The Holiness of Marriage

In the beginning, there was marriage…

I made a statement in our weekly young adults’ gathering last Sunday that outside of our relationship to Jesus, the most important earthly relationship is the marriage relationship. For some people, that might sound like an overstatement, or even too exclusive in that many people choose to remain single, even major Biblical prophets and apostles, such as the Apostle Paul or John the Baptist. So, the question is, is it an overstatement to say that the marital relationship between one woman and one man is the most important earthly relationship?

To begin, I want to point out that the Bible begins with a marriage—the union of the first man and the first woman together. Creation itself begins with two adult human beings—Adam and Eve—united by God for partnership. Genesis 1:24 states clearly, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Later Jesus explains this further, arguing that divorce was outside of God’s will, expounding upon this beautiful heavenward-looking aspect of marriage, saying, “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). The point is that there is something profoundly unique about marriage, particularly that two individuals (one male and one female) become one flesh—they are no longer two, but one family unit, bound in a covenant to never separate, but to honor, love and serve the other for all their earthly lives. This covenant mirrors the unbreakable loyalty, allegiance and permanence of God’s relationship to his people—indeed, the covenant he makes with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and others throughout the Old Testament is one of faithfulness to each of them and their respective people, the nation of Israel.

In the end, there is marriage…

Finally, the new covenant (again a bond that is impossible to break from God’s perspective, the new covenant being a recertification or a continuation of the old covenant) is instituted by his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, who serves as the everlasting sacrificial lamb, dying for the sins of all people, rescuing them from the wrath and judgment of a righteous and holy God (see John 3:16 and Revelation 19). This covenant is framed as a celestial marriage, in which the bridegroom, Christ Jesus, promises to resurrect his people—the church and the bride—to be forever joined in the new heavens and new earth. Because the lamb of God has died for (and sacrificed himself for) the church, the bride, the final consummation—the unbreakable bond or marriage—has been forever established. So too then, the very end of the Bible concludes where it began with the image of the grandest of all weddings: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God’” (Revelation 19:6b-9).

Even at the center, there is marriage…

However, it’s not just the beginning and end of the Word of God that uses wedding imagery—in fact, the image of the wedding is employed again and again throughout the Bible. Here are just a couple examples:

Isaiah 61:10

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

 and

            Matthew 25:1-12

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”

In these passages, the bridegroom represents the Lord, and the virgins symbolize the people of God. Notice that only the bridegroom offers salvation—he is the peace, love and joy giver and we, the people, are recipients, so far as we are prepared to receive the gift He offers. Being prepared, brothers and sisters, means choosing to accept the free gift of salvation that Christ Jesus offers through his death and resurrection through a repentance of sins and living out our faith in obedience to his commands. James 5:22-26 states, 22 “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”

No other passage better captures the essence of the fact that true faith in the saving work of Christ Jesus on the cross is exemplified by human obedience to the commands of the Lord, indicating transformed life in Him. And this is why the marriage covenant is meant to be representative of the holy covenant that the Lord makes with his people—it is precisely evident in God’s very first commandment given to the man and woman created in His image: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28b). The meaning of this commandment is three-fold to the newlywed couple: have children, teach them (disciple them) to follow after the Lord, and glorify God over all the Earth.

All this is to say that while, individuals and married couples glorify Christ in different ways—in fact there are many people who glorify the Lord and never marry—the sanctity of marriage throughout God’s Word is expressed from the beginning to establish and bless this beautiful and inseverable earthly partnership.

 So while not all of us will be called to get married, the bond and partnership of marriage on earth is second to none, since it reflects the holy wedding of Christ Jesus to his church.

 Until next week, this is Pastor Kyle Reynolds reminding all of you to live for and share Christ in the world, but do not become of the world! (John 17:15-16).