Marriage is a "holy estate" instituted by God who created man and woman as equals. The man and the woman complement each other.

• Love is the first principle of marriage, where the husband sacrifices himself for his wife, and the wife submits herself to her husband.
• In holy matrimony, the two become one flesh with God's blessing and approval.
• Marriage is for life, and nothing but death should separate the married man and woman. God hates divorce.

This lesson of four parts looks at these and other points about marriage.

God Created Man and Woman as Equals

Man was created in two forms: male and female (Gen 1:27). God first created the male, Adam. But God said, " It is not good for the man to be alone", and he created the female, Eve, as a companion for Adam. She was "a helper comparable to him" (Gen 2:18). She was not inferior to him. Woman is not a lesser creature. Rather, man and woman are complementary. This is portrayed in the poem about "an excellent wife" (Prv 31:10-31).

God Intends That Man and Woman Should Marry

Being single all one's life is not the natural or intended state. God intended that each man should take to himself a wife, and each woman should take to herself a husband (Gen 2:24, Mtt 19:4-5).

Celibacy, in certain circumstances, can be a good thing (1Co 7:1) but forbidding to marry is contrary to gospel (1Tm 4:1-3, 5:14). Jesus gave his approval to marriage by attending the wedding in Cana of Galilee (Jhn 2:1-2).

Notice in passing, that there was to be a LEAVING of father and mother, and a CLEAVING of husband to wife (Gen 2:24). The relationships to parents become secondary, and the relationship between husband and wife becomes foremost. Loyalty to husband or wife must come first.