The difference between an ordinary marriage and an extraordinary marriage is both husband and wife having an extraordinary intimate relationship with God.” (Prayer-Oriented Wives Exemplifying Royalty: POWER)
Genesis
2:18-25, Complete Jewish Bible
18 God said, “It isn’t good that the person should
be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.” 19 So
from the ground God formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in
the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them.
Whatever the person would call each living creature that was to be its
name. 20 So [Adam]
gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air, and to every wild
animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.
21 Then God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his
ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. 22 The
rib which God had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he
brought [Eve] to the man. 23 [Adam] said, “At last, this is bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman, because she was taken out
of Man.” 24 This is why a man is to leave his father and
mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh. 25 They
were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.
God’s purpose for marriage is to give us the
gift of a relationship that satisfies our deepest longings as we both become
whole together. “One-fleshness” includes emotional, mental, spiritual, and
physical intimacy.
God’s guidelines for marriage:
Marriage must be
our primary human relationship. (See Genesis
2:24 above)
· Children
need an example of a healthy marriage. For your marriage to be at its best, it
must focus around the spouse and not the children (no matter how difficult that
may be).
· God’s
first human relationship for Adam was his wife, Eve, and not that of a parent
or a child. He considers the matrimonial bond of high importance.
· Adam
and Eve were equals that desperately needed each other for their emotional and
physical survival.
Marriage must be a permanent relationship. (See
Genesis 2:24 above)
2 At one point, some of the Pharisees came, seeking to
entrap him with a question. “Tell us,” they asked, “is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife?”
3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They replied, “Moses permitted us to write a
certificate of separation that would be valid to complete a divorce.”
5 Jesus said, “Yes, Moses wrote
this exception for you because you are hardhearted. 6 But
from the beginning God created male and female. 7 For this
reason a man will leave his parents and be wedded to his wife. 8 And
the husband and wife will be joined as one flesh, and after that they no longer
exist as two, but one flesh. 9 So there you have it. What
God has joined together, no one has the right to split apart.” (Mark 10:2-9, the
Passion Translation)
· In
marriage, God never has a “get-out-of-jail-free” card (except in the cases of
abuse, adultery, or abandonment).
· As a
spouse you should attack problematic issues in marriage, and not each other.
You should always love your spouse (though you may not always like them or what
they do).
Marriage must be an exclusive relationship. (See
Genesis 2:24 above)
However,
I say to you, if you look with lust in your eyes at a woman who is not your
wife, you’ve already committed adultery in your heart. (Matthew
5:28, the Passion Translation)
· Both
sexes in a marriage should not have close friendships with members of the opposite
sex (due to emotional adultery happening before physical adultery).
· Do
not talk negatively about a spouse in front of other people. (Of course, positively
complementing a spouse in front of others is highly encouraged.)
· Polygamy
was never God’s idea, and it displeases Him. His intention was always for one
man and one woman in marriage.
Marriage must be an intimate relationship. (See
Genesis 2:24-25 above)
· Both
partners in a marriage win when they follow God’s rule of keeping “one flesh”
to the confines of marriage so that no one gets emotionally hurt.
· Intimacy
in a marriage is lost when trust is broken between spouses.
· A
marriage based on romantic feelings instead of endless commitment will not
survive.
· “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times always
with the same person.” (Mignon McLaughlin)
“The woman was
made of a rib out of the side of Adam. Not made out of his head
to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of
his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near
his heart to be beloved.” (Matthew Henry)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon
“One Flesh: One” (installment four, final) Sunday September 26, 2021, Pastor
Dave Jansen (CPG). In-person services are available at all three U.S.
CenterPoint locations. CenterPoint also has an online Sunday morning
service (10am) that can be viewed at centerpointchurches.online.church or
centerpointchurches.com/live.
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| God creating Eve from Adam's rib |
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