
Christian Marriage (Ephesians 5:22-32)
Paul instructs believers in marriage. (Ephesians 5:22-33)
Paul instructs believers in marriage. (Ephesians 5:22-33)
Chapter 22 continues with the overall theme of testing. But before, this Jesus continued His parabolic teaching to the leaders indicating how that their rejection of Him will lead to the kingdom being offered to others and their destruction. After this, differing groups came to Jesus to question Him to entrap or find reasons to condemn Him.
Leaving Galilee, Jesus now heads toward Jerusalem where He will be crucified and raised from the dead. Along the way, He is questioned about divorce by the pharisees and provides valuable teachings on the priority and permanence of marriage. Even though His words are difficult to receive, He continues by teaching that His disciples should always be like children.
After Adam sinned God brought judgment, beginning with the serpent, then Satan, then the woman and finally Adam. It is important to remember that it was Adam’s sin ALONE that brought the sentence of death. However, they all were punished because they willingly contributed to the downfall of the man in disobedience to God. (See 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Romans 5:14-18)
After God formed a place where the man could have fellowship with Him (the Garden in Eden), we are introduced to two trees – the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam (alone) is commanded not to eat of the tree of knowledge. God then proceeds to allow him to name all of the animals, indicating his authority over the earth. In doing so, he also allows him to see his uniqueness and aloneness. So, He proceeds to make him a suitable companion – Eve.