The Two Become One!

Meditation on Matthew 19:3-6:
3 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, 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.

From the words of Jesus Christ; those who deny His words are of the devil.

1. God created man male and female, in a marriage before the Fall, after Adam had named the animals and
found no helper fit for Him. God made Eve, not Evan, nor Bill, not Shamgar.

2. Marriage is a stronger tie than parents and children. A man leaves his mother and father and gets married
to a wife, which is an indication of growing up not remaining in perpetual childhood, creating a new family for
the glory of God.

3. The two become one. Three do not become one. 1001 do not become one. A marriage is of two: a man
and a woman. Not a man and a dog; not a man and man; not woman and a woman; not a woman and
fourteen men. Two become one.

4. God makes marriage, and any human who changes the definition sets himself against God. "Let not man
put asunder" is the decree of the Almighty announced by Jesus Christ, who knows.

5. Divorce and polygamy were permitted by Moses because of the hardness of the hearts of Israel, as Jesus
said. Moses had a veil on his face and saw only the hinder parts of God; the fullness of marriage is seen in
the face of Jesus Christ.

6. from the Directory of Worship, RCUS., from the ceremony for Marriage:

"Marriage was instituted by God himself in the time of man's innocency and uprightness. The Lord God said,
'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.' Thereupon God created
woman of man's own substance and brought her unto the man. Our Lord Jesus Christ honored marriage by
his presence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. And he confirmed it as a divine ordinance and a union not be
be severed when he declared, 'What therefore God hath jointed together, let not man put asunder.'
Moreover, the apostle set forth the sacred and exalted nature of marriage when he likened it to the spiritual
union of Christ and his church."

7. The church is the bride of Christ, and she will be His honored guest at the marriage Supper of the Lamb,
in holiness and virtue. Of course these are figures of speech taken from the institution of marriage before the
fall of man and the entry of sin into the world, But the figures are of God: His people are lambs, His bride,
His vine, His garden; not His wolves, whore, thistle, or weed patch.

8. Sins against marriage: fornication, adultery, homosexuality, pedophilia, rape, etc., and sins which defile the
lips that speak them may be forgiven by the gifts of grace: repentance, conversion, and faith, but hardness of
heart and confirmation in wickedness bring the wrath of God. The minister is called to mourn and weep and
search for souls, but He must announce the judgment of the Lord:

Proverbs 28:1,2: "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that
without remedy.

God will not be "nice" in the day of judgment and wrath:

Col. 3:5 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God
cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them."

Use whatever translation you want, the meaning is the same: here is the ESV: "Put to death therefore what is
earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On
account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them."

Time to grow up and face some reality: The gifts of grace are, among others, Repentance, Conversion, Faith.
The gifts of grace come to us through Jesus Christ alone, through the blood of His Cross who reconciles us
unto God. The gifts are signs of grace, not the cause of grace. We are not saved by works of righteousness
but unto works of righteousness, which always follow faith.