A Divine Foundation For Marriage Series

A Divine Foundation for Marriage

Family Is a Divine Idea

We live in a society today that has little regard for the honor and sanctity of marriage as God designed it. We also live in a time of great marital discord and family disintegration. A recent survey report from a particular country, statistical data, projected, indicates that one in every two marriages will end in divorce. This tragic statistics are evidence that God's first institution - the home - is in danger and must be patterned after His instructions or the tragedy will be even more catastrophic.

A lot of people are confused about marriage in today’s more “liberated ““enlightened” culture. Concept such as honor, trust, faithfulness, and commitment seem old fashioned and out of touch with modern society. Many people in certain culture change partners as easily as they change cloths. Someone asked a question to a middle aged person “what you think about marriage? He said “Marriage should be like a workshop, where the husband works and the wife shops” This confusion over marriage should not surprise us, considering bewildering barrage of the worldly attitudes and philosophies that hit us at ever turn. People today shop for relationship s the way they shop for cloths. Is marriage is still viable in modern society? The answer is yes. Marriage is still the best Idea because it is God’s Idea. He created it, designed it, established it and define it parameters. God Himself instituted and ordained marriage at the very beginning of human history. God established marriage as a permanent relationship, the union of two separate people – a man and woman -In to “one flesh”. God established it as the first and most foundational and fundamental building block of society. The Bible contains God’s principles and plan for achieving quality and health in family life. If we want to experience marriage the way it was designed to be, first of all we need a vital relationship with God and also we must take very seriously the Bible as it relates to the family.

Family Is Divine in Origin

According to Scripture marriage is ordained by God as an intimate and permanent partnership between a man and a woman in which the two become one in the whole of life. Marriage is the sacred and lifelong union of a man and a woman giving themselves to each other in love and trust. Beyond a shadow of a doubt Marriage is the most important affair in everyone life. Vast numbers of books, magazines and marriage counseling resources are dedicated to the subject of marriage preparation and marriage improvement. A search of Amazon.com turned up more than 20,000 books on overcoming marital problems and improving communication in marriage. But have you ever wondered what the original instruction manual (Bible) has to say about marriage? A quick search reveals more than 500 Old and New Testament references to the words "marriage," "married," "husband," and "wife." Obviously, we can't cover all 500-plus verses, so we'll just look at a few key passages.

Gen. 2:18, 21-24

“The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he 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,' for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

Here we see the first marriage. We can conclude from this account in Genesis that marriage is God's idea, designed and instituted by the Creator. In these verses we also discover that at the heart of God's design for marriage is companionship and intimacy. God wants marriages to be strong. He wants them to last long. He wants them to be a reflection of His relationship with His redeemed people. One of the familiar verses in the Bible is Matthew 19:6. That passage contains the words of Jesus in regard to marriage. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." Why? Because…

 God created marriage as a loyal partnership between one man and one woman.

 Marriage is the firmest foundation for building a family and then society and Nation.

 God designed sexual expression to help married couples build intimacy and permanent bond.

 Marriage mirrors God's covenant relationship with His people.

 God desires that we develop and nurture a personal, interactive relationship with Him.

 Marriage is the full expression and design of God's image in human beings.