One Man, One Woman, for Life

Al Felder
Dec 13, 2025
5 min read

In every generation, cultures debate and redefine what marriage should be. Laws change, customs shift, and opinions multiply. But long before any nation wrote its first statute or culture formed its first traditions, God Himself designed marriage.

Scripture does not begin with a government, a school, or a nation. It begins with a man and a woman in a garden, joined together by their Creator. If we want to understand marriage, we must go back to where God began.

1. Marriage Begins in the Mind of God

Genesis tells us:

“So God created man in his own image… male and female created he them.” (Gen. 1:27)

Humanity is made in the image of God, but that image is expressed in two complementary sexes—male and female. In Genesis 2, God looks at Adam in his solitude and declares:

“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (Gen. 2:18)

God did not create marriage because Adam was bored or lonely in a casual sense. He created marriage to meet a God-identified need: man needed a companion who corresponded to him—equal in worth, different in role, perfectly suited to stand at his side.

When God brought Eve to Adam, he exclaimed:

“This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” (Gen. 2:23)

With those words, Scripture introduces the one-flesh union that defines marriage. This is more than romance; it is the beginning of the first family—designed for mutual help, shared purpose, and divine blessing.

2. God’s Intent: Exclusive, Sacred, and Permanent

From the very beginning, God’s design for marriage is clear:

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24)

In that single sentence, God reveals His pattern:

One man and one woman – not two men, not two women, not any other arrangement.
Leaving and cleaving – a new, primary human relationship is formed.
One flesh – a profound spiritual, emotional, and physical union.
No expiration date – nothing in the text suggests rotation, substitution, or trial periods.

Marriage is not a human experiment; it is a divine institution. It was meant to be:

Exclusive – “a man… shall cleave unto his wife.”
Sacred – “what God hath joined together.” (Matt. 19:6)
Lifelong – designed as a covenant, not a temporary arrangement.

God also gave the first couple a mission:

“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Gen. 1:28)

Through the family, life would be propagated, values transmitted, and God’s authority honored. The home was to be the first school, the first church, and the first government—the center of instruction, love, and security.

3. Marriage Is a Covenant, Not a Contract

Modern culture treats marriage like a contract: If you make me happy, I’ll stay. If you don’t, I’ll go.

Scripture presents a very different picture:

“She is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.” (Mal. 2:14)

A contract is about mutual benefit and can be abandoned when the terms no longer please us. A covenant is a solemn, binding commitment made in the presence of God. It is grounded not in fluctuating emotion, but in reverence and faithfulness.

When God brought Eve to Adam, He was doing more than introducing two people. He was witnessing the beginning of a covenant. That is why God condemns treachery against “the wife of thy youth” (Mal. 2:14)—because to abandon a spouse is to mock the covenant God Himself observed.

The New Testament lifts marriage even higher. In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us that marriage is a living picture of Christ and the church:

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:32)

Christ is the faithful Bridegroom.
The church is His bride.

To break faith with one’s spouse is to preach a false message about the faithfulness of Christ. That spiritual dimension elevates marriage beyond mere emotion or convenience; it becomes an act of testimony.

4. Jesus Reaffirms the Original Design

Centuries after Eden, the Pharisees approached Jesus with a divorce question, hoping to trap Him in controversy. Jesus did not appeal to the customs of His day or the schools of popular rabbis. Instead, He went back to creation:

“Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matt. 19:4–6)

Jesus affirmed:

God defines gender: male and female.
Marriage is between one male and one female.
In marriage, two become one flesh.
What God joins, man must not separate.

When the Pharisees pointed to Moses’ allowance for divorce, Jesus replied:

“Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matt. 19:8)

Divorce was a concession to human sinfulness—not God’s ideal. The pattern “from the beginning” still stands. Jesus allows one exception—sexual immorality—but makes clear that breaking the covenant is not God’s desire.

5. Why Lifelong Marriage Matters

God designed marriage to accomplish several holy purposes:

Companionship – “It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Gen. 2:18)
Procreation – “Be fruitful, and multiply.” (Gen. 1:28)
Moral purity – “To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” (1 Cor. 7:2)
Spiritual growth – husband and wife sharpen and refine one another.
Gospel reflection – marriage pictures Christ’s covenant love.

These blessings are fully realized only when marriage follows God’s pattern: one man, one woman, for life. When we tamper with that structure—through polygamy, casual divorce, same-sex unions, or other distortions—we forfeit the blessings and invite confusion, instability, and judgment.

6. Holding Fast to God’s Pattern in a Confused Culture

We live in a time when almost every part of God’s design is being questioned:

Gender is treated as fluid, self-defined, and changeable.
Marriage is rebranded as any relationship between consenting adults.
Vows are seen as temporary, conditional, and easily broken.

In the midst of this confusion, the Christian must lovingly but firmly affirm:

Gender is binary and created by God, not chosen by man.
Marriage is sacred, not just a social contract.
Divorce is a sorrowful concession, not God’s design.
Faithfulness matters—to one’s spouse and to God.

A husband and wife who commit themselves to each other for life, under God’s rule, create more than a household. They make a sanctuary of love, a fortress of truth, and a witness to the world.

Conclusion: God’s Design Still Works

The family is in crisis today, not because God’s design is flawed, but because it has been ignored, redefined, and dishonored. Yet for those who return to Scripture, there is hope, healing, and joy.

God’s plan has not changed:

One man, one woman, for life.

When we embrace that pattern, we are not clinging to outdated tradition—we are aligning ourselves with the wisdom of our Creator and bearing witness to the unbreakable covenant love of Christ.