Love and Marriage

Matrimony

is not an invention of Christianity and the churches, but since love and  the  desire to have a permanent relationship are an essential part of  human existence, it is not surprising  that they also have  an important place in the Bible, Christianity, and the Church.

What does the Bible say?
 

The biblical image of the human being and of the relationship between man and woman is shown in the very first chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1-3). "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'

According to the story of creation the encounter with  woman liberates man from his loneliness. In their conjugal love, the partners "know" each other and become "one body".  The  basic equality of man and  woman is  expressed in a metaphorical  way:  „This at  last is  bone of my bones  and flesh of my flesh", an acknowledgment  of  the  equality of  sexes that was far ahead of its time. "The man leaves father and mother  and commits himself completely to his wife"; this statement seems to be almost  revolutionary  in a patriarchal environment.  But only very slowly does this idea prevail during the course of history.

In the Genesis story of creation, human sexuality is also given its divine  dignity.  But  not  in  the  same  way as in other religions of biblical times, where  sexuality  itself  was  venerated  as  something  divine.  In the Bible, sexuality is part of  human nature and human responsibility, intended to give people   fulfillment  and joy as a gift from God who created it.  The fact that sexuality can become a source of evil and suffering, and a way for men to gain dominance  over  women, is  due  to  the  consequences  of sin and is not part of creation.

The basis of matrimony can be found in God's creation and Jesus also sees it this way. He expressly repeats the words of the report on creation. (See Mt 19, 3 - 9;  Mk 10, 2 - 12).  Marriage  was  not  established  by  Him.   On  the  contrary, Jesus refers to  something  that  has always been valid before God: spouses are tied to each other by  God  and  therefore  are not allowed to divorce, nor may man separate them.  With this, He opposes those who refer to Moses and maintain that a man has the right to divorce his wife under certain circumstances.

As marriage is part of God's creation and  exposed to the  consequences of original  sin,  it  also  partakes  in the salvation through Jesus Christ. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians (5,31f):  "A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,  and the two shall become one flesh." - Paul compares the marriage of Christians to the relationship between Christ and His Church.