God's Universal Marriage Law
As we just noticed, the current controversy has to do with the right, or lack thereof, of one in a particular situation to put away their spouse and remarry. Before we can really get into what the Scriptures teach about divorce and remarriage, we must first lay the foundation showing what the Bible teaches regarding marriage.
Marriage is a Divine Institution
Jesus said, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate" (Mt. 19:6). Marriage was established, and thus is also regulated, by God. It was put in place at the beginning. After creating Eve to be a "helper" (Gen. 2:18) for Adam, verse 24 says, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." God's rules regarding marriage were established long before any culture, society, or government. Therefore, none of those affect the divine institution of marriage.
A misunderstanding of the role of civil government accounts for many of the disagreements among God's people today over the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage, particularly relating to our question under consideration here. Like marriage, civil government is an institution "established by God" (Rom. 13:1). Civil authorities are given certain responsibilities by God. They are to keep order "so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life" (1 Tim. 2:1-3) and deal out punishment to "the one who practices evil" (Rom. 13:4). But nowhere in Scripture do we find where God gave civil governments any role or authority in regards to marriage.
In our present day United States, civil government does record and recognize marriages. But what they choose to recognize as marriage is not always what God has determined is a marriage. In some places (and sadly, this will probably spread to more and more places), the civil government will recognize the union of two men or two women as a marriage. Many times, the government will permit marriage between two people when one or both of those people are still bound by God's marriage law to another. What the laws of man choose to recognize does not change God's law.
As Christians who realize that we are governed by God's law, we need to respect that law when it comes to marriage. His law is unchanged by the courts and cultures of men. Those courts and cultures can choose whether or not they will recognize those whom God has bound together as being married. But regardless of who they view as married or unmarried, God's marriage law determines who is or is not bound in marriage.
God Will Join Two Who Are Eligible to Marry
As was already stated, just because a society or government recognizes a couple as being married, does not mean that God has bound them to each other in marriage. God will only join two who are eligible to marry. When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees if a man could "divorce his wife for any reason at all," He went back to the beginning and explained God's universal marriage law. "And He answered and said, 'Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?" (Mt. 19:4). God's design for marriage involves one man and one woman. He will not join two men or two women in the bond of marriage, regardless of what society recognizes.
But God will not join every man-woman couple who wish to marry. He will only join those who have the right to marry. Of course, one who has never been bound in marriage has the right to marry. This was the situation Adam and Eve were both in when God established marriage in the beginning. Also, when one has been married and their spouse dies, they have the right to marry again (Rom. 7:2-3). Lastly, the one who puts away their mate who is guilty of fornication has the right to marry (Mt. 19:9). According to what the Bible teaches regarding marriage, individuals in one of these categories have the right to marry another who also falls into one of these categories.
Marriage is a Life-Long Relationship
The rampant divorce rate in our country and in many places around the world is a mockery of God's plan for marriage. God's intent is for marriage to last a lifetime. There are only two exceptions given in Scripture that give one who was previously bound in marriage to another the right to remarry. If one's spouse dies, they are released from their marriage bond (Rom. 7:2). If one puts away their mate for fornication, they are released from their bond and are free to remarry (Mt. 19:9).
To demonstrate the permanency of the marriage bond, we can see examples in Scripture of those who were still bound by God's marriage law to one while being recognized by men as being married to another. In Mark 6, Herod is said to have married Herodias, who was previously his brother Philip's wife (v. 17). John had opportunity to teach Herod and told him, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife" (v. 18). Herod and Herodias were seen by men as being married. But John, the prophet of God, knew God's marriage law. Herodias was still bound to Philip. That is why he could still call her Philip's wife. The marriage bond is intact, even after an unlawful divorce and remarriage.
Another example is found in Jesus' teaching on marriage in Mark 10:11. "And He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.'" When a man remarries without the right to, that second marriage constitutes adultery against his original wife. Some have argued that "against" should be translated "with," even though the vast majority of translators (experts in the Greek language) have translated "against" instead of "with." Regardless, whether the Greek word epi should be translated as "against" or "with," the meaning is the same. He commits adultery with the second wife against his first wife. Adultery is defined as: "willful sexual intercourse with someone other than one's husband or wife." (Nelson's Bible Dictionary) The fact that Jesus calls this second marriage adultery shows that this man was still bound in marriage to his first wife. His divorce and subsequent marriage did not change that.
Summary
When the Pharisees came to Jesus in Matthew 19, they asked Him if a man could "divorce his wife for any reason at all" (v. 3). Before answering their question, He set forth the truth of God's law regarding marriage. This needs to be established before teaching on divorce and remarriage will be of any profit. Today we have controversy over whether or not one can put away their spouse for fornication after their spouse put them away for some other cause. Before we can answer that question, we need to first understand God's marriage law. Marriage is established by God, not man. God joins two in marriage who have the right to marry. Once He joins them in the bond of marriage, unless one of the two exceptions that we noticed earlier occurs, they are expected to remain in that relationship. This law applies to all men of all time, regardless of society or culture.
