8 Encouraging Bible Verses About Marriage
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These days, there are a lot of differing opinions about marriage. Some people think marriage is an outdated institution. Others believe that the only thing that matters in marriage is whether two people - of any gender - love each other. Still, others hold to the traditional definition of marriage.
However, there is only one opinion on marriage that really matters: God’s. What does God say about marriage? What does the Bible say about marriage? If we’re going to rightly understand marriage, we need to be crystal clear on what God says about it.
So with that in mind, let’s go to the Bible to discover what God says about marriage.
Marriage Is From God
The very first thing the Bible says about marriage is that it is from God. In other words, God created marriage and gives it His blessing. In Genesis 2:18, God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
When God looked on Adam, He saw that Adam needed help. He needed someone to walk alongside him and encourage him and help him.
He needed someone like him, and yet also with distinct strengths and gifts.
Pastor Adrian Rogers said:
"Who is better, men or women? The answer to that question is “Yes!” A man is infinitely superior to a woman at being a man, and a woman is infinitely superior to a man at being a woman. Men and women are different—by design. Neither is superior to the other, but they are very, very different."
And so God created Eve as Adam’s helper and companion. He then brought them together in the very first marriage. After God created Adam and Eve, He said to them:
Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth (Genesis 1:28).
God brought Adam and Eve together so that they could be fruitful, multiply, and ultimately fill the earth. God created Adam and Eve in His image and He ordained marriage so that the earth would be filled with His image.
Marriage is from God.
Marriage Is Good
The Bible also makes it abundantly clear that marriage is a good thing. Many people today see marriage as a burden. They want to live together but they view marriage as something to be avoided.
Marriage is a blessing to be pursued, not a burden to be avoided. If you are married, you have obtained favor and blessing from the Lord. God has given you a good and wonderful thing.
Proverbs 18:22 says,
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.”
Speaking of the first time Adam saw Eve, Pastor Adrian Rogers said:
“Adam then said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ (Genesis 2:23). I am certainly not a Hebrew scholar, but those who are, tell us that Adam said (loosely translated): 'Wow! This is what I have been looking for! You did it right God. This is what I want.'”
This means that if you are married, you should regularly give thanks for your spouse. Because God loves you and wants to bless you, He has brought you and your spouse together.
If you’re not married, you should ask God to bring you a spouse (unless you have the gift of singleness). Don’t indefinitely put off marriage so that you can pursue self-gratification. Instead, seek God for the blessing of marriage.
Helpful Tools and Resources on Marriage and Family
How to Have a Happy Family
In this post, we’re going to look at what God’s word has to say about the family. When you understand God’s truth and apply it within your family, you will see an amazing transformation.
Marriage Is Sacred
Marriage is not like other relationships. It goes deeper than friendship. It even goes deeper than family.
In Genesis 2:24 it says this about marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The relationship between a husband and wife is so sacred that it transcends mother and father.
Pastor Adrian Rogers said:
"The relationship of parent and child is wonderful, but the Bible teaches that there is a higher human relationship and that is of husband and wife. Do you know what your job is as a parent? To prepare your child to leave."
Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. A covenant is a sacred agreement between two people. Before God, each person commits themselves to the other.
The important implication is that divorce is not an option for Christians (except in a few circumstances such as infidelity or abuse). Each partner must be committed to working through problems in a biblical, God-honoring manner.
Pastor Adrian Rogers also said:
"Show me two people who begin their marriage with the idea that if it doesn’t work out, they can get a divorce, and I’ll show you two people who are highly likely to get a divorce...It is not love that sustains a marriage so much as it is marriage that sustains love. Commitment sustains love and keeps it growing."
Marriage Makes Two Into One
When two people get married, something miraculous happens. God transforms from two individuals living separate lives into “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). This doesn’t mean that they lose their individuality. It means that just as our bodies are one flesh and can’t be divided without great pain, so it is with the marriage relationship.
The couple becomes one in many different ways. Suddenly, so much is shared between them. Emotions, finances, and plans are joined together. Through sex, the couple is joined together physically. The actions of the husband directly affect the wife, and vice versa.
Pastor Adrian Rogers said:
There on a mountain top is a little stream that begins to trickle down. On a distant mountain another spring bubbles and forms a second spring and it begins to trickle down. Now each stream takes a unique course as it comes down the mountain side. And when these two streams meet and the water intermingles, they become one stream. That is like marriage.
Because marriage is a “one flesh” relationship, sex outside of marriage is forbidden. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:16, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”
Sex uniquely joins two people and should be reserved for marriage alone.
Marriage Reflects Christ and The Church
Perhaps the most astonishing thing the Bible says about marriage is that marriage is a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church.
When a husband sacrificially loves his wife and lays his life down for her, it’s a picture of Christ lovingly laying His wife down for the church.
When a wife respects, honors, and loves her husband, it points to the way the church respects, honors, and loves Jesus.
Ephesians 5:31-33 says:
“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
This, perhaps more than anything else, shows us just how important marriage is to God. God’s ultimate purpose in creating marriage was to show us the self-giving relationship between Jesus and the church. Marriage is intended to make us happy, but personal fulfillment isn’t the end goal of marriage. If we highlight our own satisfaction above everything else, we’re missing God’s glorious purpose for marriage.
Want your marriage to thrive? Imitate the self-giving love of Jesus.
What Does The Bible Say About Marriage? Everything
The Bible isn’t silent on the subject of marriage. It very clearly speaks to the question, “What does God say about marriage?”
God invented marriage for our good and His glory. It is a sacred relationship in which two people become one flesh. When a husband and wife pursue God together and sacrificially love one another, it reflects the relationship between Christ and the church.
In light of these profound realities, invest time and energy in growing your marriage. Pray for your marriage. Surround yourself with people who will encourage your marriage.
Yes, it requires work to build a deep, lasting, God-honoring relationship with your spouse. But it’s worth it.
