marriage is an important issue in the Christian life. Many books, magazines and marriage counseling resources are devoted to the issue of marriage preparation and improvement of marriage. In search of Amazon.com turned up more than 20,000 books to overcome marital problems and improve communication in marriage.
But have you ever wondered what the Bible has to say about marriage? A quick search reveals more than 500 Old and New Testament references to the word "marriage", "married", "husband" and "wife."
Christians today Weddings
According to statistical analysis on the different demographic groups, starting a wedding today has about 41-43% chance of ending in divorce. Research gathered by Glenn T. Stanton, director of Global Insight for Cultural and Family Renewal and principal analyst for marriage and sexuality at Focus on the Family, shows that evangelical Christians who regularly attend church divorce a 35% lower than for secular couples.
Similar trends are observed with active Catholics and Protestants large active lines. However, nominal Christians, who seldom or never attend church have higher divorce rates than secular couples
Stanton, who is also the author of Why matters wedding. Reasons to believe in marriage Postmodern Society reports, "religious commitment rather than just religious, contributes to higher levels of marital success."
If a genuine commitment to the Christian faith will result in a stronger marriage, then maybe the Bible really does have something important to say on the subject.
What the Bible says about marriage?
obviously we can not cover all the verses more than 500, so we'll just look at a few key passages. I hope you will read selected verses with an open mind, consider the analysis, ask your own questions of the heart, then come to your own conclusions.
Genesis 2:18, 21-24the Lord God said, "It is not good for man to be alone I will make a helper. to him "... and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.
Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken from the man, and brought her unto the man the man said, "This is 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 his mother, and his wife, and they become one flesh. (NIV)
here we see the first wedding. We can conclude from the Genesis account that marriage is God's idea, designed and implemented by the Creator. in these verses, we also discover that the heart of the design God for marriage is companionship and intimacy.
what does the Bible say?
• The marriage was designed to company and privacy .
An illustration of marriage
Eph. 5: 23-32
For a husband is head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you women must submit to your husbands in everything.
Husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's Word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body which is the Church. And we are his body.
As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one" This is a great mystery, but. is an illustration of how Christ and the church are one. (NLT)
the image of marriage expands into something much larger, and relationship with husband woman showing the relationship between Christ and the church. husbands are invited to give their lives in love and sacrificial protection. and in this safe and cherished embrace of a loving husband, the woman would not willing to submit to his leadership
what does the Bible
• husbands - Love and
sacrifice • Wives -. present
Different But equal
1 Peter 3 :. 1-5 7
in the same way, you women must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure pious behavior.
Do not be concerned about the outward beauty ... You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God ... in the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you do not treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard. (NLT)
Some readers are going to leave here. After all, "the husbands take the authority of initiative in marriage" and "wives bid" are not popular messages in the world today.
But this marriage illustration typifying the relationship between Christ and the church added a new encouragement for women to submit to their husbands, even those who do not follow Christ. Although this is a difficult challenge, the verse promises that his godly character and inner beauty will win over her husband more effectively than words.
If we are not careful we will miss these verses emphasize the equal partnership of husbands and wives in God's gift of new life. Although the husband exercises the role of authority and leadership, and the woman meets a submissive role, both are equal heirs to the kingdom of God. The roles are different, but equally important
What does the Bible
• Wives -.?. Demonstrate the divine character and quiet inner beauty
• Husbands - honor their wives and be nice and sweet
• Husands and women are equal partners
The purpose of Christian marriage
1 Corinthians 7: 1-2 ..
... It is good for a man not to marry. But as there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. (NIV)
This verse suggests that it is better not to marry. Those in difficult marriages would quickly agree.
Throughout history, it was felt that a deeper commitment to spirituality can be achieved through a consecrated life of celibacy.
It is clear that this verse refers to immorality in sexual intercourse. In other words, it is better to marry than to be sexually immoral. But if we develop the sense of integrating all forms of immorality, we could easily include egocentrism, greed, want control, hatred and all questions that arise when we enter into an intimate relationship .
Can deeper goals of marriage is to make us confront our own defects of character, behaviors and attitudes that we would have never seen or met otherwise? If we allow marriage challenges force us to confront us, we will be applying a spiritual discipline invaluable.
What does the Bible say?
• Strive to overcome immoral life.
I believe God designed marriage as a tool to make us more like Christ. In his book Sacred Marriage , Gary Thomas asked that question "And if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?" Is it possible that there is something much deeper into the heart of God than simply make us happy?
can we establish our own ambitions to love and serve our spouse? Through marriage, we can learn about unconditional love, honor, respect, and how to forgive and be forgiven. We can see our shortcomings and grow from this idea. We can develop the heart of a servant, and grow closer to God. Consequently, the real happiness of the soul can be discovered, and this I believe is one of the ultimate goals and desires of God for the design of the marriage covenant.