Bible Question:
What does the Bible mean by one flesh?
Bible Answer:
The expression “one flesh” occurs only five times in Scripture. Unfortunately, this term is often misunderstood. It does not refer to the creation of Eve. It does not mean that two people are married. This term is used in both the marriage relationship and in prostitution. It is a unique expression. So what does the Bible mean by one flesh? What follows explains the meaning of “one flesh.”
The first time the term “one flesh” occurs in the Bible is in Genesis 2:24.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (NASB)
In this verse, God does not define marriage. Instead, He tells us that two things must occur when a biological male and a biological female are married. First God said that a heterosexual couple shall leave their fathers and mothers and be joined together. The Hebrew word that is translated as “joined” has the idea of being “super-glued” together. That is, they must never separate or divorce. That is also the message of Matthew 19:5-6 and Mark 10:8.
Second, God said that the heterosexual couple shall become “one flesh”. 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 helps us understand the meaning of “one flesh.” It says,
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 (NASB)
Here we learn that “one flesh” does not mean two individuals are married; for we are told one of the individuals engaged in sexual intercourse is a prostitute. That is, the two heterosexual people are not married. Therefore, we are told they “become one flesh.” We now understand that it refers to sexual intercourse; one of the individuals is a prostitute and not a wife or a husband. A “prostitute” is one who gives oneself to another for sexual intercourse but is not married to the other individual involved in the intercourse. The result of a heterosexual couple becoming “one flesh” can be the conception of a child. The child is the fruit of the sexual joining. Therefore, “one flesh” refers to the relationship of sexual intercourse between a biological male and biological female.
Ephesians 5:28-30 uses “one flesh” in reference to Christ and the church. This suggests that “one-flesh” also has a spiritual aspect to it. It includes the sense of a heterosexual couple blending together in unity. Genesis 2:18 tells us that the reason God made the first biological female was to be a “helper suitable for” Adam. The Hebrew text means that she complements him. Together they meet each other’s needs and compensate for each other’s weaknesses. As the years multiply they merge together in preferences, thinking, and opinions. Therefore, “one flesh” begins with sexual intercourse and eventually the couple merges together.
Conclusion:
God designed marriage for several reasons: procreation and the elimination of loneliness while living on this earth. The “one flesh” relationship begins with sexual intercourse and develops into the fulness of the concept of oneness.
Genesis 2:24 also reveals that God does not want a couple to divorce. However, He does allow divorce but for only two reasons. When divorce occurs, it does not break the “one flesh” relationship. That is the message of 1 Corinthians 6:16.
In addition, 1 Corinthians 6:16 also reveals that when adultery, fornication, or incessant occurs the two heterosexual individuals become “one flesh,” and that “one flesh” relationship will never cease. So, if some individual has sexual relations with ten people then he or she is “one flesh” with each person for life.