Concept 1 - Genesis 1:26-27 It Is All about God!
First of all the Bible begins not with mankind or with creatures of some sort. Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God…" The Bible, indeed all of life, is about God. It is not about mankind, earth, or its creatures.
Secondly, quoting the NIV, Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
There is so much to learn in these two verses. But let me point out just a few that relate to the theology of marriage. First, God is a relational God. While there may be attempts to explain the plural subject and pronouns in verse 26, it has been the Christian understanding that this subtle hint to the plural is a hint that God is a being with a triune of persons. This has a huge implication about marriage. But it also helps us to understand that the God of the Bible is not just a power, He is a person. The God of the Bible is not a force or impersonal spirit. The God of the Bible is a relational God. He chose to create mankind in His image so mankind may have the pleasure to relate to Him.
Secondly, this plurality of persons in one being is reflected or 'seen' in the union of male and female. As we are told in chapter 2:24 the two shall become one 'being'. The word flesh there is not just a reference to the sexual union and not just to the skin portion of mankind. It is a word that may refer quite often to a being, whether human or creature. It is in this context that we discover the amazing foundation for marriage. Marriage of a man and woman is the picture for us to understand this profound nature of God as multiple persons in one being. This tells us that marriage is not just to satisfy some primeval hormonal drive. It is to give the world a glimpse of His nature and bond wrapped in love, not an erotic love. It is about the love that surpasses our understanding. For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That love benefits others rightly at the lover's expense with no expectation of return.
Finally, this bond of two persons in one being cannot be torn apart, surgically altered, or discarded. As long as there is breath, that being now formed in the bond of marriage will exist. That is why the Judeo-Christian marriage vows insert 'til death do we part'.
While marriage is the union of a man and woman, it is not so much about them as it is about God. That is why this is a study on the 'Theology of Marriage'.
More to come soon… I hope... Let me know what you think!
