What is God's ultimate purpose for marriage? Relationship. There are three specific purposes that define this ultimate purpose of relationship. The first of these purposes is expression. God’s purpose for marriage is that it would express the image of God on Earth. In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...” The image of God is that He is a triune being, revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Made in His image and according to His likeness, we too are triune beings. We consist of body, soul, and spirit. In marriage, a man and woman function together as one.
The second of those purposes for marriage is companionship. “And the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper comparable to him.’” (Genesis 2:18). So, God made woman, and from that point on man had a companion that he became one with. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). There is no other human relationship like that of husband and wife.
The last of those purposes is procreation. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” (Genesis 1:28). God wanted man to multiply the same as He did the rest of His creation, with the exception being that man would rule over the rest of creation.
It is through these three specific purposes that we see His ultimate purpose in marriage; it is a picture of the love relationship He wanted to have with us. We see this same picture of oneness in salvation. Through salvation in Christ, we become one with God again, (companionship). Then we witness to those around us by mimicking Jesus and telling others about the Gospel (expression). God then uses that expression to make more of His children (procreation).
