What God Has Joined Together

Jesus called remarriage adultery (Matthew 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18). Paul said a wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives (Romans 7:2-3; 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 39). For 1,500 years, the Church held to this without exception. Today, much of the Christian church has unknowingly relaxed this commandment, the very thing Jesus warned against (Matthew 5:19).

Something changed, but it wasn't Scripture. Walk through the words of Jesus, the letters of Paul, the witness of the early church, and the turning points in history that reshaped what most Christians believe.

Wedding rings on Bible
"Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."
Matthew 19:8 (NKJV)

The Words of Jesus

Jesus grounded His teaching on marriage in the creation account, pointing back to God's original design.

The One-Flesh Union (Matthew 19:4-6)

When the Pharisees tested Jesus about divorce, He didn't answer with a new rule. Instead, He pointed back beyond Moses to creation itself:

"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."

Notice what Jesus is doing here. The Pharisees asked Him about divorce, and He responds by talking about the nature of marriage itself. He says two things worth paying attention to: first, that God is the one who "joins together" a married couple. Marriage isn't just a human arrangement; it's a divine act. Second, He says "let not man separate." If a couple can simply end a marriage through divorce papers, in what sense would Jesus need to warn against separating what God joined? The warning implies that the bond God creates isn't something humans have the authority to dissolve.

The Disciples' Reaction (Matthew 19:10-12)

One of the most telling details in this passage is how the disciples responded. After hearing Jesus' teaching, they said:

"His disciples said to Him, 'If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.'"

Why would they say this? To understand their shock, we need to know the context. In first-century Judaism, two schools debated divorce: Rabbi Hillel allowed divorce for almost any reason, while Rabbi Shammai restricted it to sexual immorality (Mishnah, Gittin 9:10). But here's the key: both schools permitted remarriage after divorce. Remarriage was simply assumed.

So if Jesus was merely saying "you can divorce for adultery and remarry," that would have been Shammai's position, something the disciples were already familiar with. Why would that make them say "it's better not to marry"? Their shocked reaction only makes sense if Jesus was teaching something far more radical: that even when divorce happens, remarriage is not an option.

And notice how Jesus responds. He doesn't correct them or say "you're overreacting":

"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.'"

Jesus speaks of those who embrace celibacy "for the kingdom of heaven's sake," acknowledging that yes, some may find themselves in situations where staying single is the path forward.

The Exception Clause (Matthew 19:9)

This is the verse most often cited to justify remarriage after divorce:

"And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."

At first glance, it seems straightforward: if your spouse commits sexual immorality, you can divorce and remarry. But look more carefully at the sentence structure. The exception clause, "except for sexual immorality," is positioned between two actions: "divorces his wife" and "marries another." Which action does the exception apply to?

Consider an everyday example: "Whoever leaves work early, except for a family emergency, and skips the evening meeting, will be written up." Does the exception for a family emergency also excuse skipping the meeting? Most people would read it as only applying to leaving early. You might leave work for an emergency, but you would still be expected at the meeting.

Greek Grammar Evidence

In Greek, exception clauses typically modify only the verb immediately preceding them. Scholars like Donald Hagner (Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary), Ulrich Luz (Matthew 8-20, Hermeneia), Charles Talbert, Warren Carter, and Robert Gundry conclude that Matthew permits separation for sexual immorality, but the marriage bond remains intact, prohibiting remarriage.

In other words: Jesus may be saying you can separate from a spouse who commits sexual immorality, but the bond itself, what God joined, remains intact. This reading is consistent with every other passage in the New Testament on marriage, none of which permit remarriage.

Public vs. Private Teaching: Two Different Events

Matthew 19 and Mark 10 both record Jesus teaching on divorce and remarriage. Many treat them as parallel accounts, but they capture two distinct moments, and together they clarify rather than contradict each other.

Publicly, the Pharisees came to test Jesus:

"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?'" — Matthew 19:3 (NKJV)

Jesus did answer the Pharisees' question: He pointed to creation (vv. 4-6), then acknowledged an exception for divorce in cases of sexual immorality (v. 9). But His statement, "whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery," left an open question. Did the exception apply only to divorce, or also to remarriage? The disciples may have wondered the same thing.

Privately, the disciples asked Him again in the house:

"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.'" — Mark 10:10-12 (NKJV)

When the disciples asked Him again privately, Jesus gave His answer with no exception at all: whoever divorces and remarries commits adultery. Period. Mark's account clarifies what Matthew's left ambiguous: the exception in Matthew permits divorce for sexual immorality, but it does not permit remarriage. The two passages work together: one addresses when divorce may be allowed, the other makes clear that remarriage is not.

Luke 16:17-18

Luke records the same prohibition, and like Mark, gives no exception. But what Jesus says right before is striking:

"And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail." — Luke 16:17 (NKJV)

The very next thing He says:

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery." — Luke 16:18 (NKJV)

Even marrying a divorced person is called adultery, because in God's sight, the first marriage still exists. Jesus prefaced this with the permanence of God's law, and yet the prohibition on remarriage after divorce has been one of the most compromised commands throughout church history, as we'll explore later.

The Betrothal View

Another interpretation of the exception clause is that it refers to sexual immorality discovered during the Jewish betrothal period, not adultery within marriage.

In Jewish culture, betrothal was a legally binding pre-marriage phase. If unfaithfulness was discovered during this period, the betrothed man could "divorce" his betrothed. This is what Joseph considered doing when he discovered Mary was pregnant (Matthew 1:18-19).

This explains why Mark and Luke, writing to Gentile audiences unfamiliar with Jewish betrothal customs, omit the exception entirely. It simply wasn't relevant to their readers.

Jerome (c. 398 AD) held this view, interpreting Matthew's exception as referring to "fornication committed before marriage, in the time of betrothal." (Commentary on Matthew, Book III)

The Gospels in Historical Order

Here's something worth considering. Most scholars agree that Mark was written first, followed by Luke, then Matthew. When we arrange Jesus' teaching on divorce in this order, a pattern emerges:

  • Mark 10:11-12: No exception clause
  • Luke 16:18: No exception clause
  • Matthew 19:9: Exception clause present

Think about what this means. For a period of time, the early Church possessed only Mark and Luke's accounts, both of which contain absolute prohibitions on remarriage with no exceptions. If Jesus had clearly taught that remarriage was permitted after adultery, wouldn't that be one of the most important things to include? It's hard to explain why both Mark and Luke would leave out such a significant exception if it were part of Jesus' core teaching.

A common interpretive principle is to read less clear passages in light of clearer ones. When five passages (Mark, Luke, Romans 7, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 1 Corinthians 7:39) all say the same thing without exception, and one passage (Matthew 19:9) appears to add a qualification, it makes sense to interpret the one in light of the five, not the other way around.

Paul's Teaching

If we only had Jesus' words, the permanence view would rest on the Gospels alone. But Paul addresses marriage in multiple letters, and his language is strikingly consistent. Across Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians, he repeatedly uses the word "bound" to describe marriage and points to one thing that releases the bond: death.

Ancient manuscripts

Romans 7:1-4 (NKJV)

"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. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead."

Paul is actually using marriage as an analogy here for our relationship to the Law. But think about it: his analogy only works if his readers already agree that marriage is permanent until death. If divorce could dissolve the bond, the whole analogy falls apart. We'll explore this further below.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 (NKJV)

"Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife."

This is one of the clearest passages on the topic. Paul says this command comes from the Lord Himself, not Paul's opinion, but Jesus' teaching. And notice the two options he gives if separation happens: remain unmarried, or be reconciled. There is no third option. Remarriage to someone else is not listed. If remarriage were permitted, this would have been the natural place to mention it.

1 Corinthians 7:39 (NKJV)

"A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord."

Paul couldn't be more direct. When does the binding end? When her husband dies. When is she free to remarry? When her husband dies. Paul doesn't say "bound until divorce" or "bound unless there's adultery." He says "as long as he lives." This is the same language he uses in Romans 7, consistent and unambiguous.

Ephesians 5:31-32 (NKJV)

"'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Marriage symbolizes Christ's unbreakable covenant with His Church. Just as Christ will never divorce His Bride, marriage reflects this eternal commitment.

Death Breaks the Covenant, Not Unfaithfulness (Romans 7:1-4)

To understand Paul's reasoning, it helps to read the full passage in Romans 7, where he uses marriage as an analogy for how we were released from the Law of Moses:

"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... Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, to Him who was raised from the dead."

Follow Paul's logic here: He's explaining how we, as believers, were released from the old covenant to enter a new one with Christ. And what released us? Not Israel's unfaithfulness. Israel was unfaithful for centuries, and the covenant remained. What ended the old covenant was death, the death of Christ. We died to the Law "through the body of Christ" so that we could be "married to another."

The Jeremiah 3 Connection

This is exactly what we see in Jeremiah 3. God says He "put her away and gave her a certificate of divorce" because of Israel's adultery (Jer. 3:8). Yet just six verses later, He declares: "I am married to you" (Jer. 3:14). Even after divorcing Israel, God still called Himself married to her. The divorce did not end the covenant. It took the death of Christ to establish the new covenant. The pattern is consistent: unfaithfulness doesn't end a covenant. Death does.

Paul's analogy in Romans 7 depends on this principle. If divorce could dissolve a marriage, then his argument would not work, because there would be another way out of the old covenant besides death. The fact that he builds his teaching on marriage being permanent until death tells us what he believed about marriage itself.

Understanding "Not Enslaved" (1 Corinthians 7:15)

1 Corinthians 7:15 addresses the situation of abandonment by an unbelieving spouse:

"But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace." (ESV)

Many interpret "not enslaved" as permission to remarry. However, a closer look at Paul's word choice reveals something significant.

Paul's Deliberate Word Choice

Paul uses "dedoulōtai" (not enslaved) in verse 15. But when he does permit remarriage for widows in verse 39, he uses entirely different language: "bound" (δέω, deo) and "free" (ἐλευθέρα, eleuthera). This appears to be a deliberate avoidance. If Paul meant to permit remarriage in verse 15, why didn't he use the same "bound/free" terminology he uses just 24 verses later?

Notably, Paul never even mentions remarriage in verses 12-16. The context is about whether a believer should initiate divorce when married to an unbeliever. Paul says no, but if the unbeliever leaves, the believer is "not enslaved" to the command against divorce. They are freed from the obligation to prevent the separation, not freed to remarry.

This interpretation aligns with Paul's instruction in verses 10-11: if separation happens, the options are to "remain unmarried or be reconciled." No third option of remarriage to another is given. [A. Andrew Das, Elmhurst University]

What About the Old Testament?

Some use the Old Testament to justify divorce and remarriage. But a closer look at these passages tells a different story.

Deuteronomy 24:1-4: Regulation, Not Institution

Deuteronomy 24 addresses divorce practices that existed in ancient Israel:

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce... then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled." (NKJV)

Moses wasn't commanding or endorsing divorce. He was regulating a practice that already existed because of hardness of heart. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 19:8: "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."

Notably, the passage describes the divorced woman as becoming "defiled" through remarriage. This language suggests it was a concession rather than God's ideal.

In Jeremiah 3:1, God references this Deuteronomy provision but introduces it with "They say," distancing Himself from its authorship. God then asks: "But you have played the harlot with many lovers; yet return to Me." God's standard transcends the Mosaic concession.

Hosea: The Prophetic Symbol of God's Undying Marriage

God commanded Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman as a living picture of His own faithful love:

"Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel." (Hosea 3:1 NKJV)

Hosea didn't divorce Gomer and marry another. He remained faithful to an unfaithful wife. This is the pattern God sets for His people.

"I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy." (Hosea 2:19 NKJV)

Marriage: A Covenant, Not a Contract (Malachi 2)

The broader passage of Malachi 2:11-16 reveals a deeply significant context. The Amplified Bible Classic Edition (AMPC) makes the situation explicit:

"Judah has profaned the holy sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god [having divorced his Jewish wife]." (Malachi 2:11, AMPC)
"And this you do with double guilt; you cover the altar of the Lord with tears [shed by your unoffending wives, divorced by you that you might take heathen wives]." (Malachi 2:13, AMPC)

The men of Israel had divorced the wives of their youth to marry foreign women. The altar was covered with the tears of these divorced wives. Yet notice how God still refers to the first wife:

"The Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously and to whom you were faithless. Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows]." (Malachi 2:14, AMPC)

Even after the men had divorced and moved on, God still calls the first wife "your companion and the wife of your covenant." He does not recognize the divorce as dissolving the marriage. In His eyes, the original covenant remains.

"And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God make you two] one? Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth." (Malachi 2:15, AMPC)

God's purpose for making husband and wife "one" echoes the creation account in Genesis 2:24. And the passage concludes with one of the strongest statements in Scripture against divorce:

"For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I hate divorce and marital separation and him who covers his garment [his wife] with violence." (Malachi 2:16, AMPC)

In biblical usage, a covenant differs from a contract. Contracts can be broken by either party, but God's covenants with His people are marked by faithfulness and permanence. Marriage reflects this same covenantal character. It is not simply a legal arrangement that a certificate of divorce can undo.

Herod and Herodias

"For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her." — Mark 6:17 (NKJV)


Notice the striking language: even though Herodias had divorced Philip and remarried Herod, God's Word still calls her "his brother Philip's wife." The remarriage did not change her identity in God's eyes. She remained Philip's wife. John the Baptist rebuked Herod for this unlawful union (Mark 6:18), expecting him to dissolve it. This powerfully demonstrates that remarriage after divorce does not end the original marriage covenant before God.

Biblical covenants carry serious weight. In 2 Samuel 21:1-14, when Saul broke Israel's covenant with the Gibeonites (originally made in Joshua 9, about 400 years earlier), God sent a three-year famine until restitution was made. Covenants bind regardless of the other party's behavior.

Marriage as a Symbol of Christ and the Church

The permanence of marriage reflects the unbreakable covenant between Christ and His Church.

From the Law of Moses to the Law of Christ

Jesus stated that He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. In the Sermon on the Mount, He repeatedly said, "You have heard that it was said... but I say to you..." presenting a deeper understanding of God's intentions.

Jesus explained that the Law permitted divorce "because of the hardness of your hearts" (Matthew 19:8), but pointed back to God's original design at creation.

Topic Old Testament Law Jesus' Teaching (Matthew 5)
Murder "You shall not murder" Exodus 20:13 "Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" Matthew 5:21-22
Adultery "You shall not commit adultery" Exodus 20:14 "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" Matthew 5:27-28
Divorce Certificate of divorce permitted Deuteronomy 24:1 "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery" Luke 16:18
Oaths "You shall not swear falsely" Leviticus 19:12 "Do not swear at all... let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'" Matthew 5:33-37
Retaliation "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth" Exodus 21:24 "Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" Matthew 5:38-39
Love "Love your neighbor" Leviticus 19:18 "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you" Matthew 5:43-44

In each case, Jesus moves from external behavior to the heart, from minimum requirements to maximum love. His teaching on marriage follows this same pattern: not merely regulating divorce, but restoring God's original design of permanence.

Christ's Unfailing Love

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers... shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV). Just as nothing can separate us from Christ's love, marriage is meant to reflect this unbreakable bond.

The Marriage Supper

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

Revelation 19:7 (NKJV). Human marriage points to the ultimate wedding: the eternal union of Christ and His people.

What God Has Purposed

"For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?"

Isaiah 14:27 (NKJV). What God has joined together in marriage, no human action can undo. His purposes stand firm.

Why Does This Matter?

If marriage is meant to be a picture of Christ and the Church, then what does divorce and remarriage say about that picture? Christ promised His Church, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). He doesn't abandon His bride when she fails. Marriage is meant to tell that same story.

The Early Church Witness

The early Church writers consistently understood that Matthew's exception clause permitted divorce for sexual immorality, but not remarriage. They taught that the marriage bond remained intact until death, making remarriage adultery even when separation was justified. [A. Andrew Das, Elmhurst University]

"Let him divorce her, and let the husband remain single. But if he divorce his wife and marry another, he too commits adultery."
The Shepherd of Hermas

Hermas

The Shepherd of Hermas, c. 150 AD

"All who, by human law, are twice married, are in the eye of our Master sinners."
Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr

First Apology, Chapter 15, c. 155 AD

"A person should either remain as he was born, or be content with one marriage; for a second marriage is only a specious adultery."
Athenagoras of Athens

Athenagoras of Athens

A Plea for the Christians, Chapter 33, c. 177 AD

"He who marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery. So also is he who marries again while his wife is still alive."
Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria

Stromata, c. 200 AD

"Just as a woman is an adulteress while a former husband yet lives, so also the man who seems to marry her does not so much marry her as commit adultery."
Origen

Origen

Commentary on Matthew, c. 240 AD

"Although a wife may be dismissed for fornication, the marriage bond is not dissolved, so that neither may marry another."
Augustine

Augustine

On Adulterous Marriages, c. 420 AD

"A man abandoned by his wife is not guilty for separating from her, but he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Basil the Great

Basil the Great

Letter 199, c. 375 AD

"There is but one cause why a wife may be put away, and that is fornication. Yet even then, the bond remains."
Jerome

Jerome

Commentary on Matthew, c. 398 AD

Historical Development: From Constantine to the Reformation

For the first three centuries, the Church uniformly taught marriage permanence. However, Emperor Constantine's influence in the 4th century began a gradual shift in the Eastern church that would eventually reach the West through Erasmus.

Understanding this historical development helps explain how different traditions emerged on divorce and remarriage. [See Daniel Jennings' detailed study]

Historic church architecture

Constantine and the Eastern Church

In 331 AD, Emperor Constantine issued laws permitting divorce for certain reasons. As the Eastern Roman Empire developed, civil law increasingly influenced church practice.

The East-West Divergence

While Augustine and the Western church maintained that the marriage bond could not be dissolved even by adultery, the Eastern church gradually accommodated the imperial divorce laws. By the medieval period, the Eastern Orthodox tradition permitted remarriage after divorce, departing from the earlier patristic consensus.

This divergence set the stage for what would happen a thousand years later when Eastern Greek scholars fled to the West.

Erasmus and Eastern Influence

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Byzantine Greek scholars fled to Western Europe, bringing their manuscripts and traditions. Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) studied Greek under these Eastern teachers.

When Erasmus published the first printed Greek New Testament in 1516, he also brought Eastern views on divorce and remarriage to the West. He argued that remarriage should be permitted in cases of adultery, abuse, and abandonment, positions that reflected Eastern church practice rather than the Western tradition of Augustine.

The Connection

Erasmus's views on remarriage did not arise in a vacuum. His training under Eastern scholars exposed him to a tradition that had accommodated divorce and remarriage for over a millennium, in contrast to the Western church's consistent teaching of permanence.

The Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers, influenced by Erasmus, took a different position from the historic Western church teaching. Luther rejected the Catholic view of marriage as a sacrament and permitted divorce for adultery, desertion, and other causes.

"As to divorce, it is still a moot question whether it be allowable. For my part I so greatly detest divorce that I should prefer bigamy to it." Martin Luther, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)

Even Luther expressed this ambivalence. Yet the reformers' acceptance of remarriage after divorce marked a significant break from 1,500 years of Western church teaching.

Timeline: The Historical Development

c. 50-65 AD

The Apostolic Era

Paul instructs the churches to "stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The early church understood itself to be preserving apostolic teaching on matters of faith and practice.

1st - 4th Century

Early Church Consensus

From Hermas (c. 140 AD) through Tertullian, Clement, Origen, and Jerome, the Church Fathers uniformly taught that remarriage during a spouse's lifetime is adultery. If Jesus and the apostles had taught an exception for remarriage, we would expect disagreement among the early church writers. Instead, we find remarkable unity on marriage permanence across diverse regions and centuries.

331 AD

Constantine's Influence

Emperor Constantine issued laws permitting divorce for certain reasons. As the Eastern Roman Empire developed, civil law increasingly influenced church practice, and the Eastern church gradually began accepting remarriage after divorce.

c. 420 AD

Augustine

Augustine wrote extensively on marriage, concluding that "the marriage bond is not dissolved" even by adultery. His teaching became foundational for Western Christianity, which maintained the permanence position.

c. 1516

Erasmus and Eastern Influence

Desiderius Erasmus, who studied Greek under Eastern scholars, introduced arguments for allowing remarriage to the West. His views reflected Eastern church practice rather than Western tradition.

16th Century

Protestant Reformation

Protestant reformers, influenced by Erasmus, adopted his views on remarriage, departing from 1,500 years of Western church teaching on marriage permanence.

Modern Era

Divergent Traditions

While many Protestant churches now permit remarriage, others maintain the historic position. The question continues to be studied and debated today.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life... nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God."
Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

Contemporary Voices

Respected theologians and scholars who hold to the permanence view of marriage.

John Piper

John Piper

Pastor & Author

"What God has joined together let no man separate. One man, one woman, by grace, till death."
Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper (1989)
David Pawson

David Pawson

Bible Teacher

"Only death dissolves a marriage. Therefore remarriage while a partner is alive is adultery in God's sight."
Remarriage Is Adultery Unless...
Voddie Baucham

Voddie Baucham

Pastor & Theologian

"Our marriages are living, breathing illustrations of Christ and His Church. It is unthinkable that God would allow for divorce."
The Permanence View of Marriage (Sermon, 2009)
William Lane Craig

William Lane Craig

Philosopher & Theologian

"According to the Scriptures God hates divorce. It is sin and therefore must be avoided at all costs."
Marriage Advice, Reasonable Faith
Zac Poonen

Zac Poonen

Pastor & Teacher

"Divorce should be as unthinkable an option among spouses as murder is unthinkable among friends in an argument."
Handling Disagreements in Marriage, CFC India

Historic Voices

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis

Author & Theologian (1898-1963)

"The Christian rule is, 'Either marriage with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.'"
Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 5
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Pastor & Martyr (1906-1945)

"God makes your marriage indissoluble. It is a blessed thing to know that no power on earth, no temptation, no human frailty can dissolve what God holds together."
Wedding Sermon from a Prison Cell (1943)
G.K. Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton

Author & Apologist (1874-1936)

"It is the nature of love to bind itself, and the institution of marriage merely paid the average man the compliment of taking him at his word."
The Superstition of Divorce (1920)

Denominations Holding to Marriage Permanence

Catholic

Catholic Church
Anabaptists

Anabaptists
Amish

Amish
Anglican

Anglicans (Historic)
Baptist Church

Some Baptist Churches

Resources for Further Study

Articles, videos, and books for deeper exploration of this topic.

Books

Videos

Articles & Websites

Will You Follow His Word?

Jesus said, "What God has joined together, let not man separate." For 1,500 years, His Church took those words at face value. The question each of us must answer is simple: will we trust His word, even when it's hard?

"For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I hate divorce and marital separation."
Malachi 2:16 (AMPC)