Topic: THE MARRIAGE INSTITUTION
THEME SCRIPTURE:
Genesis 2:24 (KJV)
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
MESSAGE
Marriage is the first human institution God established here on earth. As old as the marriage institution is, its tenets are still current and useful to the 21st century generation.
From our theme Scripture, the first thing we discover about the marriage institution is that, marriage is between a man and a woman. “...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” (Genesis 2:23, KJV).
God never instituted marriage to be between a man and another man; neither was it to be between a woman and another woman. Secondly, we discover that the man is expected to leave his father and mother; this doesn’t mean he should cut ties with his parents and have nothing to do with them.
To “leave” in this sense means, one has come to the place of maturity and independence. Until the man is independent of his parental authority and control, he remains a boy under his father’s roof; and marriage is not between a boy and a girl, but between a man and a woman. Thirdly, we discover that the man is expected to cleave to his wife. The Scripture didn’t say, wives; it’s not plural. It is a man cleaving to HIS SINGLE WIFE, and the TWO shall be ONE flesh! The word, “cleave” means, “To adhere firmly and closely to”, or “Stick loyally and unwaveringly to.”
The “leaving” and “cleaving” aspect of the marital union is what the man and his wife demonstrate by going into a covenant in Church, at a traditional marriage ceremony, or in a court, through exchange of vows, before human witnesses.
From our discussion on the marriage institution, if a man hides somewhere with another man, or a woman hides somewhere with another woman, or a human person, male or female, hides somewhere with a pet or an object, and the two choose to do their own thing, will that be called marriage?