Reader, would you be surprised to hear that every human that has ever been married was part of a Christian institution? God indeed created and owns marriage. It is his way of humans living here on earth together, and his way of creating more humans. The word of God is full of details and explanations on what marriage is.
In The Beginning
- Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
- Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
- Genesis 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
The first hint we have in the word of God that marriage exists is in Genesis 2:18, God recognizes that it is not good that man should be alone. God here in verses 19 and 20 was showing Adam that all the created animals were not going to be his help meet. God created man to both need an help meet, and to need a partner in life to avoid loneliness. Man is not self sufficient.
What is Marriage Purpose 1: That man should not be alone.
The Creation of Woman
- Genesis 2:21 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;
- Genesis 2:22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
- Genesis 2:23 And Adam 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 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
God here creates woman from mans body, and Adam clearly accepts woman as his help meet. I believe Adam here was amazed and excited and what God had just created. God wants a union between two humans, he designed them to choose a mate, and become one flesh with that mate for their life here on earth.
What is Marriage Purpose 2: Man and Woman be joined as one Flesh.
Procreation
- Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
- Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
In Genesis 1 God blesses Adam and Eve and command them to multiply. After the fall of man in Genesis 3, we see that Adam and Eve bore Cain. The order here is important, first we see creation of Man and Woman, then marriage, then procreation. In Genesis 4 we see God created sex between a man and a woman for the initial purpose of procreation. Procreation is one of the initial fundamental 3 components to a Godly marriage.
What is Marriage Purpose 2: To Multiply and create more Humans.
Conclusion
God establishes marriage very early in the word. It is clear than he intended it to be the foundation of human relationships here on earth. Throughout the word of God and into the New Testament we receive all sorts of rules and restrictions placed upon humans at different times related to marriage.
None of these change or adjust Gods initial reasons for creating the institution of marriage. The Genesis mandate is clear, only a man and a woman can enter into marriage. The order of the 3 principles of marriage are very important. Man must take leadership in his marriage; he must set an agenda for himself and his wife, and she should support him as his help meet. Then through their joining of flesh they are called by God to fill the earth with lots of children.