Christianity 102 Congregation Benim Avraham Diocese of La Porte, Texas Christian Church, Synod of St. Timothy Part 3 Holy Matrimony

Genesis 2:18, And Yahweh the Lord said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I am going to make a helper for him, and his counterpart. 22. And the rib which Yahweh the Lord had taken from the man, he made into a woman and he brought her to the man. 23. And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She is called woman (Ishta) because she was taken out of man (Ish). 24. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Mathew 19: And Jesus answered them, 5. and said, “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 6. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7. They said to him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and put her away. 8. Jesus replied to them, “Because of the hardness of your hears, Moses allowed you to put away your wives, but it was not so from the beginning. 9. And I tell you whoever put away his wife except in the case of adultery, and marries another, commits adultery, and who ever marries her who has been put away commits adultery.

I Corinthians 7: And to the married, I command, not I, but the master. A wife should not separate from her husband. 11. but if she is indeed separated, let her remain unmarried or be restored to favour with her husband, and do not let a husband send away his wife. 12. And to the rest I say, not the Master: if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she thinks well to live with him, let him not send her away. 13. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he thinks well to live with her, let her not send him away. 14. For the unbelieving husband has been made holy by his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been made holy by her husband… 15. And if an unbelieving one separates, let his separate himself. A brother or sister has not been enslaved in such matters.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 And a threefold cord is not readily broken. If Christ is the third person of the marriage, it will be stronger.

Marriage A civil contract between a man and a woman.

Holy Matrimony A sacrament of the church. A contract between man, woman and Christ. Last until the death of one or the other partners. Has much higher standards than a civil marriage.

Holy Matrimony An Icon of God and his people An Icon of Christ and his church.

Ephesians 5: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26. to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27. and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30. for we are members of his body. 31. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.