“Then God said, ‘Let Us (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’ ” (Genesis 1:26, parentheses added).
The belief that we are made in the image of God carries profound spiritual, psychological, and marital implications. It speaks to our inherent identity, self-view, and potential to have Christ-as-Life marriages.
To be created in God’s image means we are imbued with the capacity to tap into God’s love, wisdom, everlasting contentment, and moral principles of marriage, reflecting aspects of God’s Divine relationships with His Son and the Holy Spirit. This Divine design and imprint within us empower us to desire and live out our marriages with purpose, walk in righteousness, and seek a mirrored image of a Holy union of matrimony. It is a powerful testament to our intrinsic purpose and the sacredness of the purpose of married life on earth. Truly, human marriages should reflect the marriage between Jesus Christ and His Bride - born-again, indwelt believers.
PRAY THIS PRAYER:
Dear Father, I pray this day that You would unfold Your truth to me as I learn to discover more of who You are in me and around my life. I reject all the lies and false accusations the enemy brings as I seek to discover more of who I am in Christ. May your rich blessings be poured upon my mind, will, and emotions as I open myself to You. I pray that You will protect my loved ones while I am reading this post and stepping out to bring practical application to what I learn. I pray for these things in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A LIVING LIE
In the early years of my marriage with Jane, I grappled with a painful truth - I was living a lie. Cloaked in the guise of happiness and normalcy, I was wrestling with inner half-truths, concealing my true identity in Christ from the woman I had vowed to share my life with. This period of my life was marked by a profound struggle between the appearance of Christian living and reality, a battle between the facade I presented to the world and my wife, and the truth that lay buried within me. It was a time of introspection, confronting the uncomfortable, and ultimately, a journey towards authenticity and self-denial.
In those early stages of my marriage to Jane, I endeavored to portray myself as a dynamic Christian husband. I strived to embody the ideals of faith, leadership, and spiritual strength. Yet beneath this exterior, I was grappling with an inner reality - I felt like a lost little boy, unsure and overwhelmed. This dissonance between the image I projected and created versus the truth of being created in the image of God. It was a testament to the complexity of lost identity in Christ while focusing on the mask I kept in play as I attempted to love Jane in and through my strength. I needed to know God’s view of marriage.
ABBA’S VIEW
The original family did not start with Adam and Eve. The first family was established in heaven--God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Father’s angels. The angels were organized into three primary arenas: Lucifer (in charge of worship), Michael (in charge of warfare), and Gabriel (in charge of delivering the messages of the Father).
The first family unit gave the Father His central relationships, nurture, and support. God gave us an earthly model to live by through the order and preexisting relationships He had/has in heaven. His creation was based upon an order and flow that He was most familiar with--His own.
According to Hebrew studies, family is based upon several factors: a place of residence, a tribe, descendants, property, dependency on a father, authority, and, of course, the firstborn son getting married.
God, the Father, holds His residence in heaven; His tribe is the children of God and His angels. His descendants were created through Adam and spiritually through His Son’s marriage to the Bride of Christ, the Church. God’s property is heaven; He created the earth as His footstool. He made man completely dependent on Him as his Father, which gave Him authority over everything. This is the perfect plan for developing God’s family unit--His tribe.
Many modern views of “family” completely rape the world of the true reason and purpose of a Godly family. Because of mankind’s sin, we have seriously modified the original design. The design of heaven is not restrictive but freeing and perfect. God has never modified His view of family here on earth. If He did so, it would be giving in to the plan and plot Satan has to take over the order of heaven. Satan was removed from heaven because God wouldn’t adjust His order to accommodate the views of a follower. We will spend more time discussing this in later lessons, so do not tempt God to change the order of the FIRST family.
The view the world has adopted of the family is a result of sin—being independent of God. God, the Father, has established a family system through His divine order, birthed in His kingdom. The pain and bitterness caused by a father or mother gives no one the right to attack or attempt to change the order God originally established. By attempting to do so, one would be joining the original plan of Satan!
MY JOURNEY
For too many years, I worked to turn Jane into my image. What a botched-up mess that was. I spent most of my early years striving to make her happy, be at peace with me, and dependent ON me instead of the indwelling Life of Jesus.
After a long journey of identity discovery in Christ and introspection, I finally learned how to love Jane in the way God loves His Son and His Son loves His Bride. This love is unconditional, patient, and forgiving. It’s a love that sees beyond flaws and mistakes, always seeking the best for the other person. It’s a selfless love, always ready to give without expecting anything in return. This divine love transformed our relationship, bringing us closer than ever before. It taught me the true meaning of love - a love that is kind, enduring and transcends all boundaries. This is the love I now have for Jane, which mirrors God’s love.
My passion to love Jane as Christ loves the church has become the cornerstone of our relationship. I strive to embody this divine love, characterized by selflessness, sacrifice, and unconditional acceptance.
Just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, I, too, am committed to putting Jane’s needs above my own, loving her in times of joy and hardship, and continually seeking her best interests. This is not merely a duty but a heartfelt desire, a passion that has transformed our relationship and continues to shape our journey together. It is a testament to the transformative power of love when modeled after Christ’s perfect love. On the days I fail to do this, God reminds me to put off my flesh and release His Son’s love within me.
#61 Marriage: Trinity of The Us