ONE FLESH (Gen.2:24 and Eph.5:3)

We learn from Gen.2 that God made woman to be a help and companion for man and it is here also that she is first called a wife, implying relationship and commitment.

In the light of N.T. Scripture it can be seen that the book of Genesis contains many types and shadows of spiritual truth. The God-given relationship of man with woman is one such type or picture.

The meaning of this type is revealed in Eph.5:31. Paul says that it is a “great mystery” for he is really speaking about Christ and the church. This is truly a spiritual revelation. So just as man would leave his parents and be joined to his wife and the two become “one flesh”, one identity, in like manner the Eternal Son would leave His Father and heavenly home to be joined to His bride the church, in oneness.

We see, therefore, that what God really had in mind when forming Adam and Eve was the eternal relationship of His Son and the church. The man and the woman became “one flesh”, one identity in the sight of God, for what God joins together He also ‘makes one’ in divine estimation.

This oneness of Christ and the church is graphically portrayed in Acts 9:4 where the risen Christ says to Saul, ‘Why are you persecuting ME?’ So, the “one flesh” relates primarily to the divine view of marriage, the oneness of two committed people, a type or picture of that indivisible union of Christ and the church.

However, some have thought that “one flesh” relates solely to the physical consummation of marriage but, as Eph.5 clearly shows to the spiritual mind, that can only be a secondary application. Physical consummation is merely confirmation of a condition that already exists in the sight of God, as in the case of Adam and Eve, where in Gen.2 and 3 Eve is referred to as Adam’s wife before he “knew” her in chapter 4.   Equally, where such consummation is not possible, viz., in the case of advanced years or invalidity, it in no way invalidates the marriage for the two are “one flesh” in divine estimation, one identity as in Christ and the church.