The Seventh Commandment (No. CB76)

The paper The Ten Commandments (No. CB17) is the summary paper which should be reviewed prior to this series on each of the commandments. It includes a general overview of the purpose of God’s Laws and a brief description of each of the commandments.

Introduction

As we have been learning there are Two Great Commandments which sum up all the law and testimony which stem from the 10 Commandments. The First Great Commandment is made up of the first four commandments that help us know who God is and when and how to worship Him. The last six commandments focus on how to love our fellow man. The Fifth Commandment directs us to Honor our Father and Mother and it is the first and only commandment with a promise. The Fifth Commandant serves as a bridge between the love of God the Father to our physical fathers. The Family is truly the backbone of the nation. The family unit is very important to God the Father and He too is creating a family of spiritual and physical beings. In this paper we will see God ordain the marriage covenant, see the importance of marriage and the role of the family and learn the spiritual application to Christ and the Church through the proper keeping of the Seventh Commandment.

The seventh commandment is found in Exodus 20:14.

Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Adultery is a word that is contrary to the sanctity of marriage. It means choosing to be with someone other than your husband or wife while you are married. Since God ordained marriage, He commands us to honor our promise to our spouse while we are married and only be with them. It does not mean we cannot have friends while we are married, we just would never be with them in the same way we are with our spouse.

Just like we are to remain faithful in our physical marriage, this commandment also covers the Church remaining faithful in our future spiritual marriage. In the future, at the return of Jesus Christ, the Bible describes the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. From other studies we have learned that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Currently, the Church is betrothed to Jesus Christ (like a fiancé) and we strive to always be faithful in that relationship. God set up symbolism of the physical marriage to the great spiritual Marriage of Jesus to his bride, the Church. The Church is made up of all those people that believe in the One True God and follow His commandments and believe in the testimony of Jesus Christ.

This is why it is so important to see that all of the commandments flow together and become part of one another. If we were to break the first commandment and follow after other gods (or other ways of life), we would also be breaking the spiritual aspect of the seventh commandment and our commitment to remain faithful to God and His laws.

Let’s review the Plan of God so we can be reminded how God created the institution of marriage and set up the structure of the family.

Summary of the Plan of God

God alone always existed and knew all things. His desire was to share His existence and character with His sons and daughters. God created His plan of Salvation so that all beings were able to have the choice to become His sons and daughters if they obeyed His laws. The spiritual Host were the first things He created with Jesus Christ as the firstborn of all the Host. The spiritual host were all present at the creation of the earth as the Bible tells us all the angels shouted for joy when they saw God create the earth.

Job 38:4-7 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (RSV)

Just as a dad teaches his physical son how to build something, God the Father showed His spiritual sons His power of creation through the creation of the earth.

God the Father created all things perfect yet He gave spiritual beings the same choices as us, to obey or not obey. The spiritual beings (or the Host) did not have the mind of God nor did they know all things; they had to be patient and see what God would do next. One of the spirit beings, Lucifer, which means lightbearer, was placed in charge of the earth. Isaiah 14:12-14 states Lucifer tried to take over God's throne, and as strange as it sounds, he was able to get one-third of the Host to rebel against God.

Isaiah 14:12-14 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! ¹³You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.' (RSV)

There was a great war in heaven and Lucifer/Satan and the fallen host were cast to earth and the earth became a waste place. Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan which means accuser of the brethren (see the paper Who is Satan (No. CB60)).

At a point in history the earth was refashioned and the Garden of Eden was created so that God could move forward with the next phase of His creation which was physical human beings. The spiritual beings had many responsibilities and one of their responsibilities was to be messengers to mankind. Jesus Christ had numerous titles and responsibilities in the plan of God. (For more information about Jesus Christ see Who is Jesus (No. CB2).)

Most have heard of the story of Adam and Eve who were the first man and woman created, yet many have not heard of the Angel of Yahovah. The Angel of Yahovah is the same being that later became Jesus Christ. It was the Angel of Yahovah’s job or role to teach Adam and Eve God’s laws. God knew from the beginning that Lucifer, who was created perfect, would rebel and not be able to teach, care for and protect Adam and Eve; therefore that role went to the Angel of Yahovah. Adam was created in the image of God. Adam’s first job was naming the animals and taking care of the garden, yet Adam was all alone and did not like it.

Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Therefore Eve was created for Adam; she was made from one of his ribs versus the dust of the ground as Adam was. So we see from the first book of Genesis the importance that is placed on caring for each other, developing strong family ties and obeying God. For more information about Adam and Eve see the paper Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (No. CB6).

Importance of the God ordained institution of marriage

In Genesis 2 we see that God ordained marriage.

Genesis 2:24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. (RSV)

Though marriage is for the physical union of a man and a woman, it is a God-ordained institution. Marriage was created for mankind. God gave us the example of marriage from the beginning of the creation of Adam and Eve. Marriage is an agreement or covenant between the man and woman that receives its authority from God. We see the concept of family starting with “a man shall leave his father and mother and become one flesh with his wife.” That means they were to be one family; they were to love each other, help and encourage each other, and bring up children to the glory and admonition of God. Parents are to teach their children at all times (Deut. 6:6-7). Just like God is the great Creator and has a perfect Plan for His spiritual creation, God wanted to share that with mankind. God allows us to grow up and choose whom we want for a husband or wife and to raise a family and teach our family about God. God gave us the institution of marriage and the blessings of the family that we may more fully understand His love for us. That is why God forbids us in the seventh commandment to stray from our marriage. We should never enter into marriage without seriously thinking, “Is he/she the right person for me?” We should also ask other people’s opinions about our future mate and get wise counsel.

In the New Testament we see scripture quoted from Genesis and expanded.

Mark 10:6-9 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” (RSV)

As stated before, God is about creating His family. He shows us that from the physical we learn the spiritual.

Romans 1:19-20 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; (RSV)

Spiritual application of marriage

Let’s see what Ephesians 5:21-33 says about husbands and wives and Christ and the Church.

Ephesians 5:21-33 Honor Christ and put others first. ²²A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord. ²³A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and the Savior of the church, which is his own body. ²⁴Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first. ²⁵A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. ²⁶He made the church holy by the power of his word, and he made it pure by washing it with water. ²⁷Christ did this, so that he would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws. ²⁸In the same way, a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows that he loves himself. ²⁹None of us hate our own bodies. We provide for them and take good care of them, just as Christ does for the church, ³⁰because we are each part of his body. ³¹As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother to get married, and he becomes like one person with his wife." ³²This is a great mystery, but I understand it to mean Christ and his church. ³³So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband. (CEV)

So, in our physical families the Dad is like Christ and he is to provide for, take care of, and love and respect his wife and children, just like Christ loves and takes care of the Church. The Mom is to support, respect, and help her husband and raise the children. This is just like the Church helps teach and care for all of us under the direction of the Messiah. In our families we should be able to see God’s love and Laws at work all the time. We all should be willing to help each other even if it means giving up something we wanted for ourselves.

Just like in our families we learn to grow and fear God, so too it is in the Church. We are constantly learning of God’s ways when we get together as a church for Sabbath services and the annual Feasts. One of the main reasons why children, and Dads and Moms go to God’s Feasts is to learn how to worship and fear God (Deut. 4:10; 14:23; 31:12,13). The more we obey God, the more He directs our thoughts (Prov.16:3). So the more we obey God, the more we think and act like God.

Even though the adults that are baptized are not perfect, we all try to become more and more like Christ and God. We all need to try to follow Philippians 4:8-9:

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don't ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. ⁹You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you (CEV).

Summary

We have reviewed the seventh commandment which states thou shalt not commit adultery. We have learned how God ordained marriage from the beginning and saw the importance of marriage and family in the plan of God. We have learned about the spiritual aspect of the commandment and our commitment to keeping God’s way of life so we can become the bride of Christ. We have also discovered the spiritual importance of Jesus Christ as the head of the Church and his example to mankind.

All of God’s creation are like one big family with each part helping the other part; the loyal Host helping human beings, the Dads helping provide for their families and teaching them about God; the Moms helping the Dads and raising the children; children helping the little ones in their families or being good examples of how to keep God’s Law at school or with their playmates.

In closing let’s read what 1Corinthians 13:4-8 says about love:

1Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; ⁵it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. ⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸Love never ends... (RSV)

Let us all try to show this type of love to all at all times.

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