The Purpose of Marriage

 

THE PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE 

Introduction:

The purpose of Marriage and the very foundation of the home can be seen from the scriptures in Genesis 2:18, which recorded God saying, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him.”. For the latter part of that scripture verse, some translations say, “I will make a helper suitable for him”.

The understanding from the above scripture is that the plan or intention of God for bringing man and woman together in marriage is so that they can be helpers one to the other to fulfil the following:

1. Fellowship with God: The dictionary defines fellowship as the relationship of people who share interests or feelings. We see from the scriptures that God’s original purpose for creating man is so that there can be such a relationship.

God’s original purpose for man is therefore enhanced with the coming together of the two people in a marriage who then make the marriage and home a starting point for fellowship with God. They worship unto God following the scriptures in Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

2. The pursuit of vision: Without a vision, the people perish, the Bible says. If a couple does not have a God-given vision for their marriage, something they want to achieve with their marriage with eternity in mind - there is every chance that they will think of divorce at the slightest hitch or change in season. The couple must have something that keeps their focus apart from themselves.

If you are married and do not have a vision for your marriage, may I suggest that you get one? Ask God for something you both can commit your lives to, which will outlive you.

3. Raising of godly children: It’s not enough to give birth to children; anybody can give birth to a child. The important thing is to raise children in a godly manner. These could be biological, adopted, or spiritual children who can go on to live God-glorifying lives and not be part of the world’s statistics of children who steal, kill and destroy; activities best left to the devil.

Giving birth to children is not the primary purpose of Marriage. Children may not show up immediately or when you want them to, which can breed frustration. However, I have seen couples who adopted a child/children, which opened doors for them to have their biological children. Adoption is a principle which even our heavenly Father took on – He adopted us(if you are born again) as children and, in the process, received many other children unto Himself.

4. Love and companionship: Everybody wants and needs love. God is love, and He created us to be like Him.

Talking about love - agape love(unconditional love ) – a love that forgives all sin, wouldn’t it be nice to know that your spouse would love you no matter what you did? That’s the kind of love that makes anyone feel comfortable and secure with their spouse, the kind of love that makes a marriage last.

The other forms of love should be present: brotherly love, friendship love, and romantic love (of which sex is a part); however, these forms cannot hold a marriage together. Note that I said sex should be a part of romantic love, not all.

Companionship is the bonding process between couples; this is where you get to become one flesh. You get to a point where you can share anything under the sun with each other. You become soul mates, a feeling which makes the relationship so sweet and fulfilling. I’m sure most couples desire this.

It’s a strong friendship like that which existed between David and Jonathan, where one person can give up anything for the other; so that when you pray together, you send your enemies to flight.