God’s Ideal for Marriage

Talk about a dramatic opener. The story of marriage in the Bible begins suddenly, unexpectedly. One moment there is a man and animals and a beautiful world and everything is good. And the next moment, God declares: "it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper fit for him" (Gen. 2:18). 

So God created marriage. And it was good. It is good.

Not only is it good, marriage is glorious: a picture of Christ and the church. God created marriage to display His good news, the gospel. Thus Paul's stunned reaction: "This mystery is profound" (Eph. 5:32).

"[Paul] interprets the original creation of the husband-and-wife union as itself modeled on Christ's forthcoming union with the church as his 'body'. Marriage from the beginning of creation was created by God to be a reflection of and patterned after Christ's relation to the church. Thus Paul's commands regarding the roles of husbands and wives do not merely reflect the culture of his day but represent God's ideal for all marriages at all times, as exemplified by the relationship between the bride of Christ (the church) and Christ himself" (ESV Study Bible, emphasis mine).

Did you catch that? Marriage as a picture of the gospel wasn't an afterthought. It wasn't a backup plan. It was the purpose for marriage from the beginning. And God's purpose hasn't changed. Reflecting the gospel is God's ideal for all marriages at all times.

It is good. It is glorious. It is for the gospel.