The Institution of Marriage

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Introduction: God created man and gave him work to do (Genesis 2:7-8, 15, 19) but there was still something lacking. Man was alone.

I.           THE PROBLEM OF MARRIAGE

A.        A Wife is a Good Thing (Proverbs 18:22)

B.        Marriage is Trouble in the Flesh (1Corinthians 7:27-28)

II.          THE BENEFITS OF MARRIAGE (Genesis 2:18)

A.        Companionship – not “alone”

1.         The strength of companionship (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

2.         The companionship of marriage (Matthew 19:4-6)

B.        Comfort – “an help”

1.         The wife to her husband (Titus 2:4-5)

2.         The husband to his wife (Ephesians 5:25-29)

C.        Completion – “meet for him”

1.         The word, meet, means fit, proper or just right for a particular need (2Timothy 2:21)

2.         Made for each other (1Corinthians 11:10-11)

3.         Complementing each other (1Peter 3:1-7)

III.        THE SACRIFICE OF THE MAN (Genesis 2:21-22)

A.        He Came to the Point of Death (Genesis 2:21; John 3:16; Ephesians 5:25); Note: Jesus Christ is the “last Adam” (1Cor.15:45).  His bride is the church (Eph.5:23-25).  Adam’s “deep sleep” is a type of the death of Christ and His giving of Himself for the church (Eph.5:25).  The rib taken from Adam and the declaration that Eve is “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” is a type of the relationship of Christ to the church.  “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Eph.5:30).  No wonder Paul said that this was a “great mystery” (Eph.5:32).

B.        He Gave Up One of His Ribs (Genesis 2:22; Ephesians 5:28-29)

IV.       THE SACRIFICE OF THE WOMAN (Genesis 2:23-25)

A.        Her Husband is Part of Her (Genesis 2:23)

Seditious Baptist Books – “The year was 1664, and the young man standing before the judge for sentencing was a Baptist minister named Benjamin Keach, only twenty-four years old. A few weeks earlier he had published a little book, entitled The Child’s Instructor; of, a New and Easy Primer, to be used for the religious instruction of children. Copies of the book had sold rapidly, and one had fallen into the hands of the local justice of the peace. Horrified by Keach’s printed statement that ‘believers, or godly men and women only, who can make confession of their faith and repentance,’ were the only fit subjects for Christian baptism, the justice of the peace had Keach seized and jailed until a speedy trial could be arranged. The evidence had been placed before the jury and he was soon found guilty.

“Thus Benjamin Keach was called to the bar, and the judge passed sentence as follows: ‘Benjamin Keach, you are here convicted, for writing, and publishing, a seditious and schismatical book, for which the court’s judgment is this, and the court doth award: That you shall go to gaol for a fortnight without bail or mainprize; and the next Saturday, to stand upon the pillory at Ailsbury, in the open market, for the space of two hours, from eleven of the clock to one… And the next Thursday, to stand in the same manner and for the same time, in the market of Winslow; and there your book shall be openly burnt, before your face, by the common hangman, in disgrace to you and your doctrine.’

“The sentence was carried out to the letter, but to the judge’s surprise, young Keach used his time in the pillory to preach to the throngs in the marketplace. When he was forced to stop speaking by the sheriff, his young wife stood beside the pillory and continued her husband’s sermon.” –from The Forgotten Heritage: A Lineage of Great Baptist Preaching by Thomas R. McKibbens, Jr. (p.16).

B.        Her Family is Left Behind (Genesis 2:24); Note: From the beginning, marriage consisted of a man leaving his family, cleaning unto his wife and becoming one with her.  Read especially Matthew 19:4-6.  As such, marriage is the first earthly institution established by God.  The other two are human government and the church.

C.        Her Privacy Has Departed (Genesis 2:25; Hebrews 13:4)

Dry Seasons – Even Charles Spurgeon experienced dry seasons when God seemed far away. During one of these, he wrote to his wife Susannah: “I fear I am not so full of love to God as I used to be. I lament my sad decline in spiritual things. You and others may not have observed it, but I am now conscious of it, and a sense thereof has put bitterness in my cup of joy. Oh! What is it to be popular, to be successful, to have abundance, even to have love so sweet as yours—if I should be left of God to fall, and to depart from His ways?” –from Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers by Lewis Drummond (p.258).

Conclusion: Great sacrifice for a worthy cause can lead to great joy (Song of Solomon 3:1-4; 8:6-7); but you must pass through times of trouble in the flesh (1Corinthians 7:27-28).