The next issue to meditate on in relation to what God created the world for is marriage. There are many marriage counselors in the world that deal with marriage on a humanistic level, but to be accurate about marriage it must be examined in light of the purpose for which God created the world. It must be kept in mind that the terminal (chief purpose or end) purpose for marriage for human beings must be in accordance with God’s terminal purpose. Marriage is not a terminal (chief end) purpose that all things are to point to, but the glory of God is the terminal purpose. In other words, marriage is an instrumental purpose that God has to bring about His terminal purpose. The real reason for marriage, then, is to manifest and display the glory of God.
We need to look at the big picture for a moment before we have a short look at some of the particulars. If we desire marriage for selfish and self-centered considerations, then we do not desire the glory of God and the true good of the other. Most marriage counseling appears to be done on a needs basis, that is, that one spouse is to meet the needs of the other. Other forms of counseling are more behavior oriented and verses are prescribed as behavior modifiers as medical doctors prescribe medication. The one says meeting the needs of the other glorifies God and the second says that certain behavior glorifies God. But does it really do that? Do certain behaviors in and of themselves glorify God according to His terminal purpose for humanity and all of creation?
The first particular is that of companionship. Genesis 2:18 tells us that God said that it was not good for man to be alone so He created a helper for the man. But why was it not good for man to be alone? If we ask that question from a human oriented way we will arrive at a different answer than if we ask the question believing that the answer should align with the terminal reason that God created all humans. If we ask why it was not good for a man to be alone from the human orientation we will come up with the answer that the man needs help. We would then believe that the woman is only there to help the man because man would have been lonely and could not have accomplished what he wanted to without the woman.
Let us look at the first particular from God’s terminal purpose of displaying His own glory for His own pleasure. The man would have been created for God’s glory with God’s full knowledge that He would create the woman and together they would be the image of God. “Then God said, ‘Let Us 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.’27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth'” (Gen 1:26-28).
God did not create the woman later on because He did not foresee that the man would be lonely and had a need that He (God) could not fulfill. He created human beings as male and female because together they express His glory in a way that is different than one could. This is not to say that single people are not and cannot be complete, but simply that God has designed marriage as one instrument through which to display His glory. God’s glory is the beauty of His perfections and the outshining of those. God exists as one God in three Persons. The Trinity, then, exists in communion and love. Marriage is to be a picture of some aspect of God’s glory. It is to picture how God lives in love and harmony within the Trinity. When a man and a woman come together and are one, that is a picture of the character of God in that He is multiple Persons and yet One. In a believing marriage where there is mutual love and that love flows between the partners, that is a marriage where the love of God is moving and He is glorified both by the love and by the picture of the Trinity that exists in the couple. In a couple where the hearts have been knit together in love, the glory of God shines and His terminal purpose for them is accomplished.
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment