The Blessing of the Covenant of Marriage under Christ, Part 1

[Maryanne Winder Lester]

The Blessing of the Covenant of Marriage under Christ, Part 1

First let me say, glory to God in whom I trust and obey and to Christ my Lord whom I serve faithfully.

Nobody said marriage would be easy. But God says it is a blessing. See Saints, when we study His word we learn that our Lord is a God of order. Let’s look back at Abraham and Sarah. Glory to God for the favor He bestowed upon them. Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here in the tent.” Genesis 18:9. Throughout the word of God you can count the times that God called into purpose the divine order of a man and woman in agreement for His plan. One of the things that the Spirit of God teaches us is, at a certain point in Abraham’s walk, he and Sarah and their whole house knew God. But now, understand this! Faith had to be built, planted and grown first in the house of Abraham. The growth started first with God and Abraham. When I first got married I was so happy. But when God showed me the revelation for purpose, it became an honor. See, what the Spirit of God helped me to recognize is that when God calls into existence a man and a woman to become one under Him, and they remain obedient to His word, they become creators under the most high Creator. And that my friend, is a true honor. Before God came and appeared to Abraham and Sarah together as one, He brought His word to Abraham first.

We as men must first know who we are. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, Genesis 2:7.Then He began to speak (breathe) into man! The Lord still does that to man today. But, the question is, do you hear Him? Well as for me, like Abraham and Adam, I knew God but that wasn’t enough. I had to faithfully be taught by God to trust Him. Again, before He came to Abraham and Sarah together He had to be sure that Abraham knew without a doubt what he was in Him who gave him life. Glory to God, who is our key to understanding. The truth is, my marriage hasn’t been easy but I’ve got to say it has been an honor under Christ. Anytime I get discouraged the Lord takes me back to Abraham. He helps me to remember His relationship with Abraham in the beginning of the third. The reason I say the third is because there was Adam, Noah then Abraham. That is, anointed relationships blessed by God for the recreation of his divine plan for reproduction.

Every morning my wife and I read from Bishop’s daily devotional, “Called to Conquer.” On this day, October 24, Bishop said, “Fair or not, God gave the male the greatest responsibility for keeping His covenant and preserving the covenant of family.” Again I say, what an honor! The other day my wife and I were riding in the car and talking about family order in the Christian home. The Lord says wherever two or more are gathered in His name He is present. And surely I testify to that. So while in the car talking, the Spirit began to give us understanding into God’s truths. Please understand this, when a woman walks obediently in the word of God just like a man it pleases God. And yes, His blessings will be upon her, as was written in the books of Ruth and Esther. Now what brings their walk into God’s divine order is the man that walks in the likeness of God, living by every attribute of Him.

See, it all becomes joy under God. He has a promise that comes with being obedient to Him. But marriage doesn’t fall under the covenant. It is the covenant because it is His agreement with man. That’s why, the night before we got married, my wife and I held hands and stood before God and He made us one under the authority of the Lord. We stood there holding hands and stating our vows in the presence of the Lord. That’s why Jesus said, So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Matthew 19:6. That means we can’t. That also means we don’t come under the court of judgment, but under the divine God of judgment. And the reason divorce does not come into play is because we are married in the body of Christ, under Christ. To go even deeper, we are united together in one Spirit with God.

To all the men out there, your focus should be God first, because it all starts with us knowing who we really are. We were created to be a family. Always remember, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. John 1: 1-2. God has been about family way before the forming of the earth. He’s always thinking about us from creation to creation. Even when we don’t care about ourselves, He does. That’s why we, as men, must constantly go back and study His word, “in the beginning.” It is our blueprint to family living here on earth. Men, something that is an example for us is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. “What God has joined together, let not man separate.” But before we can understand that, we have to understand God. We can’t say, “Let us make woman” until we say “let us make man of ourselves.” As God says, in the likeness of Himself. See my brothers, God says “trust in the Lord with all thy heart.” Proverbs 3:5. First we must give back to God what truly belongs to God. Remember, we are taught that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sits at the throne of our heart.

Saints, something the Spirit taught me was the understanding of the breakdown of the word Man: (M) manifest (A) action (N) now. See, one of the abilities we gain when being obedient to the divine guidance of God through His Spirit is we can speak His words and Manifest Action Now; not yesterday, not tomorrow, but Now. One of the things that Adam did was not look to God in His now and say ,“Right now I’m happy with what God has given me.” Men, what we need to do is trust in Him who gives us today to create in us a tomorrow. Before we can manifest action now, we need to learn how to turn it on now, not tomorrow. If we would just come to understand that if we know now where we are in Christ, He’s already planed our tomorrow. And remember this brothers, your tomorrow could be tomorrow or it could be a ten years from now “tomorrow.” I pray that the Spirit helps you grab that and you walk in it. Amen.

Wow, even as I sit here at the computer the Spirit tells me I have a lot to write today. See, He’s been waking me up at 4:00am every morning glorifying and praising God. Today the Spirit asked me, “Do you know that you know for sure the significance of marriage?” I answered the same as the prophet Ezekiel. O Lord God, You know. Ezekiel 37:3 Then He began to manifest this truth to me: The Lord teaches us that whenever two or more people gather in His name He is present. That means if man and woman operate in the body of Christ being steadfast and obedient to God’s laws of husband and wife, the Lord is always present in their marriage. We have to remember what He said, two or more in His name. The Lord is always present. That’s a promise between you and God’s Son. Halleluiah! That’s truly an honor. Glory be to God! I pray right now that the Holy Spirit allows you to catch that so you can walk in it. Amen.

One thing to be sure of, we in the body of Christ who stand obedient to the Spirit in His word know this truth: If He said it, He’s going to do it, when He does it, we are going to know it and when He bestows favor, he’s going to show it. Man look, I love God for showing me how to love life, love my marriage , love my family, love His presence, love His teaching, love His honesty, love His Spirit, love His thoughts, love His guidance, love His honoring, love His resurrection, love His gifts, love His revelations, love His manifestation and love His anointed creation. I love His greatness and I could never stop showing Him how honored I am.

I thank Him for creating in me His thoughts on how important my wife is to Him in his plan for me. See, I love my wife. Her walk is faithful. She knows God and the Lord knows her. When He speaks, she knows His voice. She understands His thoughts. In times of trouble, she’ll speak His word and walk in it. We study His word every morning; we talk about Him all day. And we always give Him praise in any situation knowing how important it is to trust Him. Remember, whenever two or more are gathered in His name He is present. We had our wedding on September second. But, we actually got married on September first. I remember we went outside that night and together, we looked up to heaven in prayer, asking God for His blessing on our union, walking in the words Jeremiah wrote, Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in Heaven. Lamentations 3:41.Leaning not on our own understanding, remembering Him in everything we do and He truly directs our decision down the right path. We are honored to be operating in the body of Christ. My wife is a true woman of God and I am honored to have God see her that way. The word of God teaches us that it is through woman that His thoughts are born into creation. His words breathe and when she and I come into agreement the Holy Spirit gives us the words to speak. Together we hear Him and obey Him and speak the words of God in agreement. His glory begins to show. We always have to remember His promise: wherever two or more are gathered in His name He is present. David said, This shall be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. Psalm 102:18. Together, we walk in His word in times of trouble. We praise Him in times of joy. We learn how to walk in His words of life. The Holy Spirit in us takes His thoughts from the past and creates in us our actions now. And we pray that the Holy Spirit allows you to grab that so you can walk in it.

This letter I write to the saints in the body of Christ is to the honor and glory of God the Father of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whom I serve joyfully and obediently. Amen.

By Melvin Lester