Life is not always easy, and Jesus Christ warned us it would be that way.  He also told us He had conquered the world.

Jn 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  NKJV

Still, I think, in marriage, but other places as well, we walk under clouds instead of walking in the sun.  We do that in our bible studies by accepting the traditions of man, mostly without realizing what is happening. Let me explain.

In Genesis 2, God created humans.  Alone, the human was “not good.” 

Ge 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make an help meet for him.  KJV

The “good” in this passage is Strong’s #2896, rooted in Strong’s #2895, “towb”.  (Pronounced “tove”) It has a wide range of meanings, like to be good, pleasing, joyful, beneficial, pleasant, favouable, happy, or right. 

That was the only thing about God’s Creation called out as less than “good.” God went to great lengths to show the human being what was not good, parading all the animals in front of the human, allowing the human to name them, but, in the end, see there was nothing else alone on the planet.  Creation could provide some companionship, yes, but not anything comparable to the human being.

Ge 1:12-13b…whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. NKJV

Everywhere the human looked, there was creation with a counterpart, and with the capability to multiply, and God had blessed them, and said they were good.  No so for the human. You have to wonder what was running through the human’s mind on this subject.  It must have been incredible wonderment, and expectation, but what else?? God showed the human that there was so much more in the creation of the other creatures and even plant life on the earth. What was it like to be given permission to name the animals, but not to have a counterpart, like all of them? What did the human learn about the special nature of a counter part? Enter woman. After that, everything on the earth was “very good,” according to God Himself, and creation was complete. 

Ge 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. KJV

The human even acknowledged the completeness of his kind’s identity by openly delighting in their “sameness,” and “oneness.”

Ge 2:23-24

 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.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. NKJV

Before The Attack in God’s Garden, we may think all was perfect between humans, and between humans and God.  But there had been no test, and The Attack, and subsequent human failures, proved there were “chinks in the armor.” (Many of us can identify with tests in relationships, and with the consequences that occur because of them, either bad or good.)

Alright, so be it.  True – we failed.  True – God’s previous warning about losing immortality came to pass, and the earth itself bore the frustration of our scandalous behaviors instead of mankind – God was being merciful to us even then.  Humans would be outside God’s Garden, working with mortal bodies. Heaven on earth was God’s plan, but our actions made Mercy necessary – a Savior would have to come clean up the mess. What’s NOT true?  That men and women have no choice but to live in a cursed state of unfulfilled desire and/or dominance all their lives, as long as we inhabit this earth?  That is not true.

Do we really believe in so little Mercy, so little Grace, that God would not give us the power or direction to live beyond what happened back there?  If that is so, how can we be saved from our sins today?  Yesterday?  Tomorrow?  Are we to be saved from all of them except the first? Is that how we’re supposed to live?

Or is Christ’s sacrifice only capable of saving us from CERTAIN sins?

1 Jn 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God), and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. NKJV

If we are only free from certain sins; then each day will be worse than the last, as we walk out our lives purposefully embracing a cursed existence. (Not unlike teachings of “karma”)

Seriously, then, why be saved?! From what?! TO what?!  What good is following the examples of Christ?  Did He not walk without sin to take on all our failures?  Does He only take on sins made on purpose, or does Jesus also eradicate sin that occurs due to deception? Or was it just some sins, and NOT the failures in The Garden? No – He bore all our iniquities.  ALL.

Heb 10:11-25 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest (Jesus) offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,

“This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”

Then he says,

“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.”

And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. NLT

So, do we just throw ourselves into antinomianism – party on – because Jesus Christ has the keys to sin and death? 

Rev 1:17-18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. KJV

Do we just take our “get out of jail free” card and keep living like we did before? Psh – seriously!? Who orders huckleberry ice cream, then tosses it to the dogs??? 

OR: do we learn to BE in gratefulness, covered with Mercy so giving Mercy, walking in freedom so refusing to chain others (Philemon), submitting ourselves to one another (Eph 5:21) without taking advantage of others’ submissiveness, and expressing The Kingdom of God on earth as we daily refuse the shackles of past mistakes and embrace love, expressed in humble submission to one another, as God always wanted?

Does that exclude marriage?  Is marriage the only place where a curse still has authority beyond the efficacy of the cross?  God forbid!  Marriage was to be saved as well.  Jesus brought heaven to earth, making Himself a servant to all who would accept Him, releasing us from the bondage of sin, and from being held under a curse.  Unless we want to live that way.  We have free will.  We can be as miserable as we desire, outside the freedom of the cross.

Look at how Jesus taught us to pray.  Why pray for something we cannot have?  Jesus would never set His people up for misery and failure.  He came to get rid of that.  He taught us to pray in a way that blessed us and God.

Mt 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.   NKJV

So, is God’s Will to be done “on earth as in heaven” everywhere except in marriage, or teaching, or pastoring?

Are husbands expected to dominate, or are they supposed to love and sacrifice?  Are wives to live out their days affectionately desiring their husbands but getting squashed for it?  Are they to live in submission to a man that over-rides the gifts given to them by God Almighty Himself?  Are husbands to feel un-manly if they support their wives in their expression of Holy Spirit’s gifts, rather than nudging them aside to express their own?  Does that look like The Kingdom of God being mimicked “on earth, as in heaven?”

Jesus walked in agreement with God, out of overwhelming love, and choosing humble submission, based on a relationship that Jesus Himself fostered through daily learning and by separating Himself from everything else to spend time alone with God.  No, it was not always easy, but it WAS “good” – “on earth, as in heaven,” rather than under the clouds of a curse, embracing what went wrong in the past.

Jesus overcame sin, He did not embrace it, or its consequences, except on the cross – to relieve others; and He was the only One who could do so.

Let’s claim and walk in God’s Promises, not the curse.  Have a Christ-like effect on this world, and your relationships.

Blessings!
Leaona Huston
June 1, 2021