The common dictionary definition is “the legally or formally recognized union of a man and a woman”, in our terms, a covenant relationship. This is being eroded in some parts of the world to include other relationships.
But where does that definition come from, where does marriage come from?
Marriage and family are good gifts, blessings from a great God. Unfortunately, the Word of God is often neglected, even rejected, and many work to see restrictions on what Christian organisations and the Church can say or do. Regrettably ignorance, apathy, and antagonism abound in our culture when it comes to God’s blueprint for the sacred institution of marriage and the family. Indeed our law is the same as that in many other nations where the word ‘marriage’ has been changed to include relationships other than between a man and a woman.
Scripture, the God inspired word, is fully sufficient for us in our life, marriage, ministry – but we need to read, and seek to understand it, allowing God to open up His word to us and we ourselves to test that revelation through discussion with others to ensure that we are not hearing the words of the deceiver.
Verse 17 tells us that the ‘breathed out word of God’ will equip us for success. Through scripture, the Lord not only tells us what His will is, but how He wants His will carried out. He gives us His ends, and His means.
Furthermore, ‘the breathed out word of God’ is able to make you complete, and equip you for every good work. Do you want to be a complete spouse, a complete parent? God’s Word can thoroughly equip you. Do you want to be a complete servant in your church? God’s Word can thoroughly equip you.
Marriage and family are designed by, and are a gift from God which was copied throughout many cultures. God established marriage between a man and a woman to last.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.… Genesis 2:18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Another translation puts it this way – Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” [NLT]
Although the word “covenant” is not actually used, Genesis 2:21-24 describes what is, in its essence, the first covenant of marriage writing …
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:21-24
“They shall become one flesh” – depicts the very essence of covenant.
In the Christian Church marriage is seen as a covenant agreement. However, Dr Dennis Rainey ( cofounder of FamilyLife, a Cru ministry, and author) writes in his book The Covenant of Marriage……
“For the past two years I have had a growing concern that the Christian community has passively watched the “dumbing down” of the marriage covenant. Marriage has become little more than an upgraded social contract between two people—not a holy covenant between a man and a woman and their God for a lifetime. In the Old Testament days a covenant was solemn and binding. When two people entered into a covenant with one another, a goat or lamb would be slain and its carcass would be cut in half. With the two halves separated and lying on the ground, the two people who had formed the covenant would solemnize their promise by walking between the two halves saying, “May God do so to me [cut me in half] if I ever break this covenant with you and God!” You get the feeling that a covenant in those days had just a little more substance than today.””
Jack Hayford (Author and Pastor USA) writes in his book ‘The Spirit-Filled Family : Holy Wisdom to Build Happy Homes’ that…
“The covenant of marriage is the single most important human bond that holds all of God’s work on the planet together. It is no small wonder that the Lord is passionate about the sanctity of marriage and the stability of the home. This covenant of marriage is based on the covenant God has made with us. It is in the power of His promise to mankind that our personal covenant of marriage can be kept against the forces that would destroy homes and ruin lives.”
In his book “Kingdom Marriages” Dr Tony Evans (pastor, speaker and author) writes…..
“The problem today is that we have transposed the benefit of marriage with the goal, so that when the benefit—happiness—is not working out, we quit and move on, or we resign ourselves to living a life of unhappiness. A large percentage of marriages end in divorce, and many couples who remain together do so out of economic or practical constraints, not love and a shared purpose. Again, kingdom couples share a purpose, not just passion. Emotions change, but the purpose remains and is what can tie two people together until death do they part.
Most people subscribe to the popular notion of marriage that begins when two people fall in love and share an emotional experience identified by chills, thrills, and butterflies. With eyes only for each other, the infatuated pair promise undying love at the altar only to discover that after they say “I do,’’ they just don’t anymore. Divorce seems like the only way to forge a truce. In fact, many men and women tell their biggest lies on their wedding days. They promise to “love, honor, and cherish” in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, for as long as they both shall live. Then, before long, they are divorced or wish they were. If religion is part and parcel of the relationship, many couples will stay together for the sake of the kids. Yet they do so in loveless environments punctuated by conflict, selfishness, and the opposite of the true image of God.
When children grow up in loveless homes, they don’t learn the crucial lessons necessary to develop good self-images now and to build strong marriages for themselves later. When kids witness their dads coercing or demanding submission from their moms, they take on a warped definition of manhood and womanhood, which often results in poor behavior and communication later in life.
Our marriages today are crumbling at such a high rate not because we no longer get along but because we have lost sight of the blessing tied to biblical marriage. Marriage is not merely a social contract; it is a sacred covenant. It is not simply a means of looking for love, happiness, and fulfillment. Those things are important; in fact, they are critical. But they are not the most important or the most critical. Yet because we have put second things first, as important as second things are, we are having trouble living out either. When God’s purpose and principles for marriage are undermined, His image becomes distorted, and our ability to influence others on God’s behalf erodes.”
Marriage Australia has italicised, and made bold this last paragraph.
The number of divorces in Australia in 2022 was 49,241 [a crude divorce rate of 2.4]. The number of children affected by divorce in 2022 was not readily available but in 2021 when the number of divorce showed an increase on the trend of previous years to 56,244 the number of children affected was 48,432. (Figures per ABS)
We in the Church must seek to align our own marriages to God’s design and purpose, with Christ at the centre. Marriages that are in a covenant relationship between a man and a woman, who seek to function as one, fulfilling their individual and joint callings in the great commission.
Related Items
The common dictionary definition is “the legally or formally recognized union of a man and a woman”, in our terms, a covenant relationship. This is being eroded in some parts of the world to include other relationships.
But where does that definition come from, where does marriage come from?
Marriage and family
We look at the Importance of Marriage primarily from the perspective of Scripture.
God’s Creation
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)
Right from the start God made menThroughout time the status of marriage has been and remains under continued pressure as are marriages themselves. This is despite the fact that throughout history to the current time many have concluded that marriage is a cornerstone of society/nations. Researchers, from differing fields of interest, still continue in this activity
