Title: 13
Author: Joe G
Last saved by: PJD-SymCast
Company: GDC

© 2004 Joe Griffin		04-01-15.CC02-234 /

Reasons for Marriage: A Man Unites with a Woman to Form a Home; Christian Marriage Is an Analogy of Christ & His Church, Mt 19:3-5; Eph 5:22-31
8.	It is debated as to the precise definition of this verb.  Some contend that sexual intercourse is not intended but is simply a union of souls.  However, three references to Genesis 2:24 in the New Testament, two by our Lord and a third by Paul, contradict this view.
Matthew 19:3 -	And some of the Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?”
v. 4 -		And He answered and said, “Have you not read, that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
v. 5 -		and said, [Genesis 2:24] ‘For this cause [ That is why ] a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave [ the future active indicative of the verb koll£w, kollaō ] to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.’”  [ See also Mark 10:7‑8 ]
Ephesians 5:28 -	 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his own wife loves himself;
v. 29 -	for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
v. 30 -	because we are members of His body.
v. 31 -	[Genesis 2:24]  “For this cause [ That is why ] a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave [ future passive indicative of the verb proskoll£w, proskollaō ] to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.”
v. 32 -	This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and His church.
9.	In Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7, and Ephesians 5:31 of the New American Standard Bible we have a quotation of Genesis 2:24, and each is introduced by the prepositional phrase, “For this cause.”
10.	We have observed how this same phrase introduces Genesis 2:24 and how the Hebrew words, /K}-lu^ ‛al‑ken are best translated, “That is why.”
11.	To confirm this translation we need to take a look at the Greek of the New Testament quotes.  In Matthew 19:5 we find the genitive of cause of the preposition:
			›neka, heneka -		“on accout of; because of; for this cause.”  It is followed by the pronominal adjective:
				oátoj, houtos -	“for this reason”; or “this is why.”
					Translation: “Because of this is why”
12.	Because of “what” is “why?”  Because in verse 4 we are told, “He who created them from the beginning made them male and female.”  “Because of this [ double-gender creation ] is why a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife.”
13.	The reason given by our Lord for creating both male and female is so that they could upon adulthood enter into divine institution #2: marriage.
14.	In Ephesians 5:31 we find an additional reason for marriage among believers.  “For this cause” is the translation of the preposition:
					¢nti, anti -		“Because of”
					This is also followed by the pronominal adjective:
						 oátoj, houtos -	“this”
					Translated: “Because of this.”
15.	Paul has described the relationship of the husband and wife to each other.  In Ephesians 5:22 the wife is to submit to the corporate authority of her husband.  Why?  Because in verse 23 the husband is said to be “head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.”
16.	In verse 25 we learn that the husband is commanded “to love his wife just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up as a substitute for her.”
17.	To accomplish this, the husband must have personal love for God which enables him to have unconditional love for his wife.  From this we may conclude that he has spiritual self-esteem from which he can assume the responsibilities of leadership authority over the household.
18.	In Ephesians 5:28-30, Paul speaks of how the husband ought to love his wife as his own body.  The word love is not œroj, eros, which refers to physical love but rather ¢gap£w, agapaō, which is mental-attitude love.
19.	This concept has an earthly and spiritual application.  First of all, the husband must provide the wife with food for her physical health but also spiritual food for her spiritual growth just as Christ provides it through doctrine.
20.	Secondly, the husband must provide shelter for his wife as a means of protection and safety.  Spiritually, the Lord provides His church with an umbrella of authority under which it can function in the hostile environment of the devil’s world.
21.	Finally, the husband must provide clothing by which his wife might adequately dress her body.  The Lord provides the spiritual provisions by which members of His church might clothe their souls.
22.	As a man would provide his own body and soul with such provisions so also he should provide these things for his wife.  Paul concludes with this comparison:
Ephesians 5:29 -		for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
v. 30 -	because we are members of His body.
23.	Since Christ is head of the Church and we are members of His body:
Ephesians 5:31 -		because of this a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
24.	The husband and wife are an analogy to the relationship between Christ and His Church: the Body of Christ.
25.	Procreation is the means by which the Body of Christ comes to its eventual completion.  Sex in marriage leads to the birth of children and the formation of the third divine institution, the family.
26.	Up to delivery the biological life of a child remains dependent upon its mother for survival.  Once the umbilical cord is severed it switches from mother dependence over to God dependence.
27.	If God has decreed to select the child then He creates a soul and imputes it to the child and he or she becomes a living being with human life.
28.	PRINCIPLE:	If pregnancy does not occur then physical birth cannot occur.  If physical birth does not occur then selection cannot occur.
29.	Therefore, in order to have a pool of individuals from which the Body of Christ might be formed, man must procreate.
30.	Consequently, since members of the human race make up the Body of Christ, and since in eternity past it was decreed by God that a certain number of individuals were required to complete this Body, then:
Ephesians 5:31 -		because of this, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife [ soul rapport plus marriage consummates in sexual union ] and they shall become one flesh.
31.	Thus the purpose of marriage is the production of the next generation.  In fact, the man is commanded to leave his parents and unite with his wife.

Grace Doctrine Church Media Ministries:	     www.gracedoctrinechurch.com          www.joegriffin.org          www.gdcmedia.org