If God makes them one, how can there be divorce for any reason?
Question:
The one thing that I noticed was that you said that there are biblical grounds for remarriage due to an unfaithful spouse. This, however, is not true from my understanding. I do see where a widow or the death of one spouse gives a biblical grounding for remarriage. But nowhere does it give any other reason for remarriage, and this is an issue I have studied and prayed about and sought the Lord for answers. I don't come unarmed.
First of all, I would like to point out that I in no way am trying to point a finger as I know that we all make mistakes, but I do believe in being corrected and will be if shown. I have found that when people find something they don't understand completely they go to their most realistic idea of what the word is saying. In Matthew 19:9 as most people would argue for the right to remarry due to the illicit sex of their partner says, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery." What many people don't understand is that the portion at the end says that whosoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. The word "and" used on the second portion of this Scripture means the same thing as also. This is why in the KJV it uses the ":" after adultery and before the second part of this sentence in its correct form. This symbol in punctuation means the beginning of a new topic in the same verse and sentence. So, in reality, it is saying besides what I told you first in this sentence I am also telling you that whosoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery also.
This goes back to when Jesus said, "Have you not known from the beginning, that for this cause shall a man leave his mother and father and be joined to his wife. God made them one flesh so that they are no longer twain but one flesh." So how can one separate from himself or herself if they are now one whole body with their spouse and especially after the word says what God has put together let no man put asunder? I have also heard the fight that "What if God didn't put you together"
This is where we have to come to grips with reality. We chose someone and asked God to bless and acknowledge our decision, He in return recognized your marriage decision and put you together because of your own oaths. Even in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 it says that if the woman wants to go back to her first husband she can't because she has been defiled by the second one; otherwise, she would get reconciliation.
I know of many arguments against what I have shared but I would rather hear what each individual has to say instead of answering a book worth of questions to each individual because I don't know what he or she is already solidified and grounded on scripturally. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.
Answer:
This only contains a portion of a rambling letter, but this is the only portion that is interesting enough to answer. I have yet to figure out why people assume that the answers presented are done without a study of the Scriptures.
The core of the response is presented from the view of the grammar found in King James Version concerning Matthew 19:9. You already start out in a weak position as you argue from a translation instead of from Greek. But regardless, the King James Version is not bad in its translation of this verse. But the following answer is based on what the verse says and not because of the grammar used in one particular version.
"I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery" (Matthew 19:9).
The statement creates two categories of people:
- whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another
- he who marries her when she is divorced
Both end up with the same consequence: they commit adultery. But what you ignored is the fact that the first group excludes one sub-category, those who divorce for the reason of fornication (sexual immorality in this particular translation). Because of the exception, the implication is that those who divorce because of fornication on their spouse's part, do not commit adultery when they marry again.
Thus, because the first category is sub-divided, we actually have three groups:
- whoever divorces his wife, other than for fornication, and marries another commits adultery
- whoever divorces his wife for fornication and marries another does not commit adultery
- whoever marries her when she is divorced commits adultery
Further, this statement doesn't cover cases where a couple never divorces nor when a couple divorces, but they never marry another.
Jesus' statement that God forms the marriage bond is an assertion that man has no right to determine the rules by which they can terminate the marriage bond. Since God did the joining, only God can determine when the covenant ends. Jesus' statement in Matthew 19:9 tells us what the conditions of the covenant are in God's sight.
