Temporary marriage

Let's continue looking at our view of marriage. If we view marriage appropriately we should, hopefully, view singleness appropriately.

In This Momentary Marriage theologian John Piper says:

I am declaring the temporary and secondary nature of marriage and family over against the eternal and primary nature of the church. Marriage and family are temporary for this age; the church is forever. I am declaring the radical biblical truth that being in a human family is no sign of eternal blessing, but being in God’s family means being eternally blessed. Relationships based on family are temporary. Relationships based on union with Christ are eternal. Marriage is a temporary institution, but what it stands for lasts forever.

You can find a the book available for free from the Desiring God website.

The myth perpetuated in much popular level thought is quite the opposite of this truth. Many Christians I talk with don't realize that marriage is temporary. Marriage does not exist in heaven.

Jesus states in Matthew 22:30 after being questioned by the Sadducees regarding who's wife a woman will be in heaven who has had several husbands that, “'You are deceived, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.'”

I am not arguing that marriage is not important. It teaches us a great deal about ourselves and God and is God's way of showing us a fundamental truth about His love for us. Marriage holds the promise of both love and covenant-keeping, both two fundamental aspects of God. But, on the flip side, then, singleness can teach us about hoping and waiting for the love and covenant-keeping truth of marriage. Currently, while we know the Church is betrothed to Jesus, we are in a period of hoping and waiting. We are not in the final marriage state. We have not participated in the wedding banquet and fully entered into the final state.

As theologian John Stott says, “If marriage is good, singleness is also good. It's an example of the balance of scripture that, although Genesis 2:18 indicates that it is good to marry 1 Corinthians 7:1...says that 'it is good for a man not to marry.' So both the married and the single states are 'good;' neither is in itself better or worse than the other.”*

*(Albert Hsu's Singles at the Crossroads gets in depth into the topic of singleness. Hsu's interview with John Stott on singleness is in the appendix and a great read.)