What does the Bible say about marriage. Do I really need to get married? Or it’s a sin to stay single
Question:
Is Marriage Necessary?
Answer:
Dear Enquirer, thank you for asking this very important question. Marriage lies at the very heart of human existence. To answer whether marriage is necessary, we must first understand what marriage is and trace it back to its origin, which is as old as mankind itself.
The Origin of Marriage
Marriage began on the day man was created. We read in Gen 1:26-28 KJV:
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Gen 5:2 KJV confirms this: “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”
Scripture tells us that God created all the spirits of men in one day Num 16:22, 27:16 KJV. Yet in Gen 2:7 KJV, God formed one man from the dust of the earth and clothed his spirit “with skin and flesh” and “fenced with bones and sinews” Job 10:11 KJV. Man ‘s spirit in a body is what a soul is, an existence, but when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, man became a living soul—God dwelling in the spirit of man in a body. Of all the spirits created, God placed one in one body.[him]
Marriage Is for Companionship
This man was alone, and God observed that “it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” Gen 2:18 KJV. Right here we see the necessity of marriage: it was for human companionship. God brought all the animals to Adam, and he named them, but none were a suitable companion for him Gen 2:19-20 KJV.
When man prefers an animal over another human being for companionship, we see a perversion of God’s design.
Marriage Is for Raising a Godly Seed.
Marriage Is a Covenant for Raising a Godly Seed
Marriage is more than companionship and more than a legal arrangement. God Himself is a witness to it:
“The LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth … yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? … And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed” (Mal 2:14-15 KJV).
Marriage is therefore a covenant before God. The husband and wife are joined together not only for companionship but also so that their children may be raised in the knowledge of God. God did not merely seek a seed; He sought a godly seed.
This is why marriage occupies such an important place in Scripture. It is God’s ordained environment for companionship, faithfulness, childbearing, and the instruction of future generations in the ways of the Lord.
Marriage Is for Procreation
On the day God created the spirits of all men, male and female, He blessed them and said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion” Gen 1:28 KJV.
God intended man to be fruitful—bringing forth offspring like himself; to multiply—increase in number; and to replenish the earth. God knew man would one day sin and die, so reproduction was necessary for the increase and survival of the human race.
When God created the lone man, he was a human seed containing all mankind within him. But a seed needs ground to be planted in to grow and multiply. So God took a rib and flesh from the man and made a woman Gen 2:21-22 KJV. She was another human being with a womb—a ground for man to be planted in. Males are seeds, and females are the ground.
Marriage Is for Replenishment of the Earth
For what purpose did man need to reproduce? Because God created him to replenish the earth. “Replenish” means to fill again, which implies the earth had once been filled but was later destroyed.
Before man was created, we see two opposing spirits present: the Spirit of God and Satan. Satan is personified as “the darkness… upon the face of the deep,” while God is the “Spirit of God” that “moved upon the face of the waters” Gen 1:2 KJV.
At creation, God never said “let there be the earth or water,” because they already existed. He said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so” Gen 1:9-10 KJV.
Marriage Is for Sexual Indulgence and Pleasure
1 Cor 7: 2 “To avoid fornication (having consensual sex away from commitment of marriage) let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Though God wants us to share, but not with our wives or husbands. Each man has to have a dedicated woman for himself, called a wife, and every woman should have a dedicated man to herself, called a husband. Noah took with him into the ark, “of every clean beast …by sevens .. the male and his female: and beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.” Even animals were instructed through Noah, for each male to have his female Gen 7:2. One seed to one ground, God instructed “thou shall not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thous shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed. Lev 19:19.
Having one’s wife or husband, is more than just living together, intimacy is the cardinal reason for marriage, without it, there is no procreation, or pleasure for the spouses. Paul warned “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.” 1 Cor 7:3. The married admonished not to defraud each other “except it be by consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer” 1 or 7:5. Any spouse who refuses with intimacy with their spouse, have divorced him or her, by so doing.
Marriage Is for God’s Pleasure:
God created all things for His pleasure.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev 4:11 KJV).
Marriage therefore did not originate with man, government, or society. It originated with God. He instituted marriage because it pleased Him to create companionship between man and woman, to bring forth children, and to fill the earth with people capable of knowing, loving, and serving Him.
Malachi reveals another purpose of marriage:
“And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed” (Mal 2:15 KJV).
Marriage pleases God because it provides the environment in which a godly seed may be raised. Through marriage, mankind multiplies, families are established, and future generations are taught the ways of God.
Marriage is therefore not merely for the happiness of husband and wife. It is also part of God’s eternal purpose and is pleasing in His sight.
Why the Attack on Marriage?
Satan is jealous of man and his fellowship with God (1John 1:3). Scripture describes his original state:
“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God… Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth… Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee… therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God… I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee” (Ezek 28:12-18 KJV).
Satan sinned and was cast down. Many angels followed him in rebellion, “which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,” and are reserved “in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6 KJV).
In contrast, God created man for His pleasure (Rev 4:11 KJV). He instituted marriage for companionship, for the raising of a godly seed, and for the multiplication and replenishment of the earth. Through marriage, families are formed and future generations are taught the ways of God.
It therefore takes marriage to fulfill God’s purpose in mankind. For this reason, the devil has continually sought to destroy marriage, promote anti-marriage attitudes, and encourage sexual immorality and perversions that depart from God’s design. His goal is to oppose God’s purpose and prevent the raising of a godly seed.
Yet God’s standard remains unchanged: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb 13:4 KJV).
The attack on marriage is therefore not merely an attack on a social institution. It is an attack on one of God’s oldest and most sacred ordinances, established at creation for His pleasure and for the good of mankind.
Is It a Sin to Stay Single?
The answer is dependent on the motive that makes you want to be single. Paul said an unmarried person “careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.” 1 Cor 7:34. Paul gives permission saying ” I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.” 1Cor 7:8-9.
Conclusion
Marriage is necessary in God’s plan. From the beginning, God instituted marriage for companionship, procreation, and the replenishment of the earth. It is the union of one man and one woman, joined together to become one flesh, to raise offspring, and to reflect God’s order in creation.
This does not mean every person must marry. Scripture recognizes that some are called to remain single for the service of God and the furtherance of His kingdom (1 Cor 7:7-8, 32-35 KJV). Yet for mankind as a whole, marriage remains necessary, for without it there would be no continuation of the human race and no fulfillment of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply.
The devil has sought to corrupt, redefine, and destroy marriage because marriage is God’s institution. Nevertheless, God’s word has not changed: “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb 13:4 KJV).
Therefore, marriage is not merely a human tradition or social contract. It is a divine institution established by God at creation, preserved by His word, and essential to His purpose for mankind.
“As marriage was ordained by God for the continuation of natural life, so the new birth of water and Spirit was ordained by God for the continuation of eternal life.”
In Summary: “Yes, marriage is necessary in God’s plan, though not every individual is required to marry.”