What Does The Bible Say About Divorce Marriage Creates A Unity Between A Man And A Woman That Provides The Blessings Of A Deep Partnership
Second, Gods Word tells us that sexual relations outside marriage are forbidden because sexual enjoyment between humans is reserved for a man and woman in marriage alone . The entire book called The Song of Songs in the Bible is focused on the sexual enjoyment of a husband and wife.
The book of Proverbs was originally written for young men. It warns them against the inevitable pain and destruction that come from adultery and promiscuity and praises the delight that comes from faithful marriage, including the sexual satisfaction a couple enjoys .
Thirdly, Scripture teaches that God wants marriage to create godly offspring. In a sense, this is the ultimate fulfillment of his original mandate when he created humans. He told us to, Be fruitful and increase in number fill the earth .
When we have children, we are fulfilling the ultimate purpose of the original mandate because God ultimately created humans so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us . The prophet Malachi describes it succinctly:
And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
God Commands Couples To Have Babies
Genesis 1:26-31 tells us when God created the first man and woman. In Genesis 1:27-28 God told Adam and Eve to have children and fill the earth.
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him male and female He created them. God blessed them and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Genesis 1: 27-28
This means that God planned for married couples to engage in sexual activity in order to have babies and populate the world. Sexual activity was Gods idea. Notice the phrase be fruitful and multiply. The Hebrew word for fruitful is para which means to bear fruit or produce children. The Hebrew word for multiply is raba and it means great, many or numerous. That requires foreplay and sexual intercourse that results in orgasms in order to procreate or have children.
What Does This Mean
The Bible promotes complete abstinence before marriage. Sex between a husband and his wife is the only form of sexual relations of which God approves. Christians can mess up and receive Gods full forgiveness. But there is a stark difference between messing up and continuing to do so with the mindset, I can always ask for forgiveness.
What matters is a fully repentant heart. Repentance isnt just an attitude of the heart it literally means to turn from the former life with a commitment to change for the better. We, as followers of Christ, must strive to live within the confines of his loving boundaries and celebrate the good gifts hes given us even if that means we have to wait until our wedding day.
Heather Riggleman is a believer, wife, mom, author, social media consultant, and full-time writer. She lives in Minden, Nebraska with her kids, high school sweetheart, and three cats who are her entourage around the homestead. She is a former award-winning journalist with over 2,000 articles published. She is full of grace and grit, raw honesty, and truly believes tacos can solve just about any situation. You can find her on GodUpdates, iBelieve, Crosswalk, Hello Darling, Focus On The Family, and in Brio Magazine. Connect with her at www.HeatherRiggleman.com or on .
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God Created Marriage And It Is Good
According to the Bible, marriage is not a human-made custom, but a divine institution established by God for men and women. God joins couples together in marriage and, as we will see, it is Gods will for marriage to be a permanent and lifelong commitment.
One more clarifying point: The teachings of Scripture on divorce are increasingly unpopular in the Western world, but that doesnt make them any less true or authoritative for disciples of Jesus. The same goes for biblical teaching on what is marriage in the first place. Biblically, marriage is between a man and woman . There are examples of polygamous relationships in the Bible, but they are consistently depicted as being very problematic. When it comes to sexual relations between a man and a man or a woman and a woman, this is always described as wrong in the Bible. Thus, even when the government authorizes it, Scripture does not make room for homosexual marriage being something ordained by God . Holding to what the Bible teaches on such matters is bound to bring you into disagreement with people who have been discipled more by the culture than by the Scriptures, but disagreements never give you the green light to set aside love or compassion. For more on how we can cultivate thoughtful, kind relationships with people with whom we disagree, you might look at a book I co-wrote called Conviction and Civility.
God Wants Us To Reserve Sex For Marriage
God wants us to reserve sex for marriage, not because its bad or dirty, but precisely because its such a unique, exclusive and wond4erful thing. Sex is a holy mystery. Its a powerful bonding agent that shapes and affects the relationship between a man and s woman as nothing else can. To take it outside of marriage is like taking the wine consecrated at Holy Communion and using it for a frat house party. This is why writers of Scripture so often compare idolatry to the sin of fornication or adultery. It also explains why they use sexual purity and faithfulness between spouses as an image of our relationship with God .
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How A Former Abortion Doctor Became Pro
As an abortion doctor at Planned Parenthood, Dr. Patti Giebink believed she was helping women. Later, she began reading scripture and God gradually changed her heart on the abortion issue. Patti tells the story of her long journey from abortion doctor to pro-life and encourages listeners to share the message of life with compassion.
What Does The Bible Say About Divorce That Is Why A Man Leaves His Father And Mother And Is United To His Wife And They Become One Flesh
This teaching is very important to revisit because more and more young people in North America doubt the value of marriage. Many in their teens and twenties no longer desire marriage. In 2018, only 30% of those aged 18 to 34 were married, whereas, just forty years ago, in 1978, almost 60%double the ratewere married .
For the first time in American history, the majority of those aged 26 to 41 are not married. Furthermore, 44% of Millennials were married in 2019, compared with 61% of Boomers at a comparable age . Young adults give several reasons for why they are no longer seeking to be married:
- The negative experiences that came with the divorces of their parents
- The desire for sexual relationships outside marriage
- A desire for co-habitation instead of marriage
- The decreasing desire to have children in 2021 for the first time in American history, more women reached thirty years of age without ever having children than women who reached thirty with children.
In light of these statistics, it is important to remember that God created marriage and it is good.
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Something Sacred And Profound
Paying serious attention the trajectory of Scriptureeven if it aims to be monogamous and lovingdoesnt open the door to affirming same-sex marriage. In fact, it does the opposite.
Divine revelation gives us every indication there is something sacred about Gods image being male and female, and something profound about marriage between a man and a woman something that makes marriage unique among all human relationships.
Churches Should Seek To Excel At Supporting And Affirming Celibacy For Singles
Jesus lived as a single, celibate man so did the apostle Paul. This is a noble, high calling. Celibacy is the path that many millions of Christians follow now and have followed in history. The apostle Paul teaches that the celibate life has many advantages .
Jesus describes this kind of life by talking about eunuchs. A eunuch in the ancient world was a single person who did not have sexual relations. Some people were born incapable of sexual relations and sometimes people were castrated, etc. Jesus described it this way:
For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by othersand there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it. .
There are many people who obey the teachings of Jesus and, for the sake of the kingdom of God, it means that they must live like eunuchs: single and celibate. This teaching shows us that sexual fulfillment is not an essential to a full life. But if one of the reasons for marriage is companionship , single people who live celibate lifestyles are going to need special support. This is also the path that many same-sex attracted disciples of Jesus choose.
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Behold You Are Handsome My Beloved Yes Pleasant Also Our Bed Is Greensong Of Solomon : 16
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This, hands down, is one of my favorite verses in the Bible when it comes to cultivating sexual intimacy. While on the surface, it might not seem like much, take a moment to look deeper. First of all, the Bible was translated out of the Hebrew language and the Hebrew word for beloved is “yadid” . It also means favorite and desired.
While many of us aren’tor won’t bevirgins on our wedding night, something that we can definitely strive to be with our spouse is their sexual favorite. Something else that we canand shoulddo is want to make them feel like we desire them. That we crave them. That we long for them. That they are able to ignite sexual urges within us that no one on this planet can.
There’s more, though. Our bed is green. Green is a dope color. It’s not just the color of nature , it also symbolizes health, harmony, safety, growth and fertility. The very first time that I read this verse, I was like, “If I ever get married, I’m getting some green bedding, fa sho.” So married people, even if you only decide to go with a plant, consider also putting something green in your bedroom. It can serve as a reminder that your marriage bed is holistically healthyemotionally, spiritually, sexually and otherwise.
What Does The Bible Say About Divorce As I Have Loved You So You Must Love One Another
If we are going to love each other in marriage, the way Jesus loved us, it only makes sense to anticipate Jesus teaching against divorce.
Professor Beth Felker Jones puts it this way:
Marriage, created by God as a one flesh union, is meant to be a sign of Gods unbreakable covenant with us. This is an important symbol throughout Scripture: God is compared to a husband and Gods people to a wife. When, by the grace of God, were able to keep a marriage together, we get to be symbolsimperfect symbols, but still symbolsof Gods faithfulness to his people. Marriages are supposed to last because they are symbols of Gods lasting love for us.
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What Does The Bible Say About Divorce I Tell You That Anyone Who Divorces His Wife Except For Sexual Immorality Makes Her The Victim Of Adultery
Here, Jesus gives an exception to the teaching against divorce. If ones spouse enters into sexual immorality, God allows for, but does not require, divorce.
The second section is taken from the apostle Pauls teaching in 1 Corinthians 7. Paul begins by re-iterating the teaching of Jesus on the permanence of marriage. He writes:
To the married I give this command : A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
But then Paul moves on to address something that Jesus and the New Testament do not address elsewhere: what is a disciple of Jesus to do when they are married to a non-believer and the non-believer deserts the believer? Under Gods inspiration, Paul teaches:
But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances God has called us to live in peace.
God Made Us Male And Female
Lets start with Genesis 1:27-28:
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God, He created him male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
In the act of creating man in His own image as male and female, God created human sexuality. Its His design. Its His idea, His gift to us. Our sexuality is connected to the fact that we are the same species but different in gender.
What does the Bible say about sex? The very first instruction God gives to the man and the woman in Genesis 1 is, Be fruitful and multiply. This command involves sexual engagement, on our part. God could have chosen another way to populate the earth, but He chose to make the sexual union part of His design, and He blessed that relationship.
We have to acknowledge there are cases where a married couple is unable to conceive. But infertility does not invalidate Gods design.
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Husband And Wife Become One
He brought her to the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh .
Have you ever noticed how couples who have been happily married for many years often seem to blend together on so many levels? They know what the other person is thinking and how their spouse will react to a given situation. They can finish each others sentences. They have so much history together that they almost feel like the other is an extension of themselves. Thats what the Bible is talking about when it says a husband and wife become one flesh.
Therefore A Man Shall Leave His Father And His Mother And Shall Become United And Cleave To His Wife And They Shall Become One Flesh And The Man And His Wife Were Both Naked And Were Not Embarrassed Or Ashamed In Each Others Presencegenesis : 24
There’s a reason why I chose to go with the word “erotic” over something that might seem more subdued like, perhaps, sensual in the title of this piece. Sensual speaks of being carnal, fleshly and having a “lack moral restraints”.
Quite frankly, I think that is a big problem with Bible followers and how they process the topic of sex they see it through the eyes of being sensual rather than being erotic”arousing or satisfying sexual desire” and “sexual love”. Personally, that’s why I also think a lot of people who grew up in the Church struggle with the very clear instruction that is found in Genesis 2 they feel naked and ashamed because the Church has a tendency to focus more on sexual sin than the beauty of the gift of sex for married people.
If you add that to the fact that a lot of folks struggle with their body imageit’s no wonder that many husbands and wives are biblically disobedient. Disobedient how? Well, the Word clearly states that a husband and his wife, whenever they are naked in each other’s presence, they are not to be embarrassed or ashamed .
Man, imagine how much the sex lives of couples all over the world would change for the better, if spouses got this point down alone? If they realized that God never intended for a husband and wife to be naked and ashamed when it comes to how they feel in each other’s presence or when it comes to the act of sex itself. Talk about gettin’and stayin’free.
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Jesus Teaches That Divorce And Remarriage Results In Adulterous Relationships
Jesus puts it starkly in Luke 16:18 and Mark 10:11-12 in a way that covers both husbands and wives who divorce their spouses:
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.
Why Bother Discussing Something So Rare
So if this is the case, why should we even talk about sexual abstinence in marriage? If Paul is so clear on how rare it should be, why bother discussing it?
Most of us dont. When we look at these verses isolated from the meaning of sex and a theology of the body, the apostle seems to be saying to Christian couples: More sex! More sex! More sex! But this is not the only thing he says. The sexual abstinence part comes into play, not so much by Pauls exception in verse 5, but by what he means in verse 4, when he explains who has authority over our bodies in marriage. Well see this more vividly when contrasted with the main misuses of the text, but first the two misuses.
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