Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
God joins a husband and wife together as one flesh, making two people one under His order. Marriage is His own institution ordained in Eden at creation, as enduring as the Sabbath established there. That union binds their lives and destinies together for life, to be broken only by death. The allowance for divorce came later because of hardness of heart and human degeneracy, and was no part of that original plan. Apart from adultery as the one ground God has given, the marriage vow remains binding in His sight, so a mere civil divorce does not free the spouses to separate or marry another.
God's Design for Marriage
Marriage is a divine institution constituted by God at creation in Eden, and it remains as firm as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment also instituted there when the foundations of the world were laid. The marriage covenant joined by God is to be treated with respect and left unbroken by people. Jesus honored marriage as a divine institution by attending a Jewish wedding, by treating the marriage covenant with marked respect, and by using marriage to illustrate important truths.
The verse means that God joins a husband and wife as one flesh before God, establishing His order that two people become one. God gave Adam one wife, making that arrangement a law for humanity. Taking multiple wives violates that order and leads to greater wickedness and unhappiness.
The oneness of marriage is to be lived in love and harmony, with husband and wife bound together and each seeking the other's happiness in a shared life. Trivial contention and bickering bring misery into the home and drive apart those who should be united. Becoming one does not erase either person's individuality, which belongs to God, and love between spouses follows heaven's order when their highest love is for God.
Marriage is a step taken for life, so every engagement should be carefully considered. Both the man and the woman should carefully consider whether they can cleave to each other through the vicissitudes of life as long as they both shall live.
Divorce and Lifelong Obligation
Matthew 19:6 states God's original plan that marriage joins two people as one, and that what God has joined together man must not put asunder. The provision for divorce was permitted because of hardness of heart and because of human degeneracy and the degeneracy of the people, although divorce was not part of that original plan. There is a principle underlying every precept, given in mercy and in consideration of the circumstances, and the precept cannot be properly understood without grasping the principle.
Marriage binds two people together for life, joining their destinies with a bond that only death should sever. Marriage vows are binding, and loss of affection, outside counsel, or alleged deception does not by itself justify casting them aside or seeking divorce. Parting a husband and wife is a serious matter that must not be done without Scriptural ground. Only adultery is the one cause given by God for a husband to leave his wife or a wife to leave her husband, a ground to be prayerfully considered.
A civil divorce does not by itself end the marriage in God's sight, for human authority cannot undo what God has joined. Apart from adultery the spouses remain bound by the marriage vow, while a person whose spouse committed adultery may be free to marry someone else. Where a person's circumstances did not meet that ground of adultery, as in the case of Sister Johnson, that person was not free to marry again. Where a first wife left her husband, obtained the divorce herself, and married another man before he married again, there is no Scriptural ground to disturb his new union.
Principle Beyond Marriage
What God has joined together must not be separated by human choice, and this rule reaches beyond marriage to the medical missionary work and the ministry. God has united those two lines of work, so no one is to divide them. The same rule holds for God's justice and benevolence, which belong together and must not be set against each other.
It holds also for business and religion, which God has joined together and which must not be separated. The claim that business is business and religion is religion is wrong, for the two cannot be divorced. Natural and acquired endowments are entrusted gifts from God that must be kept under the control of His Spirit and sanctifying power and used to glorify God. This requires seeking God with the whole heart and remaining connected to Christ, without whom nothing can be done.
God joins a husband and wife together as one flesh, making two people one under His order. Marriage is His own institution ordained in Eden at creation, as enduring as the Sabbath established there. That union binds their lives and destinies together for life, to be broken only by death. The allowance for divorce came later because of hardness of heart and human degeneracy, and was no part of that original plan. Apart from adultery as the one ground God has given, the marriage vow remains binding in His sight, so a mere civil divorce does not free the spouses to separate or marry another.
God's Design for Marriage
Marriage is a divine institution constituted by God at creation in Eden, and it remains as firm as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment also instituted there when the foundations of the world were laid. The marriage covenant joined by God is to be treated with respect and left unbroken by people. Jesus honored marriage as a divine institution by attending a Jewish wedding, by treating the marriage covenant with marked respect, and by using marriage to illustrate important truths.
The verse means that God joins a husband and wife as one flesh before God, establishing His order that two people become one. God gave Adam one wife, making that arrangement a law for humanity. Taking multiple wives violates that order and leads to greater wickedness and unhappiness.
The oneness of marriage is to be lived in love and harmony, with husband and wife bound together and each seeking the other's happiness in a shared life. Trivial contention and bickering bring misery into the home and drive apart those who should be united. Becoming one does not erase either person's individuality, which belongs to God, and love between spouses follows heaven's order when their highest love is for God.
Marriage is a step taken for life, so every engagement should be carefully considered. Both the man and the woman should carefully consider whether they can cleave to each other through the vicissitudes of life as long as they both shall live.
Divorce and Lifelong Obligation
Matthew 19:6 states God's original plan that marriage joins two people as one, and that what God has joined together man must not put asunder. The provision for divorce was permitted because of hardness of heart and because of human degeneracy and the degeneracy of the people, although divorce was not part of that original plan. There is a principle underlying every precept, given in mercy and in consideration of the circumstances, and the precept cannot be properly understood without grasping the principle.
Marriage binds two people together for life, joining their destinies with a bond that only death should sever. Marriage vows are binding, and loss of affection, outside counsel, or alleged deception does not by itself justify casting them aside or seeking divorce. Parting a husband and wife is a serious matter that must not be done without Scriptural ground. Only adultery is the one cause given by God for a husband to leave his wife or a wife to leave her husband, a ground to be prayerfully considered.
A civil divorce does not by itself end the marriage in God's sight, for human authority cannot undo what God has joined. Apart from adultery the spouses remain bound by the marriage vow, while a person whose spouse committed adultery may be free to marry someone else. Where a person's circumstances did not meet that ground of adultery, as in the case of Sister Johnson, that person was not free to marry again. Where a first wife left her husband, obtained the divorce herself, and married another man before he married again, there is no Scriptural ground to disturb his new union.
Principle Beyond Marriage
What God has joined together must not be separated by human choice, and this rule reaches beyond marriage to the medical missionary work and the ministry. God has united those two lines of work, so no one is to divide them. The same rule holds for God's justice and benevolence, which belong together and must not be set against each other.
It holds also for business and religion, which God has joined together and which must not be separated. The claim that business is business and religion is religion is wrong, for the two cannot be divorced. Natural and acquired endowments are entrusted gifts from God that must be kept under the control of His Spirit and sanctifying power and used to glorify God. This requires seeking God with the whole heart and remaining connected to Christ, without whom nothing can be done.