Abraham and Sarah,“I will confirmmy
covenantwithyouandyourdescendants
afteryou,fromgenerationtogeneration.
Thisistheeverlastingcovenant:Iwill
alwaysbeyourGodandtheGodof your
descendantsafteryou.”(17:7NLT).
Marriageisacovenant,notjusta
contract.Itisacovenantbetweentwo
peopleandGod.Itisinmarriagethatwe
aremostfullymadeintheimageofthe
triuneGod(Hahn,2004).Morethana
physicalact,marriageisaspiritualactin
whichacouplerenewstheirmarital
covenant.Whenwerenewacovenant,God
releasesHisgrace—whichislife,powerand
Hisownlovetowardsus(Hahn,2004).God
designedmarriagetodemonstrateHislife-
givingpoweroflove.
Covenant Involves Faithfulness.Each
partyinthecovenantvowstobefaithful:
“ThenGodsaidtoAbraham,‘Yourresponsibilityistoobeythetermsof the
covenant.Youandallyourdescendants
havethiscontinualresponsibility.’”
(Genesis17:9NLT).Godintendsfor
couplestomodeltheirhumancovenants
inmarriageafterthiscovenantwithGod
(Balswick&Balswick,1999,2006).
Covenant Involves Intimacy.In
Christianmarriages,couplesvowbefore
Godtoloveoneanother.Sucha
relationshipwillrequiregrace,
empowerment,andintimacy(Balswick&
Balswick,1999,2006).Justaswerepent
beforeGod,whograciouslyforgivessin,
sotooinaChristianmarriage,thecouple
mustlivetransparentlybeforeone
anotherinrepentance,forgiveness,and
grace.Acouple’sloveforoneanotherin
marriagefosterstheirabilitytoempower
oneanothertogrowandliveasChrist
intendsforthemtolive.Intimacyina
Christianmarriagegoesbeyondthe
physicallevel;itshouldfollowthepattern
Godhassetinseekingintimacywith
humankind.Godisinterestedinbeing
morethana“bestbuddy.”Heseeksan
intimacythatreachestothedepthsof our
souls.ThisisreflectedinaChristian
marriagewhenacoupleisdeeply
connectedtooneanotherandtoGod.
Covenant Involves Mystery.Roman
Catholicism and some other church
traditions elevate marriage to the status
of a sacrament.As soon as a couple freely
expresses and exchanges consent,theyThe marital covenant is between two people and God.Chapter 1©iStockphoto.com/InkkStudios