Bible Verses for Married Couples: Scriptures about Married Life

Married life is one of the greatest gifts God ever created. But because we live in a broken world, marriage is difficult and challenging. If you want to improve your marriage, study these Bible verses for married couples. These verses will help you understand what God wants you to do.

Bible Verses for Married Couples

We can look at the first few chapters of the Bible to learn God’s plan for marriage. He created Adam first, and then Eve as his helper. Their union was beautiful and intended to last. Yet sin marred their relationship and it has marred every other marriage since.

Marriage in the Bible is just as complex as marriage is today. Abraham and Sarah had their problems based on fear and disobedience to God’s will. Abigail was a godly woman married to a harsh, foolish man named Nabal. Joseph and Mary, Jesus’ earthly parents, had many trials even while they were engaged.

When we look at married life in the Bible, we can find God’s principles for good decisions even in the middle of problems. We can read the Bible accounts and ask ourselves, “What did God intend for them? How could a God-pleasing decision have changed the outcome?” By thinking about these Scriptures, we can learn much about our own marriages.

Let’s look at some Bible verses for married couples to discover more truths.

It’s Not Good to Be Alone

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” – Genesis 2:18

When you study this verse in context, it is quite amazing to ponder. Adam was in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. God had called everything he created “good.” Yet when he saw Adam sitting alone after naming all the animals, God called the situation “not good,” even in a perfect creation!

Humans are made in God’s image, and God is relational within the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is why God created a helper for Adam in the form of Eve. Use this verse as your anchor when you face marriage problems. It is good for you to be with your spouse unless abuse is occurring.

God’s Design for Marriage

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. – Genesis 2:23-24

Marriage is under attack in today’s culture. About half of all marriages, including Christian ones, end in divorce. It’s good to go back to God’s design for marriage to understand what he intended for us. He wants a husband to be united to his wife as if they are one flesh.

They must both leave their parents and form a new union, separate and holy. Since God bonds husband and wife together as one flesh, he intends for them to stay together until death. When you are having problems in your married life, this verse can center you back on God’s design.

Honoring Marriage

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. – Hebrews 13:4

Because God brings a husband and wife together as one flesh, he knows that sexual sin destroys that bond. He sets hedges of protection around a marriage to protect husbands and wives. Adultery is terribly damaging to a marriage relationship. If you are dealing with infidelity in your marriage, a Christian counselor can offer compassionate help.

Love and Respect

Each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. – Ephesians 5:33

The passage from which this verse is taken contains some of the most provocative marriage verses for our postmodern culture. However, if we look at Ephesians 5:33 as the banner that waves over all the verses, we can see God’s meaning.

All of us can agree that marriage needs both love and respect to work. The wife needs to know she is loved, and the husband needs to know he is respected. But both need love and respect to thrive. If you strive to show both love and respect to your spouse, your married life will improve.

The Characteristics of Love

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

If we all followed this verse to a tee, marriage problems would be rare. Because we all deal with pride and selfishness, however, we tend to be unloving when we are at our worst.

This passage can serve as a litmus test in your marriage. Insert your name everywhere “love” appears. If any of the descriptions pricks you, it may be a sign that you need to work on that specific area in your marriage.

Bearing Spiritual Fruit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

Love by itself is not enough to sustain a marriage. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to bear all kinds of spiritual fruit in married life. When you are full of love, joy, and peace, you will bless your spouse with a pleasant attitude.

Forbearance allows you to forgive and persevere. Kindness, goodness, and gentleness sweeten your relationship. Faithfulness keeps you committed, and self-control helps you watch what you say and do. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you bear these fruits in your marriage, and he will be happy to work in your heart.

Genuine Affection

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. – Romans 12:10

Were you more affectionate with your spouse when you were dating or newlyweds? After being married for a while, so many of us stop showing affection and doing little things to make our spouses feel special.

Many marriage problems can be fixed by developing a new habit of small changes. You can commit to showing affection, offering acts of service, or giving little gifts every day in your marriage. These small changes can breathe life into a stale marriage.

Make Allowances

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. – Ephesians 4:2

When you were dating, you put your best face forward to impress your future spouse. But after marriage, you no longer hide your faults, and your spouse reveals faults as well. To get along, you must make allowances for one another’s faults.

No one is able to control another human being, and you may need to let some matters go. By choosing to be humble, gentle and patient with your spouse, you will improve the harmony in your marriage.

Kindness and Forgiveness Matters

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. – Ephesians 4:32

As your spouse reveals faults, it’s essential to show forgiveness. This biblical virtue keeps bitterness and resentment from taking root in your marriage. Forgiveness is taking your spouse off the hook. It’s trusting God to deal with your spouse better than you can because God is the only perfect judge.

Since God has freely offered you forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice, are you willing to forgive your spouse? By showing kindness and keeping your heart tender toward your spouse, you will get through marriage challenges with fewer issues.

Let Us Pray

“Father God, today, we give our marriages to You. Forgive us for putting them and our spouses before You. Forgive us for putting ourselves as well as our desires and plans for the future before You and Yours.

Search our hearts, Lord. Convict us and clear out all the hardness and ick that is clogging up the flow of Love in our lives. Curb our anger from morphing into bitterness and hatred. Forgive us for the times we lose our tempers and our sanity towards our spouse.

Reset our relationship with You. Restore our hope in Jesus Christ and open our minds and hearts to the healing truth that only He can rush into our lives in these moments of madness.

Give us the strength to be brave. Replace the fear of what might happen and what the future might hold with Christ-centered courage. We can’t be strong right now. We are broken and barely breathing. But You, the living God, in us, are our strength.

Through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, empower us with humility, gentleness, patience, peace, and unity.

Amen.”

Christian Counseling for Marriage Problems

Marriage takes a lot of work to stay healthy. It’s easy to get stuck on a particular issue in marriage. You may need objective advice from a Christian counselor to move forward.

Use these Bible verses for married couples to apply God’s principles. However, if you need help, please reach out to Seattle Christian Counseling. We have years of experience helping married couples work through their problems and find healthier ways to relate.