Marriage is a unique and wonderful relationship that requires dedication and perseverance. The children of God must reflect their love in all our relationships and marriage gives us daily opportunities to show it.

The Bible talks a lot about marriage and gives us very good advice. It is such an important issue for God that he even compares his relationship with the Church to the marital relationship. 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.

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 economy, 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 him.

(Matthew 19: 4-6)

The original design of God is that marriage be forever. Divorce is not part of his plan, he wants us to be together until death. In this verse of Matthew Jesus admits that Moses allowed divorce “because of the hardness of man’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 the 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, 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 (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 and marriage is no exception. 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, should have a healthy life of prayer and study the word. The woman also needs to go to God asking for 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 your breasts always satisfy you! May your love captivate you all the time!

(Proverbs 5: 18-19)

God longs for husband and wife to have a satisfying sex life 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 our self-esteem. In the sexual act we express our love, our 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 individualism. If both serve God they will count on your help in difficult times, they will receive their wisdom to make the right decisions and the strength to overcome the trials. 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 result.

10. Be a team

More are worth two than one, because they get more fruit of their 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; just one, how will it get hot?

(Ecclesiastes 4: 9-11)

Marriage must work together for common goals joining forces to see fulfilled the dreams and desires that God puts in their hearts. Each must ensure the welfare of the other, care for and help. If one falls, the other raises it, bandages the wound, encourages it to continue.

11. Start well

It is interesting to see that in the Old Testament the importance of creating a solid and happy foundation in marriage from the beginning is mentioned. 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.

12. Understanding and respect

In the same way, you husbands, be understanding in your conjugal life, treating each one of 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 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 tenacious, like the grave. As a divine flame it is the burning fire of love. Not many waters can extinguish it, nor can the rivers 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.