Understanding Marriage and Divorce

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Understanding Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in Biblical Context

God’s Original Plan for Marriage

  1. Companionship and Unity:
    Marriage was established by God as a union between one man and one woman, reflecting His image:
    • “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)
    • “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)

Under God’s ideal plan, marriage signifies a lifelong covenant characterized by intimacy, love, and mutual support.

  1. Purpose of Marriage:
    Marriage serves to advance God’s kingdom through procreation and symbolizes His covenantal relationship with humanity:
    • “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 1:28)

In the New Testament, marriage is likened to Christ’s relationship with the Church:

    • “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32)

3.      A marriage between an unbeliever and a believer is still valid but it also falls short of God’s ideal plan for marriage.

o    “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness? Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

 

4.      Paul describes abandonment as an additional permissible reason to be released from the marital covenant.

o    “And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. “(1 Corinthians 7:13-15)

 

Why Did God Permit Divorce Through Moses?

  1. Hardness of Heart:
    Jesus explained:
    • “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.” (Matthew 19:8)

This shows that divorce was a concession due to human sinfulness and not part of God’s original design.

  1. Cultural Context:
    In ancient Israel, divorces often occurred for trivial reasons. Moses required a certificate of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) to protect vulnerable individuals, especially women, preventing exploitation and societal stigma.

 

Key Terms in Context

  1. Divorce (Apoluo in Greek): This term means “to send away” or “dismiss.” Under Mosaic law, it referred to the formal dissolution of marriage through a written certificate (Deuteronomy 24:1). Jesus clarified that, while permitted, divorce contradicted God’s ideal.
  2. Sexual Immorality (Porneia in Greek): This encompasses adultery, fornication, and other sexual sins that violate the marital bond. Jesus permits divorce only in cases of porneia:
    • “But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:32)

 

Context of Matthew 5:32

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was addressing a Jewish audience deeply familiar with the Mosaic Law. At that time, the Pharisees often exploited Deuteronomy 24:1-4 to justify divorces for trivial reasons, such as a wife’s cooking or appearance.

Jesus confronts this misuse by reiterating God’s original design for marriage. His teaching highlighted the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong covenant and warned against using legal loopholes to escape marital commitments. By stating that divorce, except for sexual immorality (porneia), leads to adultery, Jesus was not adding undue condemnation but upholding God’s standard while revealing the heart behind the law.

Jesus’ Emphasis on Grace

  1. Salvation by Grace:
    • “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
    • “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

Context of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Paul addresses the Corinthian church, which was struggling with sexual immorality and other sins. He reminds them of God’s moral standards and the transformative power of the Gospel:

  • “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Paul’s emphasis is twofold:

  1. God’s Standard: Adultery and sexual immorality are serious sins that violate God’s design for marriage.
  2. Grace and Redemption: Paul reassures believers that even those who once lived in such sins can be forgiven and transformed through Jesus Christ.

This shows us that salvation is based on God’s grace, not human perfection. For those in second marriages, repentance and honoring their current covenant align with biblical teachings on redemption and faithfulness.

New Covenant vs the Old

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.”

(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

 

The old covenant was established upon man’s faithfulness to obey the law. The new covenant is established upon God’s faithfulness to justify us by our faith in Jesus Christ. The old covenant failed because it was predicated upon man. The new covenant will stand because it is predicated upon God’s work.

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.

(Luke 22:20)

Conclusion

Both Matthew 5:32 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 affirm God’s standard for marriage and sexual purity while underscoring His grace and forgiveness for those who repent. Salvation and eternal life are grounded in faith in Christ, not marital status or past mistakes.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

If you have divorced due to abuse and remarried, the key is to approach God with a repentant heart, seeking His forgiveness for any sins committed and committing to honor Him in your current marriage. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

 

 


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