Marriage - Holy Matrimony

Marriage is an ordinance in the life of a person. It is that period in a person’s life that marks the beginning of a new family. Marriage can be simply explained as a union between a man and a woman. who have through a public act pledged or vowed to love, cherish and hold each other in better or worse times, in richer or poorer times, in sickness and in health till death separate them. Ideally marriage should bring joy, happiness and satisfaction to the man and the woman. However marriages in recent times have been the opposite of the good intent that the Almighty had for human beings.

In this article we will be looking at five biblical teachings on marriage. This is what the Lord needs us to know before we say I do, till death us do part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow.

Understanding Marriage

In the book of Matthew 19:3-4 when our Lord Jesus Christ was questioned about divorce by the Pharisees; Jesus said “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said to them for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”. So to have a clear understanding of marriage, one has to go to the beginning or the source of marriage to understand the reason why it was instituted. We shouldn’t use the marriages of people or the negative sides of some bible characters as a standard to measure our marriage or what marriage is suppose to be. They have their weakness just as we all have ours. The question you should ask yourself is why did the creator institute marriage, what is the purpose of marriage and what does the Creator expects.

Origin of Marriage

Marriage is an important ordinance in the life of a person. It was instituted by God right from creation (Genesis 2:18 - The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'NIV). So marriage is God's plan right from the laying of the foundations of the earth to date. It was not Adam who asked for a wife, it was the Lord God who saw the need for man to have a partner.

Five Principles on marriage

Now that we have explained marriage let us go to the beginning to understand what the Creator expect from us. Jesus Christ asked as to go back to the beginning (Genesis) to enable us understand the intent of the Creator. In Genesis 2:24-25 the bible state “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame”. The principles we will be discussing in this article will be based on the verse above. Let start our discussion below.

1. One Man One Woman

The first thing to know about bible or Christian marriage is that it is between a man and a woman. That is one man, one wife. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 19:4 that “at the beginning the Creator made them male and female”; signifying the one man and one wife plan of the Creator (Genesis 1:27). In addition Genesis 2:24 also mentioned a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife. Both verses use emphasize on one man and one wife justifying the one one principle of the Creator. One question you will ask is “if the creator made marriage one man one wife; why was King David a man after God’s heart” and many other key leaders in the bible marry more than one wives. Let focus on King David, we will look at the life of the other in great details in another article. Although he was a man after God’s heart his home was not that peaceful due to having children with different women. There were instants where King David had to run from his own son Absalom. He also faced many other problems. If King David went through all this, why do you not stick to the original plan of the Creator that is one man one woman.

2. Marriage is the Mini Church

The second thing to know about marriage is that; marriage is the mini church. In the book of Matthew 18:18-19 the minimum requirement to bound or loose things is two. Our Lord Jesus Christ further stated that where two or three people have gathered in His name there He (Jesus Christ) will be. In simple terms, the minimum requirement to invite the presence of Jesus Christ is two. The man and the woman are two people living together in love and as such have the power to invite the Lord Jesus Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah who has conquered all things and all powers into their home. Once Jesus Christ is present the Church is formed. To say that they are two in this context, we are not contradicting the bible; the meaning of oneness in marriage is explained below. If the couple is blessed with children the marriage church will start growing. Sometime I wonder why a married woman or man will leave the partner behind and will roam about searching for salvation while he or she could have just united with his or her partner in love and pray to invite the Lord Jesus Christ into their home.

3. Leaving your Father and mother

The third principle is leaving your father and mother (Genesis 2:24a). This should not be explained as neglecting your parent, that is not taking care of your parent in their old age. God want us as Christian couple to take care of our parents. In this context, the bible need you as the man to lay side some traditions or home culture that you hold on to, sit down with your wife to form new ones that will be mutually beneficial. It is important to note that the man and woman are raised in two different homes with different laws, culture, and practice among other things. If each one still holds on to these, it may cause conflict between the couple. Therefore it is important to find common ground and form new laws that will help you and your partner. This new laws or principles must be based on the teachings of the Holy Bible that is the word of God.

4. Oneness in Marriage

The fourth thing to know about marriage is Oneness. This is found in the book of Genesis 2:24b it states “be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. That is, being one in spirit and body. Spiritual oneness means supporting each others spiritual needs. This includes correcting each other and bringing each other back to the right path when one sees the other moving off-course. It also includes praying together and studying the bible together. In the book of Malachi 2:15, the prophet gave us a detailed explanation of oneness in marriage. The verse states “Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his” And why one: because the LORD is seeking godly children. So guard yourself in spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. From this verse God want the couple to unite in mind, soul and body to raise God fearing children for the LORD. Hence the couple should focus on teaching and training their children. Raising bad or wayward children means you have failed the LORD.

5. No Shame or Shyness in Marriage

The last thing to know before you say I do, till death us do part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow is the principle of no shame or shyness in marriage. In Genesis 2:25 the bible stated that both the man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. Shyness in marriage can affect the communication between the couple. The couple must ensure that there will be no secret between them. Keeping secret has the tendency of impacting the marriage negatively; this is because it will create suspicion. Finally, you should be able to play like a couple - both normal and romantic play. In Genesis 26:8 Isaac, the father of Israel was seen playing with his wife Rebecca. You should be able to open up and share your problems with each other, spend quality time together, talking with each other and have fun like a couple.

Conclusion

In the article we have looked at five biblical ideas that a person has to know about marriage. Marriage is an important aspect of life. It was the original intent of the creator to make us (human beings) happy. To have a happy and successful marriage, you will need to understand the origin, purpose and principles of marriage. This is what this article sort to do. There are many other things about marriage in the bible that has not been captured in this article. Hopefully we will compile and add it to the next update. God bless you and grant you a happy and successful marriage. SHALOM.