Why the Attack on Marriage?

In recent times people are trying to redefine marriage: Man-man; woman-woman; with animals; family members; robots. They are making a mockery of it.

In addition to this, even the assault on gender is an attempt to blur the lines in order to minimize and delegitimize what God is doing.

These people are unwitting pawns in Satan’s offensive against the word of God and His PLAN. That’s what this attack is about – whether they know it or not. They are trying to hijack something that is Godly.

Man’s natural ways are not to get married. Would men and women naturally make a covenant with God to stay with one another or would they do what they are doing more and more today – just living together?

The things that are going on today are an attempt to hide and obfuscate the awesome plan of God!

Let’s look at what God implemented from the very beginning. It was not an afterthought. It was done on purpose…for a reason…which will reveal itself as we progress through the message….

Godly Institution of Marriage

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Genesis 2:19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
Genesis 2:20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
Genesis 2:22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
Genesis 2:23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Bride of Christ

Let’s jump to the end of the story before we stitch it all together

Revelation 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb [John 1:29, 36] has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
Revelation 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. [see Linen message] Revelation 19:9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

He is the Bride-groom and the Church/saints is the Bride.

Why Marriage?

This is a simple question yet it remains a mystery hidden in plain view.

If you were to ask others or even yourself, would you come up with the answer Paul gives in Ephesians 5?

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
Ephesians 5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
Ephesians 5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
Ephesians 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
Ephesians 5:31 “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”
Ephesians 5:32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

The reason GOD gave us marriage between a MAN and a WOMAN was to show us the relationship between Christ and the Church

It was to help us see what God was accomplishing with us – with the church.

Adamic Comparisons

“a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.”

Adam put to sleep which was a type of death — not just sleep, but a deep sleep like death. We could liken it to a coma; dreamless and consciousless.

The woman came out of Adam; she came out of his side.

Christ, a type of Adam

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, “THE FIRST MAN ADAM BECAME A LIVING BEING.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
1 Corinthians 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

Christ died and His side was pierced

John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

The Church Comes out of His Side

1 Peter 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Peter 1:20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

The receiving of the Holy Spirit was then made possible, which in turn makes us a part of the church.

So what we see is that God first created a potential bride through the death of Christ and the piercing of His side.

So when Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh, it was symbolic of what Christ would do and Paul makes this clear: Ephesians 5:30 For we [the church] are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

And in the same way that Eve was called Woman because, Because she was taken out of Man.” [to be His wife] (Genesis 2:23), the church is called the woman because she was taken out of Christ with the purpose of becoming His wife.

Becoming One

“…a man shall leave his father and mother”

This even has an application for us today.

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

What is our priority?

Mark 3:31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.
Mark 3:32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
Mark 3:33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”
Mark 3:34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
Mark 3:35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

“…shall become one flesh”

See these messages on being One The Church is ONE God is ONE

John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
John 17:21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Instead of ONE flesh Become one spirit

Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Colossians 1:24 now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,

1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. Paul is talking about a spiritual body and that Body is the Church
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.

We are to become as Christ said here in John 17:21 They want us to become one just as they are one.

“be joined to his wife”

We are going to be joined as one with God forever. We are going to be married for eternity!

What happened with Satan?

He wants to know that we are committed

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Romans 8:36 As it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.”
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
Romans 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In marriage it is for better or worse. God wants to know that we will stick it out. Do we see why God hates divorce?

Helper

The woman to be a helper. It’s not a degrading term, no more than serving and submission is

Psalms 70:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm Of David. To Bring to Remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O LORD!
Psalms 70:2 Let them be ashamed and confounded Who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused Who desire my hurt.
Psalms 70:5 But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

The church as the woman will help Jesus Christ to rule the world after the marriage.

During the 1,000 years → this is the way walk you in it (Revelation 20:4; Isaiah 30:21)

Comparable to Him

God has not found a helper comparable to Him — So God said I will make a helper comparable to Me.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Putting on Christ

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Colossians 3:11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

The Mind of Christ

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

Choose the Right Tree

In Genesis 3 as the story continues Satan approached the woman and convinced her to take of the wrong tree.

God is now giving the woman, the church, the opportunity to choose the right tree

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Revelation 22:15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.