What the Bible Says About Family

Heather Erdmann
Nov 8
5 min read

Whether you have a large or small family, these critical relationships are something we all share in some form. Families can be some of our biggest sources of joy or our deepest sources of pain and sorrow. Interpersonal relations among family members can be complicated and problematic at times. Yet, they can also be some of the closest and most precious relationships we share as we navigate life's complexities.

But why do we exist in families rather than as individuals acting independently of one another? What does the Bible say about family, the foundation and bedrock of society since the beginning of time? Let’s take a look!

What the Bible says about family; dad, mom, and children at kitchen counter

What the Bible Says About Families

Going back to the Garden of Eden, God created Adam and Eve with a mandate to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with children so that man would have dominion over the rest of His creation:

God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

God began His design for the family when He brought man and woman together as one:

For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)

Jesus repeated this design in the Gospel of Matthew. (See Matthew 19:4-6.)

God created man in His image and adopted us as sons and daughters through His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father, and we are His children. As believers, we are brothers and sisters in Christ and part of God’s family. God’s design for families is a mirror of His relationship with us, His children, and our relationship with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Society and the Family

From the beginning of creation, society has been structured with families as the foundation, and studies show that strong families are beneficial for society to prosper. The inverse of that is also true. Just as evil is the absence of good, society crumbles in the presence of fractured families. God, our Heavenly Father, designed parents to care for and train their children in His ways just as He lovingly cares for His children when we come to Him in faith. Parents are meant to teach them, guard them, and provide for their needs as God does for us:

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

Whenever there is a challenge to His design, problems are possible if not inevitable. Stable families provide love, care, support, safety, companionship, and a sense of belonging and community. We were not designed to manage life alone, which is why one of God’s greatest provisions is the gift of families.

When people live according to God’s good design of father, mother, and children in close communion with Him, children not only survive but thrive.

Studies show the opposite is also true. Just a 10% increase in single-parent families leads to a 17% increase in juvenile crime. According to the America First Policy Institute, fatherless children are 3 to 20 times more likely to be incarcerated than children raised in dual-parent households. Eighty-five percent of youth in prison have an absent father. Seventy-one percent of teachers and 90% of law enforcement officials state that the lack of parental supervision at home is a major contributor to violence in schools. Children who feel close to their fathers are 80% less likely to spend time in jail. Girls raised without fathers are more likely to be sexually promiscuous as they seek love from the male figure in their lives that they lack. Children from single-parent homes are more likely to:

Commit suicide (5x)
Drop out of high school (9x)
Abuse drugs and alcohol (10x)
Commit rape (14x)
Run away from home (32x)*

The importance of fathers in families is evident, considering we were created to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father, and it is clear why problems exist when either of those relationships is damaged or severed.

Of course, many single parents have found themselves in that situation through circumstances beyond their control, and this in no way points blame or guilt on them at all. Instead, it is only to illustrate how the effects of sin’s curse on this fallen world have affected God’s perfect plan for the family. By keeping families fractured, the enemy can wreak the havoc he so desires, once again showing that an absence of God and His design leads only to pain and suffering.

As the world tries to redefine what a family looks like, we move farther away from God’s best for us. He established His design and decrees for our good, and the family finds its structure in our relationship between us as His children, and Him as our loving and perfect Father.

God’s design for families helps society prosper.

Bible Verses About Families

Here are a few more verses that illustrate God’s design for families and what the Bible says about the family:

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. (Ephesians 3:14-15)

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:1-4)

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. (Psalm 127:3-5)

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

God’s Design for Families is Good

As we celebrate this season and spend time with our relatives, let’s be thankful for the gift of families God has given us. No matter what our relationships look like this side of Heaven, we can rejoice to be part of the perfect family we have in Him.

God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. (Psalm 68:6)