12 Creation Truths
for marriage
God's Marriage Blueprint walks through creation truths for marriage found in Genesis 1-3 as well as other Bible passages that quote from or refer to the truths revealed in the Bible's creation account. Here's a quick summary of the 12 creation truths that we discover in our study.
1. Personal Value and Equality
Key Passage:"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27).
Overview: Women and men are created equally in the image of God. You have value because you are made in the very image of God. Neither the man nor women is created more in God's image than the other. While sin has corrupted our basic nature—and our relationship with the rest of creation—God nevertheless commands us to view our spouses with respect and love as individuals made in His image.
2. Shared Authority and Responsibility
Key Passage: "So that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (Gen. 1:26).
Overview: God created woman and man in His image for a purpose. Under His overarching rule, they were to rule together over what God has created. Both the husband and wife share in both this responsibility and authority.
3. The Blessing of Children
Key Passage: "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it'" (Gen. 1:28).
Overview: Children are a God-given blessing. While our culture often diminishes parenthood, the Bible ascribes great value to children. Not only are parents blessed by their children, but they also have a tremendous responsibility toward them. Parenthood goes beyond personal fulfillment.
4. God's Abundant Provision
Key Passage: "Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food'" (Gen. 1:29).
Overview: God has blessed us and our marriages. In addition to establishing a beautiful design for marriage, he provides generously for our daily needs. We are not alone in our marriages. When we need help, we should seek God. Even when we don't realize the scope of our need for help, we should seek God. We can't "make" our marriages succeed on our own. We need God in our marriages.
5. Relational Need and Fulfillment
Key Passage: "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'" (Gen. 2:18).
Overview: While God's creation was "very good" (Gen. 1:31), it was "not good" for Adam to be alone. No "suitable helper" was found among the animals (Gen. 2:19–20). While an animal could provide affection (like a pet) or help with work (like an ox helping plow a field), you need something more—a companion also made in the image of God. A husband and wife form a "oneness" relationship that, more than any other human relationship, can fill your deepest relational needs.
6. Honesty, Openness, and Transparency
Key Passage: "Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame" (Gen. 2:25).
Overview: Before the fall, Adam and Eve could be fully open with each other without shame. It was only after they sinned that they experienced shame (Gen. 3:7). Shame, fear, and guilt work against God's marriage design. We need to abandon the failed strategies that we see in Genesis 3:7–13 of trying to cover up our shame, hiding from each other in fear, and blaming each other for our guilt. Only Christ can truly take away our shame, fear, and guilt.
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7. A Unique
"One Flesh" Relationship
Key Passage: "Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.' That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Gen. 2:22–24).
Overview: Marriage is the only relationship that the Bible identifies as "one flesh." It is not a 50/50 relationship where you stay together only as long as your partner holds up their end of the bargain. It is not a temporary arrangement until you find a better match or until it no longer feels good. Instead, marriage is a lifelong "oneness" relationship where the wife and husband are united as "one flesh" until death. Oneness should be the central defining quality of your marriage.
8. Marriage As
a Lifelong "Oneness" Commitment
Key Passage: "Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?' 'Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate'" (Matt. 19:3–6).
Overview: Divorce should not be an option except in the very limited circumstances stated plainly in Scripture. For Christians, "no fault" divorce should not be an option. God has joined you and your spouse together as one. Because marriage is a "till death do us part" relationship, you need to work through your struggles rather than giving up when marriage is difficult (as it is sure to be at times).
9. Marriage as an Exclusive, Intimate Relationship
Key Passage: "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh.' But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit" (1 Cor. 6:15–16).
Overview: God's "oneness" plan for marriage is an exclusive, intimate relationship. While oneness involves more than sex, it clearly means that you should have sex only with your spouse. The very idea of a casual sexual relationship is absurd when viewed in light of God's plan for marriage. We also see the importance of exclusivity in the several Old Testament passages where God compares His relationship to His people as a marriage relationship. When they turned to other gods, they were violating the marriage covenant. Similarly, we should not go outside of our marriages to seek intimacy that is reserved for marriage.
10. Sacrificial Love
Key Passage: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word... However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband" (Eph. 5:25-33).
Overview: Christ is our supreme example of sacrificial love. While all believers are called to follow Christ's example, this passage is directed specifically at husbands—for good reason. Adam's first words recorded in Scripture, when God brought the woman to him, were: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. 2:23). What a beautiful declaration of love, unity, and devotion! But with sin came blame (Gen. 3:12) and a husband's "rule" over his wife (Gen. 3:16). God's "one flesh" design is now undermined by a competition for control. A husband's sacrificial love and servant leadership are critical to correcting this problem and restoring God's creation design for marriage.
11. Submission
Key Passage: "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything" (Eph. 5:21-23).
Overview: Women and men are made equally in God's image and are given shared responsibility and authority over creation (Gen. 1:26). The Hebrew word for "helper" is commonly used to describe God as our helper—it points to a position of strength, not weakness. Sin brought competition for control not only through male dominance ("he will rule over you"), but also through a wife's unhealthy desire to control her husband (Gen. 3:16). The Hebrew word for a wife's "desire" in Gen. 3:16 is the same word used in the next chapter describing sin's desire to control us (Gen. 4:7). Much as sacrificial love is a cure to the husband's unhealthy "rule," so submission is a cure to the wife's unhealthy desire to control.
12. A Glimpse into the Mystery of Our Relationship with God
Key Passages: "'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" (Eph. 5:31–32). Also Rev. 19:7–9 (the wedding of the Lamb).
Overview: A marriage based on God's good plan provides a glimpse into the mystery of our relationship with God. Of all human relationships, marriage should have the deepest spiritual significance. You should have a measure of awe about your marriage. It is a deep and special relationship.
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