genesis 1:26-27, without question, clearly presents God’s intention for humankind to have male and female discover and express the beauty and sanctity of marriage. Three different aspects of the creation account provide insight into the divine ideal for marriage. Men and women were to have a: (1) shared nature in that Adam recognizes his likeness to Eve declaring, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”; (2) one flesh in that the two are not only joined through sexual union, but as husband and wife they share their oneness of life on earth along with all the experiences it will bring; and (3) suitable helper in that after Adam was allowed to explore creation for a time in order to sense a longing need for companionship, God provided Eve as a suitable “helper as his partner” (Gen 2:18,20). The story of Adam and Eve provides us with God’s perfect standard for marriage—an intimate union between a male and female for life. Marriage was not only meant to populate the earth through reproduction, but also designed to propagate God’s image via spiritual multiplication throughout the generations to come (Gen 1:28; Mal 2:15).
The Image of Marriage
If the Old Testament portrays Israel as the wife of YHWH, God remaining faithful in a fallen and unfaithful union, the New Testament contributes to our understanding of the marriage relationship using similar imagery. We learn that through the act of loving, accepting, forgiving, encouraging, rebuking, edifying, and many other ways toward oneness, a husband and wife participate in one another’s lives. When Christian marriages embrace this God-given ideal that is taught in the scripture and made real by the Spirit, marriages can be redeemed from the impact of sin allowing our lives to closely equate the divine ideal. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, for that spiritual bond is the reality that reflects the true union of God’s image (Eph 5:29-33). Today the church lives on earth as the one betrothed to Christ. At Christ’s return, the promised marriage, will finally consummate, as the bride and groom will be united forever.
© 2009, Gicky Soriano. All rights reserved.
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CommentsLoading...
Eloquently put, the first and last union. Great teaching. Brings hope for both married and singles! An awesome message Gicky!
TF, thanks for the visit.
Timely, glad the hub was of great encouragement for you.
GS- excellent Hub as always! Thank you for broaching this subject.It is a broad subject that is difficult to compact into a single Hub. I would love to see you do more on the subject.
God Bless
ABR
Gicky Soriano,
This is a thought provoking hub. I believe in the sanctity of marriage! I agree as you stated; Marriage is a divine institution, ordained and regulated by God’s Word."
Blessings
ABR, thanks for your generous comment. I am, in fact, working on a hub that deals with divorce and remarriage. It's quite the sensitive subject to tackle. I'd be interested in your response to this upcoming topic. God bless you brother.
If I may suggest, that women should not be afraid to hold their husbands accountable for actions that do not reflect the heart and morals God has planned for marraige.
The man, even Christian men don't always treat the woman, as he should. Then he wonders why she has lost repect and love for him.
restoremyheart, Holding husbands accountable for their actions is how a wife fulfills her role as a helpmate. The men and women, even Christian men and women, are fallen individuals saved by the grace of God. There will be many instances when they will fall short of reflecting the heart and morals God has planned for marriage - to live out the ideal. No question it is inevitable that one or the other will lose respect and love for his or her mate. That is why we go to the Maker of marriages when these fallen unions threaten to come apart and learn how to forgive each other with an unconditional agape love.
Of course, every marriage should be dealt with on a case to case basis. There is so much heartache and pain to process in each situation. I would come across as being narrow and insensitive if I were simply to hand out scriptural prescriptions like candy. This hub's purpose hangs upon understanding God's divine ideal for marriage - a blueprint if you will.
Thank you for taking the time to interact with this article. Your visit and comment was most welcome. God bless you.
Me and my wife had a marriage out in a lakeside park. I wondered if that was a sin to marry outside a church. can anyone confirm this?
Holy Hunter,
The common misconception of the word "church" today is in reference to a physical building. In the Greek culture, the word for "church" is ekklesia meaning a political assembly. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew culture translated ekklesia to mean a ceremonial assembly of God's covenant people. In Jesus' day, this Hebrew terminology translated the word "church" for "synagogue" which stood for the Jewish faith's place of meeting.
After Jesus' resurrection, the new community of Christians were empowered by the Holy Spirit to embody his truth becoming the Body of Christ, his church or ekklesia on earth. Hence they broke with its Jewish roots by rejecting the term synagogue. Infused with a new and distinct Christian meaning, the word church or ekklesia in the New Testament meant "a called-out assembly."
In light of this transformation, from a physical place of meeting to a spiritual assembly of people, your marriage ceremony was not acted out in sin. Rather, it was validated, not by a physical building, but by an assembly of Christian brothers and sisters who witnessed the event.
If one reads Genesis 2:18-25, the first marriage was celebrated in a garden and officiated by the triune God. If Eden was as good a place to marry for our Maker, I don't see any biblical wrong in holding your marriage ceremony in a lakeside park and celebrating it in the context of an assembly of friends and family.
May the Creator of marriage bless your holy union.
Great information here ~ :)
Blessings
I appreciate the visit. God bless you.
thefount 2 years ago
Wonderful hub Gicky! Thank you so much.