Marriage Workshop

Genesis 2:18-25 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” ¹⁹ So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man^[a] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. ²⁰ He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs^[b] and closed up the opening. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

²³ “At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,
    and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
    because she was taken from ‘man.’”

²⁴ This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

²⁵ Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

 

In Earth’s creation events; marriage was the first human institution God created. Up until Eve was created; Adam was the only human alive and this caused God to reflect for the first time that something wasn’t good about an otherwise perfect created order. (Gen 2:18) Man ultimately needed a companion. Even a pure relationship with his loving Creator, a majestic home in Eden, lots of nutritious food to eat, fulfilling work to do and animals to rule over; did not meet Adam’s desire for an intimate companion. Adam needed someone to share his life with and someone who would share in the joy of ruling over God’s creation with him. The innate need for intimacy in Adam’s heart caused our loving God to grant to humankind the institution of marriage. The first marriage (Before original sin) demonstrated a perfectly innocent union between Adam (The first Husband) and Eve. (The first Wife) Their union was one of cherished loving tenderness (Gen 2:23) and intimate oneness. (Gen 2:25)

 

The reasons for marriage are:

1)     Children (Be fruitful and multiple – Genesis 1 :28)

2)     Companionship (It is not good for man to be alone – Genesis 2: 18)

3)     Prevent immorality (1 Corinthians 7:2 ^But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.)

4)     Provide loving affection (Ephesians 5 :25 For husbands, this means love your wives)

Principles from Genesis 2:

1)     God is near to the broken hearted and is willing and able to interject. In verse 18; God noticed Adam was struggling with loneliness and did something about the situation. Although we should not expect a creative miracle; scripture is clear that God cares for our needs. 1 Peter 5:7 says:

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Whether or not we are married; we should tell God about our loneliness and expect relief from our loving Heavenly Father.

 

2)     Adam cherished His wife (Gen 2:23) and He expressed his fulfillment about his mate. How often do we grow indifferent to the familiar and forget to express delight in our spouse, our children, or other intimate relationships? Take a moment to express gratitude and delight for the people God has placed in your life.

 

3)     Their marriage was one of transparent openness. Verse 25 says they were both naked and unashamed. Their relationship was one perfect acceptance, support, honest and open communication, and intimate companionship. Often, we fail to express ourselves openly to our mates for fear of rejection or reprove. We hide what’s going on inside and we miss the blessing of the companionship and understanding God meant for us to enjoy within our human relationships. Let’s do more to cultivate openness and acceptance towards our intimate relationships.

 

 

Continued…

The New Testament calls marriage honourable. (Hebrews 13 :4) The NT goes as far to compare the marriage union between a man and a woman with the covenant relationship between Christ and his church. (Ephesians 5 :32) In other words; marriage ought to be a permanent union just as Christ is permanently bound to his church.

The key to a good marriage is for both the man and his wife to be Spirit Led. (Ephesians 5: 18 ¹⁸ Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,) The Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence makes us capable to apply God’s commands for a successful marriage)

 

Ephesians 5: 21 -31 gives us more instruction on marriage

²¹ And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. ²⁴ As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

A note about submission: submission is not inferiority but accepting God’s ordained will. Jesus Christ submitted Himself to the will of his Father but was in no way inferior. (John 10 :30) To equate submission with inferiority would destroy the doctrine of the trinity and make Jesus Christ’s declaration of equality with the Father null and void. In the same way; refusing biblical submission within marriage (Ephesians 5 :21-24) is rebellious and overturns God’s purposes within the marriage relationship. (1 Peter 3: 1 – 6)

²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.^[b] 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body.

A note about love: ⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 6)

Jesus demonstrated this type of servant leadership by submitting himself to meet the needs of fallen people by dying for their sins. Husbands are therefore to submit to the needs of their wife and family by:

1)     Meeting spiritual needs

2)     Meeting physical needs

Husbands also need to be sensitive to their wives’ emotional needs. (1 Peter 3: 7) This is done by showing her honour, being sensitive to her, and providing her emotional safety within your relationship.

 

³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”^[c] 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. ³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

 

God wants husbands and wives to commit to each other like Christ is committed to his church. Is there any wonder that God hates divorce? Christ would never forsake his church and husbands and wives ought not to forsake each other.

 

Closing prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for giving us the institution of marriage to provide us the most meaningful of all human relationships. Help us by your Holy Spirit to make our marriages everything they are meant to be; for your glory, In Jesus name. Amen.