What Does The Bible Say About Marriage
Scripture Teachings on Marriage, Divorce, and Polygamy
Jun 5, 2009
Few topics are as contentious in this day and age as the subject of marriage. What does the bestselling and most revered book in world history teach about marriage?
What Does The Bible Teach About Marriage
According to the Bible, the first marriage was conducted by God personally in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, both made in God's image, were joined together by God and commanded to "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1).
God declared them to be "one flesh" (Genesis 2) and established the pattern of marriage to be a man leaving his father and mother and being joined to his wife (Genesis 2).
From this model, it can be inferred that:
- Marriage was instituted by God;
- Marriage involved one man and one woman;
- The marital union is intended to bring children into the world, and;
- Children are raised to enter into their own marriage unions -- and repeat the cycle.
While many Christians consider the Garden of Eden to be symbolic, virtually all Bible-believing Christians concede that it represents the biblical model for marriage in the same way that John Locke's "state of nature" represents the political ideal of civil government.
What Does The Bible Say About Polygamy
What about polygamy? If marriage was intended by God to be one man and one woman, why are there so many polygamous marriages in Scripture? David and Solomon, for example, each had hundreds of wives. What's up with that?
Polygamy was practiced in the ancient world, and (like slavery) the Mosaic Law made accommodations for it, such as rules on inheritance as seen in Deuteronomy 21:15. Readers must be careful, though, in seeing each portion of the Mosaic Law as God's endorsement for the situation covered.
John MacArthur, a renowned theologian and pastor, explains, "Monogamous marriage was always God’s will. But listen: in the Old Testament because of cultures, God allowed a certain developing process...[O]nce [polygamy] got started in the cultures of the Old Testament period, God had to allow for it to work out as the message of God’s truth got into the hearts of those people. And God was patient in that area."
Gay Marriage And The Bible
Discerning what the Bible says about gay marriage has become quite contentious. In the United States, Christian clergy come down on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate. The Episcopal Church (USA), the United Methodist Church (USA), and the Presbyterian Church (USA) have experienced profound conflict and change in the areas of gay rights and same-sex marriage in recent decades.
Of course, this diversity of thought is, in some respects, a byproduct of more congregations and denominations expanding their doctrinal compass beyond the Bible. For instance, John Shelby Spong, a former Anglican bishop and internationally-known author and lecturer, says the Bible should not be permitted to "uphold the evil of homophobia."
Opponents of same-sex marriage counter that their disagreement with gay marriage doesn't automatically equate to hate or "homophobia." The National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality maintains that, "Principled disagreement...cannot be labeled 'homophobia.'"
For Bible-believing Christians, "principled disagreement" with homosexual marriage comes down to the Garden of Eden standard of one man and one woman joined by God to become "one flesh." They further cite the apostle Paul's condemnation of homosexuality in the New Testament as proof that the Bible stands in opposition to same-sex marriage.
What About Divorce?
When asked about Moses permitting divorce, Jesus responded that it was only because of the "hardness of your heart," that divorce was permitted (Mark 10:5). Given that hardness of heart (in the case of one or both parties) is perhaps the leading reason for divorce today, it's easy to understand Jesus' explanation.
Jesus, however, makes God's standard (and desire) clear, when he reminds his audience that "from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female.'" With this as his premise, Jesus quotes the Father: "'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'" (Mark 10:6-8)
Jesus then adds the finishing touch, concluding: "So then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9).
What The Bible Says About Marriage
Keeping the above points in mind, the biblical standard on marriage appears to be the following:
- Marriage is to be a lifelong commitment between two people before God
- Marriage is to be between one man and one woman
- Marriage is the institution God established for sexual relations and the perpetuation of the human race
There are of couse over 2 billion people in the world today who identify in some respect with Christianity. Views on marriage vary widely within this group, thus not all professing Christians (including all Bible-believing Christians) will fully agree with the above summary. Nevertheless, the preceding three-point summary is most consistent with a conservative, evangelical exegesis of the Scriptures.
There is one point, though, that virtually all Bible-believing Christians can agree on, and that is that marriage was intended as a loving, rewarding institution. God wants marriages to be characterized by love, trust, respect, and happiness. Biblical teachings on marriage, therefore, are not meant to deprive one of happiness, but rather to enhance and encourage it.
Related Reading
Readers of this article may also find "Tips for Troubled Marriages" to be of interest. For those readers exploring the issue of biblical authority, please consider "Is The Bible The Word of God?"
