By Pr Samuel Namatiiti
In the June edition of Good News, we discussed the foundations of marriage. Today, we shall talk about fornication, with reference to 1Corinthians 7:2,9:
“Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband… for it is better to marry than to burn.” I am reminded of a young woman who wanted to become a gospel minister. She took the necessary training and was sent to an Island, where on arrival she started a church. Those who converted became members. Before long, young men in the church realized the pastor was unmarried. Before the pastor could realize her weakness, she had already fallen in love with one of the young men. She had no one nearby mature enough to speak into her life. She ended up pregnant out of wedlock. You and I can easily imagine such a church with such a pastor with children out of wedlock within the church body.
Nucleus of marriage
The best description of such a church can be found in Judges 17:6 & 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes…”
Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one fresh.” This is one of the few biblical verses with a promise that has no direct additional attachments to it. It is a promise that directs all attention to only two persons becoming one, just as two sheets of paper are glued into becoming one well fused piece of paper. The joining line may be visible on the sides, but the unseen inside has no dividing line. Husband and wife should always consider themselves as the nucleus of marriage. They are the foundational base and the core of a marriage. They are the main pillar on which all the other additional marriage blessings draw strength from. Without a united husband and wife, there is no marriage.
Invite God in your marriage
God, the founder of marriage, meant total physical and spiritual openness – referred to in the Bible as total nakedness – to be one of the major facts of marriage. Genesis 2:25 tells us: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” However, Adam and Eve had to be sensitive because for the success of their unity, they had to recognize the founder of marriage – God. A determined and devoted couple will always attract the attention of God. God takes part in strengthening such a marriage. However, He waits for an invitation from the couple to allow Him, even though He is the founder, to build the marriage. We can only understand so when we look at some other Bible verses. It is always dangerous building one’s belief on just one verse pulled out of the whole Bible, and think that’s all there is to back one’s belief. Doing so would be like using one of the different pieces of a dismantled chair or bench, to sit or rest, as you would have used well-fixed and firmly fitted chair or bench. One cannot sit on just a leg, peg or nail simply because it is from a dismantled chair and hope to be comfortable as when all pieces are firmly together, each in its place as designed to. So is it with the word of God. Every verse has to be balanced with all others, in the Bible, that dwell on the same issue. Proverb 18:22: “Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor of the LORD.” The above verse reveals God’s interest in man and woman who choose to enter into covenantal matrimony, as husband and wife. It also reveals to us a special package of favor that is set aside by God for only those that are willing to make a marriage covenant. Two of the reasons why God would choose to favor a committed married couple: God is a covenant making God and He is a covenant keeping God. So He always delights in uniquely blessing covenant makers and keepers of the same. The second reason is that God, being the founder of marriage, always has a special expectation He would love to introduce to every couple. That is the fact that marriage is a three-man business each with special personal interests. And the three that can make the marriage function properly are; God, husband and wife. According to Ecclesiastes 4:12, a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
(An Extract from The Two Become One
by Pr Samuel SB Namatiiti)
