Marriage

Marriage:

Definition-(a)the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.
(b)any close or intimate association or union
Synonyms- blend, merger, unity, oneness; alliance
Antonyms- separation, division, disunion

God makes the roles of the husband and the wife so clear in the Bible. We should never have to question what our marriage should be.

Wives:

Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Ephesians 5:24

Husbands:
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Ephesians 5:25

These guidelines for living as a married person are strict and are stated many times in the New Testament. God makes it clear that He wants a wife to be submissive unto her husband in the same way that we as believers are supposed to be submissibe unto Christ. He also makes it clear that husbands are supposed to love and protect their wives in the same way that Jesus loves and protects his church of believes.

It is so clear in the Word of God that God has TWO marriages that we are to be faithful to. (TWO if we are married physically on this earth to another person. One of we are not.)

--The first and more important marriage of the two is our marriage to Christ. We as believers are active members of the body of Christ. His church. His bride.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. Revelation 19:7

God then uses the rest of His Word including His commandments and laws to tell us what our role in this marriage is.

--The second marriage is our earthly marriage to another person. God blesses us by allowing us to unite with another person and become as one during our time on earth. He sets specific guidelines including those verses in Ephesians to show us exactly what our roles are to be in that marriage as well. God never leaves any stone unturned. He always blesses us with specific instructions on how to stay in His will.

Something that I find striking is that the first and foremost antonym of marriage is seperation. This rings true not only in our physical marriage but in our spiritual one also. To be a believer is to be united with Christ. If a person dies without ever having come to Christ, they will live in eternal seperation from Him. Likewise, if a believer dies, his eternal reward is eternal life in the presence of the Almighty God.