Exeter Seventh-day Adventist Church

Marriage was divinely established at the beginning with Creation. It’s in the Bible, Genesis 2:18, 22-24, NKJV. “And the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him’… Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 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.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

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Marriage is more than just a paper or a promise, it is a permanent union between a man and a woman joined by God. It’s in the Bible, Matthew 19:4-6 NKJV. “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Does who I marry matter? It’s in the Bible, 2 Corinthians 6:14, NKJV. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”

Marriage between the husband and wife, is symbol of Jesus’s love for His people. It’s in the Bible, Revelation 19:7-8, NKJV. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 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.”

How should husbands treat their wives? They should love their wives as Christ loves the church. It’s in the Bible, Ephesians 5:28-29, NKJV. “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”

A husband should be willing to give up everything for his wife’s salvation. It’s in the Bible, Ephesians 5:25-27, NKJV. “ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 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.”

Husbands should honor their wives. It’s in the Bible, 1 Peter 3:7, TLB. “You husbands must be careful of your wives, being thoughtful of their needs and honoring them as the weaker sex. Remember that you and your wife are partners in receiving God’s blessings, and if you don’t treat her as you should, your prayers will not get ready answers.”

Wives should recognize their husband’s leadership role. It’s in the Bible, Ephesians 5:22-24, TLB. “You wives must submit to your husbands’ leadership in the same way you submit to the Lord. For a husband is in charge of his wife in the same way Christ is in charge of his body the church. (He gave his very life to take care of it and be its Savior!) So you wives must willingly obey your husbands in everything, just as the church obeys Christ.”

A husband is the head of the wife, as God the Father is the head of Christ. It's in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:3, NKJV. "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God."

Are wives to submit to everything their husband says? As long as it does not go against God’s Word. It’s in the Bible, Colossians 3:18, NKJV. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”

What should love look like in a marriage? It’s in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NKJV. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

“The Bible forbids physical or verbal abuse of one’s spouse. It’s in the Bible, Colossians 3:19, NIV. “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”

In order to have a successful marriage, settle misunderstandings at once. It’s in the Bible, Ephesians 4:26, TLB. “If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly.”

Keep the relationship growing in unity and understanding. It’s in the Bible, Ephesians 4:2-3, NKJV. “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Marriage is honorable in God’s sight. It’s in the Bible, Hebrews 13:4, ESV. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

God guards marriage through the seventh and the tenth commandments. It’s in the Bible, Exodus 20:14, 17, NKJV. “You shall not commit adultery.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

What is the only acceptable reason that Jesus gave for ending a marriage? It’s in the Bible, Matthew 5:32, NIV. “But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”

How long is marriage intended to last? “Till death do you part.” It’s in the Bible, Romans 7:2, NKJV. “For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband..”

Marriage requires an attitude of humility and selflessness. It’s in the Bible, Philippians 2:3-4. NKJV. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

For more information see:

• Divorce
• Love