Tag: Marriage

“Marriage has a heavenly template and an earthly duplicate”.

There has been a longstanding marriage in the godhead from eternity past. That marriage is between God the Father and Jesus the Son. God is two persons united in their love.

This divine relationship provides the blueprint for the human family. Therefore, marriage on earth must be a sacred reflection of the family of God in heaven. Its identity, life, and power must come come from the heavenly pattern. 

Paul says: “I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” (Ephesians 3:14-15).

This means the relationship between God and Jesus is the Christian model for marriage. It gives us the exemplary insight of how husbands and wives should relate to one another. 

Heavenly duplicate

In effect, marriage has a heavenly template and an earthly duplicate. The purpose of God is to duplicate heavenly things on earth. So doing, the things on earth: “serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For (God) said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:5).

Jesus says we should pray to God: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). This is further confirmation that the will of God is to establish the heavenly pattern of marriage on earth.

Love imperative

God is love. For God’s love to be functional, it must have an object. Therefore, because God is love, God must be more than one person. Because God is love, God must have someone to love. The person that God loves from eternity to eternity is Jesus.

Jesus confirms this. He says to God the Father: “You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:4). Jesus also tells His disciples: “The Father loves the Son.” (John 5:20). 

As the Father loves the Son, so must the husband love his wife. This love must be fully expressed publicly. Jesus says: “The world must learn that I love the Father.” (John 14:31). Similarly, the love of the husband and the wife must not be hidden but openly displayed.

Creation of marriage

The new practice in the Western world where men marry men and women marry women is devilish and ungodly. In the beginning it was not so. God, not man, created marriage. Therefore, God owns the copyright.

This means marriage cannot be subject to earthly redesign. The marriage that is of God is between a man and a woman, and not between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman.

Marriage’s heavenly design is founded in oneness. The mystery of marriage is that two become one. That is the divine character of God. The Bible records that: “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

Similarly, in the beginning of creation was Adam, and Adam was with Eve, and Adam was Eve.

Jesus says: “I and My Father are One.” (John 10:30). Husband and wife must also become one, according to the heavenly template of marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24).

Unity of faith

Jesus prays that the union between Him and God the Father should also be duplicated in the Church of God and in the Christian marriage. He says to God:

“I pray that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in us.  That they may be one just as We are One: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26).

This concept of oneness is a spiritual version of physical sexual intercourse that takes place in marriage. Jesus says: “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” (John 14:11).

This is the same way that Eve was in Adam and Adam was in Eve. It is the most profound expression of intimacy possible, and it results in the birth of a child that has the combined attributes of both the father and the mother. The child represents the physical manifestation of the union between the husband and the wife.

Offspring of righteousness

The birth of a child from the marriage of the husband and the wife is also present in the marriage of the believer to Christ. Jesus says to His disciples: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

This presents the branch (the believer) as married to the vine (Christ). As a result of this marriage and sexual congress, the branch bears fruit. In other words, the branch gives birth to a child. This child or offspring is righteousness.

Accordingly, Paul prays that believers may be: “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:10-11).

Jesus says furthermore: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:56). If we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we become married to Him. We become “the body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:15-17).

James presents the antithesis of the Christ-centered marriage in the marriage most people contract unknowingly with the devil by living in disobedience to God:

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15).

In the Christ-less marriage of disobedience with the devil, the offspring is sin. When the child called sin grows up, it kills its parents: “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23).

Joint heirs

Jesus says to God: “All I have is Yours, and all You have is mine.” (John 17:10). This is the same between believers and God. We are: “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17). Paul tells us: “All are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:22-23).

Therefore, there can be no private property between husband and wife. No more should one say: “My salary is mine, but your salary is ours.” But even more fundamentally, all that the believer has now belongs to Christ. Jesus says: “Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33).

Husband’s authority

In the heavenly marriage, God is the husband of Jesus the Son. As the eternal partner of God, the Father, Jesus is subordinate to God. Indeed, God calls Jesus His servant: “Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:3).

We can confirm that this is referring to Jesus because it is repeated and addressed to Him in Matthew 12:18.

Jesus does not contest His subordinate position to God. He acknowledges it, saying: “My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28). Paul also affirms this: “The head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3).

Wives’ submission

Similarly, the husband is the head of the wife. Paul says: “I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man.” (1 Corinthians 11:3-4).

This subordinate position of the woman does not come from Paul. It comes from God. God passed a sentence on the woman (Eve) for being deceived by the devil to eat the forbidden fruit, and for also giving it to Her husband (Adam) to eat:

“Then (God) said to the woman, ‘I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.’” (Genesis 3:16).

Indeed, wives often seek to control their husbands, but the will of God is that it is the wife that must be subject to her husband.

This provides the foundation for Paul’s insistence that a woman must not be in authority over a man in church:

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.” (1 Timothy 2:11-15).

Although God’s sentence says the woman will give birth to children in pain and sorrow, the reprieve here is that she will not die in childbearing.

It is also according to God’s verdict in Genesis that Paul says: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24).

However, husbands should not get carried away by this injunction. In the first place, the husband is subject to Christ, so he takes all his directives from Christ. Moreover, according to Jesus, the Christian head must be a servant of those over whom he has authority:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28).

“Adam was supposed to be single but married to God”.

God says in the Bible: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24).

Wives must submit to their husbands because God is the husband of Jesus, and Jesus submits to God. Wives must submit to their husbands because Jesus is the husband of the believer, and the believer must submit to Jesus as the bride of Christ. These spiritual relationships provide the templates for the relationship between wives and husbands.

Marriage is not man-made; neither is it subject to human design. God is the author of marriage. Marriage was made in heaven. The greatest marriage of all is that between God the Father and Jesus the Son. Theirs is the supreme love story; one that is eternal and everlasting.

The relationship between God and Christ is like the relationship between husband and wife. God is two persons (the Father and the Son) united in their love and marriage.

Creation of marriage

Since the godhead is a marriage between God the Father and God the Son, God created man also as a marriage of two people, male and female. Accordingly, the Bible records that the Father says to His beloved Jesus: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27).

Thereby, when God created man in His own image, He created marriage. He also created a family relationship. Like God who is two in One, Father and Son, Adam was created as a human hermaphrodite. Adam was two-in-one. He was male and female combined.

As a result, Adam and Eve were married at creation. Eve was in Adam and Adam was in Eve: “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them ‘man.’” (Genesis 5:1).

“God created them male and female; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” (Genesis 5:2).

He called their name Adam means Adam and Eve were called Adam. They were two people in one body, married to God.

From Good to Bad

Six times at the beginning of creation, God surveyed His works and declared it was good. After God created man, His positive assessment went up another notch: “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31).

But soon thereafter came a seeming contradiction: “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’” (Genesis 2:18). 

How did something God said was “very good” become “not good?” Did God suddenly realise as an afterthought that it is not good for man to be alone? Did God only discover belatedly that Adam needed a wife?

The truth is that Adam was not supposed to have a wife. God was with Adam, so he was not alone. Adam was supposed to be single but married to God. All the companionship Adam required was supposed to come from God, the intended “husband” of Adam: “For your maker is your husband; the LORD of hosts is His name.” (Isaiah 54:5). 

Failure of Adam

God is man’s first love. But Adam was carnal and not spiritually minded. Adam did not understand that he who has God is never alone. God is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24). The everlasting promise of God to man is: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5). Jesus repeats this. He says to His disciples on His resurrection: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

Thus, Pope John Paul 2 said: “When God-Yahweh speaks the words about solitude, it is in reference to the solitude of “man” as such, and not just to that of the male.”  Adam’s solitude or loneliness was not caused by lack of woman.  It was caused by his carnality.  Like Israel who rejected God and insisted on having a king, Adam sought companionship in flesh and not in spirit.  He desired someone that is bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. (Genesis 2:23).

God’s answer to Adam’s loneliness was to bring different animals to Adam: “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.” (Genesis 2:19-20).

Finally, God separated Eve from Adam, literally pulling her out of his ribs. This satisfied Adam, who declared ecstatically: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23).

Human marriage is therefore an attempt to unite Adam and Eve back together through the sexual congress. But even after such partial reunion, both husband and wife together mustbe re-married to God.

Adam’s blunder

God gave specific instructions to Adam about life in the Garden of Eden: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). 

But instead of listening to God, Adam listened to Eve, his wife, and ate the forbidden fruit. In effect, Adam forgot that God is his first love. He preferred Eve to God. This preference proved to be disastrous, and it led Adam astray. 

Once Adam allowed another relationship to take pre-eminence over his relationship with God, leading him to disobey God, his intimacy with God was lost. Once he ate the forbidden fruit, he sinned, and he became a sinner by nature. As such he died. He died spiritually immediately, and he began to die physically. Because of Adam’s sin, death entered the human race. 

Like begets like. Adam was a son of God. But since he became a sinner before Eve conceived a child, every human being descended from Adam became sons of men instead of sons of God. Thus, Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. But Adam’s offspring was born in the image and likeness of Adam:

“When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.” When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.” (Genesis 5:1-3).

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