Marriage Dots

I just had some biblical dots connected for me that had previously been sitting around as solitary dots. Poor dots. These particular dots have to deal with marriage. Let's break it down.

First, God creates man and woman in his image. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) Why two sexes? Why not just one, or three, or six? It seems two is significant, and -- I'll jump ahead a bit here and have it make sense later -- it sets the stage for marriage. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)

Marriage? Why marriage? Why not whoever you please? There are a lot of practical reasons here, but it seems that promise of faithfulness between spouses has a place also. It was a mystery from the beginning, but it has been revealed in scripture what purpose it served -- to be an earthly picture of a more heavenly relationship. Paul tells us this when he quotes the Genesis 2 verse and writes "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:32)

Now fast forward a bit, probably a lot actually -- to the return of Christ. He's coming back in power and glory to get his bride, the church. Remember that the church is not a building, nor is it all the people who say they follow Christ but may end up living like the devil. The church is all of those who really put their faith in Christ and have been born again of the Spirit of God, no matter what label they claim. We who make up the church are the bride, and he's the groom coming to take us home, wedding feast at the ready. Check out what John writes about this -- "'Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his 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." (Revelation 19:7-8)

So what about marriage after that? All those marriages on earth after the groom comes back for his bride? That's where another dot comes in, where the Sadducees where probing Jesus about the Resurrection that they didn't even believe in, and who a certain woman would be married to at that time. Jesus answers pretty clearly -- no one, despite being married to seven dudes while on earth. "And Jesus said to them, "'The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." (Luke 20:34-36)

Thus, the dots are connected. God in his foreknowledge and wisdom creates two sexes which allows for this temporary institution called marriage, which becomes an earthly picture of a heavenly relationship between Christ and his church. Once the heavenly picture becomes reality, the temporary earthly one is no longer needed, and it goes away.

It is with this understanding that Paul can legitimately write 1 Corinthians 7 where he says that he wishes others remained unmarried as he was, if that was their gift, urges those who are married to live as if they weren't (hold that thought that just popped into your head and keep reading), and talks about the married having divided interests between worldly affairs and the Lord. He's not knocking marriage, just getting that it's only a pointer to something much, much greater. And it is with an amazing amount of joy in Christ and anticipation of his return that Paul urges people on toward single minded devotion to Jesus, our heavenly groom from whom we ultimately get our eternal joy!

Grace and peace friends.