What Does the Bible Say About Marriage? God's Design for a Strong Family

Genesis 2:21-22

Marriage is a sacred institution, ordained by God from the very beginning. The world may try to redefine it, but God’s Word never changes. Genesis 2 lays out the foundation of biblical marriage, a union between one man and one woman.

God's Original Design for Marriage

Genesis 2:21-22 says:
"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."

From the start, God established two genders—male and female—and joined them in marriage. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." (Genesis 2:24). Marriage is a God-ordained covenant that cannot be altered by human opinion or modern trends.

Marriage is Honorable

Hebrews 13:4 declares:
"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."

That means a man and a woman can share a bed when they are married. So this idea of shacking up, of testing things out first—that isn’t from God, that’s from the devil. Marriage is honorable.

Satan’s Four-Fold Attack on the Family

Satan wants to destroy the family, and his tactics are four-fold.

1. Unequal Yoking with Unbelievers

2 Corinthians 6:14 states:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?"

Satan wants to get young people, raised in church, to marry an unbeliever.

It doesn't matter what color someone's skin is—God cares about the heart! Satan wants your child to grow up and marry and be yoked together with an unbeliever.

2. Fornication and Adultery

1 Corinthians 6:18 warns:
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body."

Satan wants to get you caught up in fornication before marriage or adultery after marriage, and wreck the home before it even gets started. Parents, it matters what your children see, hear, and take in daily.

3. Divorce: What God Hates

Malachi 2:16 says:
"For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away."

God’s plan for marriage is lifelong. Divorce was permitted in the Old Testament because of the hardness of their hearts, but from the beginning, it was not so (Matthew 19:8). Satan wants to put doubt in your heart and make you believe divorce is an easy escape. Don’t give yourself an allowance for it!

4. Confusion and the Destruction of Gender Roles

Leviticus 18:22 warns:
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

Look around the world today—there is confusion everywhere. People dressing as animals, men thinking they are women, women thinking they are men. You don’t read the Bible and come away with that kind of confusion. That comes from Satan.

The Role of Husbands and Wives

A strong marriage begins with fulfilling God-given roles.

Husbands: Love and Lead

Ephesians 5:25 commands:
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."

Husbands, you are to love your wife like Christ loved the church! That means leading, sacrificing, protecting. It means being the spiritual leader of the home. Step up and be the man God called you to be.

Wives: Reverence and Submit

Ephesians 5:33 says:
"Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."

Ladies, your role is to reverence your husband. Submission doesn’t mean inferiority—it means recognizing God’s order. Christ submitted to the Father, and the wife is to submit to her husband.

The Home Must Be Built on Christ

Titus 2:4-5 teaches:
"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

Wives, you are keepers at home. Your home should be in order, not in disarray. Husbands, you are to lead in righteousness. Parents, you are to train up your children in the ways of the Lord.

Stand Firm in God’s Design

The world is pushing a false definition of marriage, but God’s Word never changes. Marriage is between one man and one woman, for life. Satan wants to destroy it, but we must stand firm.

If you want a strong marriage and a strong family, build it on God’s Word. Stay faithful, stay committed, and keep Christ at the center. Stand on truth—no matter what the world says!

"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:6)