as many of you as have been baptized [immersed] into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond [slave] nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
And, according to the apostle Paul, it is even better to remain single and unmarried, if it is your heart's desire to serve the Lord more fully!
1 Corinthian 7:32-33 "He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife."
Jesus also acknowledged that some will not marry because (1) they were born physically incapable of marriage, or (2) they were made physically incapable of marriage by men, or (3) they have, like the apostle Paul, voluntarily chosen to remain single in order to better serve the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:12)
THE CHURCH IS MARRIED TO JESUS
Just as we become "one flesh” when we make an earthly marriage covenant with our spouse, so we become "one spirit" when we make a spiritual marriage covenant with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 6:16-17 '….for two, saith he, shall be one flesh, but he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit."
The apostle Paul calls this a great mystery.
Ephesians 5:22-32 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife, loves himself. For no man ever hated his own, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church; for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause, shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
MARRIAGE IN ETERNITY
Marriage as we now know it will not exist in eternity. Our ultimate destiny as Christians is to be formally united forever, not with each other, but with our Lord Jesus Christ at the "marriage supper of the Lamb." (Revelation 19:7)
When we die, we will be transformed both physically and spiritually, and sexual relationships and earthly marriage will be no longer.
Luke 20-34-36 "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage; but they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage. Neither can they die anymore; for they are equal unto the angels, and they are the children of God, being children of the resurrection."
Because there will be no more death, there will no longer be any need for sexual reproduction. But this does not mean that there will be no distinction between male and female personalities. Jesus died to save our souls (our mind, will, and emotions) so the individual characteristics of each soul, purified from the stain of sin, will still be retained.
If you are concerned about the loss of sexual pleasure in eternity, remember that God has already prepared something for us that is even better!
1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written [Isaiah 64:4], Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
MARRIAGE HAS TRIALS TO OVERCOME
Having been married for thirty years, I can certainly confirm that, as long as we live here on earth, we will always have conflicts to resolve and trials to overcome. When my wife and I were first married, I was looking forward to a long and happy relationship, and I really did not expect to have any unusual problems.
Our first major trial occurred less than two years after we were married. Without any warning, my wife had a sudden seizure and a colossal headache! We found out later that she had a "brain aneurysm," and she almost died when a blood vessel burst inside her brain!
The doctors said she was very fortunate to have survived, but that the blood vessel was still leaking and if they did not operate, she would die! Even then, they said that she had only a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the brain operation!
But God was still in control.
It "happened" that Dr. Neil Poppen wanted to demonstrate a new technique to visiting surgeons from several other countries and he needed a patient with exactly my wife's condition!
The other doctors told me at the time that he was considered to be the "best brain surgeon in the entire world." So not only did we have the best, but he also operated upon my wife free of charge!
Although the brain operation did save her life, she still had considerable brain damage from the initial attack. In addition, she had a partial paralysis and weakness on one side of her body. When she spoke or smiled, only one side of her mouth would move. Her memory loss was so bad that, in the beginning she even forgot that we were married!
As you can imagine, the trauma caused her to have deep seated feelings of insecurity. Even up to a year or so later, she was very reluctant to go shopping alone. Since we had moved to a different location, she was afraid that she might forget how to get home!
Again, I believe God intervened!
Even though Dr. Poppen had said that the partial paralysis was permanent and would never go away, all of the symptoms gradually disappeared within about two years. Another doctor told me later that he considered her quick recovery from the partial paralysis and memory loss as "nothing less than miraculous!"
Because of the high risk that another weakened blood vessel might burst during childbirth, one doctor even refused to have her as a patient if we did not practice birth control. However, we prayed about this and we both agreed to trust God and continue to have children.
Well, the rest is history! We had five more children after the brain operation without any complications! Praise the Lord! In addition to raising our six children and the usual family duties, my wife served the Lord as a deaconess in our local church. She also remained active in women’s prison ministry and in helping the poor until her death from cancer a few years ago.
TRIALS ARE OPPORTUNITIES!
As in earthly marriages, some Christians will backslide and "divorce" Jesus whenever they encounter trials. But when trials are overcome or patiently endured, they produce fruit that is "much more precious than gold!" (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Trials are opportunities to prove your love!
Although the Bible is filled with many promises of God for blessing and prospering his people while we are on this earth, our first commitment is to love and serve him regardless of our circumstances.
The apostle Paul suffered much injustice and persecution, and yet he concluded that there was nothing that could ever separate him from the love of God!
Romans 8:35-39 "What shall
