Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

When God uses a picture in His Word to help us understand something about Himself or His kingdom, did He search the natural world and choose something to which He thought we could relate, which was sort of like something He was trying to show us?

Or, did He create something in the natural world specifically for the purpose of teaching us some spiritual, heavenly or eternal principle?

I believe the latter. That God created things, relationships, circumstances in this physical world in which we live with the sole purpose of helping us to understand Him. For the purpose of revealing things about Himself which we would otherwise not be able to comprehend.

For example, the different ways that God describes the Church and its relationship to Christ are based upon things to which we can relate. The Church as a body, the Church as a building, as a city. Church members as brothers and sisters of each other and of Christ. And, of course, the Church as the Bride of Christ.

So I conclude that marriage was created by God, specifically for our edification in understanding our relationship to Christ. It has the secondary benefit of making life on earth more enjoyable, but aside from Christ betrothing the Church to Himself, earthly marriage would be entirely unnecessary. Perhaps mankind being both male and female would be entirely unnecessary. Sex would be entirely unnecessary.

To understand marriage and sex is only possible by starting with the DESIGN, and recognizing that God had a purpose for it.