# They Are No More Twain

THE GODLY HOME

Language: en  
Author: by Kenneth Hopkins  
Greenville, OH  
Original issue: The Heartbeat of the Remnant, Spring 2022, Number 1  
Source pages: 14–17  
Read article: <https://remnant.truechristian.church/en/christian-living/they-are-no-more-twain/>
Original PDF: WEB\-Spring\-2022\-Remnant\.pdf
[The Heartbeat of the Remnant, Spring 2022](<https://remnant.truechristian.church/en/issues/heartbeat-remnant-2022-spring/>)

*Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh… –Matthew 19:6\.*

The marriage relationship was authored by God in the very beginning of time\. God also offered to bless the marriage \(Genesis 1:28\) of the man and woman entering into it, if they desired to maintain its beauty and holiness\. Since then, Satan has attempted, in every way possible, to corrupt and destroy the existence of Holy Matrimony\. As early as Genesis 4:19, mankind was using polygamy to corrupt God's design of marriage\. In Leviticus chapters 21 and 22, a plan, called a divorce, was put in place to legally dissolve the “first love”\. This also included the option to remarry\. When it was first developed as a practice, the call for divorce was initiated by man, not God, and was for the purpose of dissolving what was understood up until that time to be a lifelong commitment\.

In this article we want to look at a number of points:

- What does the Bible teach about marriage? Does the first marriage carry any special position with God?
- What does the Bible teach about divorce? Does God recognize divorce as terminating the original marriage vow while either spouse is still living?
- What does the Bible teach about the reuniting of a separated or divorced first marriage?

It is the desire of this study to be comprehensive, while allowing the scriptures to be their own interpreter, thus keeping commentary to a minimum\. The purpose of this writing is to encourage diligence with prayer in seeking the will of God through a study of His Word\. The desire of the writer has been to prayerfully consider all relevant scriptures and the context for which they were written\.

### What does the Bible teach about God's view of the first marriage?

At least five times in the Old Testament, the *first marriage* is described by the Lord as exclusive and lifelong\. This same view was supported by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament\.

1. *Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with **the wife of thy youth** –Proverbs 5:18\.* Note the attention given to the *wife of thy youth\.*
2. *For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a **wife of youth**, when thou wast refused, saith thy God –Isaiah 54:6\.* Being a wife of one’s youth and then later refused, intensified the grieving of this forsaken woman\.
3. *Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and **the wife of thy youth**, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant\. And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit\. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed\. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against **the wife of his youth\.** For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously\. –Malachi 2:14\-16\.* And why are they made one, exclusive to each other? To raise up a godly seed unto the Lord\. Even though *God hates putting away*, men still try to cover it with a garment of civil, legal acceptance called "divorce"\.
4. Matthew 19:3\-12: V\.4 In the beginning… Jesus, when asked by the Pharisees about this issue, takes them back to original intent of His Father when He chides them… *And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female –Matthew 19:4\.* He then goes on to remind them of the Scriptures teaching that *…a man \[shall\] leave \[his\] father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh\. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder –Matthew 19:5\-6\.* Don't equate man’s authority \(the civil court\) with God’s authority when it comes to deciding what the facts are concerning marriage, divorce, and remarriage\. We need to remember that it is God who has joined each marriage together in Heaven and has recorded them in the Book of Life\.
5. *For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband\. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man –Romans 7:2\-3\.* Again, this is pointing back to *the beginning* in order to establish a basis of Truth\.

Only the death of either spouse will terminate the initial marriage covenant in the heavenly records\. And once this life is over, only the heavenly records will matter—for all of eternity\.

There are several exceptions to the Biblical ideal:

- *Defraud \[deprive, keep back\] ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency \[lack of self\-restraint\] –1 Corinthians 7:5\.* So, restraining the marriage relationship for a time with voluntary consent from both husband and wife when there is a need for seeking God’s favor or guidance on a matter of great importance, may in some circumstances find God’s blessing\. However, this should only be engaged in with a clear understanding and commitment by both spouses involved, about when and how to come together again, lest Satan tempt you\. This exception has three clear qualifiers… 1\) ***with consent***, 2\) ***for a time***, &amp; 3\) for the purpose of **giving yourselves to prayer and fasting\.**
- *And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife –1 Corinthians 7:10\-11\.* This is the Scriptural passage that frees the innocent spouse from biblical guilt when the other spouse is the one who chose to part ways\. However, the teaching still remains that they shall not marry another “so long as the original partner remains alive”\.

### What does the Bible teach about God's view of divorce?

*It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery –Matthew 5:31\-32\.* As Jesus taught the people in His Sermon on the Mount, one of the many things that He kept focusing on was this issue of God’s original plan for marriage\.

**“Saving for the cause of fornication”** Fornication is any type of immorality prior to marriage\. Modern\-day Christianity, at times, struggles with this idea since the customs of the ancient Jewish culture have long since been forgotten\. In Jewish culture, the betrothal period was considered almost as binding as the marriage ceremony itself, so much so that to end a betrothal required a “divorce”\. With this as a foundational understanding, fornication here is speaking of immorality during the espousal or betrothal period\. If any unfaithfulness was discovered, a writing of divorcement was required to break the betrothal, espousal, or engagement\. This specific aspect of divorce was not criticized by Jesus\. Even though they were not permitted to engage in the physical relationship of marriage during the betrothal period, they were still referred to as husband and wife\. Finally, the reason this is referred to as fornication instead of adultery is because that during the betrothal period the marriage of the two has not yet taken place, nor has their relationship been consummated physically\. Thus, **just prior** to the point in time when they are considered by God as being married, any outside relationship would be *fornication*, while **just after** they are considered married, any similar relationship would be *adultery\.*

We have an excellent biblical example of this type of situation with Joseph &amp; Mary in the following verses: *Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost\. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily –Matthew 1:18, 19\.*

So, biblically speaking, divorce can put asunder the first marriage according to civil law but cannot terminate a first marriage before God\. A divorced person remains the companion of their first marriage \(as long as the other spouse is alive\) even when remarrying, whether they are legally divorced or not, thus resulting in biblical adultery for both parties\. However, when divorce is allowed to be recognized as being legitimate in breaking or annulling the initial marriage covenant, we have thereby removed the specific reason by which God calls subsequent marriages adultery\.

In Matthew 19:3\-10, Jesus is teaching the same lesson as in Matthew 5:31\-32\. However, Matthew 19:3\-10 was initiated from an attempt by the Pharisees to trap Jesus with a question: *They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? –Matthew 19:7\.* Jesus then responds further and says, *…Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so –Matthew 19:8\.*

Also, in Mark it is written, *But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female\. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh\. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder –Mark 10:6\-9\.*

Thus, divorce, with all its regulations, is man's attempt to use civil law to terminate that which from the beginning was understood to be until the death of either spouse\.

### What does the Bible teach about the reuniting of a separated or a divorced first marriage?

*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** –Matthew 19:8\.* Here Jesus is teaching the initial mind of His Father\. In the law, Moses taught that… *When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house\. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife\. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife… –Deuteronomy 24:1\-4\.*

This is Moses' teaching regarding permission and qualifications for divorce which Jesus explained was *because of the hardness of their hearts\.* Jesus further clarified this by saying, ***but** from the beginning it was not so –Matthew 19:8\.*

Perhaps Jeremiah also is referring to Moses' writing in Deuteronomy 24:1\-4 when he says, *They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD –Jeremiah 3:1\.* The remainder of Jeremiah chapter 3 speaks of God receiving them back if they repent\. God pleads for them to \(v\.13\) "acknowledge thine iniquity" \(repent\), and repeatedly calls for their return \(v\.14\-\)

God invited Israel back into fellowship with Him on the basis of acknowledging her sin and changing her ways, giving no heed to the instruction that Moses gave in Deuteronomy 24:1\-4, because "from the beginning it was not so\."

In Jeremiah 3:8, the Lord had put her \(Israel\) away and given her a bill of divorcement\. But in verses 1 and 12, He invites her to return and in verse 14 He offers the terms of reconciliation\. In Malachi it is written, *Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god –Malachi 2:11\.*

God's divorcing of Israel and Israel's subsequent remarriage to a strange god in no way interfered with them returning to their first marriage\. Instead, the Lord invited them back if they would repent, Jeremiah 3:13\-14\. By the time of Deuteronomy chapter 24 and through most of the Old Testament, divorce was the accepted normal, with mankind attempting to put some regulations on it, "but from the beginning it was not so\."

In the book of Hosea, we have a biblical example of the reuniting of a separated or divorced first marriage: … *And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD –Hosea 1:2* \(see also Hosea 2:5\)\.

Sometime after Hosea marries her, she resorts to the life of a "harlot'' \(Hosea 3:3\) and goes after other "lovers" \(2:7\)\. When she refers to Hosea as "my first husband" \(2:7\), it is evidence that she likely remarried after deserting Hosea\. \(2:14\) By Hosea patiently "alluring her and speaking comfortably to her" \(2:19\-20\), Hosea betrothed her again and Gomer apparently responded \(2:20\) "in faithfulness” and came to "know the Lord\." \(3:3\) Eventually, Hosea and Gomer both reunited with a commitment of faithfulness to each other\.

Restoration to the initial God\-ordained commitment is the goal, reconciliation is the process, and a repentant heart before the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness is the means \(see Hosea 3:5\)\.

John 4:1\-42 is a scripture that some would interpret as objecting to the reuniting of a first marriage after a separation or divorce, because of Jesus' reply to the woman\. After she said *…I have no husband\. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly –John 4:17\-18\.*

Some would interpret Jesus to be saying, "You are right woman, none of your five former husbands of which you have divorced or put away \(including your first one\) are your husband, and neither is the one you have now\. Some commentators and others refer to this woman as a five\-time divorcee and currently living with a man in an unmarried state\. However, I find no evidence in this account that this woman was living an unholy life\.

Jesus' purpose of this account is to reveal Himself as the "Messias" with "Living Water" to this woman and many more in Sychar\. Jesus says nothing to fault or correct her, which He typically would when meeting with sin\. All five husbands could have been passed away and the one she was now seeing, just a friend, perhaps anticipating marriage\. Also, we don't know since it doesn't say, but she seemed to be a woman of respect and influence in the city, which would have been unlikely with an ongoing reputation of immorality\. Jesus would surely have said something to inform her of her sin, when making available His Living Water\. So, to use this account and say that all five husbands are adulterous and still classified as God\-recorded husbands does not agree with the rest of Scripture\. Nor does it support the context of the statement: *he whom thou now hast is not thy husband\.* To claim that this story is a display of an immoral lifestyle with no known biblical evidence is close to “adding to” or “taking away” from the Scriptures\. \(See Revelation 22:18\)

In conclusion… In our world today and in history past, mankind has attempted to equate subsequent marriages following a divorce, to the level of the initial marriage covenant\. This has confused the emphasis and intent God has put on the initial marriage covenant\. God's Word teaches that the Lord has always respected repentance in the restoration of any initial God\-blessed covenant\. For the Lord to bless and prosper the reconciling of any struggling relationship, He requires a broken, contrite spirit of humility and repentance with submission\.

The context of 1 Corinthians 7:10\-16 is that of a believer being in a covenant relationship with a spouse who is an unbeliever\. In verse 15, the remaining believing spouse is not under obligation to denounce their walk of faith to continue a marriage relationship, neither are they free to remarry \(verse 11\) in the event of the unbelieving spouse leaving\. If verse 15 is speaking of the marriage covenant, then verse 39 would contradict verse 15 and the will of God according to the rest of Scripture, \(see Matthew 19:5 and 1 Corinthians 7:10\)\. Living separately limits influence to the family and is a negative witness to the community, thus the believing spouse will always have a much greater impact for the Lord by staying true to the “initial marriage commitment” as challenging as that may be\.

The Word of God holds the initial marriage covenant exclusively binding and honorable\. Any subsequent marriage vow while either spouse is living is considered by our Lord as the sin of lust and adultery and must be repented of if we wish to seek God’s forgiveness\.

Therefore, repentance and forgiveness by both spouses, with the desire to reunite and honor their initial God\-blessed marriage covenant, is not a desire of the flesh but is the work of the Holy Spirit deep within the heart of the sinner\. When there is a godly desire to repent and reconcile a broken relationship, we should fall on our knees in support and sincere gratitude to our Heavenly Father\.

Jesus has offered to come between and restore struggling relationships that through humility and repentance seek forgiveness, thus returning to full service for their Lord resulting in eternal joy\. He says: *For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them –Matthew 18:20\.* And Paul says, *But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you –Romans 8:11\.*