What God has JOINED together

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What does it mean to be "joined together" by God? 

In Matthew 19:6 Jesus says, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

What God has joined together is an expression used throughout the Bible to describe the marriage covenant that God creates with each husband and wife (cf. Gen. 2:24; Mt. 19:6; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31)

The term “joined together” refers to the husband and wife being joined together through sexual relations. It is this act that initially joins the two together. Because this is an integral part of the marital bond: "the two will become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24; Mt. 19:5), any breaking of that bond by having sexual relations outside of the marriage relationship is a permissible reason for divorce. 

 However, the depth of this union that has been joined together, is meant to go much further then just their sexual union. When God joins a husband and wife together, He does so holistically. The marital relationship is supposed to be a picture of a relationship with Jesus (Eph. 5:32). 

In other words, God did not intend for marriage to simply be based off of the couples sexual union together. Instead, God has intended marriage to be sexual, relational, and spiritual. When marriage is holistically healthy (i.e. physically, emotionally, and spiritually), a couple will literally thrive together and be blessed by God with a healthy and happy marriage.

This is the goal and purpose behind Christian marriage, wholeness with one another. Just as a relationship with Jesus isn’t meant to simply be a free ticket out of hell. It is meant to be a living, growing, healthy, wonderful experience for us. Jesus tells us, "... I have come to give you life, and life abundant" (John 10:10). Jesus doesn't simply shield us from eternity in Hell, He actually makes us whole again the moment we put our unwavering trust in Him. Heaven is simply one of the sweet byproducts of that wholeness. So too, is a marriage meant to be a holistically healthy experience. Physical devotion to one another through sexual intimacy, is a very important facet to the marriage relationship, but it is not the only facet that joined together is referring to. It is also referring to the emotional and spiritual joining together of the couple as well.

 The only way that this holistic joining together is going to take place to its fullest potential, is if the husband and wife devote their lives to putting Jesus in the center of their life (Matthew 6:33), doing their marriage God's way (Eph. 5:21-33), and fully devoting themselves to one another. You can read the book of Song of Solomon to better understand what this type of holistic devotion to one another looks like.

 If you are married, or are seeking to get married, I pray that today, you will determine in your mind to be a spouse that devotes yourself to honoring God by the way you devote yourself to loving and nurturing your spouse, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. When you do, God will bless you abundantly for it.

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