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The clear definition of marriage is the Holy loving union of one man and one woman for life. God created marriage before the existence of sin as the most sacred institution between a man and a woman. God blessed it as a Holy and honorable commitment. Eden was the scene of the first marriage, ordained by God Himself. God the Creator set the standard by which all future marriages are defined: “A man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
These words express the deepest physical and spiritual unity of man and woman. These words do not recommend a forsaking of filial duty and respect toward father and mother, but refer primarily to the fact that a man’s wife is to be first in his affections and that his first duty is toward her. His love for her is to exceed, though certainly not to supersede, a very proper love for his parents.
Sadly, humans perverted that holy union and introduced evil practices like divorce and adultery. Regarding that, Jesus said, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” (Matthew 19:9).
God’s designed marriage to last for a lifetime. In Genesis 2: 24, it says the two become “one flesh.” Eve was taken from Adam’s side, and so she was literally one flesh with Adam. Because their bond was “in the flesh,” they were together forever. So, when a man and a woman make a commitment to marry, they “become one flesh,” and that is why they say, “Till death do us part.” “The woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth” (Romans 7:2). And to protect the sanctity of marriage, God commanded “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
The Bible teaches that God’s design for marriage is monogamy. The Hebrew words for “man” and “wife” are singular and do not allow for multiple wives. Even though some Bible characters had multiple wives, that was not God’s original plan.
The Bible resembles the marriage relationship between a man and a woman like that between Christ and the church “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” ( Ephesians 5:25).
The supreme test of love is whether one is prepared to forgo happiness in order that the other might have it. In this respect the husband is to imitate Christ, giving up personal pleasures and comforts to obtain his wife’s happiness, standing by her side in the hour of sickness. Christ gave Himself for the church because she was in desperate need; He did it to save her. Likewise, the husband will give himself for the salvation of his wife, ministering to her spiritual needs, and she to his, in a spirit of mutual love. Paul exhorts the believers saying, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them” (Colossians 3:19).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
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