The biblical foundation of marriage is God’s original act in Genesis, where He took woman from man and declared that a man shall leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
This foundation is not a later invention or merely a cultural arrangement. God made woman from Adam’s rib, brought her to the man, and Adam declared she was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. The pattern fixed in Genesis 2:24 is that a man leaves his father and mother, cleaves to his wife, and the two become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 — This is the foundational verse for marriage that Les Feldick points to and Paul quotes to explain 'one flesh.'
Genesis 2:23 — Adam names woman as taken out of man, establishing the one-flesh relationship from creation.
In Genesis 2, after God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and took one of his ribs, He made the 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" (Genesis 2:23). Then Scripture fixes the pattern: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Paul later appeals to this creation foundation when he writes, "What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh" (1 Corinthians 6:16). The writer of Hebrews says, "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4). And in Ephesians 5:25 husbands are commanded, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."
Les teaches that the whole biblical foundation for marriage goes back to Genesis 2, not to later custom. He explains that the Hebrew words ish (man) and ishah (woman) show that woman was taken out of man. The cleaving of a husband to his wife makes them "one flesh," and Les says God intended that union to be so complete that separation would cause irreparable damage—which is what divorce does. He also stresses that God created mankind because He wanted a creature He could love and who would return that love, and the marriage relationship is the closest reflection of that purpose. As a result, marriage and the home are under "ferocious satanic attack" today. Les points to Ephesians 5:25 to show that a husband's love for his wife is to mirror Christ's love for the church, and that the marriage relationship pictures the believer's union with Christ. God set His stamp of approval on marriage in the Garden, and Jesus did the same; because Eve was taken out of Adam, God also ordained the husband as the head of the wife, not as a slave master but in His created order.
In Genesis 2:21-24, God causes a deep sleep to fall on Adam, takes one of his ribs, makes a woman from it, and brings her to Adam. Adam responds with the first "one flesh" language: "bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." The next verse explains the pattern for every marriage: a man leaves his father and mother, cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. This is the foundation Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 6:16.
Les teaches that the marriage relationship reveals why God created mankind at all: God wanted a creature that He could love and that would respond to that love. He applies this directly to marriage, saying Paul's command in Ephesians is for husbands to love their wives and that God has placed in the woman a responder to that love. Les also warns that marriage and the home are under ferocious satanic attack today, which underscores how central this relationship is to God's purpose.
When Paul says that a man joined to a harlot becomes one body, Les emphasizes that Paul reaches back to Genesis 2 to explain it. Les also points out that God placed His stamp of approval on the marriage relationship in the Garden and that Jesus did the same. Hebrews 13:4 declares the marriage bed undefiled. In Ephesians, Paul goes further: Christ's relationship to the church is identical to the husband-wife relationship, so the marriage union is a picture of the believer's union with Christ.
Les teaches that "one flesh" is not just a phrase—it means a man and woman who come together in marriage should never be separated without causing irreparable damage. That is why divorce is so painful. He says the word "cleave" in Genesis 2:24 is part of this original intent, even though modern culture has lost the concept. The wedding ceremony picture of blowing out two candles and lighting one illustrates two people becoming one, and Les shows that this is also what happens when we are united with Christ.
Les notes that Eve was in Adam at creation and was later taken out of Adam to become the woman. Because of this order, God has maintained throughout history that the husband is to be the head of the woman—not as a slave master but in the order God ordained. The marriage relationship is to be a picture of Christ and the church: the husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.
Paul's 'One Flesh' Goes Back to Genesis
Les takes 1 Corinthians 6:16 back to Genesis 2, showing that Paul's 'one flesh' rests on God's original creation of Eve from Adam.
Marriage Reflects God's Purpose in Creation
Les says God created man so He could love a creature who responds to that love, and the marriage relationship is the closest picture of this; marriage and the home are now under ferocious satanic attack.
God's Stamp of Approval on Marriage
Les points out that God gave marriage His stamp of approval in the Garden, that Jesus did the same, and that Scripture calls the marriage bed undefiled and honorable.
One Flesh Means Irreparable Damage if Torn Apart
Les teaches that God intended 'one flesh' to mean a man and woman should never be separated without causing irreparable damage; divorce is exactly that tearing apart.
The Lost Concept of Cleaving
Les laments that we have lost the concept of 'one flesh' and draws attention to the word 'cleave' in Genesis 2:24 as part of the original intent.
Woman from Man: Husband as Head
Because Eve was in Adam at creation and was later taken out of him, Les says God has ordained the husband as head of the wife—not as a slave master but in God's order.
God's Love and the Marriage Relationship
Les ties God's reason for creation—to have someone to love and respond to His love—directly to the marriage relationship and to Paul's command that husbands love their wives.
Marriage as a Picture of Christ and the Church
Les uses Ephesians 5:25 to show Christ's relationship with the Body of Christ is identical to the husband-wife relationship; the candle ceremony pictures two becoming one.
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's first recorded words about his wife establish that she belongs to him as part of his own flesh and bone.
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 verse is the foundational biblical definition of marriage that Les and Paul both point to.
1 Corinthians 6:16: What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
Paul quotes the Genesis principle to show that sexual union makes two people one body.
Ephesians 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Les uses this verse to describe the husband's responsibility in marriage and its parallel to Christ and the church.
Hebrews 13:4: Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Scripture honors the marriage relationship and purity, as Les notes.
God created woman from man in the Garden, brought her to Adam, and declared that a man shall leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:23-24). That is the foundation used throughout Scripture.
Les teaches that God created mankind in order to have a creature He could love and that would respond to His love. The marriage relationship is the clearest picture of that purpose, so marriage and the home are under ferocious satanic attack.
God intended that a man and woman joined in marriage should never be separated without causing irreparable damage. Les describes divorce as exactly that kind of tearing apart, and says the wedding candle ceremony is a picture of two becoming one.
Les sees the marriage relationship as identical to Christ's relationship with the Body of Christ. Ephesians 5:25 makes the husband's love a picture of Christ giving Himself for the church, and the two becoming one mirrors spiritual union with Christ.
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