God’s purposed design of male and female genders, while perfect in His plans, presents certain issues in their ability to maintain a balanced relationship. Though the following verses are in context to divorce, there is something Jesus reveals that believers need to see, especially when conflicts over being faithful to one’s spouse, divorce, or other causes not necessarily meant to destroy a marriage are present.
Math 19:3-12 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, Today we have a conflict of thought within the soul over what a marriage should be made up of, male and female, female and female, male and male, or in the latest decry of relationships, transgenders unified. Whatever a person desires to be or do is their own business, you might say, but only one manner of unity is seen by God as correct in His sight.
One male and one female in covenant union before Him, fulfilling each one’s roles as He purposed in the beginning. 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. The aspect of one flesh has traditionally been seen as referring to the procreation of humanity, as males and females are able to provide both the natural and supernatural elements necessary to bring forth the life of another living being. I know this flies in the face of today’s media-driven societal concept of marriage.
As males with males, and females with females, and transgenders with other transgenders, all in a unity of so-called marriage. However, these unions cannot, within the confines of such effort, fulfill God’s founded conception nor, by erroneous gender roles, be capable of relationships as laid out in the confines of His plans. As is clearly revealed by the profoundness of these unions of lust. It makes sense when you consider that none of those who have garnered such senselessness place God into the definition of what they do. But there are many who attend churches and stand in worship of Him, while supporting same sex marriage and other perverse activities.
Divorce was and is not in the marriage plan of God, and in the reality of all the things humanity has accepted to justify a divorce, the act of adultery is the only thing mentioned as acceptable to the Lord. 7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. Why adultery? Because it defies both natural and supernatural laws governing marriage, and by an act against not only a spouse but also God. 9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Adultery is not just about sexual intercourse; it is more about the spiritual union built on the truth of God’s word that is being adulterated for fleshly sensual purposes. In truth, marriage is not a contractual fling that ends when one or the other does not like what is happening. This appears to be a mystery to believers today, as they traditionally divorce for the same reasons as the world, revealing they are without truth abiding in them to perceive what God has truly set the marriage foundation upon. 10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
There is a diverse difference between a person who is married and one who is called into a magisterially anointed position that sets an oath of abstinence to be adhered to. While eunuchs existed in the days of old, they still appear in our time today, but it is a marriage that has a greater calling upon those who choose to fulfill it. 12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
I know you’re scratching your heads and saying, ” What, ministry is more important than marriage! Allow me to help you. As a believer, you need to understand a very important aspect of the marriage covenant: it is this fact. Marriage in the sight of God is a spiritually founded process that has an eternal outcome in that it is established not only to bring forth a replenishment of the earth but His future spiritual offspring. Mal 2:13-16 (MSG) And here’s a second offense: You fill the place of worship with your whining and sniveling because you don’t get what you want from GOD. 14 Do you know why? Simple. Because GOD was there as a witness when you spoke your marriage vows to your young bride, and now you’ve broken those vows, broken the faith-bond with your vowed companion, your covenant wife.
Believers have for centuries been led to see marriage just as the world sees it, and yet almost nothing about it is the same. Covenants are seen by God as relevant, binding contracts agreed upon by all parties. But a marriage covenant is different in that it has God’s own participation by the Spirit of God, who must be allowed to affect its eternal spiritual outcome. 15 GOD, not you, made marriage. His Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. And what does he want from marriage? Children of God, that’s what. So guard the spirit of marriage within you. Don’t cheat on your spouse.
God’s endgame, so to speak, is for marriage to be the foundation of a family structure that is, by the Holy Spirit, bringing forth future Godly offspring. It is something most believers are unaware of, as it requires a scriptural revelation of truth to perceive what he has done and continues to do today. As stated above, this one flesh concept is not just about procreation; it is about a spiritual unity that, if dismembered, prevents God from receiving exactly what He has moved heaven and hell to receive as His own.
16 “I hate divorce,” says the GOD of Israel. GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies says, “I hate the violent dismembering of the ‘one flesh’ of marriage.” So watch yourselves. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t cheat. For those who do not understand the spiritual perspective here, it is as if you bring forth children into the world through a conceptual process called procreation; you are fulfilling humanity. But there is a spiritual aspect of replenishment that is established in one’s new birth to become God’s own offspring.
No one can be born again until they are firstborn in the flesh, as it is God who established the processes for both to occur. This is why marriage is an anointed union that must be in relationship with God, by the Holy Spirit, to fulfill the eternal plan He put in place through Jesus Christ, His Son, at the beginning. The fact that believing husbands and wives do not know they have a part in this process leaves God wanting in fulfilling His word.
The Nature of Flesh
In marriage, there are several realms of influence working on the foundations of it. And the realm of sexual issues is important, as here there are conflicts that often arise, leading to divorce for reasons not sustained by truths within the word of God. Satisfaction, or as scripture says, gratification of the soul, is bound to the sexual aspects of marriage and is brought about by the biological part of us that naturally responds to the stimulus of the senses, as well as sensual areas God built into our bodies.
1 Cor 7:1-5 (MSG)Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations? 2 Certainly—but only within a certain context. It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. Paul helps to explain some of this by submitting the fact that sex is a good thing, but as he reveals, it must be within the confines of a marriage covenant between a male and a female.
The statement that marriage is strong enough to contain these sensual urges and responses, often leading to sexual intercourse, refers to the authority each has in the marriage, founded upon individual rights of a woman who is a wife and a man who is her husband, and both are in Christ. This authority appears today to be an unknown aspect of marriage, as unions of believers struggle to overcome the adversities faced by those who see marriage as a convenience, not a commitment.
God’s own standards of authority are to be present in a marriage between two opposite genders united to bring forth spiritual offspring to God. 3 The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. 4 Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. This authority is established upon every believer who is a child of God, not to be exercised over the other sibling in Christ, but to be used to serve them. Spouses who know how to use their authority serve each other without any conflict of soul and are able to control even fleshly desires.
Many marriages have been dismembered for sexual reasons, notwithstanding adultery, and the truth is, believers are not excluded from sexual mishaps that the world loves to go through. 5 Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it’s for the purposes of prayer and fasting—but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it. And since the flesh is the flesh and has its desires, for the believer, it must be controlled and fulfilled in a Godly manner so it does not promote sin in life or marriage.
Heb 13:4 (MSG)Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. Believers who choose to remain abstinent as they serve the Lord are fulfilling a Godly accomplishment. But for those who are not in such a state, their choice should be to marry, since fulfilling such desires within the confines of marriage fulfills God’s will from the beginning.