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Marriage and the Family
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   Doctrine 23.    Marriage  and  the  Family
 
 
Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship. For the Christian a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into only between partners who share a common faith. Mutual love, honor, respect, and responsibility are the fabric of this relationship, which is to reflect the love, sanctity, closeness, and permanence of the relationship between Christ and His church. Regarding divorce, Jesus taught that the person who divorces a spouse, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. Although some family relationships may fall short of the ideal, marriage partners who fully commit themselves to each other in Christ may achieve loving unity through the guidance of the Spirit and the nurture of the church. God blesses the family and intends that its members shall assist each other toward complete maturity. Parents are to bring up their children to love and obey the Lord. By their example and their words they are to teach them that Christ is a loving disciplinarian, ever tender and caring, who wants them to become members of His body, the family of God. Increasing family closeness is one of the earmarks of the final gospel message.
 
Gen. 2: 18-25;   And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.  
2:19   And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof.  
2:20   And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.  
2:21   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;  
2:22   And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  
2:23  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.  
2:24   Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  
2:25   And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
 
( Matt. 19:3-9;  John 2:1-11;  2 Cor. 6:14;  Eph. 5:21-33;  Matt. 5:31, 32;  Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18;  1 Cor. 7:10, 11;  Ex. 20:12;  Eph. 6:1-4;  Deut. 6:5-9;  Prov. 22:6;  Mal. 4:5, 6.)
 
Proven Tips for  Marriage - Video by Doug Batchelor
 
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