Two Becoming One

In my bachelor days, I was living proof of the Lord’s proclamation, “It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). I have found a wonderful helper in my wife; many men can say the same thing about their wives. Marriage was a part of God’s plan for man from the very beginning. Though a select few are able to use their gift of singleness to the glory of God (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:7), many others find fulfillment and blessing in the gift of marriage. Marriage allows two to become one (Genesis 2:24), offering man the greatest opportunity to experience heaven on earth, as heaven is a place of perfect oneness (John 17:22-23).

The opportunity and blessings offered by marriage have not gone unnoticed by Satan. The Old Testament demonstrates how Satan used polygamy, adultery, and a host of sinful behaviors to attempt to destroy marriage. In the days of Jesus, the image of marriage for many had become so warped that some Jews believed Moses authorized divorce for any reason. Jesus cited Genesis 2 to declare God’s original intentions for marriage: one man, one woman, and one lifetime together with but one exception that would allow one person innocent of sexual sin to remarry (Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:1-12; cf. Romans 7:1-3). He said that the two that had become one flesh by the will of God should not be separated by the will of men (Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:8-9).

The powerful proclamation of two becoming one flesh in Genesis is revisited twice more in the New Testament.  Paul first used the phrase when discussing the sad fact that some in Corinth were taking what belonged only in marriage and bringing it outside of marriage through prostitution (1 Corinthians 6:16). Prostitution (or any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage) is wrong for both married and unmarried alike for many reasons. In light of the concept of two becoming one flesh, Paul notes that it keeps people from becoming spiritually one with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).

The second New Testament usage presents a contrast with the first and reveals both God’s intentions for marriage and the beauty of the picture He created in instituting it. God’s plan for marriage was and is to provide an opportunity for man to experience heaven on earth, because a pure marriage relationship mirrors the relationship that Jesus has with His church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Two ought to become one physically and emotionally only in marriage; two can become one spiritually only by uniting themselves with Jesus by being added to His church (Ephesians 5:25; cf. Acts 2:47).

As Satan has succeeded in using sin to destroy the intimacy of marriage, he has succeeded in using sin to destroy the intimacy between God and man found in the church. Jesus is accused of polygamy every time people claim He is united with a multiplicity of divided churches rather than the one body that is His church (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:4). Followers of Jesus commit adultery against Him when they seek to be united with the world (James 4:4). They seek divorce when turn from Him back to the pollutions of the world (2 Peter 2:20-22).  

Christians, let’s make it our mission to uphold the beauty of two becoming one found only in marriage (cf. Hebrews 13:4) as well as the beauty of spiritual oneness with Jesus found only in His church.
-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org
Posted in ,

Recent

Archive

 2024
 2023

Categories

Tags

1 Corinthians 12:29 1 Corinthians 12 1 Corinthians 14:15 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 1 Corinthians 1:14 1 Corinthians 4:3-4 1 Corinthians 4 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 1 Corinthians 7 1 Peter 1:3-5 1 Peter 1:6-12 1 Peter 2:17 1 Peter 2:9 1 Peter 3 1 Peter 5:6-7 1 Peter 1 Samuel 4 1 Thessalonians 5:18 1 Timothy 4:1-3 2 Corinthians 5:10 2 Corinthians 6 2 John 1:9 2 John 9 2 Kings 5 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 2 Peter 3 2 Peter 2 Samuel Abel Abraham Absalom Acts 17 Acts 19 Acts 20:28 Acts 22:16 Acts 2 Acts 8 Acts Alcohol Alleged Contradictions Apostles Ark of the Covenant Attitude Authority Autonomy Autumn Awesome Awe Balance Baptismal Regeneration Baptism Barnabas Benevolence Bible Contradictions Bible Questions and Answers Bible Study Bible Time Bible Biblical Interpretation Bishop Body of Christ Borrowing Broad Way Brotherhood Cain and Abel Cain Calling on the Name of the Lord Calvinism Catholicism Catholic Celibacy Challenges Children Christian Living Christmas Church Funds Church Growth Church Leadership Church Membership Church of Christ Church Circumspection Citations Citizenship Colossians 3:16 Communication Communion Community Church Community Confidence Congregations Contend for the Faith Contentment Counting the Cost Covetousness Creation Credit Current Events Dating David Debt Forgivness Deconstruction Degrees of Punishment Deity Deliverance Denominationalism Devil Difference Different Discipleship Divine Nature Doctrine Dragon Drinking Easter Ecclesiastes 7:10 Ecclesia Eldership Elders Elder Elijah Elisha Encouragement Enoch Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 4:11-16 Ephesians 5:15 Ephesians 5:16 Ephesians 5:18 Ephesians 5:19 Ephesians 5:5 Ephesians 5 Esther 4:14 Evangelism Ezekiel 36 Ezekiel 6 Faith Alone Faith Only Faithfulness Faith Falling Away Fall False Teachers False Teaching Family Worship Family Fathers Favor Fear Feeding of the 5000 Fornication Free Will Fundamentals Galatians 4:9-10 Galatians 6:2 Gender Roles Generosity Genesis 22 Genesis 4 Genesis Gift of Tongues Gifts Giving God's Grace God\'s Grace Godhead Godhood God Gospel Meeting Gospel Grace Grammar Gratitude Greater Sin Greed Grief Grieving Hallelujah Praise Jehovah Hallelujah Hebrews 10:25 Hebrews 13:4 Hebrews 5:12 Help Hermeneutics Holidays Holy Bread Holy Spirit's Deity Home Devotionals Home Husbands Hymns Hypotheticals Idolatry Immutability Imperatives Influence Insomnia Instrumental Music Instruments in Worship Intertextuality Isaac Isaiah 2 Isaiah 6 James 1:16: James 1:19 James 1:27 James 1 James 3:1 James Jehovah Witnesses Jehovah Jerome Jesus Temptation Jesus' Deity Jesus\' Deity Jesus Job John 11 John 19:11 John 1:1 John 3:16 John 3:36 John 3 John 4:24 John Calvin John the Baptist Joshua 24:15 Jude 1:11 Jude 3 Jude Judgement Judging Judgment Kindness Lamb of God Lamech Lazarus Leadership Leaven Lemuel Lending Levites Life Lessons Limited Atonement Living Sacrifice Local Church Lord's Supper Losing Salvation Love of God Luke 13:22-30 Luke 13:23 Luke 1:28 Luke 5:1-11 Mariolatry Mark 1:12-13 Mark Marriage Martin Luther Mary Matthew 16:18 Matthew 5:13-16 Matthew 5:3-12 Matthew 5 Matthew 6:19-20 Matthew 7:13-14 Matthew 7:1 Maturity Melchizedek Men's Business Meeting Men\'s Business Meeting Men\\\'s Business Meeting Men Metaphors Minor Prophets Miracles Miraculous Gifts Money Monotheism Mormonism Mothers Mount of Olives Mountain of the Lord's House Mountains of Israel Mountains Murder Music Mutual Submission Narrow Gate Narrow Way New Creation Nicodemus No Elders Non-Denominational OSAS Olive Trees Olives Olivet Olive Once Saved Always Saved One Another Parenting Pastor Patience Patriarchs Pattern Paul Peace Pentecostalism Persecution Perseverance of the Saints Perseverance Perseverence Perspective Pharisees Philippians 3:20 Philippians 4:6 Plagiarism Plan of Salvation Poetic Language Politics Pop Music Prayer Praying to Saints Praying Pray Preacher Preaching Priesthood Priests Proverbs 23 Proverbs 31:6 Proverbs Providence Psalm 148 Psalm 33 Quotations Reader Response Redeeming the Time Relationships Relationship Religion Religious Pluralism Religious Syncretism Remission of Sins Respect Restoration Movement Restoration Revelation 12:9 Riches Roman Catholic Church Romans 10:1-13 Romans 10:13 Romans 10:9-10 Romans 12:1-8 Romans 12:10 Romans 12:15 Romans 12:1 Romans 12:3-8 Romans 12 Romans Sabbath Sacrifice Saints Only Salvation Issue Salvation Satan Saved Scarecrows Sermon on the Mount Serving Others Sexual Sin Shewbread Showbread Silence of the Scriptures Singing Sin Situation Ethics Sleep Sobriety Song Studies Sons Soul Winning Sovereignty of God Spending Spirit and Truth Spiritual Death Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Leadership Steal Stephen Stolen Straight Gate Stress Student Debt Submission Suffering Syncretism TULIP Teachers Teaching Temptations Thankfulness The Beatitudes The Problem of Evil The Problem of Pain and Suffering The Problem of Suffering The Way of Cain The Way Thievery Thieves Titus 2:11-12 Titus 2 Tongue Speaking Total Hereditary Depravity Tradition Translation Trials Trinity Types and Antitypes Unchanging Nature Uncleanness Unconditional Election Understanding Unity Universalism Unknown Tongue Unmerited Favor Vulgate Wealth Wide Gate Will of God William Kirkpatrick Wives Women in the Church Women's Roles Word Study Work Worship Youth Zechariah clergy death sickness