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Disclaimer: Folks, Please don't bombard me with what Paul said about marrying so that you don't burn with lust, BECAUSE he was also the guy who outlined the true meaning of love for us so beautifully elsewhere. 
It is God's will that you keep away from sexual sin as a mark of your devotion to him. Each of you should know that finding a husband or wife for yourself is to be done in a holy and honorable way, not in the passionate, lustful way of people who don't know God (1 Thes 4:3-5 GWT).
I don't think that the GWT interpretation is just taking about refraining from premarital sex, but that marriage shouldn't be founded up passionate lust. It takes considerably more than that to sustain a healthy marriage.
I don't have any wisdom to share... I just have to say WOW, seeing this verse in this way is really confirming. This scripture really has a lot to unwrap. When we look for a spouse, it's natural to want to be blown away with passion, to be "in love", to feel definite attraction... what does "holy and honorable" mean, and how is it different than (or opposite of) "passion"?
Well, I would like to reiterate that the GWT takes certain liberties, so that verse would be different if you look at other translations, but I still believe GWT makes a great point.
"As a noun, honor approximates our ideas of esteem, respect, (high) regard, or (good) reputation... To honor is to recognize the value of someone or thing and to act accordingly" (Holman Bible Dictionary).
Where else in the Bible do we find "honor" in relation to marriage?
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral (He 13:4). In that verse, honoring marriage correlates to being faithful to your spouse.
According to Strong's Concordance, holy means "set apart, sanctification, consecration. HELP - Word Studies defines holy as "the believer being progressively transformed by the Lord into His likeness."
Where else in the Bible have we seen "holy" in relation to marriage?
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ep 5:25-27).
To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy (1 Cor 7:12-14).
Drawing from the HELP-Word Studies definition and the correlating verses, Christian marriage is about sanctification. It's one of the methods God uses to "progressively transform believers into His likeness."
Given the definitions of holy and honorable, it would be extremely advantageous for believers to have a fundamental knowledge and understanding of these concepts and how they relate to marriage before choosing a spouse. The world wouldn't understand or even be familiar with such concepts.
How do "those who don't know God" approach marriage? Bridezilla, Gypsy Wedding, Couples Therapy, Bachelor and Bachelorette are just a few examples.
"As a noun, honor approximates our ideas of esteem, respect, (high) regard, or (good) reputation... To honor is to recognize the value of someone or thing and to act accordingly" (Holman Bible Dictionary).
Where else in the Bible do we find "honor" in relation to marriage?
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral (He 13:4). In that verse, honoring marriage correlates to being faithful to your spouse.
According to Strong's Concordance, holy means "set apart, sanctification, consecration. HELP - Word Studies defines holy as "the believer being progressively transformed by the Lord into His likeness."
Where else in the Bible have we seen "holy" in relation to marriage?
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ep 5:25-27).
To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy (1 Cor 7:12-14).
Drawing from the HELP-Word Studies definition and the correlating verses, Christian marriage is about sanctification. It's one of the methods God uses to "progressively transform believers into His likeness."
Given the definitions of holy and honorable, it would be extremely advantageous for believers to have a fundamental knowledge and understanding of these concepts and how they relate to marriage before choosing a spouse. The world wouldn't understand or even be familiar with such concepts.
How do "those who don't know God" approach marriage? Bridezilla, Gypsy Wedding, Couples Therapy, Bachelor and Bachelorette are just a few examples.
J
How many people do we know who chose a partner based upon how "hot" they look? How much money they have? What kind of car they drive?
I heard a couple of attorneys talking one day. They didn't know anyone could hear them. One of them had recently married and described his new bride as "okay for a FIRST wife". In their world that means she's pretty, they can have sex with her (and likely their GFs too), she can give them children and keep their homes comfortable. In return, she gets to use his credit cards in all of the best stores, salon, gyms, whatever her little heart desires. And when the children are older and he is tired of her, he will trade her in for one trophy wife after another.
That doesn't look anything like this, does it? -
Mark 10:[SUP]5 [/SUP]“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. [SUP]6 [/SUP]“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[SUP][a][/SUP] [SUP]7[/SUP]‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[SUP][b][/SUP][SUP]8 [/SUP]and the two will become one flesh.’[SUP][c][/SUP] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. [SUP]9 [/SUP]Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Malachi 2:[SUP]10 [/SUP]Do we not all have one Father[SUP][b][/SUP]? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?[SUP]11 [/SUP]Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. [SUP]12 [/SUP]As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob[SUP][c][/SUP]—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. [SUP]14 [/SUP]You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
[SUP]15 [/SUP]Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[SUP][d][/SUP] So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
[SUP]16 [/SUP]“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[SUP][e][/SUP] says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
1 Corinthians 7:7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” [SUP]2 [/SUP]But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. [SUP]3[/SUP]The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.[SUP]4 [/SUP]The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.[SUP]5 [/SUP]Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. [SUP]6 [/SUP]I say this as a concession, not as a command. [SUP]7 [/SUP]I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
People who understand holy matrimony know how very difficult it is to find someone who loves the Lord as we do. Who want to live out our faith on a daily basis. When you DO find someone like that, you come to fully understand what a precious gift of God they are. You love them. You want to enjoy them. You treasure them. You have fun with them. You celebrate with them. You trust them. You surrender to them. You are passionate about them. You NEED them. You long for them. You don't want to do anything that will hurt or demean them. You love them unselfishly. You put their needs and desires above your own.
In my mind, it's this:
World = selfishness
Godly = selflessness
I heard a couple of attorneys talking one day. They didn't know anyone could hear them. One of them had recently married and described his new bride as "okay for a FIRST wife". In their world that means she's pretty, they can have sex with her (and likely their GFs too), she can give them children and keep their homes comfortable. In return, she gets to use his credit cards in all of the best stores, salon, gyms, whatever her little heart desires. And when the children are older and he is tired of her, he will trade her in for one trophy wife after another.
That doesn't look anything like this, does it? -
Mark 10:[SUP]5 [/SUP]“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. [SUP]6 [/SUP]“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[SUP][a][/SUP] [SUP]7[/SUP]‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[SUP][b][/SUP][SUP]8 [/SUP]and the two will become one flesh.’[SUP][c][/SUP] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. [SUP]9 [/SUP]Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Malachi 2:[SUP]10 [/SUP]Do we not all have one Father[SUP][b][/SUP]? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?[SUP]11 [/SUP]Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. [SUP]12 [/SUP]As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob[SUP][c][/SUP]—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. [SUP]14 [/SUP]You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
[SUP]15 [/SUP]Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[SUP][d][/SUP] So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
[SUP]16 [/SUP]“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[SUP][e][/SUP] says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
1 Corinthians 7:7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” [SUP]2 [/SUP]But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. [SUP]3[/SUP]The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.[SUP]4 [/SUP]The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.[SUP]5 [/SUP]Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. [SUP]6 [/SUP]I say this as a concession, not as a command. [SUP]7 [/SUP]I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
People who understand holy matrimony know how very difficult it is to find someone who loves the Lord as we do. Who want to live out our faith on a daily basis. When you DO find someone like that, you come to fully understand what a precious gift of God they are. You love them. You want to enjoy them. You treasure them. You have fun with them. You celebrate with them. You trust them. You surrender to them. You are passionate about them. You NEED them. You long for them. You don't want to do anything that will hurt or demean them. You love them unselfishly. You put their needs and desires above your own.
In my mind, it's this:
World = selfishness
Godly = selflessness