PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

It is not an insignificant thing to lose our temper or to give in to our lust. Indulging in these things may cause us to be burned. Thus, we need to heed this sober word, a word that will force us to stay close to Christ. We need to pray, "Lord, I have temper and lust within me. But, Lord, I thank You that I have You in my spirit. Lord, I don't want to stay with my physical lust or my psychological temper. I want to stay in my spirit with You, dear Lord Jesus." Here is our salvation, our rescue, our holiness. Day and night we must stay with the Lord Jesus in our spirit, looking to Him, contacting Him, and trusting in Him.

…I am sorry to say that even among saints there have been a number of cases of fornication. What a shame! Nothing is more shameful than fornication or adultery among the saints. This damages the people created by God, the church life, and the testimony of the church. Again and again the Apostle Paul warned us that no fornicator would share in God's kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5). Those believers who commit adultery or fornication are through with the kingdom of the heavens. The kingdom people must have the highest standard of righteousness. Do not lose your temper or look at a woman to lust after her. Be careful! You need to consider these matters seriously and deal with the motive at the very root. This word is not a threat; it is a warning that forces us to stay close to Christ.

Thank the Lord that we have both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John. We need to trust in the life revealed in the Gospel of John. Hallelujah, we have such a life! This life is the resurrection life, the overcoming life. Christ has already overcome and now in resurrection He is living in us. This is the life by which we fulfill the highest requirements of the kingdom of the heavens. (Life-Study of Matthew, Message 18, pp. 229-230, 233-234; Witness Lee, published by Living Stream Ministry 1985.)

REGARDING DIVORCE

1. The Old Law - Divorce with a Writing

Let us firstly consider the changing of the law regarding divorce. Verse 31 says, "And it was said: Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a divorce." According to the old law, a man could divorce his wife simply by giving her a writing of divorcement. The law of the old dispensation concerning divorce was ordained because of the people's hardness of heart; it was not according to God's design in the beginning (19:7-8). The King's new decree recovers marriage back to the beginning designed by God (19:4-6).

2. The New Law - Not to Divorce Except in a Case of Fornication

Verse 32 says, "But I say to you that every one who puts away his wife, except in a case of fornication, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries one that has been put away commits adultery." The marriage tie can be broken only by death (Romans 7:3) or fornication. Hence, to have a divorce for any other reason is to commit adultery.

According to the word of the Lord Jesus, the only cause for divorce is fornication. Only two things can break the marriage tie: either the death of one of the parties or fornication, adultery. If either party commits adultery, the marriage tie is broken. This is the principle. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said that there must be no divorce except in the case of fornication. But you should not take advantage of this as an excuse to remarry simply because an act of fornication has been committed. This is also a matter of motive. If possible, the offending one should be forgiven. However, it is different if the guilty party refuses to repent and lives in that kind of sin or marries someone else. In such a case as this, the marriage tie is broken, and the other party is free.

In His original design for marriage, God ordained one wife for one husband. But due to the weakness and hardness of heart of the children of Israel, when the law was given, Moses gave a man permission to divorce his wife with a writing of divorce. But now, with the coming of the kingdom of the heavens, this law regarding divorce is changed, and the matter of marriage is recovered to God's intention at the beginning. At the beginning God did not create two or three Eves for Adam so he could have one or more divorces. No, there was only one husband and one wife. Hence, the Lord Jesus as the King of the heavenly kingdom brings the matter of marriage back to the beginning.

(continued on page 3)