I’m offering some in depth explanation of 10 affirmations about marriage that I posted the other day. Today I want to look at the third affirmation: Marriage is a spiritual act.

As we noted yesterday, marriage is common across cultures. It can seem to be a very human institution. But the Bible affirms, as we said, that God created marriage. More than that, the Bible says that God is involved every time a man and woman join their lives.

This is another part of what Jesus said in Matthew 19:

““Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and 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’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”” (Matthew 19:4–6)

Jesus says that it is God who joins the two people. Malachi 2 says something similar. When two people come together in marriage, God is present. God is at work.

That’s why I react strongly when people say, “We don’t need a piece of paper to prove our love.” It’s not about a piece of paper. Just as baptism isn’t just “the removal of dirt from the body,” so a marriage is much more than a ceremony or license. A man and a woman come into the ceremony as two distinct individuals and come out as one being, joined by God.

As Jesus said, what God has joined together, let man not separate.

Affirmation #3: Marriage is a spiritual act.

Photo courtesy of Morgue File

Earlier this week, I mentioned some of the affirmations about marriage that I presented in a sermon on Sunday. I started examining those affirmations yesterday, starting with the first one, the fact that God created humans to be male and female.

The second affirmation is God created marriage.

This probably doesn’t seem like a particularly significant statement. Yet many people around the world would disagree with it. Marriage exists in virtually every culture around the world. From a scientific point of view, it would be hard to argue with the idea that marriage is a human convention.

Yet Jesus looks back to Adam and Eve as the first marriage. God saw Adam alone and provided what he needed: a wife. In Genesis 2, it goes on to say,
“The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:23–24)

The biblical text sees the creation of Eve as the creation of marriage. In Matthew 19, Jesus emphasizes that connection:

“Jesús les contestó: —¿No han leído ustedes en la Escritura que el que los creó en el principio, ‘hombre y mujer los creó’? Y dijo: ‘Por eso, el hombre dejará a su padre y a su madre para unirse a su esposa, y los dos serán como una sola persona.’ Así que ya no son dos, sino uno solo. De modo que el hombre no debe separar lo que Dios ha unido.” (Mateo 19:4–6)

So as we talk about marriage, it’s interesting to see how different cultures and different societies deal with marriage, both in the rituals that establish a marriage and the customs that surround the relationship itself. But we must never think that those trappings define what marriage is. Marriage was created by God and will be what he says it is.

Affirmation #2: God created marriage.

Photo courtesy of Morgue File

Our theme this fall in our bilingual group at church is “My Family, Part Of God’s Family.” On Sunday, I did something that I rarely do. The sermon wasn’t based around certain biblical texts; it was a series of declarations about my beliefs on marriage. Here are the ten things I mentioned:

1. God created mankind as male and female. Gender is not an accident nor a product of evolution. It is divine design.
2. God created marriage. This is not a human invention.
3. Marriage is a spiritual act. God takes two people and makes them one. It’s much more than “a piece of paper.”
4. Marriage is a covenant, with God as witness. This is much more serious than mere affirmations or promises. We take vows before the Lord. That can get lost amidst the flowers, fancy clothes, and wedding cake.
5. Christian marriage and civil marriage are not the same. They often occur at the same time in this country, but they aren’t the same. That’s why the government doesn’t involve the church in divorces. Much of the political wrangling about marriage has to do with property rights, not spiritual realities. No judge can tell the church what is and what isn’t marriage.
6. Living together without marriage is outside of God’s plan. Sexual relations should occur within a marriage or not at all.
7. Gay marriage is not Christian marriage. Jesus spoke of marriage as being between a man and a woman. We have no right to change that definition.
8. Failure to respect our marriage vows is an offense to God. We don’t just “cheat on our spouse.” We offend our maker.
9. God hates divorce. God loves divorced people.
10. Our church needs strong, healthy marriages. We must not be governed by mistakes we’ve made in the past. We must teach the truth to our generation and those to come.

I’ll talk some more about these in the days to come. What would you add to the list? What would you change?