Marriage In I Corinthians And Ephesians

Compare the teaching on marriage in I Corinthians with the teaching in Ephesians.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the teaching on marriage from the book of I Corinthians and Ephesians. The Bible tells us, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:18). In the beginning, God saw that it was not good for His creation to be alone; therefore He created a helper suitable for Adam, a wife to be his companion and counterpart. From the book of Proverbs, we are also told that God designed marriage and sex not only as a means for bringing children into this world, but also as God's appointed means for a man to find pleasure in his wife.

In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee and miraculously provided wine when their supplies were exhausted. The Apostle Paul also had a great deal to say about the covenant that God ordained between man and woman. Paul assumed that elders and deacons would be married and bare children. Paul also encouraged younger widows to marry and he claimed the right as an apostle to lead about a wife. Therefore, the Bible views marriage as the norm, and the single life as the exception. Marriage is viewed as holy, righteous, and good. So, as we approach I Corinthians chapter 7 and Ephesians chapter 5, we must do so in confident that marriage is a gift from God, and a blessing that many Christians gratefully receive and enjoy.

First of all, Paul's words in I Corinthians chapter 7 are in response to a question asked by some of the Corinthian saints who had previously corresponded with him. Paul is writing to

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address a problem, which the Corinthians had concerning an interpretation of sex and marriage. Paul's words in these verses of Scripture should be understood in light of the broader teaching of the Bible concerning sex and marriage. Before devoting our attention to the distorted views of sex and marriage held by some of the Corinthians, we must understand what the Bible has to say about the subject of marriage.

In this passage of Scripture Paul begins by making a bold statement concerning sex and marriage. He states, "It is good for a man not to touch a woman" (I Cor. 7:1b). In this verse Paul defends the validity of marriage, but he also acknowledges the place of the celibate life. Paul relates celibacy to the gift of self-control and states there are certain advantages to remaining single if one has this gift. Two of such advantages are that the single person is more free to minister, and has fewer distractions to a life of devotion to God. "Paul does not say that it is better to remain single. Paul is not disparaging marriage, but he is defending celibacy against those thought it wrong" (Boyer 76). Paul however is saying that marriage as a reciprocal relationship in which, "the wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife" (I Cor. 7:4). Paul tells us that both man and woman is enjoined to regularly satisfy the sexual needs of the other within the marital relationship. It is biblical for the husband to concern himself with pleasing and serving his wife, and for the wife to desire to please and serve her husband.

It should also be noted that marriage is to be a permanent relationship between man and woman. The Bible is clear concerning the fact that marriage is to be a covenant relationship between man, woman and God. Separation and divorce are contrary to the purposes for which God instituted marriage. When a man and a woman marry, God yokes them in an indissoluble union. It is therefore dishonoring to God to even consider divorce as an escape hatch, because

this distorts the spiritual reality of marriage and creates a breach in commitment that can widen

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under pressure. As Christians, we are to pursue a higher standard than that of our prevailing

culture. God's pattern and purpose for marriage is constantly imperiled by internal forces of selfishness and external forces of society. Because of the problem of sin, we all fall short of God's ideal for our marriages. It is only as we abide in His power that we can fulfill His plan in this most important of earthly relationships.

Secondly, another area of Paul's teaching on the subject of marriage is found in the book of Ephesians. The subject of Paul's teaching in Ephesians 5:21-33 is that of submission in the context of marriage. Paul's instructions here create a head-on collision with the beliefs and practices of our culture. Paul's instructions in this section of Scripture are often written off as a set of standards that are no longer part of our generation. Submission on any level of society is not readily accepted today. "Many people today object that such a view of marriage is not appropriate for the twentieth-century society" (Vaughan 116). However, in order to understand Paul's instructions