Why is God So Serious About Marriage?

The symbolism of marriage representing Christ and the Church is beautiful. It helps us to get a bigger picture of
God's design for marriage.  In the Old Testament, there is the marriage covenant of God the Father with the
House of Israel (Israel and Judah), which even divorce and separation has not annulled at least in a spiritual
way. There have been many Israelites become Christians (weren’t there thousands of Jews that came back to
their Master by being obedient to Jesus Christ after the resurrection.) and God forgave them. Zacharias,
Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph (all Jews) understood what the significance of their new miraculous babies were all
about found in Luke 1,2. Even Simeon and Anna (Jews) knew that God’s promise was being fulfilled.

In the New Testament, there is the betrothal/espousal marriage of Jesus (God in the flesh), and the Church. The
marriage of Christ and the Church will never end. It will never be tainted with divorce, or any other separation
from Christ.

However, the spiritual consummation after the wedding of Christ and the Church has not yet occurred.
The Church is still only in the engagement period (betrothal, espousal Period) with Christ. There are some
interesting passages of Scripture that point this out. In II Cor. 11:2 it says that we are Christ's fiancee that the
marriage is yet to come: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one
husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

In Eph. 5:22-33 human marriage is given as an illustration of Christ and the Church. Many people had always
viewed this passage as if the Church was already married to Christ. However, in verse 27, it indicates that the
marriage is yet to come by using the future tense. It is not the past tense: “that He might present her to
Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and
without blemish.” The fact that the Church is not yet fully married has some very interesting implications. It
has opened up some new insights that many people have never seen before.

The consummation of marriage in a spiritual sense of Christ and the Church occurs after the whole Church is
gathered together in Heaven at the end of the world. God gives us a glimpse of this in Rev. 19-7-9:"Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made
herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the
fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."

There are some interesting points about the marriage of Christ and the Church:

There must be death first from Satan, then sin, and also self, so that we can be remarried to Christ, divorce is not
sufficient. Death is the only thing that can end a marriage and free a person to marry another. This is true in
human marriage as well as in marriage in the spiritual sense to Christ. In Romans 7 where God states that death
frees a person from the first marriage so that they are free to marry another person, He also says in verse 7:
"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be
married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto
God." This death occurs in the spiritual sense so that we can be betrothed/ espoused to Christ.

The marriage of Christ and the Church will never, ever end. There cannot, and never will be, a divorce of Christ
and the Church. This is her eternal destiny.

Human marriage is a type or shadow of Christ and the Church.

A type (typos in Greek), or "archetype," often called a "shadow," "parable," "allegory," or "figure" in Scripture,
is a person, thing, or action that precedes and prefigures a greater person, thing, or action. That which is
prefigured is referred to as an "antitype." The concept is summarized in Scripture itself: (Thank you Myron
Horst)

We are told marriage is a type or shadow in Ephesians 5.

Examples of other types or shadows:

Baptism – Why is it so important to be buried in water like Paul said in Romans 6? It is a shadow of
the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Jesus commanded this.

Communion – shadow of Jesus’ body and blood. Jesus commanded this.

Isaac, after His miracle birth, carried his own wood and was obedient to His father Abraham according to
Genesis 22. The ram in the thorny thicket (a type of Christ being the sacrifice with thrones on his head) was
provided by the angel for Abraham to use instead of Isaac. The event took place on Mount Moriah. The
potential sacrifice of Abraham’s son was a type or shadow of Jesus’ miracle birth. Jesus carried His cross and
was obedient to His Father’s will on the cross. It is very probable the great sacrifice took place on Mount
Moriah (Calvary).

The Rock that Moses struck and the water came out in Exodus 17 was Jesus. It was a shadow of Jesus being
pierced with the sword on Calvary and living water came rushing out of Jesus’ side. Remember How Moses
disobeyed the second time with the Rock in Numbers 20? He was told to speak to the Rock. Instead,Moses
struck the rock twice and the penalty was that He was not going to lead His people to Canaan. Joshua was going
to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. Who was Joshua shadowing? The Greek name "Jesus" is a
transliteration of the Hebrew name Yehoshua or Yeshua, the English form of which is "Joshua." Only through
Jesus do we have an opportunity to go to the real Promised Land.

Animal Sacrifice in the Old Testament – It was a shadow of Christ being our sacrificial lamb to take away our
sins. This was an Old Testament ordinance.

Temple – was a physical building created by Solomon and was the dwelling place of God. The common man
could not enter into the Most Holy Place. Only a priest could go into this special place once a year. Jesus’ body
was that temple (John 2:19-22) and Christians are also the temple (Acts 7:48, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). People
who are Christians are priests (1 Peter 2:15, Heb. 4:14-16) and have instant access to the Most Holy Place.
Why? The curtain was torn. (Matthew 27:21, Hebrews 10:20)

The Curtain was a type or shadow of Jesus’ flesh becoming sin for mankind and making the way for us to
come to the Most Holy Place.

As a type, human marriage cannot break what the type or shadowis. Therefore, if Christ had allowed
divorce then remarriage in the "exception clause"in Matthew 19:9, He would have destroyed the type. Human
marriage would no longer have been the illustration of the marriage of Christ and the Church. If Jesus had stated
that divorce would free a person in a human marriage to marry again, it would not illustrate the eternal destiny
of the Church in which there cannot be, and will not be any separation from Christ. Any other explanation of the
"exception clause" other than it referring to fornication with another during the betrothal period, does not line
up with the marriage of Christ and the Church. Any other interpretation removes marriage from being a true
type of Christ and the Church.
Because the time on earth is the engagement/betrothal/espousal period of Christ and the Church, it is possible
for a person to forfeit their salvation here in this life before they die.

Jesus did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other
blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. Ephesians 5:27