Summary: This Momentary Marriage (John Piper) - Chapter 14,15 & Conclusion
CHAPTER 14
Mark 10:1-12 - Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
What God has joined, only God can separate.
Christ mentions that the idea of divorce was only mentioned in the Old Testament because of the hardness of man’s heart
Mark 10:8,9
(vs. 8) Marriage is a union when they become one flesh
(vs. 9) God is the one who joins people together for marriage
(vs. 9) It is not within man’s right to destroy what God created
Marriage among Christians is mainly meant to tell the truth about the Gospel - that Christ died for His church who loves Him and never breaks His covenant with His bride.
CHAPTER 15
Matthew 19:3-12 - The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
Does death end a marriage in such a way that it is legitimate for a spouse to remarry? Yes.
Romans 7:1-3 - Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
If a divorced person has already married again, should he or she leave the later marriage? No.
That marriage shouldn’t have happened, but also shouldn’t be undone again. That is still a real marriage
The couple should repent and seek God’s forgiveness for the ongoing adultery
If an unbelieving spouse insists on leaving a believing spouse, what should the believing spouse do?
1 Corinthians 7:12-16 - But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
The believer shouldn’t make war on the unbeliever to make them stay. But, they also aren’t free to remarry. They are bound together as long as they both live.
Are there no exceptions to the prohibition of remarriage while the spouse is living? No.
CONCLUSION
Marriage is not mainly about prospering economically. It is mainly about displaying the covenant-keeping love between Christ and His church.
Being united to Christ by faith is the greater source of marital success
Marriage is a momentary gift.
