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When you have someone as grand and glorious as Christ in your life, the reverses that come your way are navigable—even transformed into holy and excellent successes. When you have something as rock solid as the supernatural, inerrant Word of God in your hand, all the reverses and successes are navigable.
Everything here has an expiration date. All of a sudden, you begin to lose your hair. I need something bigger than my hair. All of a sudden, my career ends. I need something bigger than my career. All of a sudden, my spouse dies. I need something bigger than my spouse. All of a sudden, my life ends; there’s no more road for me. I need something a whole lot bigger than this life, and how marvelous Christ Jesus is! Isaiah 28:16:
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Have you been BORN-AGAIN—born a very real second time, this time of the Spirit of God? If your response was “I think so,” or “I hope so,” or just a simple “no,” your situation needs to settle while you are still granted time.
Have you tired of the uncertainty, the foolishness, the bondages and hurtful lusts of this doomed world? Get out now!! All of your sin and its shame will be cast as far as the east is from the west, and God will remember them no more (Psalm 103:12). Today, all of Satan’s bondages in your life that seem so formidable will be vanquished. Today, your new life will begin, if you will follow me in a simple prompt. Truly, today your eternal soul is in your very own hand. Will you choose life and live? Here comes the prompt. Act now! Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Ephesians 5:22-33:
22 Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
GOD SAID, Genesis 2: 21-23:
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
GOD SAID, Genesis 2:24:
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
MAN SAID: The tale of Adam and Eve doesn’t do much for me. If I want to be completely honest, by the Bible’s definitions, I’m a fornicator, a liar, and a deceiver. But, it doesn’t make any difference because we are all animals anyways. When I die, that’s all she wrote—at least I hope so!
Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 1013 that will once again certify the perfect, supernatural inerrancy of God’s beautiful Book. All of these power-packed features are archived here in text and streaming audio for your edification and as ammunition in the battle for the lost sons and daughters of Adam. Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one.
Thank you for coming. May God’s face shine upon you with Light and Truth.
The mystery of the marriage union, of procreation, and the cleaving principle—created and ordained by God—is so central to the existence of the family and the development of the earth. Ephesians 5:32 compares it to the mystery of Christ and the church. GodSaidManSaid insights into these two great mysteries will be delivered in two parts.
Patterns and structures of life are established and ordained by God in the beginning. Most, if not all, cases are patterned after heavenly things. For example, man is made in the likeness and image of God.
In the beginning, it is one man, and one woman made of Adam’s rib—a husband and a wife. The principle of Mr. and Mrs., with the wife vacating her maiden name for that of her husband, is established in Genesis 5:2:
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
Their names were Mr. Adam and Mrs. Adam, and they became one flesh. The pattern is established in Genesis 5:2.
Genesis 2:18:
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Eve was created by God as a help meet, which means a suitable helper and companion for her husband, and yes, Eve was created from Adam’s rib. Skeptics dismiss these claims as “wild-eyed, uneducated, Christian blather,” but could they actually be true? Is there highly-credible, third-party attestation to corroborate such bizarre Biblical accounts? The answer? Yes, of course!
The following astounding excerpts are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Adam’s Rib and Woman:”
God chose a rib. Science now knows that the rib which God chose to create Eve has some very unique characteristics that we are just beginning to understand—characteristics the Engineer of all life knew perfectly.
Why a rib? Why didn''t He choose another pile of dust? Why didn''t He choose some other physical part of Adam''s anatomy? For one thing, when bone grafting is necessary, one''s own rib is the most likely candidate to contribute, as the rib is full of bone marrow. Bone marrow is a spongy tissue found inside bones, but super, power-filled bones such as the breastbone, skull, hips, spine, and ribs actually contain stem cells that manufacture the body''s red and white blood cells. White blood cells defend against disease and red blood cells bring oxygen and nourishment to the body and remove waste products. God chose a rib.
In a 2003 article in Science News titled "From Bone to Brain," and subtitled, "Transplanted male bone marrow makes nerve cells in women and girls," the following excerpts were taken:An unusual study of the brains of women and girls who had received transplants of bone marrow from men indicates that marrow cells can transform into nerve cells. Researchers found that each female brain had nerve cells containing a Y chromosome, presumably derived from the transplanted bone marrow.
From the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Science Flummoxed by What Was Found in Female Brains:”
New research just published in September and reported in the November 3, 2012 issue of ScienceNews is back inside the female brain. The title reads, “Male DNA found in Female Brains.” Excerpts follow:
Children live on in their mothers’ brains for decades, and not just as memories. Scientists have found pockets of male DNA, presumably from boy fetuses, in the brain tissue of deceased elderly women.
Not only is male DNA present in women’s brains, its common, researchers report online September 26 in PLOS ONE. J. Lee Nelson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and her colleagues found snippets of a male-only gene in the brains of 18 to 26 women who died without neurological disease. The male DNA was spread throughout their brains.
So far, cells from fetuses have turned up in women’s blood, livers, lungs, heart and other organs, so finding male DNA in the brain isn’t a complete shock, says geneticist Kirby Johnson of Tufts University in Boston, who wasn’t involved in the study. What’s interesting is how the DNA could have gotten there. Male cells from a fetus could have broken through the blood-brain barrier—a wall that protects the fragile brain from pathogens in the blood. But that shouldn’t be possible, Johnson says. [End of quote]
They’re flummoxed. What is this male DNA found in the brain and throughout the female body? Would any in science dare to suggest Adam’s rib?
Genesis 3:16, “and thy desire shall be to thy husband.” Could this verse be associated with Adam’s rib and male DNA in the female brain? [End of quotes]
The archaeologists have unearthed ancient, pre-Moses (who penned the first five books of the Bible), Sumerian tablets that describe the creation account. Dr. McCoy, author of Scripture Insights from Science and Archaeology writes:
Genesis chapters one and two. Creation account. The Sumerian creation account on six tablets known as the Enuma elish “when on high” dates to about 2500 BC. In Babylon, it was recited on the fourth day of the New Year’s festival.
One tablet describes the creation of a woman who is named Nin ti in Sumerian, translated as “the lady of the rib” and “the lady who make live.” [End of quotes]
The following paragraphs, written by Carl Wieland, were published by Creation magazine; the article can be found in full at Creation.com:
A head-on impact with a fully laden fuel tanker at highway speeds is an experience I would hope for none to share. The surprise was to have survived it—God clearly had other plans for me.
During the 5½ months in hospital, and for years afterwards, I had a series of operations to reconstruct various parts of me, particularly the bones of my face.
These operations often required using my own bone for grafting. I noticed that the plastic surgeon would keep going back to the right side of my ribcage—through the same horizontal scar, actually—to get more bone for these procedures. One day, I asked him why he hadn’t “run out of bone.” He looked at me blankly, and then explained that he and his team took the whole rib out, each time. “We leave the periosteum intact, so the rib usually just grows right back again.”
Despite having trained and practiced as a family doctor, I was intrigued; I had never realized this before. The periosteum (the literal meaning of this word is around the bone) is a membrane that covers every bone. The periosteum contains cells that can manufacture new bone. Particularly in young people, “rib periosteum has a remarkable ability to regenerate bone, perhaps more so than any other bone.”
Thoracic (chest) surgeons routinely remove ribs, and these often grow back, in whole or in part. A lot depends on the care with which the rib is removed; it needs to be “peeled” out of its periosteum to leave this membrane as intact as possible. A major reason why the rib is the ideal situation for such regeneration is that the attached intercostal muscles provide it with good blood supply. [End of quotes]
The Bible is not a science book in particular, or a geography book—or archaeology, paleontology, biology, geology, or any other specific field—but when God’s Word weighs in concerning any matter, regardless of the discipline, it is always the absolute and profound authority, and that’s without question. All books since time began must, by necessity, genuflect before God’s Book. Philippians 2:9-11:
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Revelation 19:13 says of Christ: “…and His name is called The Word of God.” Every knee and every book will surely bow.
The following paragraphs are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “The Mystery of One Flesh (Sex, Sperm, & Human Neurochemicals):”
When a student of the Scriptures sees a strangegrouping of words in the Word of God, that believer knows to stop, look, and listen. Genesis 2:24 is just one of these marvelous verses:
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
A man shall cleave to his wife. Oxford English Dictionary defines cleave in this context as “to stick fast or adhere, as by a glutinous surface.” Glued together is what cleave means. The passage quoted above goes on to say “…and they shall be one flesh.” Quite a strange grouping of words, wouldn’t you say? Today’s science inadvertently affirms the absolute biological accuracy of this ancient declaration, an insight that only the Creator Himself could know.
Feature writer for the AFA Journal, Ed Vitagliano published an article in the October 2010 issue titled, "Bonded in the brain, New science confirms biblical view of sex." Several excerpts follow:
This is laid out in fascinating detail in Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children, written by Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. and Freda McKissic Bush. Both are obstetrician- gynecologists who have served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. [End of quote]
The article continues to discuss science’s new discoveries concerning specific neurochemicals that directly affect sexual urges such as dopamine, oxytocin, and vasopressin. The feature continues:
Another neurochemical is oxytocin. A woman’s brain is flooded with oxytocin during labor, childbirth and breast-feeding, which creates a bond between the mother and infant.
But this neurochemical is also released during romantic moments between a woman and a man. "When two people touch each other in a warm, meaningful, and intimate way, oxytocin is released into the woman’s brain," said McIlhaney and Bush. "The oxytocin then does two things: increases a woman’s desire for more touch and causes bonding of the woman to the man she has been spending time in physical contact with. This desire for more touch and the bonding that develops between a man and a woman often lead to the most intimate of physical contact, sexual intercourse."
Sex results in even greater amounts of oxytocin flooding the woman’s brain, "causing her to desire this same kind of contact again and again with this man she has bonded to, producing even stronger bonding."
The male counterpart to oxytocin is called vasopressin, which, according to McIlhaney and Bush, "seems to have two primary functions related to relationships—bonding of the man to his mate and attachment to his offspring."
It is easy to see that God has provided neurochemical "help" to married couples in order to make the marital bond strong and thus provide a secure and stable environment for the raising of children.
The dopamine "rush" during sex keeps a husband and wife coming back for more—helping to cement the relationship. And oxytocin and vasopressin make the bond even deeper.
No doubt this is part of the meaning behind God’s statement in Genesis regarding marriage, that the man and woman "shall become one flesh" (2:24).
This bonding power of sex, insisted McIlhaney and Bush, "is real and almost like the adhesive effect of glue." [End of quotes]
The following paragraphs are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “One Flesh:”
Getting pregnant is quite a problem for many couples and solving that problem has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Reproductive immunologist Carolyn Coulam from the Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Chicago claims that as many as 80% of "unexplained" pregnancy losses may be a result of the mother-to-be’s immune system. According to Coulam, the success of a pregnancy hinges upon whether or not the baby is accepted by the mother’s immune system. This following excerpt is from the Health and Medicine section of the October 21, 2002, issue of U.S. News and World Report written by Douglas Fox. The title is, "Why Sex, Really?"
Why would a mother’s body attack her own fetus? For starters, it’s only partly hers. Half the fetus’s genes are foreign material, coming from the father. That strangeness can prompt the mother’s immune system to treat the fetus like an invading bacterium. Her ensuing counter-attack contributes to a whole "spectrum of disorders," according to Kelton Tremellen, a researcher at the University of Adelaide in Australia. The problems include infertility, recurrent miscarriage, low birth weight, and pre-eclampsia—a complication where the mother’s blood pressure rises to life-threatening levels. The notion of an immune reaction is also prompting revolutionary ideas about the evolution of human sexuality: Frequent coupling between partners—requiring long-term relationships—may "inoculate" mothers to accept foreign genes, ensuring complete pregnancies and the survival of the human species. [End of quote]
Disregard the erroneous allusion to the "evolution of human sexuality." But, take special note of the statement, "Frequent coupling between partners—requiring long-term relationships—may "inoculate" mothers to accept foreign genes, ensuring complete pregnancies and the survival of the human species." This one-mate long-term relationship is emphasized over and over again in this feature article. Again, the article reports:
Under normal circumstances, the mother’s immune system wouldn’t tolerate a foreign body setting up shop inside her, but miraculously, in pregnancy, it does. According to the emerging theory, this is partly because, before pregnancy occurs, repeated exposure to the father’s semen allows her immune system to learn to recognize his foreign genes. "There are millions of sperm cells," explains Gustaaf Dekker, a high-risk pregnancy specialist at the University of Adelaide, "but only one will fertilize the egg. The purpose of the other sperm is to give the message to the mother’s immune system" that some foreign genes mean no harm. This diplomatic overture occurs with each act of intercourse. For many hours after steamy entanglement gives way to dreamy drowsiness, the encounter continues to play out on a microscopic scale. White blood cells from the woman’s immune system scour her cervix for the man’s foreign proteins—even entire sperm cells—back to her lymph nodes, where her immune system gradually learns to recognize and tolerate them. "We think that’s really a key to the whole immunological process," says Tremellen. [End of quote]
Dealing with the concept of the reproductive process and the idea of one long-term sexual partner, Tremellen also said, "Until recently I don’t think we had any idea that [ongoing sexual contact] had any biological advantages." [End of quote]
Regular long-term exposure to the husband’s semen appears to be an important key to a successful pregnancy and more. The man and the woman are becoming one flesh. Again from U.S. News and World Report:
[R]epeated contact with the father’s semen may increase the mother’s chance of having an uneventful pregnancy. Another study found that consistently using condoms, which prevent contact with the man’s semen, increases the chance of pre-eclampsia. Finally, a study of 134 women revealed an increased risk of pre-eclampsia during their first pregnancy with a new partner if they’d previously had children with someone else—as though building up immune tolerance to a specific partner really does require time. [End of quote]
Reports claim that exposure to the husband’s semen has also been linked to happier moods for the wife.
Science has begun to understand the physical mechanism by which this oneness comes to pass—a genetic union between man and woman and then offspring—a child that is a product of half of each. This oneness is compared to the oneness of Christ and the church. [End of quotes]
Jesus Christ is the center of all things, from the spoken word to our molecular structure. Hebrews 1:2:
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
By the Word of the Father, Jesus Christ spoke it all into existence out of the invisible. Of course, He is central to the marriage and procreation process. Remember the concept of the strange groupings of words? John 1:8-9 speaks of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ:
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Microbiologists were recently shocked by the discovery that when the egg and the sperm come together, a spark of light shoots forth, marking the beginning of life. Jesus Christ is “…the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Jesus Christ is the Spirit of life (Romans 8:1-2). Abortionists hollered foul, but the researchers later restated their initial discovery.
From the union of man and woman comes forth children. A believing spouse sanctifies the house, and the children from that union are holy (I Corinthians 7:13-14). These children will still need to be born-again, but until they reach the age of accountability—the time when they recognize their sin and need of the Saviour—they reside under the covering of the believing parent. Numerous promises exist for this child. Matthew 18:10:
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
I Corinthians says the child is holy, hallowed unto God; if they die, they are His, and if Jesus returns for the church, they will meet Him in the clouds with the saints.
The effects of a believing parent—ideally believing parents, plural—on the child are huge and of eternal consequence. Proverbs 22:6:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Even as the sins of the father are visited up to the third and fourth generation, the righteousness of the believing parent can be passed on without interruption. Exodus 20:5-6:
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;
6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
God designed marriage to be like the days of heaven upon the earth (Deuteronomy 11:21), but only if His commandments are honored entirely. The single man and the single woman considering marriage need to tread this holy ground carefully. The chances of success in the natural man are bleak—very bleak—but in Christ, everything changes. Without Him, I wouldn’t recommend it.
The following US statistics are from DivorceStatistics.org:
Divorce Statistics in America for Marriage
Marriage
Divorce Statistics (in percent)
First Marriage
45% to 50% of marriages end in divorce
Second Marriage
60% to 67% of marriages end in divorce
Third Marriage
70% to 73% of marriages end in divorce
*Source of this Divorce Statistics: Jennifer Baker, Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, Springfield
The following information is from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Marriage Counseling (Part 1: All the Information You’ll Ever Need):
Marriage should never be entered into without serious prayer, soul-searching, and accounting of the cost. With the marriage success rate—measuring success as a couple who does not divorce—hovering around 50%, one should enter into this union with eyes wide open. A 50% success rate should not be confused with half of the wedded population living in marital bliss. The marriage morbidity rate (referring to sick or dead marriages), a number which I have heard as high as 90%, is made up of more than divorce statistics. This number includes those who stay together for social or financial reasons, or for the children, or are already living apart, and many other reasons.
If and when divorce comes, it comes at a staggering cost. In the United States, the average cost of a contested divorce, according to YourLegalGuide.com, is $30,000, and that is just the beginning. Today’s marriages are a minefield, but be advised that God has a plan that ensures success and happiness.
Essential to making the marriage as the days of heaven upon the earth is the Latin phrase Sola Scriptura:
All of God’s Word is true and each of His commandments have inherent within them a blessing or a curse. Because His Word is truth, obeying His Word yields the fruit of blessing, which is simply the result of doing the right thing. Disobeying yields the curse, which is simply the result of doing the wrong thing. Proverbs 26:2:
As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
God’s Word is the authoritative instruction of all of life, including marriage, raising children, handling disputes, and gaining eternal life. Couples preparing for marriage and those who are already married must be fully and individually surrendered to the authority of the Word of God. God’s Word is the foundation of all things. His Word is a lamp unto our feet. His Word is the arbiter of good things.
There is the term endogamy, which means marrying within the same group or within the same tribe, but let us also add: marrying within the same book.
God gave us the written Word that begins with the first five books of the Bible by the hand of Moses. During that time and to this very day, the faithful adhere to the principle of scriptures alone. During the reformation, a Latin phrase, Sola Scriptura, was coined to depict the saints of God who understood scriptures alone. Sola Scriptura, or Scriptures alone, will not only be the foundation of marriage, but will also be the glue that holds it together. It will be the cohesive understanding and direction and the arbitration of every difficult situation. [End of quote]
Sola Scriptura is the foundation from which to build. The mystery of oneness is much more than a physical union; it is fulfilled in the union of the Spirit.
The allness of the marriage union requires 100%—no partializing—from both parties. Women, you are commanded to love and be obedient to your husband in ALL THINGS. Today’s wisdom thinks this absurd. The marriage union is not 50/50. Be extremely careful about the mate you choose. The man, on the other hand, is not commanded to obey his wife, but instead to love and cherish her, even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. The following excerpts are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Marriage Counseling (Part 3: All the Information You’ll Need to Know):”
The woman in the marriage union is instructed by the Word of God in Ephesians 5:22-24:
22 Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Notice the completeness of the wife’s submission to her husband—“in everything.” There is no wiggle room. In all matters concerning this life, she must be in subjection to her own husband, but keep in mind, only according to the Word of God. If the husband requires something contrary to the Word of God, the believing wife would decline.
The man in the marriage union is instructed by the Word of God in Ephesians 5:25-33:
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Notice the completeness—“love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” The man must strive to always lead the marriage relationship in love. That which is required here is 100%. When both parties strive to hold up their end of the marriage contract, a very good outcome will be the result.
It’s often said by the wife in a troubled marriage union, “I’ll totally love and submit to my husband when he loves me as Christ loves the church.” And, of course, the man would make a similar challenge, but the truth of the matter is each party is required to obey the Word of God in this issue, regardless of what the other party does.
You learned about endogamy, which means that each spouse should have like spiritual root, and it applies here. Consider this passage: II Corinthians 6:14:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
I Corinthians 7:39:
The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
What does equal yoking mean? When a farmer yokes a pair of oxen to pull the plow, he first chooses the lead ox, which (for example’s sake) weighs in at 2550 pounds. He’ll choose the second ox at 2500 pounds, almost identical, just slightly smaller. On the spiritual plane, equal yoking does not mean that you both confess Jesus Christ as your savior. Equal yoking also means that you both have equal zeal and commitment to the Word of God, the foundation of all that is wholesome, true, and righteous.
If our farmer had selected a second ox of only 1000 pounds, this creature would not be able to keep up and soon the lead ox would not only pull the plow, but also his flagging companion, and their work would be disappointing.
Will you and your future mate be equally yoked? A good litmus test would look like this:
1. Are you both born-again?
2. Do you both recognize the Word of God as your authority and not church-denominational teaching?
3. Do you both give daily attention to studying the Word of God and prayer?
4. When you dine, do you both give thanks and sanctify your food with the prayers of faith?
5. Do you both give of your time and resources to underwrite the gospel of Jesus Christ?
6. Do you both regularly attend a house of faith where the Word of God is supreme?
If a successful marriage is going to exist, equal yoking is not an option, it is essential. [End of quotes]
The patterns and structures of life are established and ordained by God in the beginning. If I want to be happy for the rest of my life, and then HALLELUJAH for all of eternity, then I must conform.
GOD SAID, Ephesians 5:22-33:
22 Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
GOD SAID, Genesis 2: 21-23:
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
GOD SAID, Genesis 2:24:
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
MAN SAID: The tale of Adam and Eve doesn’t do much for me. If I want to be completely honest, by the Bible’s definitions, I’m a fornicator, a liar, and a deceiver. But, it doesn’t make any difference because we are all animals anyways. When I die, that’s all she wrote—at least I hope so!
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
Authorized King James Version
GodSaidManSaid, “Adam’s Rib & Woman”
GodSaidManSaid, “Marriage Counseling (Part 1: All the Information You’ll Need to Know)”
GodSaidManSaid, “Marriage Counseling (Part 2: All the Information You’ll Need to Know)”
GodSaidManSaid, “Marriage Counseling (Part 3: All the Information You’ll Need to Know)”
GodSaidManSaid, “The Mystery of One Flesh (Sex, Sperm, & Human Neurochemicals)”
