PASTOR OLUWASEYI OSANYINBI
REVELATION 14:1-4; MATTHEW 19:12
Not everyone is called into the ministry of marriage. Some people are born eunuchs, some are made eunuchs and some make themselves eunuchs. Celibacy is for those who are able to receive it.
GENESIS 1:26-28
God had a plan to make man. He decided to make man in His image. God conceptualized man and later decided to make him in His own image.God created man to make a statement. God created man according to His inner configuration. God created Adam as male and female and he had to separate the two natures later on. Man was initially made male and female in one body. Adam named all the animals and he could not find a suitable help among them for himself.
GENESIS 2:20-25
When God brought Eve to Adam, He saw her and immediately recognized that she was the suitable help for her. As such, marriage was instituted in the human race. We must be able to recognize the right person. We need God-sharpened sight. Adam subjected all of nature to vanity in hope by eating the fruit in the garden. He saw the plan of God and keyed into it.
EPHESIANS 5:21-33
A woman is one of the most complex beings that God created and a man must be emotionally ready to delve into a deep relationship with her. A woman is not a trophy; she is not to be won in the sense of a trophy. To love a woman is to be responsible for her total well being. Every husband is responsible for her wife’s eternity. Women are to be lived with according to knowledge. They have to be dealt with as weaker vessels (I Peter 3:7). A man leaves his father and mother in order to be joined with his wife as one flesh. Sex is a key expression of that oneness. Sex was one of the things God created and He saw that it was good. However, it is only lawful within the context of godly marriage. Anything apart from that is destruction.
DEUTERONOMY 7:1-4; II CORINTHIANS 6:14-16
God warned the Israelites sternly to not have marriage relationships with gentiles. Gentiles would turn their hearts from their God.Once you cannot vouch for someone’s salvation, stay away from them. We have a popular concept about ‘the Will of God’ in marriage. Going through scriptures, we see that the question is not about ‘the Will of God’ but about ‘the Right Kind of Person’.
PROVERBS 18:22
A man is not just expected to look for a woman; he is expected to find a wife. Finding suggests that there will be a search involved. Searching here is not a carnal one. It is a search directed by the Holy Ghost. When you find a wife, you find a good thing and as such you obtain favour from the Lord. When your finding does not end up with favour, you have made a wrong search.
PROVERBS 19:14
It is important to note that it is the Lord that gives a wise, understanding and prudent wife. Some people are of the notion that you should just walk up to anyone you love without necessarily consulting with the Lord. That is so wrong!
PROVERBS 31:1-10
In order to find the right wife, you need certain God-given criteria. Those criteria should not be carnally-motivated. Self-control is essential in your right spouse. Avoid a man or woman without self-control like a plague. Don’t marry a man or woman just because he/she showers gifts on you. Don’t buy someone’s love. Favour is deceitful. Your marriage is to the inward person not the outward man. Beauty is vain; it doesn’t last. A person that fears God is worthy of praise. You have to fear God in order to be able to discern someone who fears God because ‘deep calleth unto deep’. If you are not determined to do God’s will, He will not show you His will. God is a prudent allocator of His resources. To be correct marriage materials as Christians, we have to imbibe the culture of the Kingdom to which we belong. Revelation without character makes you a disaster in marriage!