Marriage

1. Begun by God
   1. Genesis 2:24, "For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."
2. Headship Within
   1. 1 Corinthians 11:3, "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ."
   2. Colossians 3:18-21, "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart."
3. Miscellaneous
   1. Isaiah 54:5, "For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth."
   2. 1 Corinthians 7:14, "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy."
   3. Hebrews 13:4, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
4. Nature of
   1. Matthew 19:6, "Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
5. Purpose of
   1. To fill the earth
      1. Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
   2. To be sexually pure
      1. Heb. 13:4, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
      2. 1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
6. Sexuality Within Marriage
   1. Proverbs 5:15-19, "Drink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from your own well. 16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be exhilarated always with her love."
   2. 1 Corinthians 7:3-6, "Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command."
7. Symbolic of
   1. Christ and the Church
      1. Eph. 5:23, "For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body."