Teachings re Marriage?

[MaxPC]

This is a request for those who are currently active members of a Conservative Anabaptist/Conservative Mennonite fellowship (I'm also including Ernie and Wade in this thread).

I am seeking your views and teachings about marriage & the role of God, the role of the husband & the role of the wife in the marriage.

Example: we view marriage as a sacred bond between God-husband-wife.
There's plenty of references we use for this concept but instead, I'm interested in learning about the CA/CM teachings re marriage in your own words.

Thank you in advance.

[Josh]

By "active member" do you include people who have applied for baptism/instruction class or only people who have completed it or just someone who regularly attends?

Are there any specific Anabaptist groups you want to exclude from the list of Conservative Mennonites and Anabaptists as well?

[Soloist]

I was invited to comment on this,

I currently am not an official member of a church however, I am in current attendance/communion with a non-affiliated church that likely would fit in somewhere around Intermediate Conservative. I cannot speak for a direct Mennonite teaching or necessarily Anabaptist teaching being as I am a relatively newer convert to Anabaptism. I can however, speak to the effect of my understanding of the scriptures.

(part of Cor 11:3)The head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

That reads to me that the over arching design is God=Christ=Man=Woman. From this I can say with clarity that Jesus being our King and having been given all authority requires that man and woman submit fully to Christ. Secondarily without conflict with the teachings of Jesus, the wife is to submit in everything to the Husband.

Eph 5:22-25
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

The Husband likewise is to be willing to lay down his life, and in some regard I would say his personal preference in favor of his wife's needs/desires. In all we, husband and wife are equal in Christ, but the husband has been given the authority over the wife and the responsibility of the household.

In regards to marriage, its a covenant between a man and a woman in the sight of God. We are not permitted divorce except for whatever "Pornia" is.
To this, I would say as I've said elsewhere I believe a spouse should remain celibate in hope/prayer of reconciliation.
The free book "Dear Pastor" would be an excellent source to read on divorce and remarriage http://www.watchmangospelsigns.com/reso ... Pastor.pdf

I can't say I would condemn someone who did remarry in the "Pornia" situation, but I'm not even sure what that really is, so I can't agree with everything he says but I don't disagree either. I would claim ignorance in regards to what to do after there has already been a remarriage that may have been because of "Pornia."

From my wife:
The role of the husband is to show how Christ loves us, and the role of the wife is to show how we obey Christ. Obviously, no man is perfect, and God does not show partiality, but the woman is supposed to submit to her husband as she would submit to Christ. It might be worth noting that this comes after the chapter on slaves and masters, and that it is ultimately Christ a woman is submitting to by submitting to her husband. Thus, whether or not the wife agrees with her husband's actions, unless it goes directly against the Bible, she is to submit to it, not because she trusts the man, but because she trusts her Maker. This is especially beautiful when both partners are following Christ.

The husband is to be patient with his wife, and to love her sacrificially as Christ loved the church. He should protect her, and care for her as he would his own self. This doesn't just pertain to the sweet, submissive wife, but also to the rebellious one or the non-Christian. Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and both the husband and the wife might be able to show His love to their nonbelieving spouse by showing these attitudes regardless of how the other is acting. Not sure if this was what you were asking, but I think it's true anyway.

As for divorce/remarriage, see above. I personally don't believe that the exception clause (if there is one) would pertain to the wife remarrying anyway, but that's my take on it.

[Josh]

Good post Soloist.

[MaxPC]

Thank you, Soloist: this positive and affirming description of marriage is exactly what I'm seeking. It's good to talk about the beauty of marriage for a change. Perhaps the mods can change the thread title to "Teachings re the Beauty of Marriage?"

I would enjoy the other's input as well...
RZehr?
Wade?
Ernie?
Lester?
CMs/CAs?

[Josh]

By "active member" do you include people who have applied for baptism/instruction class or only people who have completed it or just someone who regularly attends?

Are there any specific Anabaptist groups you want to exclude from the list of Conservative Mennonites and Anabaptists as well?

Would you mind answering my question, Max?

[MaxPC]

Thank you to all who sent me PMs of their replies to this query. They were beautiful testimonies to God's design for marriage.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May we all strive to be ever more obedient to God's will in our lives. May God bless you all as you have blessed me.

[Josh]

What is the utility of thanking in public for PMs, other than to make some of us feel left out?