Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 19:1-12.
Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them,
Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and
female. 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and
shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
The Pharisees, attempting to entrap the Lord in controversy,
asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” (Matt
19:3).
Notice that Christ begins his response by taking
them back to Scripture (not to tradition, to experience, or to reason), when he
says, “Have ye not read…” This is sola scriptura!
To be more precise, he takes them back to
Genesis. It is hard to overstate the importance of Genesis, especially chapters
1-11 as a foundation for Christian theology. Christ cites two passages taken
from the pre-fall creation: Genesis 1:27 (v. 4) and Genesis 2:24 (v. 5).
First, Christ alludes in v. 4 to Genesis 1:27, “So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female
created he them.”
This is a key text for the doctrine of
anthropology. It tells us that God has made human beings in two kinds: male and
female. We all know the confusion that has arisen in our current culture, as
various so-called “experts” have convinced many that gender is nothing but a
“social construct.” An online article at healthline.com suggests there are no
less than 68 supposed terms that describe gender and identity. Another source
suggests 72.
All of this is rebellion against God’s good,
created order, and it is nothing new. Paul described it in Romans 1 when he
said that men “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened” (v. 21).
So, Christ is simply affirming here the fundamental goodness of
God’s original creation design for humanity.
Second, in v. 5 he cites Genesis 2:24. With this citation, Christ affirms the doctrine of
marriage. It involves a man leaving the household of his parents to establish
his own household and cleaving to his wife. We, as parents, can and should give
our children guidance when they are within our household, but when they
establish their own household the relationship changes.
At the end of v. 5 (citing Gen 2:24), Christ addresses the
mysterious union of a man and a woman in marriage. They become one flesh. A man
and a woman were literally made to fit together, both physically and
spiritually.
So, Christ declares, “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one
flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (v. 6).
This statement, often recited in the traditional Christian vows of
marriage, affirms two things: (1) It affirms in general the institution of
marriage as a one flesh union between one man and one woman (anything other
than this is not a marriage); and (2) It affirms, in particular, the individual
marriages of Christians, which are neither to be entered into lightly nor departed
from frivolously.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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