Marriage Is God’s Institution

There are many that are still single who will one day get married, and there are those that will remain single for the rest of their lives. For those that desire to be married, they must understand God’s requirement and standard in order to live a successful married life in God’s eyes. Heavenly Father tells us in Ephesians 5:28-31(NLT), “28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body. 31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”” Just as God made us to meet Christ’s desire for a body and His desire for a family, He made Eve to meet Adam’s need for companionship. This is the reason why a man leaves his father and mother, because he is ordained by God to be joined to his wife, and the two are united as one.

This coming together of the man and his wife was established and sanctioned by God alone. Marriage is His institution. It’s a part of His plan for humanity, but marriage wasn’t Adam’s top priority. His relationship with Heavenly Father was his first priority, and the most important aspect of Adam’s relationship with God was having faith in God’s Word. Adam received a direct commandment, and he understood it perfectly. He was not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 2:16-17(NLT) tells us, “16 But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

After God gave Adam the work of tending the Garden of Eden and had given him this specific commandment in Genesis 2:16-17, Heavenly Father then made woman, a companion for his man. Genesis 2:18(NLT) tells us, “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.” Our Heavenly Father was committed to taking care of Adam’s need. We should notice that nothing about these verses in Genesis 16:18 is complicated or difficult to understand. God’s expectation for Adam is very clear. He was to follow God’s commandments, take care of God’s earth, and come into partnership with his wife.

The common denominator in all of these is that everything is directed and ordained by God, and God alone. The mechanisms of Adam’s obedience, work, and partnership were all supplied by God, and they provide a foundation for understanding what Heavenly Father expects and requires. God supplies. He’s our Source and Sufficiency. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6:8 that He knows the things we need even before we ask Him. This is an especially important reminder when it comes to praying to meet the man that will walk with us through life.

Our tendency is to have a whole list of attributes that we want the man we will marry to possess. We want him to look a certain way, and to act and do those things we find acceptable and necessary. These may be the things we want, but it may not be what we need. Adam did not ask God for the woman; Heavenly Father provided a mate for Him because it was always the Father’s heart and Will to do this. Women were not an afterthought of our Divine Creator. It was always His Will to make a woman from a man. The seed of all children come from a man. Acts 17:26 tells us that from one man, Adam, God made every nation of the human race. So, by making the woman from Adam’s body, God has revealed the perfection and glory of His design. Through the union of a man and woman, God has shown us how we, although separate from Christ physically, are still one with him and operating as our Redeemer’s body.

Our marriages serve God’s purpose. They are a part of His agenda, and we can’t highjack them to serve our own agendas. Jesus Christ said in John 6:38(NLT), “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.” This is our example. We are here on this earth to do the Father’s Will, and therein lies our greatest joy and fulfillment. Nothing good can come of anything that is outside the Father’s Will. He is not slack in any way. He knows what we need, and we should make it our business to pray that He helps us to get in line with His plan. Then, when we meet the person God is presenting, we will have confidence in the match, and we will be committed to treasure him in all the ways that please the Father.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Marriage Is God’s Institution”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.

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