03/10
One Flesh
“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Matthew 19:4–6
Matthew 19:4–6
The key to a healthy marriage is, first of all, to hold a high view of marriage. We should give value and worth to marriage because of what it is, what it represents, and what it produces. Strong marriages are the foundation for the family, the community, and the nation as a whole. When marriages fail because they abandon the ways of God, you can be assured that the downfall of the community, the next generation, and the nation as a whole will not be far behind.
“What God has joined together”, implies that marriage is not merely a human agreement, but a relationship in which God changes the status of a man and a woman from being single (they are no longer two) to being married (one flesh). From the moment they are married, they are unified in a mysterious way that belongs to no other human relationship, having all the God-given rights and responsibilities of marriage that they did not have before. Being “one flesh”, includes the sexual union of a husband and wife, but it is more than that because it also means that they have left their parents’ household and have established a new family, so their primary human loyalty is now to each other, before anyone else.
When questioned about this, Jesus avoids the Pharisaic argument about reasons for divorce. Instead, he goes back to the beginning of creation to demonstrate God’s intention for the institution of marriage. Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman that is to be a permanent bond. If Jesus held a high view of marriage and what it symbolized, shouldn't we? Getting our hearts and minds right in this area will be the foundation for a strong, healthy marriage that lasts a lifetime.
“What God has joined together”, implies that marriage is not merely a human agreement, but a relationship in which God changes the status of a man and a woman from being single (they are no longer two) to being married (one flesh). From the moment they are married, they are unified in a mysterious way that belongs to no other human relationship, having all the God-given rights and responsibilities of marriage that they did not have before. Being “one flesh”, includes the sexual union of a husband and wife, but it is more than that because it also means that they have left their parents’ household and have established a new family, so their primary human loyalty is now to each other, before anyone else.
When questioned about this, Jesus avoids the Pharisaic argument about reasons for divorce. Instead, he goes back to the beginning of creation to demonstrate God’s intention for the institution of marriage. Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman that is to be a permanent bond. If Jesus held a high view of marriage and what it symbolized, shouldn't we? Getting our hearts and minds right in this area will be the foundation for a strong, healthy marriage that lasts a lifetime.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- How do the marriages that have been displayed throughout your life affect how you see marriage? Are these honoring God, why or why not? If not, how can you realign your view from broken marriages to God's perfect design for marriage?
Resource
Check out the podcast from XO Marriage on how to navigate healthy boundaries that you and your spouse can set in place during the early years of your marriage.