What are covenants?<\/a>” for details) and isn’t just used for marriages, though marriages are the most common type of covenant used.<\/p>\nIn a covenant, there are several parts:<\/p>\n
Preamble<\/h3>\n
A definition of the parties involved and their status. In a standard wedding ceremony, you will see the preacher ask each person if they desire to marry the other person. He will also ask if any knows a reason why the couple should not marry.<\/p>\n
Background<\/h3>\n
A history of the parties’ relationship. Often here the preacher discusses the reason for marriage.<\/p>\n
Stipulations<\/h3>\n
The obligations expected of the weaker party to the stronger party. Often the stipulations involved promises of loyalty to the stronger party. In a marriage ceremony, it is a union of equals, but there are still stipulations. The “for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,” etc. layout the stipulation that each will be there for the other no matter what the circumstances.<\/p>\n
Depository<\/h3>\n
An agreement where a written copy of the agreement would be retained and the provisions for periodic reminders of the covenant. This is where the state license comes in. They serve as a repository for the fact that a marriage covenant was made. In the older days, it was often kept at individual churches, but this was often awkward if the evidence needed to be located because the record could be in so many different places. Over the years, state governments in the United States took over the duty. Periodic reminders are done by our anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n
Witnesses<\/h3>\n
Who or what would be able to confirm that the covenant was made. Often these are composed of people who witness the covenant. In a standard wedding, this is the function of the best man and the bride’s maid, but it is also why we typically have a wedding ceremony. All the guests are there to be witnesses that the marriage took place. Under covenant laws, a physical witness was also used since people do die. In the United States, we typically use rings to act as a witness that the person is married.<\/p>\n
Curses and Blessings<\/h3>\n
The consequences of breaking or keeping the covenant. In a typical wedding, more emphasis is placed on the blessing of marriage, but you will find somewhere in the ceremony the statement “So help you God” which alludes to God sitting in judgment over the keeping of the covenant.<\/p>\n
Oath<\/h3>\n
The sealing of the covenant. These are the vows made during the ceremony and are often combined with the stipulations and the exchanging of the rings.<\/p>\n
Fellowship Meal<\/h3>\n
After a covenant is completed, all parties are invited to sit down at a common meal. The meal is to represent the fact that all differences have been resolved and that the parties are at peace with each other. In a wedding, this is done by the reception where the two families sit down together for a meal.<\/p>\n
Personal vows are just not on the same level as a covenant. Nor can you enter into a marriage covenant without knowing that you are entering into a covenant. I would hope that it is clear that sex is not to take place before you get married (Hebrews 13:4), but even the action of sex does not create a marriage.<\/p>\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Thank you, Jeffrey!\u00a0I am so glad you answered this for me.<\/p>\n
So if two people just promised to be faithful before God, that\u2019s not a covenant? There must be all of those other things present?<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
There could be a debate about which of the elements listed above are critical to a covenant, but I think most would agree that there must be vows before God, witnesses to the vows, and a record of the covenant. Casually promising your boyfriend or girlfriend what you intend to do in the future is not a marriage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hello, I found your website full of helpful questions. My question is when does God consider a couple married? Can a couple just promise to be faithful to each other before God and consider themselves to be husband and wife? My fear is that when I was with my ex-girlfriend, I got carried away…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[489,64],"class_list":["post-2491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-covenants","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40277,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-couple-divorce-and-then-reconcile-do-they-need-to-remarry\/","url_meta":{"origin":2491,"position":0},"title":"If a couple divorce, and then reconcile, do they need to remarry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A married couple divorces, within a short time they reconcile, (in God's eyes the wife would have been wrong, she repented and made it right with God and the church). This all happened many years ago, but they just never formally remarried, and the state in which they live\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25491,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-break-up-a-wrongful-second-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":2491,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to break up a wrongful second marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a non-Christian divorces his wife for reasons other than marital unfaithfulness, then remarries, then joins the Church, should his second marriage be broken up? I ask the question because I'm considering doing an internship with a church that disfellowshipped another church presumably because they would not break up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41468,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-had-sex-before-with-a-different-woman-does-that-mean-im-committing-adultery-with-the-woman-i-am-with\/","url_meta":{"origin":2491,"position":2},"title":"I had sex before with a different woman. Does that mean I’m committing adultery with the woman I am with?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please. Please, I have many things I have to ask. A woman took my virginity, but it was only for a night. I'm with a different woman now and have been with her for five years. Is that adultery? Answer: Fornication is when you have sex with someone you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31361,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-it-be-wrong-for-a-divorced-couple-to-have-sex-since-god-doesnt-recognize-their-divorce\/","url_meta":{"origin":2491,"position":3},"title":"How can it be wrong for a divorced couple to have sex since God doesn’t recognize their divorce?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello please enlighten me further: God does not recognize divorce, only our court systems. God sees it still as one flesh under the arranged covenant. But I am confused. What's the consequence of sexual activity between the husband and wife under God's arrangement? Surely this is not deemed fornication,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21609,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-couple-get-married-by-simply-taking-a-personal-vow-between-them-and-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":2491,"position":4},"title":"Can a couple get married by simply taking a personal vow between them and God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about marriage: Is it biblical for a man and woman to get married simply by taking a personal vow between them and God, or must it be done legally? Answer: What creates a marriage is a covenant. \"Yet she is your companion and your wife\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51898,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-single-person-who-commits-adultery-prevented-from-getting-married\/","url_meta":{"origin":2491,"position":5},"title":"Is a single person who commits adultery prevented from getting married?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There is much discussion and teaching within the church about divorce, adultery, and remarriage, but something I've never heard discussed is what about the person who commits adultery, but who wasn't married? The Bible is clear that a spouse who commits adultery with someone else is not eligible to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}