One flesh means God's design for marriage: a man and woman are joined into a complete union — the woman was taken out of man, and together they are one (Genesis 2:23-24).
Genesis says Adam recognized Eve as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and that a man should leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and the two become one flesh. Les Feldick teaches the helpmeet is 'that which makes complete' — Adam was not complete until God brought Eve to him. He also connects this to Christ and the Church, because Ephesians 5 uses the same husband-wife 'one flesh' union as the picture of believers in Christ.
Genesis 2:23 — Adam's declaration that Eve is bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, establishing she was taken out of man.
Genesis 2:24 — This is the specific verse that states a man and woman become one flesh.
Ephesians 5:31 — Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 and applies it to Christ and the church.
1 Corinthians 7:3-5 — Paul applies the one-flesh union practically to sexual needs in marriage.
In Genesis 2:22, God makes a woman from the rib He took out of the man and brings her to him. Adam declares, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Then Scripture states the marriage norm: 'Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.' The apostle Paul quotes this in Ephesians 5:31 and identifies the mystery: 'I speak concerning Christ and the church.' So the Bible uses the husband-wife union as both a creation institution and a picture of Christ and the Church.
Les starts with the creation account: God removed part from Adam and built the woman's body around it, so the woman was taken out of man. He stresses that 'helpmeet' means complement — that which makes complete; Adam was not complete until Eve came. So when the Bible says a man shall leave father and mother and cleave to his wife, they become one flesh. Les repeatedly says this same oneness is how believers are one with Christ: as husband and wife are one, so we are one with Christ (Ephesians 5, Romans 8 illustration). He also emphasizes the biblical concept of marriage never changed from Eden: God intended one man married for life to one woman, and death is the only interruption Paul allows. In 1 Corinthians 7, Les explains that the marriage bed is a 50-50 situation — each spouse is to be aware of the other's needs and not use sex as a lever.
Genesis 2:21-23 records that God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, took one of his ribs, made a woman, and brought her to the man. Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' Les Feldick emphasizes the physical and logical connection: God removed that part from Adam and surrounded it with the body of the woman. He then explains that 'helpmeet' is the word complement — that which makes complete — so Adam was not complete until God brought him the helpmeet.
Genesis 2:24 says, 'Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.' Les reads 'cleave' as 'hang on to' his wife. He also says the biblical concept of marriage has never changed from the Garden of Eden: God intended one man married for life to one woman, and if death interrupted the union they were free to remarry. That is the cleaving bond in view.
In Ephesians 5:30-32, Paul says believers are members of Christ's body, of His flesh and bones, then quotes Genesis 2:24 and adds, 'This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.' Les teaches that the church is the complement of Christ, just as Eve was the complement of Adam. He uses the imagery of two candles being blown into one: husband and wife become one, and so believers are one with Christ. This is the New Testament explanation of why one flesh matters.
Les Feldick teaches from 1 Corinthians 7 that Paul is talking about the satisfaction of the sexual needs of both parties of the marriage union. He calls it a '50-50 situation': the husband is to be aware of the needs of the wife, and the wife of the husband. Paul's command 'defraud not one the other' means spouses should never use sex as a lever against each other. This is the practical expression of the one-flesh union.
Creation Basis of One Flesh
Les teaches that the woman was taken out of the man's body and is his complement — that which makes complete — so Adam was not complete until Eve was brought to him.
Paul Applies One Flesh to Christ and the Church
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:31, and Les shows that believers are members of His body, of His flesh and bones — the same union as husband and wife.
Genesis 2:23-24 and the Word 'Cleave'
Les walks through Genesis 2:22-24, explaining that Eve was bone of Adam's bones and that a man leaves father and mother and cleaves — 'hangs on to' — his wife so they become one flesh.
The Two Candles Become One
Les uses the wedding ceremony picture of two candles lighting one to show that husband and wife become one, and says Christ's relationship to believers is identical to that union.
God's Original One-Man-One-Woman Plan
Les teaches that the biblical concept of marriage has never changed from the Garden of Eden: God intended one man married for life to one woman, with death as the only interruption.
Marriage as the Analogy of Being in Christ
Les uses the husband-wife becoming one as the analogy of how believers are one with Christ — so if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
The Deep Spiritual Union
Les says being in Christ is like husband and wife — we are one with Him — a deep spiritual relationship revealed in Scripture and received by faith.
The Marriage Bed as 50-50
Les explains Paul's 1 Corinthians 7 teaching that both spouses should satisfy each other's sexual needs and never use sex as a lever against the other.
Genesis 2:23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Adam identifies the woman as one with him because she was taken out of him.
Genesis 2:24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
This is the foundational verse that defines a man and woman becoming one flesh in marriage.
Ephesians 5:31: For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in the context of Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:32: This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Paul identifies the one-flesh mystery as Christ and the church.
1 Corinthians 7:3-5: Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Paul applies the one-flesh union to mutual sexual needs in marriage.
A man and woman become one flesh because the woman was taken out of the man (Genesis 2:23), and Genesis 2:24 commands a man to leave parents, cleave to his wife, and the two become one flesh. It is a permanent, God-given union that makes the husband and wife a complete pair.
It refers to the whole person, but it certainly includes the physical and sexual union. Les Feldick points to 1 Corinthians 7, where Paul tells spouses to satisfy each other's needs and not to defraud one another — the one-flesh union has a practical marriage-bed expression.
Les teaches the helpmeet is a complement — that which makes complete. Adam was not complete until God brought him Eve. She came from his side, so she completes him rather than being a mere helper.
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:31 and says he is speaking of Christ and the church. As husband and wife are one flesh, so believers are one with Christ in His body.
Les says the biblical concept never changed from the Garden of Eden: God intended one man married for life to one woman, and Paul allows remarriage only when death interrupts the union.
Watch the Teaching: Creation Completed: Why God Rested & How Man Was Formed