The Family Unit
The Great Parallel
by Dr. Ken Matto
Isn’t it something how God designed the family unit?
When the man and woman are married, they become one flesh.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
(Genesis 2:24 KJB)
When the wife becomes pregnant with child, the
relationship does not change between husband and wife.
They still remain one flesh but the child is a separate person and
completely independent of the husband and wife even though she carries the
child. The reason why the child is
a separate person is because that would distort the picture of marriage as a
picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
God joined the husband and wife as one
flesh but not the children because they are a separate issue.
{31} For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
{32} This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the
church. (Ephesians 5:31-32 KJB)
Speaking about the children produced in marriage, it is
the picture of the Christian being joined to Christ as the bride of Christ and
when they have physical children it is like the Christian, who is the bride of
Christ, bearing spiritual children.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples. (John
15:8 KJB)
Now what I am about to say is not vulgar but reality.
A married couple may have sexual intercourse 5,000 times in say 40 years
of marriage and out of those 5,000 times they may only have two or three
children.
And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her
womb: but Rachel was barren.
(Genesis 29:31 KJB)
Who is in charge of the womb bearing children?
{1} And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied
her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
{2} And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in
God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
(Genesis 30:1-2 KJB)
We see God is the one who opens the womb and gives
children as he shut the womb of Rachel but opened the womb of Leah.
In like manner when the Christian goes out to witness and in his or her
lifetime may hand out 50,000 tracts and may only see a few become saved.
For many are called, but few are chosen.
(Matthew 22:14 KJB)
Then opened he their understanding, that they might
understand the scriptures, (Luke
24:45 KJB)
Just like the physical womb where God controls the amount
of physical births, he also controls the sphere of salvation where only a few or
a remnant will be saved! God is the
one who opens the understanding of Scripture to allow a person to become saved
like he did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
So physical marriage is a tremendous picture of the intimacy a Christian has with the Lord Jesus Christ.