Synergy: The Essence of Marriage

Synergy

Synergy

The Essence of Marriage

Ibukun Adewusi

CCCG Publishing House

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

1 The Foundation of Synergy

2 The Art of Grafting

3 Personal Responsibilities for Synergy

4 Benefits of Synergy

5 Hindrances to Synergy

Epilogue

A Sinner's Prayer

Contact the Author

About the Author

Additional References

Copyright © 2023 Ibukun Adewusi

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphics, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in cases of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified Classic Edition. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Version. Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TPT are taken from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public Domain.

 Author: Ibukun Adewusi

ISBN: 978-1-989099-24-7 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-989099-25-4 (ebook)

First Printing 2023

Dedication

To the Holy Spirit (HS), thank you for being my friend, partner, and teacher on this journey of establishing and maintaining synergy in my marriage. Thank you for the corrections, revelations, and love you keep showing me.  Thank you for the strength and grace you gave me in writing this book. I love you HS!

To my lovely husband, Emmanuel Adewusi, thank you for your amazing support, covering, words of encouragement, direction, and prayers as I ventured into writing this book.  Thank you for being such an understanding and patient husband, as God continues to mold and fuse us together as one according to His perfect design and will.  I'm truly blessed to have you on my side as we journey this life together and pursue God's vision for our lives and marriage. 

Foreword

''Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall become one flesh.'' (Genesis 2:24, NKJV)

Marriage is a sacred vow between a man and woman, to "become one flesh which was instituted by God. The concept of ‘Marriage’, with the focus, specifically on how to have the perfect union, has been the topic of discussion for many years, with the aim to identify what is needed to make a marriage work. Many books on marriage have been written, focusing on the different ingredients that make a successful marriage, such as communication, commitment, finance, lovemaking, the God-factor, and many more. These topics have also extended to counseling sessions, webinars, and even couple’s seminars. Nevertheless, with the many books, guidelines, and resources out there, why are there still failed marriages?

According to statistics, there were approximately 2.7 per 1,000 people that got divorced in America in 2021. This means that there are around 750,000 divorces per year in America. That is an alarming number! The most shocking aspect though, is that these divorces cut across all categories of people, irrespective of their color, faith, social status, or years of experience. Else who would have imagined that the likes of Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos would go through a divorce with their experience as entrepreneurs and the conglomerates that they control? So, it got me wondering how these known names are able to control a conglomerate and yet a seemingly small unit as their marriage failed. This confirms that marriage goes beyond the technical know-how of successful business leaders. The reason for a divorce is usually summed up as "irreconcilable differences’’ - which usually stem from lack of trust, communication, disagreement on finances, and sometimes abuse. Some marriages have also become a competition arena where couples cleave to themselves and not their spouses. But now, having read this book, I would term these irreconcilable differences as a lack of synergy.

This book, ‘Synergy: The Essence of Marriage,' which according to the author, was inspired by the Holy Spirit, is very impactful and insightful. Synergy is defined as the interaction of elements, that when combined, produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual element’s contribution. Deuteronomy 32:30 says, "How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.." In this book, the act of grafting is used as an apt illustration to describe synergy in marriage. Grafting is the act of placing a portion of one plant (bud, scion) into a stem root or branch of another stock in such a way that a union is formed, and the partners will continue to grow. Similarly, in the context of marriage, a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they become one flesh and continue to grow. The author further explained how the synergy can be maintained in marriage through spiritual authority which is in three folds: the Word, the Holy Spirit, and the human authorities. Therefore, a man and his wife need spiritual authority in order to have synergy in finance, body, physical appearance, and feelings.

Pastor Ibukun Adewusi is a wife, pastor, writer, a role model who has used her ministry to impact and bring restoration and transformation to families; which she believes is the bedrock of any nation. As the popular saying goes, ‘’charity begins at home". As I read each chapter of this book,’ I took account of my own marriage and started checking off the things that have kept the synergy alive in my marriage, and was also reminded of the areas where I have relaxed that need to be revived. This book is a must-read if you are seeking synergy in your marriage or if you are wanting to be reminded of how to keep or revive the synergy in your marriage.

By: Pastor Mike Olawale

Lead Pastor, Christ Dominion Church of God International

Introduction

From a very young age, I have always been enamoured with love (relationships) or anything relating to it. This led to the one burning question that I would ask anyone I possibly could: How would you know the right person to get married to? I almost always left frustrated since most of the responses to this question were You will just know. It seemed like such a vague answer. As time went on, I started looking for answers in romantic movies, which I discovered were fictional; but with time, my question metamorphosed into a burning question of my soul to know the essence of marriage. I knew marriage went beyond two good people coming together in holy matrimony, and I was even aware that it had to do with vision; however, I sincerely lacked the understanding of the essence of marriage. It was so crucial for me to find the right answer to this burning question of mine because I did not want to follow most people to say marriage was good and be satisfied with that. I truly yearned