Kenneth Copeland - A ceremony of marriage

Contents

A Message from Kenneth Copeland

The marriage union is the closest relationship that can exist between two human beings. When a man and woman decide to join together in marriage, they should do so with full realization of their responsibilities. Marriage is serious business.

When two born-again believers know it is God's will for them to marry, they come together before God, before a minister, and before witnesses to join their hearts and lives for eternity. They make a public profession of their mutual love and devotion, pronouncing vows and pledging their lives to each other.

As they pronounce the marriage vows in faith, the power of God goes into operation and a miracle takes place. They are united by God and become as one in His sight. Their union is threefold: They are joined together spiritually by God, legally by the contract they enter into, and physically when the marriage is consummated.

A husband and wife are joined together as Jesus is joined to the Church. It is a miraculous union.

This booklet contains the wedding ceremony I use as a minister of God. It is based totally and completely on the Word of God.

As you use this ceremony, I add my faith to yours in believing God for a life of love and harmony, in Jesus' Name.

Giving of the Bride

To Father: Who gives this bride in marriage?

Response: I do.

To Groom: Take your bride and step forward please.

To Congregation: I ask that the congregation remain standing as we go before the Lord in prayer.

"Our most gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for all the privileges of being in the Body of Christ.

"We have come together to watch the miracle of Your love and the power of Your Spirit work in the lives of these two people.

"We give You the praise, the honor and the glory for the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to bring us into a place of union with the Father, union with the Son, union with the Holy Spirit, and union with one another. We thank You for it, in Jesus' mighty Name. Amen."

To Congregation: You may be seated.

Charge to the Bride and Groom

As I read scriptures from the fifth chapter of the book of Ephesians, I want you both to pay very close attention to the words stated here. They are the words, from God's Word, that the Holy Spirit will honor as we stand on them in faith.

The world has the idea that marriage is simply a legal contract. It is a legal contract (we don't make light of that); but at the same time, it is a spiritual contract. When the words of faith are spoken according to the Word of God between two born-again believers, the power of God goes into operation. There is an actual miracle that takes place when the faith of these two people is released in God's power. God honors their faith and brings them into union together.

With these thoughts in mind, listen very carefully to these words:

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; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

To Groom : _ ___, have you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Savior?

Response: I have.

Have you received the Holy Spirit to dwell in you?

Response: I have.

To Bride : _ ___, have you accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Savior?

Response: I have.

Have you received the Holy Spirit to dwell in you?

Response: I have.

To Bride and Groom:

Now upon public profession of your faith, you have made known to all men that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is your Lord and your Savior.

I make this announcement before this congregation and these witnesses: When two people join themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, according to God's own words and God's own statement, they stand cleansedas clean before God as Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden before they sinned. This is not just a forgiveness of sin. The Bible says any man who is in Christ is a new creation; old things have passed away and all things have become new.

A miracle took place when you made Jesus the Lord of your life. The Holy Spirit used the very power of GodHis creative powerto cause your spirit to be reborn. It is the same power that God used when He raised Jesus from the dead, and He joined you to Jesus by that power.

When two born-again believers come before God to be joined together as husband and wife, the Apostle Paul calls it "a mystery" and says, "...but I speak concerning Christ and the church." When you made Jesus the Lord of your lives, you were joined to Him. First Corinthians 6:17 says you are one spirit with Him. In Ephesians, it says that you have become one flesh with the Lord. You are His. He is yours. You are one together with Him.

I want you to understand that if you rightly discern the Body of Christ, then you rightly discern the miracle that takes place in marriage. Your spirits will be joined together and you will become one. You will not be one just in the eyes of the law. There is something much more powerful that happens. The very creative power of God will join you together. The same power that joined you with Jesus when you made Him your Lord will join you together.

Don't ever tamper with that union. The love of God doesn't say, "I love you, but do you really love me?" The love of God says very simply, "I love you." That's all it ever says. Don't ever tamper with that miracle. Don't ever let the sun go down on your wrath. Something holy, something beyond reproach, will take place by the Spirit of God inside your bosom; and it is a precious thing.

To Witnesses: I want to speak this to the witnesses here:

Jesus said in the 18th chapter of Matthew's gospel,

"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."

You are not here just because of tradition. You are here for a serious purposeto bear witness forever of the miraculous union that will take place, and to add your agreement before God to that which takes place.

Don't ever, ever, ever tamper with that agreement. From this day forward, regardless of what comes, you are in agreement with this union. Don't ever attempt in any way to cause it to be anything other than a happy union.

To Congregation:

In the eyes of Almighty God, these two people are washed in the blood of the LambJesus Christ of Nazareth. They have prayed and, before the Lord God Himself, they believe with all their hearts that it is the perfect will of God for them to be joined together in the Spirit. They have made their decision, so from now until the end of this age, I charge you to do everything in your power to see that this union remains solid and strong and happy and prosperous.