The Institution Of Marriage Is Constant Series

Socrates said “My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.” Marriage is still a good idea because it is God’s idea. He created it. He designed it. He established it and defined its parameters. Marriage is not a human concept but divine origin. God Himself instituted and ordained marriage at the very beginning of human history. From the outset, God established marriage as a permanent relationship, the union of two separate people—a man and a woman—into “one flesh.” When Adam first laid eyes on Eve he exclaimed, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23,). God’s design for marriage is found in the very next verse: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).

You may have heard people say; “Marriage is made in Heaven” because it is God’s idea. Marriage is “made In Heaven” because our vows are recorded by Heaven. This is expressed more explicitly in Malachi 2:14: "The Lord was witness to the covenant between you and the wife of your youth; Here the Scripture tells us clearly that marriage is a covenant to which God is a witness. The world’s first wedding took place in the Garden. There God ordained the marriage of the man and woman whom He had created. Consider it for a moment. If ever a marriage was made in heaven, this one was. It was perfectly planned and perfectly performed by a perfect God. Our first parents did not woo, solicit, or choose each other. This was an arranged marriage, a match literally made in heaven:

Marriage is a wonderful gift from our Creator. It was meant to bring the highest level of love, joy, companionship and fulfillment to our lives. There is nothing so wonderful on earth we could compare it with. A Happy and healthy home is one of the best places on earth, while an unhappy and unhealthy home is one of the most miserable places. Someone rightly said “Where purpose is not known abuse is inevitable…” When a person does not understand the purpose of a thing, they almost always abuse that thing and marriage is no different. An all-wise God who created order out of chaos, handcrafted man and woman in His own image, and then instituted and ordained marriage must have had a purpose in doing so.

What then, one must ask, was God’s purpose in creating marriage? Indisputably the most fitting answer will be found in harmony with the will of God as it is revealed for us in His Word. It is for this reason that one must turn to His Word in order to find the divine purpose of God’s institution of marriage. If God’s Word is not working in any area of our lives the mistake is always with us, never with God. If we didn’t learn what we practice from God’s Word, then we got the wrong instruction manual for our marriage. The result will always fall short and is incapable to represent God. So we need to examine our marriage. We must carefully look at our marriage and question if what we live as a couple truly represents God.

The husband need to ask himself:

Do I represent God …

…in the way I talk to my wife?

…in my level of honesty toward her?

…in my commitment to her?

…in the way I love and care for my wife?

... In the way I meet her needs?

... How I value her?

…in the way I lead my wife?

The wife need to ask herself:

Do I follow God’s instructions…?

…in the way I talk to my husband?

…in my level of honesty toward him?

…in my commitment to him?

…in the way I love and care for my husband?

…how I respond to him?

…in my submission to his authority?

…in my willingness to follow his leadership?

We need to be willing to accept what God’s Word teaches, rather than copying what those around us practice. God loves us so much, that He wants to bless us with a marriage which is His very best. But unless we follow the instructions of the Biblical truth instead of human traditions it cannot happen. The choice is ours. While the family is the basic foundation of any healthy society, marriage is the foundation of the family. The health of a marriage determines the health of a “family,” and the health of a “family” determines the health of the society and the health of a “society” determine the health of the Nation .It takes only a few minutes to get married, but building a marriage requires a lifetime. Building a strong marriage takes time, patience, and hard work. We will never obtain God’s kind of marriage simply by going along with the crowd, doing what everybody else does. We have to dig deep into the heart of God to discover His principles. The Bible presents marriage as an institution that should be highly respected and esteemed above all other institutions. Hebrews 13:4 says, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Marriage, then, should be valued and esteemed, and held in highest honor at all times in all things by all people everywhere. That is God’s design.