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I want to introduce this subject by quoting Pastor Gicky Soriano’s article on “Understanding God's Blueprint for Marriage.” “Marriage is a divine institution, ordained and regulated by God’s word. It is found in every human culture. God formed humanity as male and female with the intent that a man leave his father and mother to cling and commit to a permanent union with one woman (Gen 2:24). It is the first institution established and elevated to the most intimate of relationships by God and the only one founded before the Fall. Many people throughout the ages have questioned, rebelled against or attempted to change the shape of this ideal covenant forged by God. Rooted in a divine origin, marriage is an institution that is not subject to the human electoral process, political correctness or even the cultural trends that influence the tide of traditional or liberal thinking today. When some Pharisees confronted Jesus about grounds for divorce, his response affirmed God’s original and perfect blueprint for marriage—the Creation ideal (Mt 19:1-6).” (About Pastor Gicky Soriano go to http://hubpages.com/)
We see several things of import stand out in this article: 1) Marriage is a divine institution, ordained and regulated by God’s word. Marriage is not a human institution devised in the dim past of human history as a convenient way to sort out social responsibilities. 2) Marriage is found only in every human culture. You and I never heard of marriage in the animal kingdom, nor in the colonies of ants and other creeping things, nor in the fowls of the air, nor in the creatures of the sea. These creatures including mankind are able to produce and reproduce their own kind but only humans have the benefit of marriage. The marriage institution is only intended for human kind. 3) It is the first institution established and elevated to the most intimate of relationships by God and the only one founded before the Fall. This most intimate of relationship of marriage is only between a man and woman and not between the same sexes.
Why is that so? What are the purposes God intended for the institution and ordination of marriage? From the book of Genesis and from the epistles of Paul we can learn the five basic purposes God intended for establishing and ordaining the marriage institution.
1. Marriage is for Procreation
1. Marriage is for Procreation
I
have heard a story about a parish priest who complained to a U.S. Army General about the behavior of some GI soldiers during the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese Imperial Army. Apparently, the GI
soldiers made several Filipina women pregnant in his parish. To which the
General answered the priest, “Father, did not God say? ‘Go, be fruitful and
multiply!” To which the priest rebutted “True General, God said ‘be fruitful
and multiply’, but he never said ‘be fruitful and multiply and then Go!’ Apparently the
American soldiers must leave the Philippines after completing their tour of duty leaving all behind; and making these single women single moms and the children whom they sired fatherless.
So God’s purpose and
intent for marriage is procreation, to continue propagating the human race. But
mind you, the procreation or the proliferation of the human race is done only
in the bounds of marriage. God said in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall
leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh.” Children born outside
marriage; they are called and considered illegitimate children because they are
born of parents who are not married
to each other; born out of wedlock. Therefore, cohabitation, live-in
partnership, trial-marriages, divorce and remarriage, and concubinages are
unlawful in the sight of God. Though some human societies and customs practice concubinages
and maintain harems wherein women are kept for sexual pleasures of sheiks and
kings; and have enacted laws for granting divorce and favor remarriage, nevertheless
the law of God governing marriage transcends over these customs.
2. Marriage is for Partnership
Gen 2:18 Later, the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a companion that is a suitable match for him."
When God said in creating man “let us make man in our image” it implies that the triune God is a relational being; simply enjoying a “perichoretic” relationship with each other. The familial terms that describe God as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit are anthromorphic (human like) descriptions of Him so that we can know Him better. And one of the images of God in man is the capacity to live in the context of human relationships as man is formed to be a social being. It is inert in human beings to live socially in communion and companionship with other human beings. The worst of punishment perhaps is to be banished to an isolated island alone with no other beings to socialize with. So in marriage God designed that the first couple should live in partnership living out in social affection. This affection was the index of social capacity. The first step towards social affection is communication between the kindred spirits of Adam and Eve.
God designed woman to be man’s suitable helper, or literally, "a helper agreeing to him." Eve was created to be Adam’s other half approximating him in every point and making the marriage union a complete whole. She was not created to be man’s slave, but rather his helper. The word "helper" (’ezer) is used in the Bible also for God as the helper of the needy (Ps 33:20; 146:5), thus it does not imply that woman is an inferior being. She is equal in nature and worth, reflecting the same divine image (Gen 1:27). Yet she is different in function, serving as a supportive helper.
Woman was created to be man’s counterpart, agreeing with him mentally, physically and spiritually, making him a larger person than he would have been alone, bringing into his life a new feminine perspective he would not have known otherwise. The same holds true for man. He brings to his wife a masculine perspective that enlarges her life, making her a more complete person than she could be without him. Thus, a marriage union not only fills the need for companionship, but it enables a man and a woman to become fuller, more complete persons.
The way God chose to create the
first bride is most significant. Unlike the rest of creation and of man
himself, God formed Eve not from "the dust of the ground" (Gen 2:7)
but from the very man who was to become her husband, by utilizing one of his
ribs (Gen 2: 21). The significance of the
manner of Eve’s creation, though not explicitly expressed, can hardly be
missed. Eve was not made out of Adam’s head to rule over him, nor out of his
feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be his equal, under his
arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved.
As Adam beheld with sleepy eyes the most beautiful creature of God’s creation, he declared with ecstatic excitement: "Wow wakatan binigyan ako ng Dyios ng pinamagandang hayop sa ibabaw ang mundo." "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" (Gen 2:23). Adam’s rejoicing was motivated by the discovery of the person who completed his incompleteness. His hunger for wholeness stemmed from the fact that God made him a male with the need for a female companion. God made Adam incomplete without Eve from the beginning.
The manner in which God created Adam and Eve reveals God’s design that there should be male and female. Each of them needs the other for self-fulfillment. Each of them should accept his or her sexual and functional roles as given by God. This means that efforts to promote sexual or functional role interchangeability between men and women represent a violation of the role distinctions established by God at creation. True completeness and self-realization can be found not by transcending our sexual or functional roles but rather by fulfilling our different and yet complementary roles.
So in marriage God intended that man and woman should live in partnership relationship. It is 100% partnership with each other and not only 50% partnership. The woman is intended by God is a “helpmeet” that is one to help him in all the affairs of life; the one who may not only reciprocate his feelings, but take an intelligent and appropriate part in his active pursuits.
Apparently the personal experiences of Solomon attest to the fact that marriage as a partnership is beneficial and it has advantages. Ecc. 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him--a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
3. Marriage is for Pleasure
When God said in creating man “let us make man in our image” it implies that the triune God is a relational being; simply enjoying a “perichoretic” relationship with each other. The familial terms that describe God as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit are anthromorphic (human like) descriptions of Him so that we can know Him better. And one of the images of God in man is the capacity to live in the context of human relationships as man is formed to be a social being. It is inert in human beings to live socially in communion and companionship with other human beings. The worst of punishment perhaps is to be banished to an isolated island alone with no other beings to socialize with. So in marriage God designed that the first couple should live in partnership living out in social affection. This affection was the index of social capacity. The first step towards social affection is communication between the kindred spirits of Adam and Eve.
God designed woman to be man’s suitable helper, or literally, "a helper agreeing to him." Eve was created to be Adam’s other half approximating him in every point and making the marriage union a complete whole. She was not created to be man’s slave, but rather his helper. The word "helper" (’ezer) is used in the Bible also for God as the helper of the needy (Ps 33:20; 146:5), thus it does not imply that woman is an inferior being. She is equal in nature and worth, reflecting the same divine image (Gen 1:27). Yet she is different in function, serving as a supportive helper.
Woman was created to be man’s counterpart, agreeing with him mentally, physically and spiritually, making him a larger person than he would have been alone, bringing into his life a new feminine perspective he would not have known otherwise. The same holds true for man. He brings to his wife a masculine perspective that enlarges her life, making her a more complete person than she could be without him. Thus, a marriage union not only fills the need for companionship, but it enables a man and a woman to become fuller, more complete persons.
As Adam beheld with sleepy eyes the most beautiful creature of God’s creation, he declared with ecstatic excitement: "Wow wakatan binigyan ako ng Dyios ng pinamagandang hayop sa ibabaw ang mundo." "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" (Gen 2:23). Adam’s rejoicing was motivated by the discovery of the person who completed his incompleteness. His hunger for wholeness stemmed from the fact that God made him a male with the need for a female companion. God made Adam incomplete without Eve from the beginning.
The manner in which God created Adam and Eve reveals God’s design that there should be male and female. Each of them needs the other for self-fulfillment. Each of them should accept his or her sexual and functional roles as given by God. This means that efforts to promote sexual or functional role interchangeability between men and women represent a violation of the role distinctions established by God at creation. True completeness and self-realization can be found not by transcending our sexual or functional roles but rather by fulfilling our different and yet complementary roles.
So in marriage God intended that man and woman should live in partnership relationship. It is 100% partnership with each other and not only 50% partnership. The woman is intended by God is a “helpmeet” that is one to help him in all the affairs of life; the one who may not only reciprocate his feelings, but take an intelligent and appropriate part in his active pursuits.
Apparently the personal experiences of Solomon attest to the fact that marriage as a partnership is beneficial and it has advantages. Ecc. 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him--a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
3. Marriage is for Pleasure
Genesis 2:24
(KJV) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Other
translations render “leave and cleave” as “leave and be united” (NIV), “leave
and be joined” (NASB), and “leave and hold fast” (ESV).
As
recorded in Genesis chapter 2, God created Adam first, and then Eve. God
Himself brought Eve to Adam. God Himself ordained that they would be joined
together in holy matrimony. He said that the two of them would become one
flesh. This is a picture of marital intimacy—the act of love that is never to
involve anyone else. To “cleave” or “hold fast” means “to adhere to, stick to,
or join with.” It is a unique joining of two people into one entity.
The phrase "one flesh"
needs some explanation because it is frequently misunderstood to refer
primarily to the sexual union. The phrase is closely parallel to our English
compound word everybody. When we speak of everybody we do not
think of bodies only. Rather, we mean every person. Or when God
speaks of destroying all flesh (Gen 6:17; 7:21), obviously He does not
mean all the flesh without the bones, but every person. Similarly, to
become "one flesh" (Gen 2:24) means to become one functioning unit.
H. C. Leupold explains that becoming one flesh "involves the complete
identification of one personality with the other in a community of interests
and pursuits, a union consummated in intercourse."5
The phrase "one flesh" does also refer to the physical or sexual aspect of marriage. Paul explicitly uses the phrase in this way when speaking of sexual intercourse between a man and a harlot (1 Cor 6:16). Sexual intercourse per se, however, does not automatically assure that a man and a woman become one in a mystical, emotional, and spiritual unity. Genital intercourse without spiritual communion often leaves people divided, alienated, and bitter toward each other. Thus, sexual intercourse itself does not bring about real oneness.
To achieve the Biblical "one flesh" union, sexual intercourse in marriage must be the natural fruit of love, the crowning act of marital union. If sex is not the expression of genuine love, respect, and commitment, then it offers only a physical contact while keeping the partners mentally and spiritually apart. Sexual desire must become the desire for the total union and oneness of body, soul, and spirit between marital partners.
The phrase "one flesh" does also refer to the physical or sexual aspect of marriage. Paul explicitly uses the phrase in this way when speaking of sexual intercourse between a man and a harlot (1 Cor 6:16). Sexual intercourse per se, however, does not automatically assure that a man and a woman become one in a mystical, emotional, and spiritual unity. Genital intercourse without spiritual communion often leaves people divided, alienated, and bitter toward each other. Thus, sexual intercourse itself does not bring about real oneness.
To achieve the Biblical "one flesh" union, sexual intercourse in marriage must be the natural fruit of love, the crowning act of marital union. If sex is not the expression of genuine love, respect, and commitment, then it offers only a physical contact while keeping the partners mentally and spiritually apart. Sexual desire must become the desire for the total union and oneness of body, soul, and spirit between marital partners.
Truly,
there is delightful pleasure and pure ecstasy in the sex act of copulation
between a man and woman, that’s why men sought to satisfy sexual desires at all
costs in marriage or even outside of marriage. And men and women if only to gratify
sexual desire indulge to all sorts of activities like masturbation, adultery,
sodomy, and even zoophilia (Zoophilia,
from the Greek ζῷον (zṓion,
"animal") and φιλία (philia,
"friendship" or "love") is the practice of sexual activity between humans and non-human animals (bestiality),
or a preference for or fixation on such practice. From Wikipedia
Free Encyclopedia).
God
made both man and woman sexual beings with similar sexual chemistry called
sexual hormones, but He wants the acts and pleasures of sex to be confined within
the walls of a marriage. A caveat is in place here: Even in the sexual aspect
of their relationship, a husband and wife are not to consider their bodies as
their own but as belonging to their partner (1 Corinthians
7:3-5).
Nor are they to focus on their own pleasure but rather the giving of pleasure
to their spouse.
4. Marriage is for Purity.
Marriage is God’s design to help maintain sexual purity and to help prevent sexual immorality. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:2 “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” Single people wear purity rings as a promise to themselves and to God that they will remain a virgin until marriage.
4. Marriage is for Purity.
Marriage is God’s design to help maintain sexual purity and to help prevent sexual immorality. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:2 “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.” Single people wear purity rings as a promise to themselves and to God that they will remain a virgin until marriage.
I
want to quote here in its entirety the answer given by what gotQuestions?org about the subject of sexual purity in
marriage:
“God gave man and
woman the joy and pleasure of sexual relations within the bounds of marriage,
and the Bible is clear about the importance of maintaining sexual purity within
the boundaries of that union between man and wife (Ephesians 5:31). Humans are
well aware of the pleasing effect of this gift from God but have expanded it
well beyond marriage and into virtually any circumstance. The secular world’s
philosophy of “if it feels good, do it” pervades cultures, especially in the
West, to the point where sexual purity is seen as archaic and unnecessary.
Yet look at what God says about sexual purity. “You should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.” “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 7). This passage outlines God’s reasons for calling for sexual purity in the lives of His children.
First, we are “sanctified” and for that reason, we are to avoid sexual immorality. The Greek word translated “sanctified” means literally “purified, made holy, consecrated [unto God].” As Christians, we are to live a purified life because we have been made holy by the exchange of our sin for the righteousness of Christ on the cross and have been made completely new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Our old natures, with all their impurities, sexual and otherwise, have died and now the life we live, we live by faith in the One who died for us (Galatians 2:20). To continue in sexual impurity (fornication) is to deny that and doing so is, in fact, a legitimate reason to question whether we have ever truly been born again. Sanctification, the process by which we become more and more Christlike, is an essential evidence of the reality of our salvation.
We also see in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 the necessity of controlling our bodies. When we give in to sexual immorality, we give evidence that the Holy Spirit is not indwelling us because we do not possess one of the fruits of the Spirit—self-control. All believers display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) to a greater or lesser degree depending on the length of time they have walked with God. Uncontrolled “passionate lust” is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19), not of the Spirit. So controlling our lusts and living sexually pure lives is essential to anyone who professes to know Christ. In doing so, we honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
We know God’s rules and discipline reflect His love for us. Following what He says can only help us during our time on earth. By maintaining sexual purity before marriage, we avoid past emotional entanglements that may negatively affect present relationships and marriages. Further by keeping the marriage bed pure (Hebrews 13:4), we can experience unreserved love for our mates, which is surpassed only by God’s enormous love for us.”
Yet look at what God says about sexual purity. “You should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.” “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 7). This passage outlines God’s reasons for calling for sexual purity in the lives of His children.
First, we are “sanctified” and for that reason, we are to avoid sexual immorality. The Greek word translated “sanctified” means literally “purified, made holy, consecrated [unto God].” As Christians, we are to live a purified life because we have been made holy by the exchange of our sin for the righteousness of Christ on the cross and have been made completely new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Our old natures, with all their impurities, sexual and otherwise, have died and now the life we live, we live by faith in the One who died for us (Galatians 2:20). To continue in sexual impurity (fornication) is to deny that and doing so is, in fact, a legitimate reason to question whether we have ever truly been born again. Sanctification, the process by which we become more and more Christlike, is an essential evidence of the reality of our salvation.
We also see in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 the necessity of controlling our bodies. When we give in to sexual immorality, we give evidence that the Holy Spirit is not indwelling us because we do not possess one of the fruits of the Spirit—self-control. All believers display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) to a greater or lesser degree depending on the length of time they have walked with God. Uncontrolled “passionate lust” is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19), not of the Spirit. So controlling our lusts and living sexually pure lives is essential to anyone who professes to know Christ. In doing so, we honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
We know God’s rules and discipline reflect His love for us. Following what He says can only help us during our time on earth. By maintaining sexual purity before marriage, we avoid past emotional entanglements that may negatively affect present relationships and marriages. Further by keeping the marriage bed pure (Hebrews 13:4), we can experience unreserved love for our mates, which is surpassed only by God’s enormous love for us.”
I
say three jubilant amen to the answers given.
Also
John Piper said in one of his sermons “God established a relationship called
marriage. In it a man and a woman make a life-long covenant to honor each other
with faithfulness and love. Sexual desire becomes the servant and the spice of
that covenant bond of mutual honor… Sexual passion is real. Marriage is God's
appointed place of its consummation…Sexual desire in itself is good. God made
it in the beginning. It has its proper place. But it was made to be governed or
regulated or guided by two concerns: honor toward the other person and holiness
toward God. Lust is what that sexual desire becomes when that honor and that
holiness are missing from it.” (John Piper is pastor for preaching and vision
at Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.)
5. Marriage is for Portrayal
5. Marriage is for Portrayal
Eph
5:31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Eph 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying
that it refers to Christ and the church.
Here Paul quoting Genesis 2:24 refers the conjugal union between Adam
and Eve was a type or portrayal representing the mystical union between Christ
and his church. The marriage relationship is an illustration of the covenant
relationship between Christ and His bride, the church.
In
the Bible if you take time to read from Genesis to Malachi, the various writers
and the prophets in the Old Testament used the marriage covenant to portray the
relationship between God and Israel. Paul in the New Testament uses the
marriage union to represent Christ’s covenant of sacrificial love and oneness
with the church. Just as marriage unites two people when they commit their
lives to each other, so the Gospel joins the believer to Christ as he trusts
Him for his salvation. Since the marriage covenant represents the permanent
relationship between Christ and His church, it must be permanent; otherwise it
would be an inaccurate portrayal representing of the indissoluble relationship
between Christ and His church.
“The deepest biblical meaning of marriage has to do with Christ and how he is portrayed to the world. The mystery of marriage is that God created it to be a drama of Christ's relation to the church. How we treat our wives is a dramatic statement of how we think Christ should treat the church. How wives treat their husbands is a dramatic statement of how they think the church should treat Christ.” John Piper
Conclusion
So these are five purposes why God founded the institution of marriage: Marriage is for procreation, partnership, pleasure, purity and it’s a portrayal of the mystical union with Christ and His bride church.
This is one of the ways we can truly be our brother’s keeper.
So these are five purposes why God founded the institution of marriage: Marriage is for procreation, partnership, pleasure, purity and it’s a portrayal of the mystical union with Christ and His bride church.
This is one of the ways we can truly be our brother’s keeper.
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