God's Marital Roadmap

Days after our 3rd annual ChurchLYFE Marriage Retreat, it is time to post our February blog.  We thought it would be appropriate to dive a little deeper into what God has to say about marriage. 

Now… what happened at the marriage retreat STAYS at the marriage retreat (you had to be there), but without giving anything away, LOVE isn’t all you need.  Though it’s a great start, being whole and healed makes marriage better than you could ever imagine.

The truth is (as I’m sure you already know or have experienced), not many of us come to our relationships as WHOLE individuals.  Most of us are broken or have loads of baggage when we get married.  There’s no denying the struggles that happen when two individuals come together and try to do life as one.  That “ONE FLESH” thing isn’t for the faint of heart.  

In this blog post, we wanted to offer a little relief to those who feel they are lacking, or that their marriage is in jeopardy because their brokenness is getting the better of them.  It’s normal to seek seasoned couples for advice, but the truth is, God has provided an amazing roadmap for marriage.  His example is laid out for us in his relationship with the church.  As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us in Ephesians 5 how Christ loved the church and sacrificed for Her.  It offers a template for how couples should engage for successful and Godly marriages.

You don’t have to take our words for it.  It's NOT just in Ephesians. Below, we’ve shared twelve Bible verses to support our claim:

What God Says About Marriage?

1. A man should leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife to become one flesh (Gen 2:24)

2. A marriage should be held in high regard (Hebrews 13:4)

   1. The marriage bed shouldn’t be defiled

   2. God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous

3. A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord (Proverbs 18:22)

4. Marriage helps spouses to avoid temptation to sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 7:1-40)

   1. Spouses don’t have authority over their bodies.  

   2. We shouldn’t deprive one another lest satin may tempt our lack of control

5. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) - [This is especially true in marriage]

6. Couples should be equally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14)

7. Husband is to submit to Christ and Wife is to submit to her husband (2 Corinthians 6:14)

8. Husbands should love their wives and wives should respect their husbands (Ephesians 5:33)

9. Couples should love each other earnestly because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)

10. Love is what binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:14)

11. Couples with all humility and gentleness and patience, should bear with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2)

12. Couples should Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21-24)

At the beginning of this post, we mentioned “LOVE isn’t all you need”.  Without Christ and his example of HOW to effectively love your spouse, respect your spouse, be humble, be gentle, be patient with your spouse…

It’s easy to see how difficult marriage can be.  If you’re struggling in your relationship, let God in.  Open your Bible and discover everything He has to say about marriage and commit to practicing it WITH HIS GUIDANCE.