Marriage, Family & Sexuality

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” — Genesis 2:24

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” — Ephesians 5:32

From the opening pages of Scripture, God establishes marriage and family as foundational to human life. Before there is a nation, a temple, or a covenant with Israel, there is a man and a woman joined together in the presence of God. The very first human relationship is described with the verb davaq (דָּבַק) — “to cling, to hold fast” (Genesis 2:24) — a word used elsewhere of Israel’s covenant loyalty to YHWH (Deuteronomy 10:20), signaling from the start that marriage is bound up with faithfulness to God. The Bible’s teaching on marriage, family, and sexuality is not a collection of arbitrary rules but flows from the very nature of God and the purpose for which He created humanity.

The Hebrew word mishpachah (מִשְׁפָּחָה) — “family, clan” — appears over 300 times in the Old Testament, reflecting how deeply the family unit is woven into God’s redemptive plan. God chose to reveal Himself as Av (אָב) — “Father” — a term of intimate authority and tender care. He calls His people a household. He describes His covenant love in the language of marriage, using the Hebrew chesed (חֶסֶד) — “steadfast love, covenant loyalty” — to capture the unfailing faithfulness He shows His bride Israel and that He calls husbands and wives to mirror. These are not mere metaphors — they reveal something true about who God is and who we are made to be.

Why This Section Matters

• Identity — Marriage and family are where most people first learn what love, faithfulness, and sacrifice look like
• Theology — Marriage images the covenant between Christ and the Church; family images the communion of the Trinity
• Discipleship — The home is the primary context for passing faith to the next generation
• Pastoral care — Brokenness in these areas touches the deepest places of the human heart, and the gospel speaks directly to that brokenness

Explore This Section

• Marriage — God’s design, covenant faithfulness, roles, divorce and remarriage, and the dignity of singleness
• Family & Parenting — Children as blessing, the Shema as foundation, parental roles, discipline, and the household of faith
• Sexuality & Purity — Biblical theology of the body, sexual ethics, purity of heart, and grace for the broken
• Singleness & Celibacy — The honor and calling of the unmarried life across Christian traditions