What Does The Bible Say About Marriage?
As divorce rates climb each day, Christians can navigate with God’s original blueprint written in bible verses about marriage.
According to the Bible in Genesis 2:24, marriage is a sacred union where a man leaves his father and his mother, is joined to his wife, and they become one flesh. God in His wisdom in Genesis 2:18 saw that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, so He gave Him Eve, and thus marriage was instituted.
The family is the first unit of society and plays an important role in who people become so it’s important to God that we have more successful unions. The main reason marriages are broken is that they deviate from God’s original idea of what it should look like. So according to the Bible, what was God’s plan when He ordained marriage?
Top 8 Biblical Facts About Marriage
- It is not compulsory. (1 Corinthians 7:7-8, 38). It is good and desirable, but not a requirement to please God. Not everyone will experience it. People who are born or choose to be eunuchs do not get married. According to Paul, you can choose to stay single to serve God better.
- Marriage is meant to last till death except on grounds like adultery (Matthew 5:31).
- Marriage is meant to be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church. The husband is the head of the union and the wife is to submit to him (Ephesians 5:21-33). The love between them is to be without conditions.
- The husband and wife are equal before God. This means that they both can have the gift of salvation. (1 Peter 3:7)
- Marriage is ordained to glorify God and yield fruit. (1 Corinthians 10:31).
- God comes first in a marriage. We are meant to be obedient to God first, before our spouses.
- Biblical marriages are meant to be between believers, not an unbeliever and a believer. We must not be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14).
- Marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman, not people of the same gender (Leviticus 20:13), a human and an animal (Exodus 22:19), and a person with themselves (sologamy), a place or an object.
Does The Bible Say There Is One Specific Person For Us To Marry?
A lot of single Christians buy into the idea of “God told me you’re my spouse” when it comes to marriage. While it is true that God can and will lead you to marry the right person, the Bible doesn’t say that there’s only one person that we can get married to. If that were true, there would be a whole lot of mismatches in the world.
God allows us to exercise our free will to a large extent when it comes to who we marry. He doesn’t force people on us whether we feel attracted to them or not. Rather when we find someone we like or want to get married to and go to God in prayer about it, He only gives us a go-ahead or a “not this one child”.
To make the right choices without falling victim to deceit and pretense, we must involve God in the process of choosing our life partners. You can also find books and other resources on marriage with Christian apps. Gaining wisdom and knowledge before going into a serious covenant based relationship is very vital.
Biblical Vs. Worldly View of Marriage
There’s a great contrast between the standards of the Bible and that of the world, even when it comes to marriage.
- Worldly unions are mostly run on romantic feelings and desire. When the feelings fade, so do the vows they promised to keep to each other and the next action in line would be divorce.
Biblical marriages are run on commitment; the decision to love each other no matter the odds. We are called to love each other like Christ loves the church unconditionally.
- Worldly marriages are quick to end in divorce. They are torn apart easily and do not stand the test of time.
Biblical spouses understand that they will only part in death (Romans 7:2) and so do not give up on each other.
- The earth’s main purpose for weddings is mainly for pleasure.
Biblical marriages aim to fulfill God’s purpose for both parties involved.
- To the world, marriage is just a formality for two people who want to live together.
Biblically, it’s a sacred union and vows are to be kept.
- For biblical marriages, God is always the central focus.
In worldly unions, the focus is mostly selfish and either on themselves, what they want for themselves and their spouse.
What Does The Bible Say About Sex In Marriage?
Sex is sacred and intended for marriage alone. God desires that the husband and wife are intimate with each other and bring forth children.
According to the Bible, the bodies of a husband and wife belong to each other.
Except for moments when they agree to go on a short sexual fast to pray, Scripture in 1 Corinthians 7:5 encourages sex between couples to be mutual and frequent so that they are not tempted by adultery.
However, Hebrews 13:4 makes it clear that God frowns on all forms of adultery. Things like pornography, marital aids, and sexual perversion soil the sanctity and beauty of the act of sex between couples. Currently, adultery seems to be normal and the order of the day.
Bible Verses About Marriage
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”
“4. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
- or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
- it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
- Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
“27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
- And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
- Hebrews 13:4
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Conclusion
The key to a successful marriage is the Holy Spirit. Allowing God, the Ordinator of marriage to guide you through yours will guarantee its success. After all, who knows a product better than its inventor?
Reading and meditating on bible verses about marriage, relationships and love will help us understand God’s plan for it better. Marriage is beautiful and even in its ups and downs, always remember that your spouse is a gift from God.
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