Blueprint for Marriage

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall become one flesh." God makes this statement in scripture [Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7, 8 and Ephesians 5:31] and it contains "God's all-time blueprint for a good marriage". No one fully understands the importance of this God-given blueprint until they experience the unhappiness, headaches, and hardships as a result of one's failure to pay attention to God's blueprint for marriage. God's purpose for establishing and emphasizing the blueprint was to keep us from those hardships and to show us how we can be delivered from them once we have gone astray.
God's blueprint for marriage directs:

1. Husbands and wives are to leave their fathers and mothers;
2. Husbands and wives are to cleave unto each other; and
3. Husbands and wives are to become and remain one flesh.

As you can see, God has assigned to each partner a specified role that must be fulfilled for a marriage to be successful. This role does not change because one is or is not a believer. Being a believer ought to make one more sensitive to standards set forth in the Word of God. Non-believers usually do not follow Biblical principles. Therefore, a greater number of their marriages end in divorce. Today more and more believers are being influenced by worldly concepts on marriage and are unwilling to submit to Biblical principles. The result is that more believers are involved in divorces. Being a Christian does not guarantee a marriage will work. Obeying God's blueprint is what makes a difference.

The next three messages we will consider each part of God's blueprint for marriage. May our efforts help strengthen your marriage or prepare you for the day you will enter into that special relationship with the one you love.