What does CGG believe regarding divorce and remarriage?

Hebrews 13:4 says, "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled." We believe marriage, a vow of fidelity spoken with God as witness and overseer of the contract, is a lifetime contract between husband and wife. It is the very foundation of the family, a physical type of God's spiritual Family.

Divorce is a very serious matter, and both parties should expend great effort to avoid it. Divorce cannot not be justified "for every cause." Jesus reiterated His narrow tolerance for divorce and remarriage in Matthew 19:1-9, where He limits it to porneia. This word, by definition and Bible example, includes fraudulent sex before marriage, adultery, homosexuality and any number of other sex sins. For example, Revelation 2:20-22 shows Jezebel, a married woman, committing both fornication and adultery.

I Corinthians 7 plainly states that when two converted people divorce, they must not remarry. Paul makes an exception - which Christ accepts and canonizes as Scripture - when God calls only one partner in a marriage. If the unconverted mate prohibits the converted one from worshipping God freely, God considers the former to have repudiated the marriage. If divorce occurs for that reason, the converted one may remarry, but only to another converted person.

Jesus Christ did not divorce ancient Israel on a whim, but only after her repeated spiritual adultery and lack of remorse. Israel was an unregenerate wife. She broke the marriage covenant, and by Old Testament law, once divorced, He was free to marry, even without first dying. His death was required because no future bride could ever qualify to marry Him unless purified by forgiveness of sin through His blood. The New Covenant church qualifies to marry Him only with that prior qualification.


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