Divorce and Remarriage

[Anonymous]

David you know as well as I that apoluo and apostasion are not the same thing. Let's not play word games.

No, of course they are not the same thing. Neither are "apoluo" and "porneia" the same thing. "porneia" is the only exception to committing adultery. "apostation" is the certificate that the man is to give the woman. "apoluo" is the actual ACTION of putting away/divorcing/cutting off/separating/pick-a-term the wife from the husband.

"apostation" is nothing but a certificate of cutting off. It is a piece of paper that a husband gives to his wife as a formal pronouncement of his lawful judgment against her. The paper, by itself, means nothing. It is simply one of many elements required to follow through with a lawful "apoluo". To lawfully "apoluo" one's wife, he must first discover the prior "porneia", he must write the "apostation" decree, he must hand it to her himself, and then he must "apoluo" her out of his home. If any required element is missing, the "apoluo" is unlawful.

Jesus was quite clear that outside of the matter of "porneia", adultery would result from "apoluo" and remarriage. In order for adultery to result when remarrying, the original marriage could not have been lawfully terminated in God's eyes. Therefore, according to Jesus, the matter of "porneia" is the deciding factor as to whether the first marriage remains or not. Although He did not specifically state the "apostation" decree must be written and given, it is assumed since the process of "apoluo" was already well understood. Nevertheless, all He explicitly required was the valid justification for the "apoluo" to avoid an adulterous remarriage. If there was no matter of "porneia", the "apoluo" was unlawful. If there was no "apostation" decree given, the "apoluo" was unlawful. If he didn't actually kick her out of the house, the "apoluo" was unlawful. If she left on her own, the "apoluo" was unlawful.

There is no divorce without a divorcement.

I'm not sure what terms you are referring to. There is no "apoluo" without a "apostation"? I agree. There's also no "apoluo" without a matter of "porneia" having been uncovered. There's also no "apoluo" without her leaving the house. All of these elements are required for a LAWFUL "apoluo". I think we're saying the same thing here.

Fornication is the only lawful cause for divorcement. A lawfully divorced woman may go and be another man's wife. The man who marries a woman who is not lawfully divorced commits adultery because he has married another man's wife. She is still subject to the law of her husband. Moses certainly did not put words in GOD's mouth.

Please allow me to insert the appropriate Greek words, to make sure our meanings are the same.

"porneia" is the only lawful cause for "apoluo". A lawfully "apoluo" woman may go and be another man's wife. The man who marries a woman who is not lawfully "apoluo" commits adultery because he has married another man's wife. She is still subject to the law of her husband. Moses certainly did not put words in GOD's mouth.

I agree 100%.

Love in Him,
David

 

[Anonymous]

If the putting away and the divorcement are identical then how does the following scripture make any sense?

Matthew 19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

You mean they are repeating themselves here? In other words the verse should read:

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement , and to give a writing of divorcement?

No, of course not. Giving a wife a certificate of divorcement ("apostation") is certainly NOT the same thing as putting her away ("apoluo"). I never meant to suggest that. But "apostation" is not an action that one performs (verb), it is a piece of paper (noun).

The problem is that your above statement "If the putting away and the divorcement are identical" is too ambiguous. To which original Greek word as you assigning these English terms? When I read this, I see "If the APOLUO (putting away) and the APOSTATION (certificate of cutting off) are identical". If that's how you meant to phrase the question, then I would agree with you that they are NOT identical. However, if you meant "putting away" and "divorcement" to both refer to marital separation (the Greek word "apoluo"), then yes, they are identical.

The heart of the confusion is that we use the modern term "divorce" to mean different things, depending on its usage. If we use it as a noun in the sense of a formal written declaration of marriage separation, then the Greek term is "apostation". If we speak of "divorce" as a transitive verb in the sense of the husband sending away his wife, then the Greek term is "apoluo". If we speak of "divorce" as a second form of marital separation, then there is no Biblical support for this concept.

That's why the word "divorce" really should be avoided when discussing marital separation in Scripture, because the way we use it in our culture is too ambiguous. We need to stick with the Biblical terms of either a written decree of cutting off ("apostation") or a marital separation ("apoluo"). Then the confusion comes to an end, and nobody can mix up what Scripture actually says.

In His love,
David

 

[DrRay777]

Guys,

I am after this post officially divorcing myself of this discussion. The problem as I see is not in the words that Jesus used or their translation. The problem is in the lack of Holy Spirit inspired understanding. I would recommend reviewing Romans chapters 7-8 and the entire book of Galatians. Teaching that people cannot get remarried after they are divorced is nonsense and NOT what Jesus or the apostles taught. Although the rules are different for believers than non-believers, (because we are subject to the rules of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and NOT the old law of Moses from which the former has set us free) for married people who profess to be believers and are walking according to the Spirit, simply looking at another person with lust is adultery according to what Jesus taught. Again, I would ask anyone to show me someone who has not done that at least once. If you find someone who has not done that, then they can rightfully throw the first stone. Matthew chapters 5-7 are what I call ‘the path to perfection’. I am on it, but I have not gotten to the end of it yet. Every scripture in that dissertation from Christ is designed to lay the framework for that perfection, that I call the ‘life in Christ’. We are to aspire to get to that place and every day should be a new day in motion toward that end. Anyone who is truly on this path is NOT subject to the Law of Moses, though those laws are still in force for those who CHOOSE to walk according to the flesh and wish to have that old covenant apply to them. When people stop walking according to the Spirit and get into the flesh, they will suffer according to the Law of Moses and all its curses. This is the problem with most people who claim to be Christians today. However, even though Jesus did not do away with that law, He did fulfill it and we can come out from under it through Him. Sickness, miscarriages, financial lack, etc. are all signs that people are off the path to perfection and are operating in the flesh somewhere in their lives. Knowing the Word in its letter is NOT how we are supposed to operate. That is why I went to God over this issue and He explained things to me. We are called to live in peace, which is not what is happening here. That is why I am separating from this discussion.

I will have to agree with Mark on one issue. If someone writes or teaches something that agrees with the letter of the law, particularly the Law of Moses, but lacks Holy Spirit inspired wisdom, understanding and knowledge, it is NOT coming from God. In that regard James tells us that this wisdom does not come from above, but is rooted in bitter envy and self seeking. Ultimately, anything that comes from this worldly wisdom has a demonic origin and will NOT bring peace, but confusion and every evil thing. Although one can argue all day long as to what the Bible says about divorce and remarriage, without grace to set things right, none of us would have much hope. My advice is again, go to God and pray about these things. Perhaps He will give others the understanding He has given me.

David,

God did not want me to marry my first wife because she had sowed the seed of adultery, not because He considered her to still married to her first husband. That line of thinking is in error. She was unrepentant about her adultery. She sowed the seed and she had to reap that harvest. Someone had to commit adultery against her and God did not want that for me, but I was ignorant back then and NOT Spirit-filled. Therefore, I understood the scriptures in the way that some here do now, from a human wisdom perspective. I was distraught for years about my predicament and carried a heavy burden. As much as I did not want to commit adultery, it happened none the less. Once I had done the deed, I was by God’s Word destined to reap the same harvest, which I did when my second wife went off with another man. I was finished with marriage at that point, but God had other ideas. If my current wife, (whether or not she was a virgin when we were married matters not, as she repented of her former ways and came back to Christ) turns away from God and wants to divorce me, she has the right and I would let her. I cannot overcome her free will or that would be witchcraft. If she becomes an unbeliever and I divorce her as an unbeliever, then by the Word I am free to marry again. PERIOD, end of story. No nit picking of Hebrew, Greek or any other language, (English not excluded, modern or otherwise) can change that.

Sorry guys, I will not be back to this discussion as it is too confusing. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

Be blessed,

Dr. Ray

 

[Doc]

Everyone,

Every few months we begin a fresh new discussion on divorce and remarriage. I believe that the discussion is extremely important, and that together we are learning a great deal about the Word and each other in the process.

However, that being said, the comes a point in the discussion each time where we come to a juncture of disagreement. I believe we have come to this point on this topic for now. I know that there are various views on this topic, and I appreciate that diversity, but in the spirit of Christian love and peace, lets table this discussion for now, and revisit it at a later time. I believe that the several threads that are already developed on this forum address many of the views on this topic. Rather than proceed to defend a particular line of thought, and allow for division, lets let current (and future) readers of the forum make the decision for themselves, based on the excellent studies and thoughts already provided.

Please don't be offended, but lets lock the topic for now, and we will revisit it at a later date.

Blessings,