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In order to understand something, you must first know it's purpose. One of the
problems in our society today is that people who don't know why marriage was created, are trying to set the standards for
marriage. Many of them have their own ideas, and they are trying to make marriage fit their own plans. This is not a
new problem, it was going on even in Moses' day. But to really understand the purpose of something, you must find out
from the Creator what was intended when it was created. So to find the purpose of marriage we must go back to the beginning,
and to it's Creator, the One who originated marriage in the first place. In Matthew 19:3-8, the Scripture says, "Some
Pharisees came and tried to trap Jesus with this question. Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any reason?"
Haven't you read the Scriptures? Jesus replied. "They record that from the beginning God made them male and female.
And He said, "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into
one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together." "Then why did
Moses say a man could merely write an official letter of divorce and send her away?" they asked. Jesus replied,
"Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard-hearted wickedness, but it was not what God had originally intended."
The state of marriage here in this passage of Scripture has been changed, or altered, from it's original intention.
While our subject is marriage and not divorce, I would like to bring to light the process Jesus used to reveal original purpose.
The Pharisees came to Jesus with what they felt was their right, based on what they said was law. They even used the
name Moses, as the giver of the law. Jesus explained that the law of Moses was a concession, or acknowledgment that
the people's hearts were hard. But to understand marriage you have to go back to God, to see the original intent, and
His law. There are two concepts that Jesus reveals in this passage of Scripture that I would like to shine light on.
First, you must go to the originator to find purpose. Second, after you know the purpose, follow the originator's rule
book. "Haven't You Read?" Jesus, in Matthew 19:4 asks this question. " Haven't
you read?" I remember hearing a story about a man who at Christmas, bought bikes for his children. After the children
went to bed Christmas Eve, he worked until the early hour of Christmas morning, trying to put those bikes together.
But the more he tried, the more nuts an bolts were left unused. Just before day his wife came in and asked this question,
"Honey why don't you read the instruction manual?" With much frustration he read the instructions, and in one hour he
completed putting those bikes together with no nuts or bolts left unused. What is the point of this story? The
Creator knows more about the creation than the owner. And God knows more about marriage than the people who are trying
to set the standards for it. To understand how to build a good marriage, or to know it's purpose, maybe we should read
the instruction manual. "For This Cause" In Matthew 19:4, Jesus said "That at the beginning
the Creator made them male and female, and said for this cause, or for this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined
together, let man not separate." Jesus is talking here, about purpose. Purpose is the reason something exists. If purpose
is not known, abuse is inevitable. In other words, if you don't know the intent of something, then the misuse of it,
or using it for something other than it's created intent is inevitable. So what is the purpose of marriage?
There are two main reasons for marriage. One, to be a working, living example of the relationship that exists between
Jesus Christ and the Church. In Ephesians 5:29-33, Paul said, "After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds
and cares for it, just as Christ dose the church, for we are members of His body. For this reason a man will leave his father
and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about
Christ and the Church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her
husband." In Ephesians 5:31, Paul said, "For this reason or for this cause a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." Paul was referring to what Jesus had said in Matthew
19:4-5. And Jesus was referring to what God said in the beginning in Genesis 2:24, which says, "For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." You see, in Genesis 1:26-27,
God created man in His own image. The word man in those verses is singular, meaning one spirit, but with two forms of
expression. One expression was male, the other was female. Then in Genesis 2:7, God made the body for the man out of
dust, and breathed life into it and man became a living soul. This body was male, so on earth there was only one form of expression
for the spirit God created called man, male. Now to leave it like this, God knew that it wouldn't be good.
So in Genesis 2:18, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Then
in Genesis 2:21-22, God used part of the living, breathing male body and made it suitable for the female expression.
Then God brought her to the male, and the male said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be
called woman for she was taken out of man." Now God has two bodies in the earth to express what God created in the spirit;
male, and female. It is at this point that God says in Genesis 2:24-25, "For this reason a man will leave his father
and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked and they felt no
shame." It is for this cause. One, to bring relationships to its maximum form of expression of oneness, through
male and female interactions of love and commitment. Thereby eliminating the danger of what God said was not good.
Two, that in so being one, a husband and his wife can be a living reflection of the spiritual relationship that exists between
Jesus Christ and the church. It is for this cause that Christ died, that we might be one with Him, and that through
Him we could be brought back into fellowship with God. FOR THIS CAUSE! Marriage, it was and is God's idea and it was
for this cause. Pastor James Flowers,Center of Christ Ministries, www.centerofchrist.org
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