Christian Marriage Honors God Above All Else
As Christians, it’s important to focus on the purpose of marriage. The biblical example encourages believers to enter into marriage in a way that honors God’s covenant relationship, submits to the laws of God first and then the laws of the land, and gives a public demonstration of the holy commitment that is being made.
It Isnt Always Gods Will
Perhaps the most surprising thing the Bible says about marriage is that it should not and will not be experienced by everyone.
In the Old Testament there are many heroes of the faith who were unmarried. Some were unmarried because God forbade them to marry we think of Jeremiah for example. Others were unmarried because they were made eunuchs by hostile foreign powers. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego come to mind in this category.
Jesus spoke about these things in Matthew 19. In answer to the disciples response to his teaching on the permanence of marriage he said:
Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.
Here Jesus seems to be saying that God gives the grace to serve him in whatever capacity he calls people to. If a person is called to celibacy then God gives grace for that. If a person is called to marriage, God gives grace for that as well. The disciple must receive what God gives and do what God requires.
Whatever that it is.
The Apostle Paul was evidently influenced by that teaching. In his chapter long discussion of marriage in 1 Corinthians 7 he says:
I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
Paul
Husbands And Wives Are Different Yet Equal
In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior.
Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty … You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God … In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. If you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.
Some readers will quit right here. Telling husbands to take the authoritative lead in marriage and wives to submit is not a popular directive today. Even so, this arrangement in marriage typifies the relationship between Jesus Christ and his Bride, the church.
This verse in 1 Peter adds further encouragement for wives to submit to their husbands, even ones who don’t know Christ. Although this is a difficult challenge, the verse promises that the wife’s godly character and inward beauty will win her husband over more effectively than her words. Husbands are to honor their wives, being kind, gentle, and understanding.
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What Does The Bible Say About Divorce When Is It Allowed
In our culture today many see divorce as a positive solution to a troubled marriage. But Harvard sociologist Armand Nicholi III concluded, Divorce is not a solution, but an exchange of problems. In a more personal way, novelist Pat Conroy said of his own marriage break-up, Each divorce is the death of a small civilization.
Bible Quotes About Marriage And Sexual Morality
Isaiah 62:5 – For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Deuteronomy 24:5 – When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 – And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand hima threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Proverbs 12:4 – An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.
Ephesians 5:31 – Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
1 Corinthians 16:13 – Be on your guard stand firm in the faith be courageous be strong.
1 John 4:7 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Matthew 19:9 – And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.
Matthew 5:32 – But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
– What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
Psalm 85:10 – Steadfast love and faithfulness meet righteousness and peace kiss each other.
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God Instituted Marriage And Blessed It
Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled . We have already seen that God performed the very first wedding at the end of Creation week and blessed the new couple . Marriage is something that God Himself instituted and blessed. This is important, because it tells us that marriage is a good thing. It is one of the blessings that God has given us from the very beginning.
The Bible puts it like this: From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, . . . Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate .
Marriage Mirrors Gods Relationship With His People
As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you . Throughout the Bible, God presents Himself as the husband of His people. His church is His bride whom He loves and cherishes . Marriage is the closest, most intimate relationship we can experience here on earth, and God uses it to illustrate the intimate relationship He wants to have with you and me!
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Common Law Marriage Is Not In The Bible
When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, he revealed something significant that we often miss in this passage. In verses 17-18, Jesus said to the woman:
“You have correctly said, âI have no husbandâ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband this you have said truly.”
The woman had been hiding the fact that the man she was living with was not her husband. According to the New Bible Commentary notes on this passage of Scripture, Common Law Marriage had no religious support in the Jewish faith. Living with a person in sexual union did not constitute a “husband and wife” relationship. Jesus made that plain here.
Therefore, position number one does not have a foundation in Scripture.
Romans 13:1-2 is one of several passages in Scripture that refers to the importance of believers honoring governmental authority in general:
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
These verses give position number two stronger biblical support.
Is It Okay For A Couple To Be Separated But Still Legally Married
In Biblical times, couples were temporarily apart due to military service ” rel=”nofollow”> 2 Samuel 11:6-11) or family visits ” rel=”nofollow”> Luke 1:39-40, ). Jesus’ apostles were likely away from their wives for at least part of the time they were serving Jesus ” rel=”nofollow”> 1 Corinthians 9:5, ). Similarly couples of today may have to be temporarily apart because of family situations, jobs or military service.
However, if a couple separates because of marital problems, they are no longer living according to the Biblical model of marriage ” rel=”nofollow”> Genesis 2:24, , , , ).
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It Is About Friendship First And Foremost
Thats the immediate need that marriage was created to address in Genesis 2. The text says:
Then the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone I will make him a helper fit for him.
It is not good for the man to be alone therefore God invented marriage.
The sort of friendship that God had in mind is indicated through the use of an often misunderstood phrase: a helper fit for him.
The Hebrew word in question carries the idea of complementarity. It does not imply inferiority. In fact, the Book of Hosea uses this word to God in relationship with Israel. Hosea 13:9 says:
He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper.
Here God describes himself as Israels helper his ezer clearly then the helper is no way inferior to one who is helped that is not what the word is communicating. Rather it appears to be communicating intimate correspondence. God is the helper that corresponds perfectly to our need as human beings just as Eve was the helper that corresponded perfectly to Adams need as a human being.
That is the sort of friendship that is being pictured here.
It is a friendship of co-equal others.
Understanding this puts to bed two lies that our culture would press upon us. The first is the lie that men and women must be understood as being the same in order to be understood as being equal.
But that clearly isnt the case.
Genesis 1:27 states plainly that the man and the woman are co-equal in value and dignity:
No it isnt.
Bible Verses About Marriage
The Bible has some beautiful verses on marriage. These biblical marriage phrases help gain more insight and understanding of the marriage. Following these will definitely add a lot of positivity in our lives.
Check these references of Bible Verses about marriage:
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
People will not call you Deserted anymore. They will no longer name your land Empty. Instead, you will be called One the Lord Delights In. Your land will be named Married One. Thats because the Lord will take delight in you. And your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so your Builder will marry you. As a groom is happy with his bride, so your God will be full of joy over you. Isaiah 62:4
If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. Deuteronomy 24:5
You are altogether beautiful, my darling there is no flaw in you. Song of songs 4:7
For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Ephesians 5:31
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:28
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:33
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What Does The Bible Say About Gay Marriage
There are no examples given of gay marriage in the Bible. What we read in Scripture is God affirming the marriage of one man and one woman. Having multiple wives, concubines, or same sex intimate relations is considered sinful and a perversion of Gods original design for marriage and human sexuality.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error .
The Bibles message is clear and teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman, and names homosexuality as sin. Though we cannot deny biblical truth about gay marriage, we as the body of Christ can continue to love all people, share the Gospel message, and help others enter into a relationship with Jesus that will transform believers from the inside out.
It Is Supposed To Preach The Gospel
There is something special about human beings particularly human beings as male and female together. The Bibles says:
Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him male and female he created them.
Image and likeness those are very important words.
We sometimes forget that the first people to hear these words in Genesis were most likely the wilderness generation of Hebrews during the time of the 40 year desert wandering. Their cultural frame of reference was Egyptian they had been living inside Egyptian culture for the last 400 years. In Egypt only one person was ever referred to as the image and likeness of God. Pharaoh was tselem and demooth Pharaoh was image and likeness of God. He resembled God and represented God in a way that no one else did.
But here in Genesis 1:26-27 Moses tells the recently liberated Egyptian slave class that they are all each of them male and female the image and likeness of God. They represent him and they resemble in some way that is not true of any other creature.
When people look at you particularly when they look at you as male and female together they are supposed to see something about the beauty, wholeness and vitality of the Living God.
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Why Marriage Matters For Everyday Life
Christian believers ought to care passionately about marriage because God is our Creator and has given us marriage as a non-negotiable good gift in Creation. It is the basic building block of the family, which is itself the foundation of all social order. When marriage is honored in a society, the powerful sexual urges we experience are channeled into serving God as we build stable relationships within which children are born and nurtured. Children need this stability. When marriage is dishonored, sexual chaos leaves casualties strewn all over our societies, from abused women to miserable children and disillusioned men. While God, in his kindness and common grace, can and does help children who are not nurtured in this context and adults who become victims of sexual abuse, it is Gods purpose that marriage shall be his kind bulwark and protection against the abuse of the weak.
Offering us a God-centered view of marriage, this book will help men and women experience the joy and fulfillment that result when a husband and wife focus on loving and serving God first and foremost.
Husbands Love Your Wives
The marriage should be a sacred place of love and living example of Christs love for the church. Husbands must love their wives:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her Ephesians 5:25
The husbands responsibility to his wife is to love her. In the same way that Jesus died, not minding the pain and shame just to see that the church gets a new name and an elevated status.
He must be meek and gentle towards her as well, and this springs out of a heart of love.
Husbands, in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7
In the same manner, the wife is expected to love her husband and be subject to his guidance and authority:
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Colossians 3:18
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What Does King James Bible Say About Marriage
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Herein, what does the King James Bible say about marriage and divorce?
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving. for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and. and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Secondly, what does the Bible say about hard times in marriage? “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” “My beloved is mine and I am his he browses among the lilies.” “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
Beside above, what does the Bible say about marriage?
Ephesians 5:25: âFor husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.” Genesis 2:24: âTherefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
How do I pray over my marriage?
Here are 10 things to pray specifically for your marriage.