Few institutions in the modern world have been as fiercely debated, redefined, and fractured as marriage. Contemporary culture increasingly views marriage as a fluid social contract based on personal fulfillment, to be entered and exited at will.
Against this cultural confusion, the Westminster Confession offers a profoundly stabilizing, biblical theology of the family. In Chapter 24, the divines remind us that marriage is not a human invention to be reimagined, but a divine institution rooted in creation. By establishing a high, biblical view of marriage, the Confession simultaneously establishes strict, biblical boundaries for divorce.
The Confession teaches that marriage is a creation ordinance between one man and one woman designed for mutual help, procreation, and purity; that Christians must only marry fellow believers; and that the marriage bond is permanent, capable of being dissolved only on the explicit biblical grounds of adultery or irremediable desertion.
The Design and Purpose of Marriage (WCF 24.1–24.2)
The Confession begins with the foundational definition of marriage established by Jesus Himself (Matt. 19:4-6): “Marriage is to be between one man and one woman.”
Because it is a creation ordinance (established in Genesis 2), its structure is fixed. The Confession explicitly condemns polygamy—”neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband.” While the Old Testament records instances of polygamy among the patriarchs and kings, this was a tolerated deviation from God’s original, monogamous design.
Why did God create marriage? The divines list three primary purposes:
- Companionship: “For the mutual help of husband and wife.” God said it was not good for man to be alone.
- Procreation: “For the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the Church with an holy seed.” God desires godly families to fill the earth and pass down the faith.
- Purity: “For preventing of uncleanness.” In a fallen world with powerful sexual desires, marriage provides the sole, God-honoring context for sexual intimacy (1 Cor. 7:2).
Marrying in the Lord (WCF 24.3)
Because marriage is a creation ordinance (given to all humanity, not just the church), “It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent.” You do not have to be a Christian to have a valid marriage.
However, for the Christian, God’s Word lays down a non-negotiable rule: “it is the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord.”
The Confession applies the biblical prohibition against being “unequally yoked” (2 Cor. 6:14) directly to marriage. Believers are forbidden from marrying “infidels” (unbelievers), “papists” (Roman Catholics, reflecting the intense Reformation-era theological divide), or “idolaters.” Furthermore, a godly person should not marry someone who is “notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.” Marriage requires the deepest spiritual unity; uniting a child of God to someone who rejects the Gospel is a recipe for spiritual disaster and divided loyalties.
Boundaries of Kinship (WCF 24.4)
The Confession briefly touches upon the Levitical laws regarding incest (Leviticus 18). Marriage must not occur within forbidden degrees of consanguinity (blood relatives) or affinity (in-laws).
The divines note that these prohibitions are moral, not merely cultural. Therefore, “incestuous marriages can never be made lawful by any law of man.” Even if a secular government legalizes incest, the church must recognize it as an abomination before God.
(Note on the 1788 American Revision: Readers comparing the 1788 American text to the original 1646 Confession will notice the removal of a final sentence in this paragraph regarding marrying the kindred of a deceased spouse. While practical reasons likely influenced this decision in America, it was fundamentally an attempt to stay closer to the clear biblical data. The removed sentence represented a particular, disputed interpretation of Leviticus 18. By removing it, the church allowed for men who disagreed with that specific interpretation to exercise greater pastoral wisdom in applying God’s moral law to a variety of complex situations).
The Tragedy of Divorce (WCF 24.5–24.6)
Paragraphs 5 and 6 address one of the most painful and pastorally sensitive realities in the fallen world: divorce.
The Confession recognizes a grim truth: “the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together.” Because our hearts are sinful, humans will constantly look for loopholes and excuses to abandon their spouses when marriage becomes difficult.
To guard against this, the Confession establishes a strict boundary. There are only two biblically valid reasons for dissolving a marriage:
- Adultery / Sexual Immorality: Based on Jesus’s “exception clause” in Matthew 19:9. If a spouse breaks the marriage covenant through sexual unfaithfulness, “it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce.”
- Wilful Desertion: Based on the Apostle Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7:15. If an unbelieving spouse abandons the marriage and “can no way be remedied by the Church, or civil magistrate,” the bond is broken, and the deserted believer is no longer bound.
Crucially, the Confession clarifies that when a divorce occurs on these biblical grounds, the innocent party is free “to marry another, as if the offending party were dead.”
Finally, the divines warn that a divorce must never be a vigilante action left to “their own wills, and discretion.” It must follow a “public and orderly course of proceeding” through the civil courts and church oversight. This protects the vulnerable, ensures justice, and prevents people from casually discarding their spouses.
Conclusion
The Reformed view of marriage is incredibly high, and because it is high, its view of divorce is incredibly strict. Marriage is not merely a piece of paper; it is a living picture of Christ’s unbreakable love for His Bride, the Church (Eph. 5). By guarding the permanence of the marriage bond, the church protects the innocent, honors God’s creation design, and testifies to a watching world about the faithful, covenant-keeping love of God.
Key Terms
- Creation Ordinance: An institution (like marriage or the Sabbath) established by God at the beginning of human history before the Fall. As such, it is binding upon all humanity, not just Christians.
- Unequally Yoked: Drawn from 2 Corinthians 6:14, the biblical prohibition against believers binding themselves in intimate partnerships (especially marriage) with unbelievers.
- Consanguinity and Affinity: Consanguinity refers to people related by blood (e.g., siblings, cousins). Affinity refers to people related by marriage (e.g., a man and his mother-in-law). God’s law forbids marriage within close degrees of both.
- Wilful Desertion: One of the two biblical grounds for divorce (1 Cor. 7:15), occurring when a spouse completely and irremediably abandons the marriage covenant, leaving the innocent party free to divorce and remarry.