By: Anj Johnson
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What is Marriage?
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What are the Principles of Marriage?
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What is God’s Design for Marriage?
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Marriage on Purpose
The Process of Becoming One.
We need to understand and know the answers to these questions. Not to brag, be proud and teach, but to follow God’s will in the life of marriage or husband and wife.
What is Marriage?
Genesis 2:18
- God gave Adam (the first Man on Earth) someone that will help him.
- Counterpart one who balances him.
Genesis 2:25
- God created Eve and called her “wife”
Genesis 2:24
- Marriage is a combination of one man and one woman to become
What are the Principle of Marriage?
First:
First, marriage is for one man and one woman. The Hebrew word for “wife” is gender specific; it does not mean anything other than “a woman.” There is no passage in Scripture that mentions marriage as involving anything other than a man and a woman. It is impossible for people to form a family or reproduce outside of a “man” and “woman”. Since God ordained sex between husband and wife, it shows that God’s design is for the family to be formed by the union of a man and a woman and for them to have children.
Second:
The second principle from Genesis 2 regarding God’s design for marriage is that marriage is set to last forever. Verse 24 says that the two became “one flesh.” Eve was taken from Adam’s rib, and thus she was literally one flesh with Adam. She was formed from Adam rather than from the earth. Every marriage is meant to show the unity of Adam and Eve. Because their bond is “in the flesh,” they will be united until death. There is no written condition in the first marriage that allows the two to be divorced except for under the old covenant (Matthew 19:8). That is to say that God designed marriage to last forever. When a man and a woman make a commitment as husband and wife, they “become one flesh,” intimately linked to each other until death.
Third:
The third principle from this verse about God’s design for marriage is monogamy or having only one spouse. The Hebrew words for “man” and “wife” are singular and polygamy is not permitted. Although some people in Scripture had multiple wives, it is clear from the creation record that God’s design for marriage was one man and one woman. Jesus emphasized this principle when He used a note in Genesis to fight the idea of divorce (Matthew 19:4-6).
It is not a surprise that the world wants to change what God established. “For anyone who is obsessed with the things of the flesh is an enemy of God; he does not obey the law of God and he cannot obey” (Romans 8: 7). Even though the world tries to give its own definition for what they call “marriage,” the Bible still stands firm. The clear definition of marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life.
But, do it in a right way. We can enter into a marriage out our own will and not GOD’s will. We should decide what GOD’s intent and will for the one you desire to marry is.
See my husband’s article on ‘Divorce and The Gospel of Grace’.
What is God’s Design for Marriage?
The commandment “what God has joined together let no man separate” refers to marriage and divorce. It comes from the teachings of Jesus regarding marriage and divorce found in Mark 10:1-12 and Matthew 19:1-12. At one point, the Pharisees asked Jesus if a man could divorce his wife. Jesus’ answer was, “Have you not read, that he who created them from the beginning, he created them male and female, And said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore they shall not be two, but one flesh, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6; cf. Genesis 1:27; 2:24).
The point of Jesus in His words is first, “God brought husband and wife together.” Marriage did not come from man – it came from God and is a part of God’s design for the living of mankind. By saying “what God has joined together, let not man put asunder” Jesus teaches that divorce or separation is not according to God’s original plan. When two people get married, they are united by God himself and their union should be for life. This principle is true regardless of whether or not the couple has faith. If two atheists marry, God has brought them together, whether they recognize this fact or not. If God brought them together, no one has the right to break their union.
When Jesus said, “what God has joined together, let not man put asunder,” the Pharisees told Him that Moses allowed divorce. Jesus agreed but He said that God allowed it because of the “hardness of their hearts” (Matthew 19:8), and again emphasized that divorce was not according to God’s original plan for the couple.
Jesus’ commandment that man shall not separate what God has joined together indicates that it is possible for a relationship to be broken and divorce to separate two people who have become one flesh. There are disputes within Christianity as to whether there are valid grounds for divorce. Many divorces are allowed if a spouse who cheated on his wife does not repent (according to Matthew 19:9) or if an unbelieving husband leaves his believing wife because the former no longer wants to be with the believing wife (see 1 Corinthians 7:15). In such cases, the marital bond is broken by infidelity or abandonment – the severing of God’s relationship and a tragedy in marriage.
Even despite the two reasons mentioned, it is often in our culture to consider divorce as a minor sin. If marriage was just a simple human invention similar to a business partnership or being a member of an organization, man is now free to enter and exit the relationship any day and time he likes. Divorce is not a simple agreement to leave a company; it is a decision that involves serious consideration between two people whom God has brought together that He wants to be together for eternity. This is a serious matter!
And since we already know the answers, this is the opportunity for us to learn to follow God’s will in married life or marriage.
