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What God Has Joined Together – II

Posted on 08 Mar 2020, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: What God Has Joined Together – II

Text: Gen 2:18-25, Matt. 19:4-6

[Gen 2:18] And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

[Gen 2:19] Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

[Gen 2:20] So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

[Gen 2:21] And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

[Gen 2:23] And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

[Gen 2:24] Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

[Gen 2:25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

[Mat 19:4] And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,’

[Mat 19:5] 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’ ?

[Mat 19:6] So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Introduction

Last week, we discussed the following:

Before The First Marriage
The purpose of marriage
Creation of Woman
Marriage is between a man and a woman

Main Topic

Companionship

[Gen 2:18] And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
[Mal 2:14] Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the LORD has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.
God recognized that man need companionship. It was not good for man to be alone.
Marriage was designed to defeat loneliness because loneliness is a dangerous state of mind
For loneliness to be defeated, there must be two ingredients
- Intimacy
- Commitment

Marriage Intimacy

Deeper than sexual intimacy
[Gen 2:25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
- The nakedness of Adam and Eve was beyond not having clothes on. It meant
  - They did not hide anything from each other
  - The trust of one in the other was complete
    - Adam trusted Eve so much that he ate the forbidden fruit without asking questions
  - The content of the heart and mind of one was open to the other
  - They were naked not only in body, but in soul and spirit.
[Gen 2:24] Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
- Leave and Cleave as ordained by God
- If leaving is not complete, proper cleaving cannot be achieved
- Therefore intimacy cannot be perfected.
Intimacy is also about sharing everything together (joy, happy, laughter, sadness, etc)
There cannot be intimate companionship between two people when a third person intervenes.

Marriage requires Commitment

Any marriage without commitment is just an arrangement
Without commitment, there is no chance of marriage stability
There must be an unwavering commitment from the husband, as well as from the wife
Marriage is a covenant that should only be broken by death
That must be the underlying rule, that no matter what, we must make it work.
Being committed to marriage implies
- Give your all in the marriage – not what can I get out of marriage
- Satisfying the need of your partner without expecting anything in return
- It is not about “If I give A, I must get B”
The commitment from both husband and wife helps to develop trust in the marriage
Trust helps marriages to last

Leave and Cleave

Gen 2:24-25
[Gen 2:24] Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
[Gen 2:25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
- The man shall leave and cleave
- They shall be one flesh
- They were both naked and were not ashamed.
[Mark 10:6-9] (Amplified) – But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently, 8 And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.
Marital Arithmetic: 1+1=1

Leaving

A man and the woman shall leave their fathers and their mothers
Does not imply abandoning, neglecting, or forgetting your father and mother
It is about setting priorities
Things that must be left (no longer #1 priorities)
- Father & Mother
- Job and career
- Finances and wealth
- Children
- Past experiences
- Ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends
- Pride and ego (mostly men)
- Tradition and culture (we have a new tradition now…Christianity)
This also means that extended family members must not interfere in the marriage of their relative
Both the husband and the wife must make each other #1, after God.
Not leaving does not allow cleaving to take place

Cleave

Cleave => to adhere (stick) firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly
Sticking to one another like “white on rice”
Leaf that cleaves to a soap turns to soap…why some couples look alike.
Cleave physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, financially, etc.
United as ONE…[Amo 3:3] Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
Prov. 18:22 (Amp) – He who finds a [true] wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord
There is favor attached to marriage (with the right partner)
[Gen 1:28] Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
- God blessed them, not separately but together. There is a heavenly blessing on marriages.
[Mat 18:19] “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
- Marriage makes praying easier
[Deu 32:30] How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them?
- Without [marriage] cleaving, man or woman is operating at 1/10th of their capacity.
- Once married, you can begin to operate at full capacity

Conclusion

The purpose of marriage is for companionship
Companionship leads to intimacy in the marriage
Commitment is the bed that marriage lies upon
Leaving and cleaving is a must if the marriage will work

Sermon

What God Has Joined Together – II