LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1983, Page 329

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS

No human being can escape existing within. or in opposition
to, the male-female distinction as the fundamental form of
fellow-humanity. However. not every human being need
marry.® We remain free to enter with God's blessing into the
order of marriage and there to live out our obedience to Him.
We are also free. however, while granting the inestimable
importance of marriage as a sign and realization of our creation
for fellow-humanity, to live out our commitment to our fellows
in the unmarried state. We may expect that marriage will
remain the norm. but we must make room for Jesus’ own
recognition that there may be some who“have made themselves
eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:12).
that is, some who have chosen to forego marriage in order to live
out their vocations in service to the Lord. And we recognize that
some who do not choose the single state may. nevertheless, live
sucha life. They too exist within the duality of male and female.
They too live as male and female.

The Christian community needs to be sensitive to the
needs ofall single persons in its midst, including those who for
various reasons are unable to marry or who may have lost
their spouse through death or divorce. Many unmarried
persons bear the burden of loneliness and feel “left out” uf the
life and activities of their congregations and sumetimes are
given the impression, intentionally or unintentionally, that
they hare a less-privileged status. The Christian community
must assure all those who are married that their situation is
in no way inferior to the state of those who are married.
Rather, they tov, apart from the earthly institution of mar-
riage, have been called to be members of God's family and to
devote themselves to the work of Christian service (Eph. 4:12).
To them may even helong vppurtunities fur well doing which
are not open to those who have the responsibilities of married
life. Inca spirit of mutual encouragement, married and
unmarried alike must make it their aim to help each other
secure their “undivided devotion to the Lord (1 Cor, 2:35).

A further reason why marriage cannot be made anecessity

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II. Marriage and Its Purposes

The earthly estate of marriage is a divine institution. It is
therefore subject to certain divine requirements which remain
in effect until the close of this age regardless of the social
customs, civil laws. or ecclesiastical rites which may come to
surround it. That God Himself established marriage and
pronounced it good also means that He created it fur the good of
humanity. He is at work in marriage to accomplish His
purposes. In marriage God intends to provide for (1) the relation
of man and woman in mutual love(Gen, 2:18):(2) the procreation
of children (Gen. 1:28); and(3)the partial remedy for sinful lust
(1 Cor. 7:2). Both the fourth and sixth commandments presume
and support these purposes of marriage in human life.

A. Marriage

Marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman
entered into by mutual consent. It is ordinarily expected that
this consent and commitment will be public. that marriage is
not a merely personal decision but one which concerns all those
who are now to treat this man and woman as husband and wife.
Although marriage derives its validity from the commitment of
a man and woman to a permanent sharing of their lives, the
institution of marriage will normally be circumscribed by
various civil laws imposed by society. Even though the legal
restrictions with which our society surrounds marriage do not
belong to the essence of marriage," there is good reason to
believe that they will ordinarily serve human well-being—a

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lies in the fact that. despite its immeasurable importance for
our lives. it remains an earthly order. This is made unmistak-
ably clear not only by Jesus’ words in Mark 12:25. where He says
that in the resurrection there is no more marrying. but also by
St. Paul's discussion in 1 Corinthians 7. In this chapter the
apostle does not demonstrate a negative attitude toward sex-
uality as such, though this is often alleged.” His advice to the
Corinthian Christians must be seen together with his statement
inv. 31: "The form of this world is passing away.” Because the
end-time has entered our history in the person of Jesus Christ.
noearthly reality such as marriage can be institutionalized asa
necessary form of obedience to God: that is to say, marriage is
not an institution which everyone must enter. Paul suggests
that those who are unmarried may be better able to devote
themselves to the work of the Lord, free of earthly cares and
responsibilities which marriage brings. As Paul himself recog-
nizes, however, this is true only of those to whom sucha gift is
given (v. 7). For others it might be true that only within
marriage could they give themselves with a glad heart to the
doing of God's will. While marriage is limited to earthly life. asa
divine institution it can be pronounced good and entered witha
good conscience (Gen. 2:24-25).

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9

purpose for which God has established civil authority (Rom.
13:4a). Such restrictions serve the important social function of
safeguarding rights of the spouse and children. More important
still. they may encourage thoughtful. reflective commitment
and thus protect the interest not only of society but also of those
who think they are in love. Unjustified disregard for the legal
requirements which have been established by the state concern-
ing marriage violates God's command for obedience to the
authorities He has placed over us.

The essence of marriage does not consist in legal require-
ments nor in ecclesiastical ceremonies. To say otherwise would
be to retract the Biblical emphasis on marriage as a worldly or
earthly institution. Not the pronouncement of a minister but the
consent of the partners belongs to the essence of marriage.
Indeed. not until the fourth century A. D. is there evenevidence
of priestly prayer and blessing in connection with the marriage
of Christians. It was felt to be entirely a secular act, though. of
course, one carried out—like all acts—"in the Lord.”* To say
that marriage is not primarily an ecclesiastical matter is not to
say that it is autonomous. however. Marriage remains a divine
institution given by God to His creatures to nourish their
common life together and to preserve human life toward the
final goa! of all creation.

While recognizing that marriage as a divinely ordained
earthly estate can be legitimately contracted in the civil realm.
Christian couples will ordinarily desire to make their vows ina
publie worship service. In such a context they are able to hear
what the Word of God teaches concerning the sanctity of the
marriage bond and to permit fellow Christians to join them and
their families in asking God's blessings on their life together.
For such couples the ecclesiastical marriage rite is not the
church's way of making sacred something otherwise profane.
Rather. the church's act of consecration signifies that marriage
is holy because it is God-ordained and that it can be received
with thanksgiving (1 Tim. 4:5).

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