The Marriage Relationship
1 As I see it there are
six elements that culminate into the marriage relationship, which as I'll show, correlate equally well with the
six churches on earth. These are the corresponding masculine and feminine qualities, brought into the relationship by the respective bridegroom and bride. The first four can be viewed as the couple's parents—or in-laws—with the bridegroom and bride constituting the
fifth and sixth elements. And, as we're not the total
by products of what our parents have instilled in us, they can be viewed collectively or, in a spiritual sense (as composites).
2 Both men and women have these tendencies, which have been nurtured by each of our parents. And, as shown by our left and right brains, the two receptacles of this, they tend to balance each other out. The masculine, which predominates in the man (qualities of his father here), represents the rational or intellectual side, which is also
the understanding. The feminine, which predominates in the woman (qualities of her mother here), is what makes her a woman, and is the reciprocal of the masculine: the emotional or feeling aspect or,
the will.
3 In this respect men and women are
opposite human beings, as they approach each other from opposite ends of the spectrum. They aren't diametrically opposed though—or at least they shouldn't be!—for they were meant to be
actual reciprocals, ruled by their predominant tendencies, in a state of balance with their lessor tendencies. And here, once a suitable pair is found, they become united—in marriage—and come together as a whole: "And the two shall become one flesh."
Genesis 2:24
4 When this occurs, although rare in earthly marriages, the two become—
one human being (how it's commonly expressed in heaven). Which is best exemplified by the sperm striking the ovum to form the zygote, the two
opposite organisms coming together to form a new one, as fertilization occurs. Whereas the zygote goes on to develop into a baby, to form a new human being or,
half a human being. And so it is the birth of a child signifies a
true testament to the consummation of marriage which, in the spiritual sense, signifies the birth of
new doctrine (more so a boy child): the embodiment of
faith or understanding, regarding this pact between
God and The Church or,
Husband and Wife. For an account of my own experience here, please refer to
chapter 5.
Six Elements of Marriage
5
The six elements of marriage are listed as follows:
1)
The man's intellect: the masculine aspect of the man or his
spiritual father.
2)
The man's will: the feminine aspect of the man or his
spiritual mother.
3)
The woman's intellect: the masculine aspect of the woman or her
spiritual father.
4)
The woman's will: the feminine aspect of the woman or her
spiritual mother.
5)
The man himself:
the understanding in the relationship or the
spiritual husband.
6)
The woman herself:
the will in the relationship or the
spiritual wife.
6 Once these elements have been established, they culminate into a
seventh state, a state of coalescence or,
the marriage itself. There's also an eighth and ninth state, which correspond to the honeymoon (the 8th) and the life thereafter (the 9th). These two, along with the seventh, correspond to the numbers 21, 22 and 23, as detailed in the
last chapter. I'll be addressing this, along with the six elements and their
number correspondents, further in
chapter 4 and
chapter 6.
