A Marital Contract is A Legal Agreement
Christians view marriage as a covenant, a partnership founded on promises and commitment rather than on feelings alone—though love is undoubtedly there in the bond.
The concept of marriage as a covenant has its origins in the Hebrew faith, and it was kept by the early Christians as a religious doctrine. God's covenant with Israel was based on his promise to be faithful to Israel, and that promise was fulfilled. The Hebrew people made a similar pledge of loyalty to God, though the Bible makes no secret of the fact that they struggled—and frequently failed—to uphold that promise. God formed a "new covenant" with the Israelites, and Jesus did the same with his followers, which he dubbed the "new covenant."
According to Genesis 2:23–24, marriage was created when God made man and woman together. In the words of the man, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be referred to as "woman," because she was taken from her father." This is why a man would abandon his father and mother in order to marry his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” God created man first, and then created woman to be his equal and complement. God uses marriage as a "fix" for the fact that "it is not right for a man to be alone," according to the Bible (Genesis 2:18).
When the Bible depicts the first marriage, it refers to Eve as a "helper," which is a term that means "assistant" (Genesis 2:20). In this usage, the term "help" refers to "to surround, defend, or assist." As Adam's "other half," God created Eve to be his aid and helper, to stand by his side and support him. A man and a woman are said to become "one flesh" according to the Bible when they marry. The bodily union of sexual intimacy is the manifestation of this oneness in its fullest form. The New Testament adds a cautionary note about this oneness: "Therefore, they are no longer two, but are one." Consequently, what God has joined together, let man not separate” (Eph. 5:25). (Matthew 19:6).
Several of Paul's epistles make mention of marriage and the way in which believers ought to conduct themselves within a marriage relationship. Ephesians 5:22–33 is an example of such a passage. Taking the time to study this scripture will reveal some important realities about what the Bible says marriage should be like.
According to Ephesians 5, a good biblical marriage entails both the husband and the woman fulfilling specified tasks, which include the following: “Wives, submit to your husbands as though they were submission to the Lord. As Christ is the head of the church, which is his body, and as a result of his death, he is the Savior of that body, the husband is the head of his wife” (Ephesians 5:22–23). As Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, husbands should love their wives as Christ loved and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). “In the same way, husbands should love their spouses as much as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife is also in love with himself. Because, after all, no one has ever despised his or her own body; on the contrary, he or she feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church” (Ephesians 5:28–29). The reason for this is that a man would abandon his father and mother in order to marry his bride, and the two will become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31).
When a believing husband and wife follow God's guidelines for marriage as laid down in the Bible, they will have a strong and healthy marriage. An evangelical marriage maintains Christ as the primary head of the man and wife while they unite in their love for one another. When a husband and woman unite in marriage, it represents Christ's unity with His church, according to the biblical understanding of marriage.
Marriage That Is Centered On Christ
The fact that Christian marriage is purposely oriented on Jesus Christ is perhaps the most distinguishing quality of it, and it is this characteristic that allows the other two characteristics to exist. Each spouse is committed to knowing, loving, and obeying Jesus, as well as to following in his footsteps.
As a result, the husband and wife learn how to communicate agape and remain committed to their marriage commitment. As they work together to live out their Christian faith, they are drawn closer to one another, growing in love and togetherness as they go.
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