The Biblical Truth about Marriage

Marriage was created by God in the beginning after He created the earth. He created marriage for the first man and first woman because He did not think it was good for a man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). God’s plan for marriage is for a man to leave his parents and be united with his wife (Genesis 2:24). The two will become one by God for a lifetime or until one of them dies (1 Corinthians 7:39).

God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. He designed it His way as a loving parent who knows what is best for His children. Jesus describes how God wants marriage to be like in Matthew 19:4-6,

Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female. And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. So, there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

God blesses a marriage between a husband and a wife. He allows them to be fruitful and fill the earth with children. God gives them the authority and power to rule over every living creature on earth including fish in the sea and birds in the sky (Genesis 1:28). They are also given power by God to rule over each other’s bodies. God wants them to have and enjoy sex in the marriage, so neither will be tempted to go outside the marriage for sex (1 Corinthians 7: 2-6).

God only gives the husband the power to rule over the family in the household (Colossians 3:18). God wants wives to submit to their husbands because the woman was created from the man, therefore, are considered the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7). Even though God gives husbands the authority to rule over his wife, God expects husbands to treat their wives with respect. Paul describes how husbands should treat their wives in Ephesians 5:28-30,

“In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church, because we are parts of his body.”

The truth is God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). God does not like it because He created it to be a life-long commitment between a man and a woman (Mark 10:9). Divorce breaks the holy covenant made between them, Christ, and His church. The Bible mentions a few reasons God allows for divorce in a marriage. First, if a spouse cheats on another or second, if one of the non-believing spouses leaves the marriage (Matthew 19:9), (1 Corinthians 7:15).

Jesus also tells us in Luke 16 verse 18 that if a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he is guilty of adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman is also guilty of adultery.

Marriage is important to God. He wants all to honor the marriage vows. The husband and wife need to remain faithful to one another. If not, God will judge and punish all those who take part in sexual sins (Hebrews 13:4).