30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 20 27-40 He is not the God of the dead but of the living 05 Luke 20 34 Peculiar relationship of marriage for this age
📖 Luke 20:27-40
24Mar2021 - *Peculiar relationship of marriage for this age* - _Luke 20:27-40_ - HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING 5 – Bible reading: _Ephesians 5:30-32_
_(34) Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage._ This is how Jesus began His answer to the question of the Sadducees. Their question is from _vs 28-33_ of _Luke 20_.
We began saying that marriage is a relationship that God put in place for this age. We also said that the foundational basis for the marriage relationship is the one-flesh experience between a man and a woman, who is now his wife and he, her husband.
_Genesis 2:23-24 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." (24) Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh._
Permit me to first describe the one-flesh experience and then explain why this relationship is for this age.
The one-flesh experience can only be understood and explained out of the relationship that God desired with man.
_Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being._
God created man out of the dust, whereas God is Spirit. Though man is dust, he has within him the breath of God, which God breathed into him and that is his kinship with God. So, though man and God have sameness, they are also distinct from each other. God and man are of a different substance.
Marriage, therefore, has to be between two persons, who are similar but yet distinct. Therefore, the requirement for the distinction of the sexuality of the male and the female is a necessity in marriage. Crossing this boundary is a deviation that causes disastrous consequences to mankind since marriage is the basic unit of culture and society.
To practice the one-flesh experience, the husband and his wife have to draw their understanding from the experience of man’s relationship with God.
What is the substance of man’s relationship with God? The relationship of man with God is a breath-to-breath relationship. This is the intimacy between man and God. Man is totally cast upon God and God pours Himself into man.
Man comes to God as his shelter, his habitat, his refuge, his source, his comfort, his joy, his fulfilment… This is the same material of the one-flesh experience between a husband and his wife. *They pour themselves into each other without inhibition or restraint. There is total trust, total openness and a total giving of themselves to each other*.
Why then did God set up this marriage relationship between one man with one woman, who is now his wife and he, her husband?
*The marriage relationship was set up in such a beautiful manner for this was to be the reflection of the relationship that God has with man*. This experience of marriage is the relationship between God and His people, the church. God is in a marriage relationship with His people.
_Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. Hosea 2:19-20 “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; (20) I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD._
_Ephesians 5:30-32 *For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones*. (31) "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH." (32) This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church._
The church is in a ‘one-flesh experience with God. To help the church understand how this works, God gave marriage, between a husband and wife, as a demonstrative model for His relationship with His body, the church.
So, the husband-wife one-flesh relationship and the God-church, one-flesh relationship, feed off each other. This is why Apostle Paul has elevated the marriage relationship to be on par with Christ and His bride, the church.
*This is also the reason why the marriage relationship is a relationship that God instituted and set in place for this age*.
*Thought to ponder*
```Since marriage between a husband and his wife is of such an awesome significance before God, the devil works overtime to destroy marriages.```