"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.”
Matthew 5:31-32

We are in the midst of exploring what Jesus said about marriage and divorce in Matthew 19:3-9. This time we’ll focus on what Jesus said about divorce in verses 6-9.

6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." 7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" 8 He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

Here are the first three key points about divorce according to Jesus:

(1) When a man and a woman are married, the two become one flesh (c.f., Genesis 2:24). (2) This union is accomplished by God in a spiritual sense. (3) What God unites, man has no authorization to separate.

Do not miss that biblical marriage is only always between one man and one woman who are husband and wife.

Matthew 19:4-5 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,' 5 and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH' ?

ANY other combination is NOT biblical and is therefore NOT marriage—no matter what anyone says or what laws are passed.

It is ironic that opponents of marriage often claim that “marriage is a man-made institution.” That God unites a husband and wife (according to Jesus) makes it clear that biblical marriage is not of human origin.

Meanwhile opponents of biblical marriage (one man and one woman) seek to redefine marriage legally, which makes their feeble attempts to overrule God regarding marriage, nothing but a man-made institution.

The uniting of husband and wife as one is of a spiritual nature. Clearly, the two have distinct bodies and retain their separate identities, but become one in a spiritual sense. This is in keeping with the fact that marriage is a picture of the union of Christ and His Church. The Church is united with Christ (John 17:21) in a manner similar to the way that the three Members of the Trinity are One, yet Three: “distinct, yet never separated.”

And by the way, Jesus will never divorce His church (Hebrews 13:5)—even though He has cause!

More on biblical grounds for divorce next time.