oneflsh2.htm

Chapter Two

Our Betrothal to Christ

Just as Jesus had a loving duty to perform for mankind; just as a Christian has a loving duty to perform for his Lord, so has each marriage partner a loving duty to perform for the other. Just as there is perfect Trust between God and the Lord Jesus Christ who sits at His right hand, so there should be in Christian marriage.

Many women have exclaimed that Paul was a male chauvinist pig, or that according to the Bible, marriage is not a 50/50 relationship but favours the man. Wrong! It but shows lack of understanding of covenants and God's divine order. Christian marriage is just that, a 50/50 relationship. The man has 50% and the woman the other 50% and the two different halves make a whole. Once a woman takes on part of the man's 50%, or vice versa, the perfect balance ordained by God is upset. Satan knows this full well and this is why so few marriages last until death us do part.

The disobedience started with Eve. The wife that submits to her husband as explained in the Bible is protected by her husband and they are both protected by God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.; (Genesis 2:22-24)
Even Adam mentioned one flesh. But Eve took it upon herself to decide on eating the fruit. Adam was first, he should have done the deciding. Eve probably did it in trust, but she was gullible. This teaching shows us woman's weakness. By not consulting or leaving it to Adam, mankind was thrown out of the garden. By doing it her way, the covenant between them was effectually broken. Eve blamed the serpent, Adam blamed Eve - there was finger pointing. Blame was apportioned, trust was gone. They were no longer one flesh.
We can see what happened to them.: Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;; (Genesis 3:16-17)
Even though Eve was the first to sin, their disobedience is known as Adam's sin because he was the responsible party to God.

By reading Behold the Bridegroom Comes we understand the Jewish marriage customs of the time of Jesus of Nazareth and see that the bridegroom left his father's house to fetch his bride, just as Jesus left His Father's house in heaven and came to earth, the home of His prospective bride nearly 2000 years ago. This tells us that the young Jewish man stayed with his parents until his marriage, that he went and fetched her and that the new wife came to live in her husband's parents home.

Marriage therefore is an extension of the relationship between God and the Lord Jesus, and between the Lord and a Christian.
Just as each Christian should do unto others as he would have others do unto him, so should he (she) do unto his (her) marriage partner. Each is the half of a whole in God's eyes.: For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:; (Ephesians 5:29)

The Worldly Covenant
Seven days after a Jewish baby boy is born, his foreskin is removed in a ceremony that confirms that the father of the child is in Covenant with God. In this process, the son's blood is spilt and confirms that a blood sacrifice has taken place.
As we see in 1 Corinthians 7:14 and shall come to later, the children are sanctified by the Covenant of at least one of their parents with God.

When a young Jewish couple agree to get married, a covenant ceremony takes place and wine (representing blood) is drunk by them both. At this stage (betrothal), the marriage agreement is binding and they cannot withdraw therefrom.
One of the assurances that the prospective bridegroom's father obtains from the prospective bride's father before this ceremony, is that the young lady is a virgin. This is very important, because when the marriage is eventually consummated, what the Bible delicately calls "the holy flesh" is torn and blood is spilt. This blood sacrifice builds a new covenant between husband and wife and the wife is now under her husband's protection and not her father's anymore.
If at the time of physical union it's found that the bride is not a virgin, the marriage can be annulled because the bride could only now be found unfaithful to the covenant agreement.
This is borne out by the following Scripture:: If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you. If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you. But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her. If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.; (Deuteronomy 22:13-29); 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.; (Matthew 5:31-32); And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. ¶ 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 19:1-12)

Many people stumble at these passages, believing today that one marriage partner can obtain a divorce if the other has been unfaithful. This is not so.

This is another area where Satan has, through the workers of iniquity, been able to change the words of the Bible in the newer translations. Most people would not pick this up because of their different culture and the lie would be taken for truth, to their everlasting anguish.

There is a great difference between fornication and adultery. If a married man has sexual relations with an unmarried woman, the man commits adultery and the woman fornication.

According to the Chambers Dictionary:
Adultery - voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not their legal partner.
Fornication - voluntary sexual intercourse of the unmarried.

The above passages of Scripture therefore mean that, if as soon as it is found that the young Jewish bride is not a virgin, the husband can annul the marriage because she has been unfaithful to the covenant that they made at the time of betrothal. It must be understood that the woman was informed of this state of affairs from an early age by some female relative, probably her mother. If the new husband does not choose to annul it immediately, he has to keep her as his wife, as is explained in Numbers chapter thirty that we read a few pages back.: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.; (Matthew 1:18-19)

Here's the Biblical parallel concerning God and His Covenant people expressed in marriage terms:: For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.; (Jeremiah 11:13-16)

The Scripture in Matthew chapter nineteen therefore states that there is only one reason for divorce and if any person, Christian or otherwise, has obtained a divorce for any reason besides this, they are living in disobedience.
In our culture therefore, because the described circumstances don't apply, there's no Godly reason for divorce.
This also means that if anyone, Christian or otherwise, got divorced except for the reason above, remarried and then became a Christian, that person must divorce the second spouse, repent before God and stay single while the first spouse lives; or become reconciled, unless the first spouse has remarried.: When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.; (Deuteronomy 24:1-4)

It's not easy to be a Christian. But then look what you stand to gain!

A similar situation is described in the Bible:: Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.; (Ezra 9:1-15); Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.; (Ezra 10:1-17)

It might seem unfair that a woman is punished by not being a virgin, seeing that there is no way that a man can be found out. Until it is realised that the man is responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ and has to answer to Him.: But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.; (1 Corinthians 11:3); But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.; (Proverbs 6:32); Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.; (Hebrews 13:4)
We are the bride of Christ, so at the marriage ceremony in heaven it shall be found out if we have remained true to our Covenant or not.: Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.; (2 Corinthians 11:1-3)

We see that the head of Christ is God. This is a spiritual union. Also, the head of man is Christ; a worldly/spiritual union. The "head of the woman is man" quotation is a worldly union. In time, if the trust was not broken by one or the other party, they could move forward spiritually together under the responsibility of the husband. If the husband neglected his wife by going out with the boys, or the wife manipulated her husband for her own ends, the relationship could not grow. It would reach a plateau and stay there. If a wife uses the act of sex as a weapon to force a decision from her husband that he is reluctant to take, she is not one with him and has broken the marriage oneness. The total trust that the one should have with the other is gone.: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.; (Colossians 3:23-25); Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.; (Micah 7:5)
This is one of Satan's most potent weapons in the war for the souls of mankind. Marriage lasts for perhaps fifty years, plenty of time for Satan to find the weakness of each partner and work on them.

If we manipulate the Bible to fit into what we would like it to be, our relationship with Jesus will remain on a plateau.

The people who go to church, take communion but sin willingly during the week, in other words the Sunday Christians, are like a wife who is physically faithful to her husband, but whispers stories about him to her friends behind his back. She is faithful according to the law, but commits emotional adultery because she is not one flesh with him.: A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.; (Proverbs 12:4)

Just as Jesus was the perfect man, without sin and is now the spiritual bridegroom, so the man should endeavour to be the perfect husband, considering his wife before himself. In this way a perfect marriage can be effected, because the wife can then rely on her husband to protect her. He leads by example.
Once again:: So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:; (Ephesians 5:29)

Here's an example of a perfect Bridegroom:: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.; (2 Timothy 2:12-13)
And here's an unfaithful bride:: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.; (James 4:3-4)

The relationship that should exist between the husband and wife is explained in the Bible so that we (man/woman) can stay in covenant (oneness) with our Lord.
Just as Sarah called Abraham lord, so should our relationship be with our Lord. We are reliant on Him to call us with the sound of a trumpet. We will not hear His call if we have not kept ourselves pure to His satisfaction, if we are following after some idol (denomination).
: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.; (Colossians 3:18-19)
Does this mean that the wife must submit to her husband in all things? No. If, for example, the husband wishes to commit sodomy with his wife, she should refuse as this shall be disobeying God's word. His word stands above that of all men.

If we are not prepared to be obedient, perhaps we were not betrothed (born again) in the first place; but if we were and are not now obedient to His wishes, we are in big trouble, because it shall be found out that we were adulterers while in the world.: From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.; (James 4:1-10)
If this is the case, our Heavenly Bridegroom can annul the marriage in righteous anger at the time of consummation - the marriage supper of the Lamb. For Christians, this is the day of judgement, that day.
: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.; (Psalms 1:1-6)
Verses 1-4 are what happens in this temporary life. Verse 5 shows that the ungodly shall fall at the judgement (they will not stand)

The Earnest of the Spirit
Just as the marriage ceremony is the start of living as one flesh and going on together with one purpose in mind, so we who are reborn from above have started a Covenant walk with God. And because we are sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ, He is called the (heavenly) Bridegroom and we the bride of Christ. Just as the woman is under the man's authority and protection in married life, so should we be under the authority and protection of our heavenly Bridegroom. But only, if we, like an obedient wife, are obedient to the wishes of our Bridegroom.

This is heavy, not so and confirms once again that the once born again always born again theory is nothing but another potent red herring of Satan; one that has so many professing Christians in bondage and danger of hellfire.

This all comes back to the most successful red herring of all - lack of understanding of the Blood Covenant.

If we read over the following passage it will seem that we are sealed in a Covenant with God and He has promised that by grace we are saved; all our spiritual troubles are now over, we're going to heaven.: For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.; (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)
Or does it?
What does the word "earnest" mean?
According to Vine's Expository Dictionary:
Earnest - The Greek word Arrabòn; originally earnest money deposited by the purchaser and forfeited if the purchase was not completed, was probably a Phoenician word, introduced into Greece. In general usage it came to denote a pledge or earnest. In modern Greek arrabòna is an engagement ring.

The earnest of the Spirit is therefore a deposit laid in our hearts by God, which the Holy Spirit can enlarge on if we allow Him to, by being faithful to the Holy Covenant.

It is thus abundantly clear, when we understand the meaning of the word earnest that there is a condition attached - we are engaged or betrothed to the heavenly Bridegroom, and only at the time of the marriage ceremony will it be found whether we have been obedient to the Covenant of promise.
Here it's confirmed:: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.; (Ephesians 1:13-14)
If the following passage is read carefully and understood, we see that there is no other possible meaning but that we shall be tested for our faithfulness on that day. Have we remained a spiritual virgin, or has the holy flesh been given to another? Has God remained our God or has He been replaced in our hearts by an idol?
This passage, like most others of Paul's writings, was written to practising Christians, those to whom the knowledge of Jesus Christ was no mere fairy story.
Please Lord, open their spiritual eyes.: For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.; (2 Corinthians 5:1-12)
Now please ask yourself:
How much do I love the Lord and how real is He to me? How earnest is my desire?
If I were divorced and wished to marry a second time, would I do so, with the probability of being very happily married, or would I refrain from doing so, knowing that I would be breaking the covenant that I made before God the first time?