"Marriage"

Steven J. Wallace

"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Heb. 13:4).

God created mankind as male and female so that they could marry and fill the earth. In Genesis 1:27, 28 we read:

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth…'"

Adam called Eve the mother of all living (Gen. 3:20). From Adam and Eve, all nations have descended. "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth…" (Acts 17:26). All people and nations came from this couple. Marriage becomes the basic building block and strength of any society.

Marriage is honorable.

The view of marriage as being burdensome or a ball and chain relationship is unscriptural. Marriage is honorable among all! Why? Because God gave it for all. Its grand design is from God to make man and woman better. Genesis 2:18, "And the LORD God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" The marriage plan was fashioned and completed in Eden! Although Eden was paradise, it was not good for man to be alone in it! The decision to not marry is a perfectly fine choice for some and is a matter of choice or perhaps circumstance. The choice to never marry should be viewed as an exception to the rule rather than the rule.

The view that asserts marriage is less honorable than celibacy is without Scriptural merit. The passage in Hebrews above elevates marriage as honorable among all. The marriage bed is also declared as being undefiled. The design of marriage promotes harmony and purity when the laws that govern it are obeyed. The idea that unmarried men are more holy than married men is the product of vain imaginations. The apostle warned that in time some would depart from the faith and embrace doctrines of demons that outlawed the act of marriage (1 Tim. 4:1-3). In AD 325, an apostate religious body proposed in the Council of Nicaea that clergymen give up cohabitation with their wives. In AD 386, all priests were commanded to live celibate. Not only is the idea of a separate priesthood in the church of our Lord opposed to New Testament instruction, but binding celibacy upon leaders in the church as the picture of piety directly opposes what is explicitly taught in God's word about bishops and deacons (Tit. 1:5, 6; 1 Tim. 3:1-13). Viewing marriage as the choice for weak and worldly members leaves the continuation of the human race left to weak and worldly members!

Marriage is only viewed as less than optimal in a limited context of temporary distress (1 Cor. 7:26-28). Paul's instruction here is an exception to the general rule. He later wrote encouraging young widows to marry, bear children, and manage the house (1 Tim. 5:14). The Bible doesn't argue the case that marriage is an inferior state to celibacy or that marriage is a concession to human weakness but the very opposite (Gen. 2:18; Prov. 18:22; Song of Solomon; etc.). Jesus graced marriage with His first miracle in Cana of Galilee (Jn. 2:1-11).

Marriage is between a man and a woman.

Scripture defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Paul wrote how the "two" become "one flesh" (Eph. 5:31).
In 1 Corinthians 7:2, 3 Paul instructed:

"Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband."

From such, we can know that there is no proper sexual activity outside of a Scriptural marriage. Marriage promotes purity and is the divine prescription against fornication. It is defined as "each man" having "his own wife." One man to one woman for life. Any changes in the number or the gender pervert the divine definition.

Marriage is a divine institution to promote godliness.

Where the first book of the Old Testament shows us the origin and design of the family, the last book of the Old Testament emphasizes godly training in the family. Malachi penned in 2:15,
"But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth."
God wants godly parents to train and raise children to become godly parents who raise and train godly children, etc., etc.

Who can marry?

While the marriage bed is honorable, the extra-marital bed is dishonorable and in danger of the judgment. Who can marry from a Scriptural standpoint?

• First, those who have never been married. Paul had not been married, and he had the right to marry (1 Cor. 9:5).
• Second, the one whose mate died can marry again (Rom. 7:2, 3; 1 Cor. 7:39; 1 Tim. 5:14).
• Third, Jesus taught by implication that the one who puts his spouse away for sexual immorality can marry again (see, Matt.19:9). Yet, the one who puts his spouse away for a different reason than sexual immorality (incompatibility, illness, etc.) commits adultery when he/she remarries.

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