Another treasure from an aged journal. The hubby and I used this lesson in one of our couples Bible study sessions back in 2002 or 2003. It blessed me to leaf through the pages of my devotional journals and got reminded how the Lord was as real to me then as He is to me now. He has not changed, ever remained faithful even through times that I tend to be faithless. I hope to share these Biblical truths that I jotted down in a page of my old journal.
The Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage:
1. A man and a woman.
“So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.” Gen. 1:27
2. A sexual relationship.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen. 1:28
3. Lifetime commitment.
3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh‘? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
7“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. Matt. 19:3-8
If only one or two elements are present, there is a distortion of God’s plan. A few examples might be:
1. Two men in a sexual relationship with a lifetime commitment.
2. A man and a woman in a sexual relationship without a commitment. (outside of marriage)
3. A man and a woman in lifetime commitment without a sexual relationship. If the situation exists due to events beyond the couple’s control, there should be no guilt. However, if both parties are healthy, Scripture instructs a couple not to abstain from a sexual relationship for any extended time.
3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5
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