Hopefully, you are gaining an understanding of the spiritual ordinances God has established for married couples. For those unfamiliar with marriage issues, such as adultery, we can continue to look to scripture for a revealed knowledge of a present ignorance concerning it.
Jer 3:7-9 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. In these scriptures, the writer reveals that God looked upon Judah and Israel as if they were in a marriage covenant with Him, one based upon the spiritual union He proposed for fulfilling an ordained purpose.
In verse 8, he reveals that Israel had committed adultery, and as a result, He was now issuing a bill of divorce to her. Israel’s and Judah’s adulterous act is not sexual but spiritual; look at verse 9; their adulterous act was worshipping idols of other gods made of stone and wood. Why is this relevant? God, within the outline of His commandments, which were a part of the foundation of His spiritual covenant with Israel, was not only written on stone but on the hearts of Israel so that they were not to have any other gods before Him!
Ex 20:1-5 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
This issue is also revealed in scripture from the New Testament, where James writes that spiritual adultery results from loving the way of the world. James is speaking to believers to impart understandings that have a spiritual context for their marriage covenants and the spiritual foundations from which they stem, which God has established. James 4:4 (AMP) You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.
A choice to love or exalt someone or something into a position in one’s life higher than the God whom they have chosen to enter a spiritual covenant with describes this as having committed adultery at the spiritual level. Israel’s covenant began with Abraham; the new covenant began with Jesus’s shed blood, which is solely purposed to establish us in a rightful position in God’s plan. In either case, God chose it to be a spiritually positioned act at the highest level within covenant relationships.
In a marriage covenant of believers, a consciousness must appear that they are in a spiritually founded agreement that God purposed, not man. However, a statement by Jesus concerning divorce has many thinking it is an impossible task to accept. Math 19:9 (TPT) But I say to you, whoever leaves his wife for any reason other than immorality, then takes another wife is living in adultery. And whoever takes a divorced woman in marriage is also living in adultery.”
The word immorality here refers to sexual adultery, but Jesus emphasizes that He is making this an exception from the point He is making. He is saying that if a husband chooses to engage in a covert act of divorce solely to marry another woman or marry a woman who is divorced, he is committing adultery, not sexually, but spiritually. God is against such actions being engaged in the union of a marriage covenant, which, as we have seen, has a spiritual foundation on the purpose of replenishment and eventually God’s spiritual offspring.
Mal 2:16 (AMP) For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I hate divorce and marital separation and him who covers his garment [his wife] with violence. Therefore keep a watch upon your spirit [that it may be controlled by My Spirit], that you deal not treacherously and faithlessly [with your marriage mate]. God’s concern for the spiritual condition of the male and female union of marriage requires that there be an influence through the Holy Spirit that prevents the enemy from taking covert actions within that marriage.
The word translated as violence in the previous scripture is (bagad) in Hebrew, meaning to work covertly or deceptively. Now, carry this into your covenant with God through Jesus Christ, to see that spiritual adultery occurs through the corruption of both the flesh and the soul. I see the concern on your faces. You think, “You mean I can never get rid of this indifferent person I married?” Some also think, “What do I do about the divorce/s I have already gone through?” First, do not think you are alone in thinking such a thing. No one in humanity has yet achieved a perfect marriage; many have failed, and even Jesus’ disciples were concerned when they heard the following.
Math 19:10-12 (MSG) Jesus’ disciples objected, “If those are the terms of marriage, we’re stuck. Why get married?” 11 But Jesus said, “Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. 12 Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked—or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.”
As revealed in the message translation, this scripture helps us see that celibacy exists under certain conditions; however, one must be mature to have a successful marriage. Religious organizations and denominations think that celibacy is a higher form of spirituality. However, the maturity Jesus is referring to is one’s ability to understand and accept God’s ordinance of marriage, as well as the willingness to be the male or female He intended in His creation to fulfill it. Marriage requires a higher spiritual standard to be applied to bring about, through family and the Holy Spirit’s action, His future offspring. Amid all this, there is grace, a required element within marriage. Without it, there will be desires to separate due to conflicts, indifference, and opinions concerning the truth of the word for spouses.
Lastly, He says that one should do it if one can grow into the larger meaning of marriage. What is the larger meaning of marriage? It is bringing forth His future spiritual offspring that only occurs by the Holy Spirit.. Go back to something already said. The Holy Spirit’s purpose in transforming individuals in covenant with God is to impart to them His very nature, so that they may govern their lives righteously as He governs. This is something that can only occur through the Holy Spirit in an individual’s life, as such transformation takes place on a spiritual level, affecting the soul and spirit.
For the believer, it is paramount to recognize that they are spirit, soul, and body by design. The nature of God is already within them, through the Holy Spirit, to transform their soul and spirit by renewing their mind to the things of God. Rom 12:2 (AMP) Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
So, let me attempt to simplify this for you. Marriage is not just a place where natural birth occurs between males and females, but also a place where supernatural birth occurs through spiritual nurturing, fulfilling God’s purpose, which is to produce His spiritual offspring. This can occur without the Church’s influence since it was established before the Church was ever on earth, allowing faith to be conscious of spiritual matters and the perspectives God presents regarding His intent and concern for His will to be done.
1 Cor 13:12 (AMP) For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]. Paul writes by the Spirit of God: no one begins a life in Christ fully seeing and knowing God or His ways, but there comes a time when they will know and understand, having the ability to see the truth about themselves as God sees them, spiritually positioned in Christ. His continued interaction with the lives of those who choose to be in covenant with Him is transfigured by the Holy Spirit’s work to be like Jesus, which is to be and do as God the Father.
2 Cor 3:18 (MSG) All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. By covenant, every child of God has the right to hope for their marriage, because there is always hope in God’s ability to work in and through each of them. It is the Father’s will for you to be the child He declares; in doing so, you are His offspring.
God dwells within you by the Holy Spirit because Jesus has paid the price to remove your sins, allowing you to be counted as His righteous child. This process brings spiritual stability to His family, encompassing all individuals who have faith in Christ, regardless of gender. 1 John 4:4 (AMP) Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
You can see that His purpose for covenants is revealed to those who choose to be sons and daughters through Christ, understanding that while there will be those who will not accept such truth, it does not change any spiritual facts concerning His purposed plans. We will all deal with taboos relevant to society’s reasons for divorce in this current era of man and woman, but everything must be focused on the truth about you striving to grow by the word of God. This makes today’s dynamic manner of ministry so confusing, as it is being justified by stating it’s the Holy Spirit changing what is to be done to draw people to Christ. And yet, nothing any person or ministry does draws them; it is the sole work of the Holy Spirit by the truth of God’s word. Ministry is to reveal the truth – the gospel – by the Holy Spirit, giving Him something to use to bring people in. However, what they do in such dynamics is not in line with the truth of Scripture, leaving the Spirit with nothing to work with.
Having praise and worship choreographed so that the music and format appeal only to a certain generation is nothing new, but it aligns with appeasement, which He does not do. God destined everything in His eternal plan for every male and female, without exception. And it all has been established in Christ. That is why one who believes in Him has their God-purposed life originated in Him from before the foundations of the world. Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will;
Eph 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Col 1:15-17 (MSG) We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. 16 For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. 17 He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.
God has done these things so that we know He has an eternal purpose for all of it. You must understand that God is not forcing you to participate in His great family plan, nor in marriage governed by the Holy Spirit; instead, He has invited all to participate through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. As I said before, God is into life, not death, and He has purposed that those who choose to do according to His purpose will have an abundant family life that flows into and through His future offspring. Believers, being ignorant of all of this, keep themselves out of the anointed purpose of their creation and that of their ordained marriage.
THE GREATEST TABOO IS IGNORANCE!
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