The foundation of marriage
The foundation of marriage (1) - "Maturity in the Lord is a prerequisite for maturity in marriage"
‘In studying the subject of marriage, we must first begin with the biblical teachings of nature and character of God. When we understand that God is Lord, we are naturally drawn from him and will learn how to apply His gracious laws about the foundation and purpose of marriage.’ Marriage is a big concern for the singles. That’s how much marriage is so important in life. However, it is also true that marriage is not prepared as well as interest in marriage. Here, the preparation I am talking about is the foundation of marriage.
I think too many singles seem to think of the house rather than the foundation of marriage. It seems that they are busy building the house in the feeling of "love" with big dream of the house instead of worrying about the foundation of marriage. In the end, since they build the house on a poor foundation, they experience collapse of their ideal house, starting from its roof, after the wedding. Looking at this sad reality, I would like to think about what the foundation of marriage should be.
Even if the storm of adversity and hardship comes, the marriage built on a biblical foundation is the marriage built on the rock. The foundation of marriage is the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus Christ is Lord means three things:
The first is the reign or control of the Father God.
This means the sovereignty of God. Marriage is in God's sovereignty. The life that acknowledges God's sovereignty is to believe and acknowledge that God knows me the best, loves me the most and that He is here to give me the best thing.
The second is the authority of the Son Jesus.
Believing and acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord of marriage means to obey Jesus' twofold commandment of love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt. 22:37, 39). Therefore, in marriage, pledging in front of God and the guests is a commitment to love God as a couple, and also the commitment to love one another with the love of God. That obedience to the commandment must become the authority of the family.
The third is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
It is amazing grace to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in marriage. I have personally experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit at the wedding worship, through the God's Word Psalm 34:8a " Taste and see that the LORD is good …” and through the hymn “Thou, My Everlasting Portion”. I could not help but pour tears of emotion. I will never forget that moment of experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, how the indwelling Spirit powerfully worked in me to experience His goodness. With that experience, the Holy Spirit has brought me and my wife until this day and will continue to lead us until He calls us to heaven. As we become more aware of the Lord of Jesus Christ, the foundation of our marriage will continue to be firmly established. Therefore, the Christians singles who are preparing for their marriage must get to know the Lordship of Jesus Christ and experience His presence in their lives. Of course, some people may say that meeting is more important than this. However, a home architect who is not committed to building the foundation can never build a solid house. They may be able to build their house in a nice way for people to see, but when storm of pain and adversity come the house will eventually collapse. That is why we must do our best to recognize and acknowledge the Lord of Jesus Christ, the foundation of our marriage. Therefore, I hope and pray that all of us can dream our marriage that experience God’s presence while we are obeying His commandments.