Marriage is a unique and wonderful relationship that requires dedication and perseverance. The children of God must reflect their love in all their relationships and marriage gives them daily opportunities to show it.
The Bible talks a lot about marriage and gives us a very good advice. It is such an important issue for God that He even compares His relationship with the Church to the marital relationship between man and woman. Let’s see some Bible verses that talk about marriage.
1. First the spouse, then the parents
This verse says that the marriage that God instituted requires two actions. First, leave the parents physically. When we get married we form a new family, a new home and that must be our priority. Of course we have to love and honor our parents until death, but we must understand that as a new family, we will make plans and make decisions counting on each other - man and woman as husband and wife.
Second, to unite in one flesh with our spouse: sexual unity and emotional unity. From the moment we get married, we will enjoy each other sexually and seek to walk together in all areas, such as, for example, the family finances, the service to God and the education of the children when they arrive.
2. It is forever
Have you not read, Jesus replied, that in the beginning the Creator “made them man and woman,” and said, “That is why the man will leave his father and mother, and will join his wife, and the two will come to be one body?” So it’s not two anymore, it’s just one. Therefore, what God has united, let man not separate.
(Matthew 19: 4-6)
The original design of God is that marriage be forever. Divorce is not part of His plan. He wants every couple to be together until death. In this verse of Matthew, Jesus admits that Moses allowed divorce “because of the hardness in some men’s heart.” There are extreme situations of abuse or infidelity that require a drastic measure, but God’s original plan for marriage is for man and woman to remain together until death separates them.
3. Bring happiness
God must guide us in the choice of our partner, we receive blessing when we choose within His will for us. We must marry someone who brings joy to our hearts, someone who brings us closer to God and His purpose for our life. Thus we will walk together and with joy in our hearts, the very path through which God will take us.
4. Unity in Christ
Do not form a team with the unbelievers. What do justice and evil have in common? Or what communion can light have with darkness? What harmony does Christ have with the devil? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
(2 Corinthians 6: 14-15)
The word spouse means united by the yoke, in reference to the yoke that holds the oxen together so that they can plow in the same direction. Marriage must be united in every way and spiritual union is vital. We must be united in Christ. We must do both - love and obey Jesus in order to live in harmony and for Christ to be glorified in everything we do.
5. Submission as the Lord
There is no fear of submitting to each other when we are both filled with God’s love. We trust that God guides the other person within his or her will and we do not fear that He will take advantage of us or hurt us on purpose. That is why it is important to marry a man who fears God and is full of His Holy Spirit. If we know that his actions and words are guided by the Lord, we will not be afraid to submit. The perfect love that God gives us casts out any fear that we may have (1 John 4:18).
6. Love as Christ
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy.
(Ephesians 5: 25-26a)
The love of Christ for the church should be our example. Jesus was willing to go to the cross for each one of us and he did it out of love. Human beings tend to be selfish, to seek our own good before that of others. But the Christian husband needs to be filled with the love of Christ, always seeking the spiritual well-being of his wife, which brings her closer to God and sanctifies her.
7. The correct order
Everything in life works best when we follow the advice and instructions of God and Jesus Christ, and marriage is no exception to this rule. For there to be peace and harmony, the order of leadership must be clear. The husband should seek God’s direction on what is best for him and his family. He should have a healthy life of prayer and study the word of God. The woman also needs to go to God in prayer asking for His wisdom for her and for her husband and to support her husband in making decisions that will please the Father’s heart.
8. Encourage sexual intimacy
Blessed be your source! Enjoy with the wife of your youth! It’s a loving gazelle, it’s a lovely fawn. May her breasts always satisfy you! May her love captivate you all the time!
(Proverbs 5: 18-19)
God longs for husband and wife to have satisfying sexual experiences throughout their lives and to be exclusively for each other. Marital sexual intimacy should bring joy and satisfaction, not shame or fear and should also strengthen the self-esteem of every husband and wife. In the sexual act we express our love, a total trust in our spouse and also our appreciation of the way God created us and the other person.
9. Stronger with God
It is said that in the union there is strength and this is even more true in marriage. A united marriage is a great example in this world that applauds both husband and wife’s individualism. If both serve God, the world will count on your help in difficult times. They will receive their wisdom from you to make the right decisions and the strength to overcome the trials of life. Not only will they support and encourage each other in times of temptation or difficulty but they will seek God’s direction and persevere until they obtain the desired results.
10. Be a team
More are worth two than one, because they get more fruit of their collective effort. If one falls down, help him up. Woe to the one who falls and has no one to raise him! If two lie together, they will warm up; if one is merely by oneself, how will there be warmth?
(Ecclesiastes 4: 9-11)
Marriage must work together for common goals, joining forces to see that the dreams and desires that God puts in their hearts are fulfilled. Each must ensure the welfare of the other. They should care for and help each other out. If one falls, the other one picks up the fallen one, bandages the wound, and encourages to continue the journey after healing.
11. Start well
It is interesting to see that, the importance of creating a solid and happy foundation in marriage is laid from the beginning. It has been mentioned so in the Old Testament. In his great wisdom, God encourages us to focus on the first year of marriage, to build a strong foundation together and to be happy. Everything else can wait, there will be time for other duties or concerns; but the foundation must be rock solid, right from the beginning of the courtship.
12. Understanding and respect
In the same way, you husbands, be understanding in your conjugal life, treating each your wife with respect, since as a woman she is more delicate, and both are heirs of the pleasing gift of life. So nothing will hinder your prayers.
(1 Peter 3: 7)
Marriage is built and strengthened with respect and understanding between both. If we understand and appreciate the other as he is, with his strengths and weaknesses, we will be happier and all other areas of our life will be affirmed, including our spiritual life.
13. Fidelity and purity
For God, marriage has a lot of value and He sends us to see it like that. Marriage is sacred. Fidelity between husband and wife is not negotiable: we must be faithful to each other. All kinds of sexual immorality, adultery, fornication, pornography, all misuse of the sexual act to embarrass or manipulate the other is unacceptable and will be judged. We must always treat the other with love, with purity and respect.
14. The power of love
Write me like a seal on your heart. Take me as a mark on your arm. Strong is love, like death, and passionate yet tenacious, like the grave. As a divine flame it is the burning fire of love. Not many waters or rivers drown it, nor can any fire extinguish it.
(Song of Solomon 8: 6-7a)
True love is powerful and eternal, it is a commitment to be next to the other no matter what happens. The stamp on the heart and the mark on the arm do not refer to tattoos that can be erased but to embedded marks that last and that can never be removed. True love will endure through all the seasons or storms that may come. There will be no illness, scarcity, or disagreement that will put it out.
15. Build with wisdom
We need wisdom and the Bible says that the principle of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1: 7). If we want to build a solid marriage that lasts, we must go to the source of wisdom, to God. He will help us overcome our differences and make wise decisions. If we go to Him every day presenting our concerns and our desires, He will guide us, and with the passing of the years we will look back and rejoice to see how He worked in us and in our marriage.
