Bible Verses About Marriage

What makes a good marriage? Can we have a happy marriage that stands the test of time? We can if we understand and follow what the Bible says on marriage. God designed marriage, and when we follow his plan, we can have a successful marriage.

Bible Verses about Marriage: God’s Plan

We understand more about the church when we learn about marriage, and we learn about marriage when we read about the church. Perhaps this truth is what precipitated this statement:

In the ultimate sense, your marriage has nothing to do with your spouse. It has everything to do with your relationship to Jesus Christ. — Emerson Eggerichs, Love and Respect for a Lifetime

Two Bible verses about marriage show this statement to be true:

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” — Ephesians 5:31-33 (NIV)

This Bible verse echo’s the words written in Genesis: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” — Genesis 2:24 (NKJV)

The Picture of Success – Look to the Bible

There are so many Bible verses about marriage; but let’s look at the most prominent.

“Husbands, you must love your wives so deeply, purely, and sacrificially that we can understand it only when we compare it to the love the Anointed One has for His bride, the church. We know He gave Himself up completely to make her His own, washing her clean of all her impurity with water and the powerful presence of His word.He has given Himself so that He can present the church as His radiant bride, unstained, unwrinkled, and unblemished—completely free from all impurity—holy and innocent before Him.So husbands should care for their wives as if their lives depended on it, the same way they care for their own bodies. As you love her, you ultimately are loving part of yourself (remember, you are one flesh.) — Ephesians 5:25-28 (The Voice)

What is the wife’s responsibility in all of this?

“And the Spirit makes it possible to submit humbly to one another out of respect for the Anointed. Wives, it should be no different with your husbands. Submit to them as you do to the Lord,for God has given husbands a sacred duty to lead as the Anointed leads the church and serves as the head. (The church is His body; He is her Savior.) So wives should submit to their husbands, respectfully, in all things, just as the church yields to the Anointed One.” — Ephesians 5:21-24 (NIV)

People love to quote Proverbs 31:30, “Who can find a truly excellent woman? One who is superior in all that she is and all that she does? Her worth far exceeds that of rubies and expensive jewelry. (The Voice) But what makes an excellent wife, a virtuous wife (NKJV), or a wife of noble character (NIV)? The answer is found in the next verse, which we often fail to quote.

“Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.” — Proverbs 31:31 (NIV).

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” — 1 Peter 3:7 (NKJV)

Let’s make one thing clear. Women are not weak. They are very strong. It is amazing what they are able to accomplish in a day. Their lives are full of pressure, and struggles. Where can she go to find comfort? The answer is home, to her husband who loves her and treats her with respect and honor, and handles her like a delicate flower.

The Bible says that the harmony of your love life affects the working of your prayers. God does not respond to your supplications in the same way if you pray from one side of your mouth while fighting with your mate out of the other. Let your life together be one in harmony. In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way, since they are weaker than you. But show them respect, because God gives them the same blessing he gives you-the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers. — Forever In Love

Understanding God through Bible Verse About Marriage

In some mysterious way, a healthy family points us to a far deeper understanding of the love shared between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God even chose the family—we call ourselves “the family of God”—to describe our membership in the kingdom, (see Ephesians 2:19).

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” — Ephesians 3:14-16 (NIV)

“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” — 1 Peter 2:17 (NIV)

More Bible Verses About Marriage

Here are nine more Bible verses about marriage. Look them up with your Bible study group or with your spouse. Read through each passage and discuss what these Bible verses about marriage are saying. How can they be applied to make marriages stronger?

• Genesis 2:18
• Psalm 128:1-6
• Proverbs 5:12-14
• Proverbs 20:6-7
• Malachi 2:13-14
• 1 Corinthians 7:3
• Colossians 3:18-19
• 1 Timothy 5:14
• Hebrews 13:4

Quotes by Christian Writers about Marriage

Getting a husband is like buying an old house. You don’t see it the way it is but the way it’s going to be when you get it remodeled. — Barbara Johnson, Daily Splashes of Joy

The fact is that both husband and wife are rough when the marriage begins. They shape each other through the trials and struggles they face together. When a couple falls to their knees and prays together, that is where true shaping takes place. “Those who abandon ship the first time it enters a storm miss the calm beyond. And the rougher the storms weathered together, the deeper and stronger real love grows. — Ruth Bell Graham

Problems on the home front taint every facet of our lives. A disintegrating marriage undoubtedly affects the child in the classroom and on the playground. Financial stress can make for an irritable coworker. Unfortunately, we can’t run away from problems in the home. We expect the world outside to be difficult, but when our safe haven becomes a battle zone, where can we go? — Michael Klassen and Thomas Frelling, Prayers that Move Mountains