Holy Matrimony
Marriage is God’s gift. As with other good gifts from God, we live in a world that does not seem to recognize or one that does not want to receive God’s good gifts. When the LORD God created everything, the Bible tells us how the Lord made a wife for the first man, Adam.
“The man [Adam] gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
(Genesis 2: 20-24 NASB)
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept;
then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man,
and brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife;
and they shall become one flesh.”
There are some wonderful truths we can garner from this passage.
Man is a worker and has been a worker since the LORD God created him.
As God’s child, one saved by the shed blood of Christ, we are to put our hands to the work the LORD God calls us to do, and we are to work as unto the LORD. The Bible tells us so.
The LORD God, the great Physician, performed the first surgery, opening and closing the first man’s flesh while he slept deeply, under the LORD God’s anesthesia. Thus, Woman was created from a part of man; from the rib of man, the woman was fashioned by the LORD God’s hands. The first woman’s name denotes this truth. In poetic fashion, this part representing a whole and the whole representing the part is called a synecdoche. There is no way Adam could see Eve in any other way then as a part of himself, and Eve could see herself in no other way then as a part of Adam. They were joined together because of the LORD God’s fashioning together.
When we gave our heart to Jesus, when we first believed, the Bible tells us that Marriage is like Christ and the Church, a Holy Matrimony.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 5: 25-27 NASB)
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;
but that she would be holy and blameless.”
As a follower of Christ, we are one person, but we are also co-joined with the body of Christ made possible by the other followers of Christ comprising the church of God: the Body. Perfect Synecdoche God-Ordained.
“Hallelujah!
(The Revelation to John 19: 6b-9 NASB)
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”
It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean;
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Then he said to me, “Write,
‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”
And he said to me,
“These are true words of God.”
The first man, Adam, recognized the good gift he had received. Marriage has been ordained by the LORD God since the beginning of time. One flesh. Man and his wife: the Bible tells us this is so.
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing
(Proverbs 18:22 NASB)
And obtains favor from the LORD.”
Pause to recall the last wedding ceremony you attended. Consider the minister’s opening words: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony.” Wedding days are filled with joy because God Himself ordained marriage between man and woman. As we read God’s Word, the apostle John reminds us how the commandments do not change or become obsolete.
“Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you,
(The First Letter of John 2: 7-8 NASB)
but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning;
the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you,
because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.”
Our Creator calls us to be life-long learners, growing in our wisdom, enhancing the spiritual growth the LORD provides, for it is God who equips us for life. The LORD is our ultimate teacher, and He challenges us to BE LIKE JESUS: ”the true Light [that] is already shining.”
Therefore, in closing, the bond-servant of God, the apostle Paul recorded in his letter to Titus, reminding us how we are to mentor, to pay-it-forward, to share that which the LORD God has taught us. The LORD has designed us (His church) to share the wisdom garnered from generation to generation.
Have we confessed our sins? Share your testimony with another.
Have we walked through a valley and been sustained by the LORD? Tell another who is hurting.
Have we been married for many seasons and learned the teaching of forgiveness from the LORD? Share your wedded-walk with a sister-in-Christ.
Have we cared for a spouse while their health failed? Tell another how this was so, how the LORD made you strong.
Have we walked through the valley of the shadow of death when our spouse passed away into death? Share how the LORD God held your hand as He walked you through the valley.
We (who believe) are part of God’s family, and as siblings (brothers and sisters-in-Christ) we are part of one another. The LORD God has joined us with Himself in Holy Matrimony, and this covenant began when we first believed, when we first confessed our sins, and when we first received God’s gift of salvation.
“Then he said to me, “Write,
(The Revelation to John 19: 9 NASB)
‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”
And he said to me,
“These are true words of God.”
And
“But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”
(The Letter of Paul to Titus 2: 1 NASB)