When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, he revealed something significant that we often miss in this passage. In verses 17-18, Jesus said to the woman:
"You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."The woman had been hiding the fact that the man she was living with was not her husband. According to the New Bible Commentary notes on this passage of Scripture, Common Law Marriage had no religious support in the Jewish faith. Living with a person in sexual union did not constitute a "husband and wife" relationship. Jesus made that plain here. Therefore, position number one (the couple is married in the eyes of God when the physical union is consummated through sexual intercourse) does not have a foundation in Scripture. Romans 13:1-2 is one of several passages in Scripture that refers to the importance of believers honoring governmental authority in general: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." (NIV)These verses give position number two (the couple is married in the eyes of God when the couple is legally married) stronger biblical support. The problem, however, with a legal process only is that some governments require couples to go against the laws of God to be legally married. Also, there were many marriages that took place in history before governmental laws were established for marriage. Even today, some countries have no legal requirements for marriage. Therefore, the most reliable position for a Christian couple would be to submit to governmental authority and recognize the laws of the land, as long as that authority does not require them to break one of the laws of God.
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Author Oni T.
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