Listen:  153.3

Marriage was created by God after he made Eve from the side of Adam. In Genesis 2:24the Lord says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  We later read the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 19:4-6, “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”  The Lord Jesus repeats the truth of marriage being a creation of God, and He goes on further to speak of the permanence of marriage.  When God joins two people together, man should not divide them.  Marriage, being a creation and work of the Lord, takes two people and literally makes them to be one person in God’s eyes.  This truth is born out in Genesis 5:2, “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”  The Lord called ‘their’ name Adam.  Adam and Eve were one person in the eyes of the Lord.

The Lord intended that when people marry, they should stay together for the rest of their lives.  We read in Malachi 2:16, “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce…” (NKJV).  The Lord wants your marriage to work out and He will work with you to guarantee the success of your marriage.  Two very basic principles of a God-honoring and successful marriage are so overlooked today, but when they are followed, they will cause the marriage relationship to flourish.  To the husband, the Lord says in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”  To the wife, the Lord says in Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”  When we, as believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, follow these principles, we can be assured that our marriages will be strong and will bring honor to the Lord. 

Many people today, including some Christians, refuse to obey the Word of God and follow these principles.  Many consider them to be old and outdated, so they do not practice this in their marriages.  The result is that divorce is now higher than it has ever been…even among Christians.  The Lord, the creator of marriage, certainly knows what is best to have a good marriage.  I encourage you and your spouse to begin praying together and reading God’s Word together.  Begin now to fulfill the roles the Lord has given you as husband and wife.  The Lord will rescue and restore your marriage as you follow Him and His teachings.  If you do these things, with your hearts set on pleasing the Lord, you will not have to be concerned with outside interference.  The Lord will sustain you!  I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 7:1-16for more Biblical teaching regarding the sanctity and success of marriage.  (153.3)