What is a 'Marriage'

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (22 Jan. 2023)
Homepage: https://www.stbarbarasacc.com

It is interesting to note that the very first place, or very first event on earth, where Christ decides to begin His miraculous ministry is at a wedding. If we go back to the very beginning of creation, what is one of the first interactions God has with mankind – it is the joining, or marriage, of Adam and Eve. Then, if we go to the very end of the Bible, how is Christ pictured as completing His work - it is by describing the Church as the New Jerusalem being delivered to Him as a bride, ‘the wife of the Lamb’ (Rev. 21:9). Moreover, everywhere in between, the way God chooses to picture or describe His covenantal relationship with first Old Covenant Israel and then later New Covenant Israel, which is the Church; it is as a marriage covenant. So, it is probably pretty safe to say that God considers marriage very important. Indeed, quite essential to our relationship with Him. The appreciation of marriage in this light is one of the things that makes our present-day society’s treatment, or rather disdain, of it even more painful.

Scripture Verses:
Revelations 19:7; 21:9
Mark 10:6-9
Romans 8:5-7
Ephesians 2:10