We live in a society where several marriages are shipwrecked and divorce rates are high. Current US statistics show that 40 to 50 percent of all 1st marriages are expected to end in divorce. It gets worse for second marriages where it’s a 60 to 67 percent divorce rate.
This has impacted several families as broken homes causes disappointment, heartbreak, anger, and loss of trust in our relationships to the ones who are closest to us.
In light of the above, we need to go back to the drawing board to understand God’s true intent about marriage. We need to grasp the full purpose behind marriage. Putting it simply, we need to know – Why marriage?
Why did God institute marriage between one man and one woman and not in any other form? Whether you are single, married, divorced, or widowed – this series of messages will benefit you. It is for you!
Several churches look down at people engaged in extramarital and sexual immoral activities as being outside of God’s will, and treat them scornfully by condemning them to hell instantly. However, we want to shift that conversation to explain why God has defined marriage as what it is in the Bible today.
We start our journey on this topic by looking at the concept of a relational God. The Godhead is trinity – where there are three persons – God, the Father; God, the Son; and the Holy Spirit. These three are of equal deity nature but yet are one. That means they are united and they can never be separated.
How do I explain the unity part? I have a wonderful wife and 3 great kids. From time-to-time, the kids would like us parents to do them a favor. In some requests, I tend to say “yes”, while their Mom is less agreeable to their ask. So our kids tries to exploit getting what they want by directly asking me for that favor, and avoiding their Mom. In order to cut that exploit, when the kids ask for such favors, I typically ask them in return – “Did your Mom say yes?”. Why do I ask that question? Because myself and my wife are one – we are united.
You see, the Trinity are always united in whatever they want to accomplish. So, for example (metaphorically) , if God the Father want to go play golf, the Son and the Holy Spirit are 100% in agreement. In the Bible book of Genesis, it is written – “Let us make man”. The entire Godhead worked in harmony to make their masterpiece creation happen. (Side note: yes, it’s true, you are truly special!).
A quick implication of the above to our marriages is that we should always be there for our spouses and be in agreement with them.
Most importantly, the Trinity honor each other and they back themselves up. The Son, Jesus Christ, left His heavenly throne and majesty to do the will of the Father and to honor Him. Christ could have held on to His throne and not come to redeem mankind, but He humbly said to the Father – “Not my will, but your will be done.” He laid aside His desires and choose to act in the best interests of God, The Father.
So, in turn has The Father glorified His Son, so much so that He’s given Christ all things and put everything under subjection to Him.
The Holy Spirit – the third member of the Trinity – is here on earth to glorify God, The Father, and Jesus Christ. He only speaks based on what He’s told to do – acting in the best interests of the other members of the Godhead. In return, the Holy Spirit is backed – so much so that if He’s blasphemed against, such sin can never be forgiven.
Another quick thing we can apply to our marriages from the Trinity relationship is ensuring that we are always there for our spouses, that we back them up, and look out to act in their own best interests, even if it means we have to do so sacrificially.
What does the Trinity have to do with the reason why marriage was setup the way it is? I’m glad you asked! But you’re going to have to wait till next week as we’ll be unlocking the mystery behind the relationship between Christ and the church next.
What are some of the other ways we can apply the Trinity relationship in our marriages? Feel free to drop a comment below.
