MARRIAGE : (Photo – Our wedding on 16 June 1984)

Q. Why do people still get married and why do married people stay married?

A. Because marriage is a creation by the Living God and can therefore never expire!

Page 1. (Bible – King James 1611 Translation in English).

Introduction:

To all Christian Churches and Christians in Southern Africa :

I wrote the following letter to our congregations, just as Paul wrote letters to the congregations in the New Testament. The only difference is that I also used one of Paul’s letters in my message to all the Christian congregations in South Africa.

With this letter, I sincerely desired to write such a message every year-end to all true congregations and children of God in South Africa. My heart feels as though it will burst when, at the beginning of each new year, I hear how many marriages have fallen apart, how many people have died or been seriously injured in accidents after the festive season, especially due to office parties/functions. By January, it is often already too late, as the damage has already been done. It would be better if we could warn our people in advance about the dangers of alcohol abuse. Paul also said the following about this: "It leads to debauchery."

Sadly, I myself used alcohol for several years, so I cannot judge anyone.

God’s rules for a wonderful marriage ?– According to Ephesians 5.

The marriage between a man and a woman was created (instituted) by God, not by humans. Marriage is therefore also the foundation of the family. It was Jesus Christ who said: "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them." Jesus also said that unless we become like little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

It is therefore very clear that Jesus' love for our families/marriages, our children, and even our grandchildren is immensely great. If we look at what Jesus said about orphans, we know that we must take very good care of our children because Jesus said the following about orphans: "Do not oppress the orphan, for their Redeemer is a strong and Almighty God" (not the exact words). This is a very serious warning to all of us who work with children and have children and grandchildren.

A troubled marriage cannot raise healthy children; therefore, marriage is not only the foundation of the family but also the responsibility of both parents to raise their children in the fear of the Lord.

Back to Marriage :

Household duties: (Ephesians 5:22–33):

22. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord”.

No person can build a fantastic marriage as God intended it, based solely on verse 22.

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 everything". (Own Man, not to all Men).?

25. “Husbands, love your own wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it”. (Own Wives, not all Woman).?

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”.

Men, it is a very great responsibility for us to take care of our own wives and love them with a great love, just as women must also be submissive to their own husbands, and love their own husbands with a great love.

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”.

How could we describe the dangers that threaten marriage?

Malachi 2 : 15 (Second Half).

15. “……… Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth”.

The enemy (Satan) eagerly wants to destroy our marriages, because if he can succeed in this, he will also try to tear apart our children and families. But the word of God says that we are not unaware of his works.

See also Luke 10 verse 19 :

19. “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you”.

The enemy (the devil) cannot do any harm to us because Jesus has already given us power over all the strength of the enemy. Believe this and do not let the enemy's traps make you stumble and fall. Please also read Psalm 34 and pay attention to verse 20, regarding the righteous person's adversities.

We should also not tempt God by going to dangerous places, because that is where the enemy uses his traps much more easily. For all adults, this means that we should stay as far away as possible from places like bars/office parties, because please also see what Paul writes in Ephesians 5 verse 18 :

18. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is promiscuity/excess; but be filled with the Spirit”

I am speaking here only on behalf of myself (Paul Oberholster): I do not like the end of the year, because it is the time of office functions/parties, where alcohol flows like full rivers. What I have seen is so filthy, that Ephesians 5:12 says :

12. “For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret”.

Important:

Not all of us are guilty of this, because as a senior manager, I was/am also obligated to attend office parties/functions. I was there under the protection of the Holy Spirit, and I left for home as quickly as possible, long before any major problems started. My own words: It is much easier for me to avoid a temptation than to resist it.

Please read the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 7.

1 Corinthians 7 verse 2 :

2. “Nevertheless, [to avoid] fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband”.

Therefore, all married couples and others who are still going to marry, it is important that we spend as much time as possible together (with our spouses and children) in the word of God, so that we can collectively fight the good fight for our marriages, families, children, and the church.

It is also very important that we put on the full armor of God, as described in Ephesians 6.

It is also our responsibility as men to read the word of God to our wives and children, and to explain and interpret it to them as the Holy Spirit reveals it to us.

Back to Ephesians 5:

32. “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church”.

Men and women, if some of us are already experiencing a wonderful marriage and family, then we know that we can only receive this "hidden blessing" through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Proverbs 18 verse 22, Solomon writes the following:

22. "[Whoso] findeth a wife findeth a good [thing,] and obtaineth favour of the LORD”.

This is definitely one of the most fantastic verses in the Bible for me, because the woman I received from the Lord was exactly as Solomon recorded here. I received a great gift from God the day we got married. I praise and thank the Lord for it! During the time that my late wife and I were married, we had a wonderful example of marriage. When my Father-in-law passed away, my Parents-in-law had been married for 72 years (not old – 72 years married!).

Ephesians 5

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”.

The last verse of Ephesians 5 (Verse 33) is a very short, but nevertheless a powerful and final description (of Ephesians 5) of how marriage should be in God's eyes.

Final message and summary:

After more than 38 years of a wonderful marriage, I lost my dear wife and life partner on Sunday, January 8, 2023.

All I ask is that you love one another, and live in God's love and peace for as long as you can. Losing your beautiful life partner (husband or wife) suddenly is an incredibly traumatic event, and it is very painful, but it also leaves a great void in my life, which I have asked Jesus Christ to fill for me.

Enjoy your marriages, enjoy God's presence in your marriages, enjoy your children and grandchildren, and raise them in the peace and fear of the Lord, and you will never regret doing so.

Respect each other's lives and bodies, and enjoy being one in the body and in the Spirit. God's Spirit dwells in our bodies, and therefore we must not harm our own bodies, our life partners, or our children's bodies, but cherish them, for as I quoted earlier: No one has ever hated their own body.

I conclude with: 2 Corinthians 13 : 13 & 14

13. “All the saints salute you”.

14. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, [be] with you all. Amen.

Note : The Afrikaans translation (1933/1953) conclude 2 Corinthians 13 with Verse 13 as the very last Verse, however the King James English translation concludes 2 Corinthians 13, with Verse 13 split into Two pieces namely Verses 13 & 14. This is really not something to worry about, as the end of 2 Corinthians 13 keep exactly the same meaning.

Thank you for your very kind understanding.

Paul Oberholster (Gauteng - South Africa).

15 November 2023 – Original Afrikaans Article.

11 December 2024 – Translation of the Afrikaans Article into English.

Cel: 063?112 6459. (+27).

PS: If you would like te receive my personal testimony, please request it via the below email address, as I was nearly burnt to death in 1978, and I should have died, however God had a much bigger plan for my life. Amen.

[email protected]

Thank you for reading this article, and you may send it to anyone in the world, no matter how many copies and/or how many times you want to.?

#wedding #marriage #money #honeymoon #love #fun

?