The Bible teaches that God Himself instituted marriage. Under the New Covenant, we are to remember that ‘Marriage is to be honoured by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery.’ (Hebrews 13:4, GNT)
Here are 5 other passages Christian husbands and wives should always keep in mind:
- The one where Jesus reiterated that marriage is God-ordained: ‘Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. “Tell us,” they asked, “does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?” Jesus answered with a question, “What law did Moses give you?” Their answer was, “Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away.” Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the scripture says. And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one. So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.’” (Mark 10:2-9)
- The one about wives submitting to their husbands: Ephesians 5:24 is probably one of the most quoted verses about marriage, since the church has until very recently been focused on teaching wives how to be wives without teaching husbands how to be husbands, ‘And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.”
- The one about husbands loving like Christ: After that one verse to wives, the next nine verses are directed at husbands, with a closing line to wives. Ephesians 5:25-33 says, ‘Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water, in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty—pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection. Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. (None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the church; for we are members of his body.) As the scripture says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.” There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ and the church. But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.’
- The one about wives emulating devout women of the past: In 1 Peter 3:1-6, we read, ‘In the same way you wives must submit yourselves to your husbands, so that if any of them do not believe God’s word, your conduct will win them over to believe. It will not be necessary for you to say a word, because they will see how pure and reverent your conduct is. You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you fix your hair, or the jewelry you put on, or the dresses you wear. Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God’s sight. For the devout women of the past who placed their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful by submitting themselves to their husbands. Sarah was like that; she obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are now her daughters if you do good and are not afraid of anything.’
- The one about husbands treating wives with respect or risking unanswered prayers: After those 6 verses to wives, 1 Peter 3:7 continues ‘In the same way you husbands must live with your wives with the proper understanding that they are more delicate than you. Treat them with respect, because they also will receive, together with you, God’s gift of life. Do this so that nothing will interfere with your prayers.’
A marriage made in Heaven is one where both husband and wife obey God’s word. Let yours be one.
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