Elementor Page #1637 – The Divorce Deception

The Lord Jesus Christ requires divorce only as a fruit of repentance. Specifically, to leave a marriage that He did not join.

“It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. ” Mathew 5:31-32 KJV

“The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. ” Matthew 19:3-12 KJV

The “exception” Jesus Christ refers to is divorcing from a sexually immoral or “fornicating” marriage. This occurs when one or both spouses already have a living, God-joined, “one flesh” spouse. In such cases, the re-marriage is not a covenant joined by God, but an ongoing state of sexual immorality or fornication. To follow the Lord Jesus Christ, the marriage must repented of, meaning the two in the re-marriage must divorce from each other because God never joined their marriage in the first place.

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ” John 13:34-35 KJV

If you and your spouse did not have a living spouse when you got married, you are in a marriage God joined together. You can’t love you God – joined spouse if you divorce them. That is only done by a hard heart; see Matthew 19:8. Furthermore:

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.” Ephesians 5:22-28 KJV

While cheating within a marriage is adultery, it does not dissolve the bond. You cannot divorce your “own” (covenant) spouse without committing adultery. Divorce is only valid when separating from a union that was illegitimate from the start because it violated an existing God-joined bond.

The Command to Love

True discipleship is defined by love, which is incompatible with the “hard heart” required to put away a covenant spouse.

Divorce of your one flesh spouse, because they sinned is against you is against what
Jesus Christ commands: “So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” Luke 17:3-4
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35 KJV

A husband is commanded to love his wife as Christ loved the church, a sacrificial, cleansing love that seeks her holiness. Since you are “one flesh,” to divorce your own spouse is to fail to love your own body.

“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.” Ephesians 5:28 KJV

Summary: The only biblical “divorce” is the departure from an unlawful, fornicating union to return to the order God established from the beginning. In a true, God-joined marriage, the bond is indissoluble, and love leaves no room for separation.

God Does Not Join All Marriages: John the Baptist was martyred for telling Herod that his marriage to Herodias was unlawful. She was still the wife of, and bound to, her living husband, Philip. This proves that civil marriage does not override God’s Law:

”For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.” Matthew 14:3-4

”For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. ” Mark 6:17-18 The Soft Heart Loves the Father, Not the Things of This World: The only marriage you can divorce from isn’t when your spouse cheats or sins against you, it’s when the husband or wife you are with is cheating with you.  If you and/or your spouse already belong to a one flesh, God joined spouse, your current marriage is fornication (KJV): ”And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” Matthew 19:9 (KJV) God’s marriage bond vs. civil marriage agreement only: In Matthew 19:9 above, Jesus Christ says the only cause to divorce is to end a civil marriage agreement where the marriage is sexually immoral, because the two spouses don’t belong to each other, but someone else. Because God does not sin, HE will not join together a remarriage that violates the existing one flesh, marital bond that HE created.   The Path to the Kingdom: If you or your spouse is already bound* to another, staying in the current re-marriage is an ongoing act of adultery. In this case, divorce is not a sin; it is a required act of repentance. It is the choice to stop cheating against a living spouse, leave an unlawful union, and honor the original marriage bond God created. To enter the Kingdom of God, you must be free from adultery. Divorcing from a marriage you were never free to enter is the only path to a right standing with Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:32 & Matthew 19:9)