thee under the sun.”
The Song of Solomon even uses the enjoyment of sex within marriage as an allegory to our love relationship with God! Even when conception is not possible, there is nothing immoral about the mutual enjoyment of sexual relations. If God had intended sex to be only for procreation, he would have made us so that every sexual act would result in the conception of children!
1 Corinthians 7:3-4 "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone, but also to his wife." (New International Version)
The perversion and exploitation of human sexuality by worldly people should not keep Christians from enjoying the meaningful sexual relationships that can only thrive within a loving and a Christ centered marriage relationship.
Hebrews 13:4 "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge."
MARRIAGE IS LIKE GOD'S NATURE
The “oneness" of God was revealed to us in the Jewish Shema, which begins with, "Hear 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29)
The "triune" nature of God as three "persons" was revealed to us when the Holy Spirit of God came upon Jesus, and God the Father acknowledged him as his "own beloved Son." (Matthew 3:16-17)
Since God made us in his own image, I do not find it at all surprising that our family unit is very similar to his own triune nature. Although equal in divine nature, and united in perfect harmony as one God, each person of the Godhead has a separate function and experience.
•The role of God the Father is similar to that of a husband who is the head of a human family unit. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
•The role of God the Holy Spirit is similar to that of a wife who builds and nurtures a human family unit. (John 14:16)
•The role of God the Son is similar to that of the first born son of a human family unit (Colossians 1:15)
And when we meditate upon the beautiful love relationship that God already has within himself, and how harmoniously they function together in their different roles, then we can better understand his perfect plan for earthly husbands, wives, and their children.
MARRIAGE IS PRIMARILY FOR RAISING GODLY CHILDREN
It should be obvious that having children is the primary purpose of sex and marriage, since our physical bodies were specifically designed by God for this purpose.
However, many people marry for other reasons and they really do not want to have any children. Then if children are unintentionally conceived, they will sometimes desert, divorce, or have an abortion, in order to escape from the responsibility of raising children.
The primary purpose of marriage from God's point of view is to have and to raise “godly” children. He united couples as one flesh "that he might seek a godly seed." (Malachi 2:15) From the very beginning, God exhorted Adam and Eve to have lots of children.
Genesis 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
Other godly men, like Noah (Genesis 9:1) and Jacob (Genesis 35:11), were also told to "be fruitful and multiply". And the Jews who were exiled to Babylon were also exhorted to "beget sons and daughters,” so that their numbers would increase in the land. (Jeremiah 29:6)
God's ultimate plan was, and still is, to fill the earth with a godly race of people who will be redeemed from sin, and who will have intimate fellowship with him throughout eternity!
MARRIAGE PREVENTS IMMORALITY
A secondary purpose of marriage is to prevent sexual immorality by satisfying a person's sexual desires. As the apostle Paul so frankly put it, "if they cannot control themselves, they should marry!"
1 Corinthians 7:8-9 "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." (New International Version)
In the ancient Jewish culture, parents prevented immorality by encouraging their children to marry while they were very young. Everyone was expected to marry, so marriages were often arranged before they reached puberty. The minimum age was later set at thirteen for boys and twelve for girls.
Marital relations will normally satisfy each other's sexual desires and help avoid temptation. That is why the apostle Paul advised husbands and wives not to refuse each other's sexual desires, except by mutual consent whenever praying or fasting.
1 Corinthians 7:2-5 "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence, and likewise also, the wife unto her husband."
According to ancient Jewish laws (Exodus 21:10-11), the refusal of conjugal rights was a violation of the marriage covenant and sufficient cause for a divorce. In his early writings, Martin Luther also considered this as a possible cause for a divorce.
MARRIAGE MAKES OUR HUMAN NATURE COMPLETE
The first human being, whom we call Adam, was made in the image of God, so he was neither male nor female. He loved and worshiped his creator, and his natural human nature was perfect because he was made in the image of God!
Then God said, "It is not good that man should be alone" (Genesis2:18) so he put Adam to sleep and made a second human being from a portion of his body. Eve was created female and Adam's body was changed to become male.
Since Eve was "taken out of" Adam's body (Genesis 2:23), this left him no longer complete in expressing the full nature of God. And since Eve was created from only a portion of Adam, she was also incomplete in expressing the full nature of God.
•The natural human nature of a woman has some of the characteristics of God that the man does not have.
•The natural human nature of a man has some of the characteristics that the woman does not have.
Men and women are separate creations who not only need each other for procreation, but also to fully express the nature and character of God on earth. It is therefore morally pure and perfectly natural for a man to desire a wife; and for a woman to desire a husband.
Proverbs 18:22 "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor from the Lord."
SINGLES ARE COMPLETE IN CHRIST
Even if you prefer to remain single and do NOT want to get married, you can still express the full nature and character of God simply by yielding to the spirit of Christ in your heart.
Colossians 2:10 "For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. "
When you yield to your new spiritually reborn nature, then it does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, for the spirit of Christ is neither male nor female!
Galatians 3:27-28
