When Marriage Begins

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Published: Tuesday, 08 October 2019 05:15
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When Marriage Begins

(The Genesis of Marriage)

By Augusto A. Kho

October 5, 2019 (Saturday); 3:20 PM

Marco Louie Event Center

Balungao, Pangasinan

Nathan M. Bautista & Ghemma M.Mebrebe Wedding

Revised: October 7, 2019 (Monday); 8:10 P.M.

 

 

Marriage, how it started? When shall marriage begin and where it should end?

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“ 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.“ - Genesis 2:21-24

 

 

The beginning

Everything has a beginning. And whatever you have started there must have an end.

 

Even Christ has a beginning (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-3). In Matthew 1:1 says, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.“ The word “generation” in Greek “genesis” means “a beginning” that speaks of genealogy or genetics or DNA on which the very nature He came from.


Christ also claimed He is the alpha and the omega, beginning and end in Revelation 1:8 and Revelation 22:13. That strongly support in terms of Greek alphabet which speaks of Genesis and Revelation as well.

 

How about in marriage, how should it begins and how should it ends in according to Christ’s principles? Shall we end divine marriage according to what we want?

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God said

Genesis 1:1-2 says that God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the water. Then the Spirit of God hovered over the deep. Until God spoke as the Scriptures states, “And God said…”

 

 

The word “said” in Hebrew “abar” means “to avouch.” Avouch means “to declare as a matter or fact.” It is given that all creation started what God has spoken thus it become a decree.

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Times and Seasons
When the sun rises from the east, men rises up from bed to work. When the sun goes down to the west, men goes to bed. This is very much true especially among rural folks. Why? It is because seasons govern the affairs of men. The Natural Science is designed by God to determine human activities. So He set the sun and the moon, the evening and daytime, and so forth.

 

And Genesis 1:14 it says, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: “

 

The sun as natural light and the moon, the artificial one were designed for signs, seasons, days and years.

 

Numbers govern our mortality rate. According to Philippine Statistics Administration (PSA), the average Filipino mortality rate is at age 60. High blood pressure is being determined by numeric code even our DNA. An unborn child is determined by 9 month-period until the child when it is finally given birth. Seasons and times govern men. Shall marriage be governed by time as well when it shall start and when it should be terminated? And who will determine when our marriage ends, God or men?

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The image of God

Yet of all the creation that God has made, man is God’s masterpiece. He was created according to God’s image. Why? He is God’s image or representative taken from the Hebrew word “tselem.”

 

Man is therefore is God’s appointee to oversee the whole earth. Whatever happens in the affairs of this planet is under man’s control and supervision. But the question is, do we know that by the heart? Do we know wholeheartedly God’s principles in science, family affairs, marriage, governance, economics and so forth?

 

When you an official representative of God will you pervert His own principle and His divine laws?

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The helpmeet

Genesis 2:18 says, “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him an helpmeet for him.”

 

The word “helpmeet” from Hebrew “ezer” means “aid.” Aid means help. A woman is designed to be a suitable help for a man. A woman is not designed by God as a burden. What life would be for a man without the help of a woman?

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The greatest mystery

Apostle Paul talks about the greatest mystery ever told. He said in Ephesians 5:32:

 

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

 

The mystery that Paul is talking about is Christ and the Church.

 

Paul said that the Church is not merely an institution. The Church is the Bride of Christ.

If the Church is Bride of Christ then what the business of the human government has something to do that pertains to God?

 

Shall the Church succumb to the State or shall the State shall be subject to Christ?

 

The Scriptures speaks of Christ’s supremacy both in heavens and on earth in Ephesians 2:6-16;

 

concerning the Church as the Bride while Jesus Christ a is the Groom of the Church. He was saying that the earthly husband and wife is merely representing Christ and he Church. The earthly marriage is a mere a physical representation of the coming Marriage Feast with the Lord which is timeless and eternal (Ephesians 5:22-32; Revelation 19::7, 9).

 

It is not accident that Christ claimed that He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end and marriage is between male and female which is both mentioned in the Book of Genesis (beginning) and it ends in the Book of Revelation (Genesis 2:22, 23 and Rev. 22:13).

 

The word “bride” in Revelation 22:17 is from the Greek word “”numphe” (non-fay) i.e. “a betrothed woman; a bride” and from Latin word “nupto” which means “to marry.” Meanwhile, Eve as a woman who was given to Adam as a “helpmeet” is derived from Hebrew word, “ishshah’ as “wife, “

 

There is no oldest reference book as old as the Bible that concerns to etymological meaning of the ancient words of “marriage” and “family” except the scripture. So therefore, family and marriage are God’s main business and not of man’s. Should words evolved today as many claimed then special consideration should be given to the origin of the word (etymological meaning) to avoid confusion and misinterpretation otherwise it can result to historical revisionism of the meaning of the word.

 

 

Marriage isn’t an affair of the State

Marriage is not an affair of the state. Marriage is the affair of the Church.

 

Marriage was there before Human Government begun. A couple named Adam and Eve was first created when Towel of Babel existed under the reign of Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-9; 1 Chronicles 1:10). Nimrod means “valiant” or “rebellion.” He is the son of Cush, grandson of Ham, and great grandson of Noah who established an empire in Babel, he capital of Babylon. The. Tower of Babel speaks of the history of the human government (Genesis 11:1-9) but God confounded their language when in arrogance wanted to reach the heavens.

 

With that marriage therefore is instituted God and it cannot be legislated by the State. Marriage is an affair of couple before the world begun. It was God’s masterpiece of design between man and a woman.

 

The first man, Adam was first created. God said that, ” It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him,” (Genesis 20:18)

 

As I said earlier God Himself saw the need of a man. He created a helpmeet for him, called Eve. Helpmeet is the Hebrew word “ezer” meaning “aid” or “help.” The woman is designed to help and not to oppose the man who is the very source where she came from.

 

For any lady-legislator in today’s generation who will craft a bill against the source (the man) of her creation, such act is an abomination to the divine design of God for a woman for the man.

 

 

What marriage is all about?

It is about him and it is about her.

 

While on my way to RD Pawnshop at Carmen, Rosales for a bible study last Saturday morning it dawned on me that what if Senate Bill “Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage” and “Annulment of Church Wedding” will finally be approved, what happens next?

 

Is it the Church who is the Bride of Christ can just be dissolved the marriage between her and Christ? Will there be an expiration of marriage because Christ ‘s coming has been delayed or overdue?

 

Will that be a Dissolution of Marriage?

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Is it not the Church as the Bride of Christ patiently waits for the Groom forever?

 

Jesus Christ claim “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end.” But beginning and end is only earthbound. When you go outside the earth, right at the space, where is beginning starts and where the end terminates? There is no expiration in Christ. Expiration is only for the dead when a person ceases to live.

 

Origin of Marriage

Genesis 2:21-24

“ 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. “

 

  • Bones “etsem:” i.e. essence, substance.

 

Bones supports the body structurally and its vital organs and allows us to move. They provide bone marrow where the blood cells are created to store minerals particularly calcium.

 

The bones define one’s outward character or appearance. it defines how you look like or how the way you are giving higher definition of yourself.

 

The bones give an outline of your whole body.

 

Strong: strength

 

If the woman is the strength of the man, then the Church should be the strength of Christ in His ministry on earth.

 

  • Flesh “basar” (baw-sar) i.e. person or body

 

  • Rib “tsela” (tsay-law) i.e. side

 

The woman is the other side of the man. Either you make your man or break him. Literally it means body or door (Strong). In the same way, the church as a bride is the “other side” of the Lord Christ. When a church stands on a certain issues, she stands in behalf of Christ. It is also right to say that the Church is the strength of Christ’s presence on earth. After all we are His “ambassadors of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). The presence of the church is the presence of Christ on this realm.

 

 

No man can asunder

When shall marriage begin and where it should end? That is the question.

 

Matthew 19:6, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man out asunder.”

 

Asunder in Greek “chorizo” (kho-rid-zo) i.e. divide, separate, to divorce. Not the natural order of God but it would man who will try to asunder marriage.

 

Man is called “antropos” in Greek meaning “generically male or female with the added notion of weakness, by which man is lead into a mistake or prompted to sin” according to Thayer. So when a man or woman, legislator or not will craft a measure to divide what marriage that God originally designed commits sin in that respect.

 

Should our honorable Senators pushes Senate Bills on Absolute Divorce, Dissolution of Marriage, Annulment of Church Wedding, and other similar bills on marriage so be with it, then the definition of Thayer to asunder marriage applies? But Christ said, “No man shall out asunder,” be a member of the House of Representatives or Senate. Otherwise they will be destroying the divine design of God towards marriage as well as encroaching the territory of the Church.

 

To legislate or amend the divine law of marriage is encroaching the power of the Church (Matthew 16:18-19). Marriage is the affair of the Church and not of the State. Art. II, Sec, 6, “The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”

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What God have created, Jesus said that no man must ever try to distort, corrupts, deform or destroy it.

 

While Marriage is a Law made by God, divorce on the other hand is a law made by men against God’s ordained institution.

 

 

A special contract

Marriage is not an ordinary contract between man and a woman in the same way with Christian’s intimacy with His Lord Jesus.

 

The same is true in human marriage as the Family Code of the Philippines provides saying in , “EO 209, S. 1987 by Corazon Aquino “Article 1. “Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code.”

 

It says there that it is a “permanent union” and it is between “man and a woman” and marriage is the foundation of the family. It is also indestructible as the word “inviolable” defines it. In other words, legislators, be a congressman or a senator should not water down nor attacks this “inviolable” institution.



Divorce as permissive will

While there is a legal separation in the Philippines, the separated couple as long as they live cannot remarry not until one from them dies. Under the Absolute Divorce and Annulment or Dissolution of Marriage, a separated couple can remarry. Will that be God’s perfect design for marriage?

 

Divorce is not the perfect will of God which is far away from its original design according to the Scripture Divorce is a result of permissive will of God but never its original plan that will fall under human law or decree. Jesus argued with the Pharisees or the religious council, “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not,” (Matthew 19:8).

 

“Hardness of the heart” is interpreted as “skierokardia meaning “destitution of spiritual perception.” Destitute means “extremely poor” heart. Only those with “extremely poor heart” will capitalize destruction of the divine order of marriage though a legislation, a man-made law.

 

While God makes rules or law for men, who is men to make law for what God has made?

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The other side

The Scriptures said that God took the woman from the rib of Adam. Rib as I said earlier means “tsela” from Hebrew word, “side”.

 

What will happen the other side of Christ in the End Times?

 

Should the Church will favor SOGIE Bill, Civil Partnership (same-sex marriage), Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage, Church Annulment and similar bills, is it the Church as Bride who is the other side of Christ will adhere immorality and perversion that will make the half of the Body of Christ a “prostitute,” a prelude to “global harlotry?”

 

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH,” – Revelation 17:5 

 

 

Dissolution of marriage

Since Jesus Christ our Groom is delaying His coming for the past 2,000 years would that dissolved our marriage with Him? Why should we hope for the Second Coming of Christ for the Wedding Feast?

 

While I was in my hotel room in Dubai, United Arab Emirate for foreign training with Emirates Air, I was dozed into sleep. Then suddenly someone knock on the door. Immediately, I rose from my deep sleep as the Spirit said that it was Lord Christ knocking. Swiftly, I jumped out from the bed and I opened the door. But the Lord was no longer there but He left His footprints on the doormat and the Spirit of God said to me, “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing,” (Luke 12:43).


Why wait then?

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