Marriage Blessings

Soon, you will begin a covenant family together under the Lordship of Christ.  As the Westminster Confession states in 14-2, may you yield in obedience to Christ’s commands, tremble at the threatenings in His word, and embrace the promises of God for this life and the future.  May you remember that you are both created male and female, and, as the Trinity is perfectly complementary, so is your union to be.  Sin and self worship are the same.  In contrast, marriage is about “self forgetting”.  This is possible by remembering that a union between a man and a woman requires sustained dependence on God through faith in Jesus Christ.  As Christ gave himself up for His bride, the Church, may the husband do the same for his precious bride.  May the groom, see his role as a servant of God and avoid the rebellious sin of bossiness and abandonment and live with his wife with understanding and gentleness.  May he value, cherish, protect, and help her.  A husband’s calling is to be an effective leader in the home while educating the family about biblical principles.  Likewise, as 1 Peter 3:1 shows, we pray the bride will respect her husband by being an encouragement to him while showing obedience to Christ in all meekness with a gentle and quiet spirit.  May the bride show outwardly her yielding to her husband for others to see. (Ephesians 5:22)  May she choose to be cheerful and consistent while forgetting about herself and submitting to Christ as Mary demonstrated with her active passivity at the announcement of Christ’s coming.  May you both remember that marriage is about dying to selfish desires, “ not my will, but yours be done”. (Luke 22:42)  May you both know that marriage is not about what the other can do for you.  Marriage, by design, is a journey in humility that will cause you to depend on the Spirit and look to Christ for guidance. (Romans 8:2, Colossians 3:1)  We pray that you both will be grounded in your faith through Christ and avoid the temptation of living on your own strength.  May God protect you from harsh words toward each other when things go wrong. (James 3:6) Marriage is joyful work and in the kingdom of God about the renewal of relationships. Wishing you the blessing of being enthusiastically married and “co-workers of Christ” as you unite in love as Priscilla and Aquila did centuries ago.

“The churches of Asia send greetings to you. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, with the church that meets in their house.” (1 Corinthians 16:19, Romans 16:3)

Westminster Confession 14-2
“By this faith a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein;a and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands,b trembling at the threatenings,c and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.d But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.”
a. John 4:42; Acts 24:14; 1 Thes 2:13; 1 John 5:10. • b. Rom 16:26. • c. Isa 66:2. • d. 1 Tim 4:8; Heb 11:13. • e. John 1:12; Acts 15:11; 16:31; Gal 2:20.