“What God Has Joined Together”: The Sacred Principle of Unity in Theology, Nature, and the Structure of Reality

 

Title: “What God Has Joined Together”: The Sacred Principle of Unity in Theology, Nature, and the Structure of Reality

In Matthew 19:6 and Mark 10:9, Jesus declares:

“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

This  very simple  verse in the Bible has always caught my mind that says what God puts together, let no man put asunder. I thought of this  verse many times in the past, and I think it time for me pour out my thoughts the meaning of that verse that extends far beyond just the union between man and woman in marriage - something almost everyone who read that verse would literally interpret . It is a law to me that applies to everything throughout the universe that God created even before time.  

Let me share  my thoughts with you and with others my philosophy, theology, and  science joining them together as

one in union and in harmony. 

At its most immediate level, this is a powerful teaching on the sanctity and permanence of marriage. Jesus affirms that marriage is not merely a social contract or legal arrangement, but a divine act. It is God Himself who joins two persons into one reality, and therefore no human authority, whether cultural, legal, or emotional, has the moral right to dissolve what God has instituted.

Marriage, in this view, is not simply a human invention; it is a sacred ontological union. It participates in something deeper than romance or convenience, it reflects the creative and unifying act of God Himself.

Beyond Marriage: A Universal Principle of Divine Unity

Yet, as  so beautifully sensed, this verse carries a meaning that reaches far beyond human marriage alone. It expresses a universal spiritual principle: God is a God of unity, not fragmentation. What He joins is meant to remain whole.

In other words, this verse reveals something about the very structure of reality itself. Creation is not built on isolated parts, but on meaningful relationships, complementarities, and unions.

Yin and Yang: The Language of Complementarity

The ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang expresses a remarkably similar intuition. Reality is structured in pairs of complementary opposites. Just 6  examples would be sufficient to carry the message. 

1. Light and darkness 2. Heat and cold 3. Positive and negative 4. Male and female 5. Activity and rest 6. Forgiveness and revenge 

These are not enemies, but partners in balance. One cannot exist meaningfully without the other. The universe functions not by eliminating opposites, but by uniting them into harmony.

This harmonizes deeply with the biblical worldview: God creates through relational pairs. Separation leads to disorder; unity leads to life.

The Unity of Body and Soul

Spiritually and theologically, the human person is not merely a body using a soul, or a soul trapped in a body. We are a single integrated being, body and soul joined by God.

To reduce the human being to only biology (materialism), or only spirit (hyper-spiritualism), is to “put asunder” what God has joined. True human flourishing comes from honoring both dimensions together:

The body without the soul becomes a machine. The soul without the body becomes a ghost.

Only together do we become a person. This again reflects the same divine principle of unity.

Christ and the Church: The Ultimate Union

Saint Paul takes Jesus’ teaching even further. In Ephesians 5:31–32, he applies the “one flesh” concept to Christ and the Church:

“This is a great mystery, but I am speaking about Christ and the Church.”

Here marriage becomes a cosmic symbol. Just as husband and wife are joined into one, so Christ is eternally united with His people. This is not a loose association but a covenant, living union.

The message is radical: God does not merely rule humanity from a distance, He unites Himself with humanity.

Divine and Human in Christ

In early Christian theology, this verse was even applied to the nature of Christ Himself. Jesus is fully God and fully human, two natures united in one person.

Any attempt to separate these (making Jesus only divine or only human) was considered heresy. Why? Because again, it violates the same sacred law:

What God has joined together, let no one separate.

Christ is the ultimate expression of unity: heaven and earth meeting in one person.

Let's look at this verse in the eyes of  science. 

Scientific Echoes of the Same Truth

Although Jesus was not making a scientific statement, it is fascinating how modern science repeatedly uncovers the same pattern of inseparable unions.

Space-Time

Einstein showed that space and time are not independent entities but a single four-dimensional fabric: space-time. We cannot have space without time or time without space. Gravity itself emerges from their union.

To speak of “pure space” or “pure time” is already an abstraction. In reality, they exist only together.

Mass and Energy

Even more striking is Einstein’s famous equation:

E = mc²

Mass and energy are not separate substances, they are two expressions of the same underlying reality. When separated violently, as in nuclear reactions in nuclear bombs of mass destruction, the consequences are catastrophic. 

Here again, we see the same principle: separation releases enormous power, often destructive power.

Unity sustains order. Separation unleashes chaos. So is separation in marriage to a  family. 

 

Matter and Energy: A Modern Parable

In a philosophical sense, one might say that modern physics itself testifies to a “natural law version” of Jesus’ teaching. Matter and energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. They are eternally linked.

Human beings may rearrange, manipulate, and exploit them, but we cannot abolish the unity God has written into the fabric of existence.

The Indivisibility of Truth

Some theologians, like Johann Bengel, extended this principle even further: whatever God has defined, blessed, or ordained should not be distorted by human cleverness, ideology, or legalism.

Truth itself is a unity. When humans fragment truth, separating facts from meaning, science from ethics, knowledge from wisdom, we create confusion rather than enlightenment.

A Deep Pattern Written into Reality

Seen this way, Matthew 19:6 is not only about marriage. It is about how God builds the universe:

Not through isolated atoms, but through relationships.

Not through fragmentation, but through integration.

Not through opposition, but through complementarity.

From quarks to galaxies, from body and soul to Christ and the Church, from mass-energy to space-time, reality itself seems to whisper the same message:

Unity is not accidental. It is fundamental. It is sacred.

My Final Reflection 

Perhaps Jesus’ words reveal something even more profound:
God is not merely a creator of things, but a creator of relationships.

And sin, at its deepest level, is not just wrongdoing, it is separation:

separation from God, separation from one another, separation within ourselves.

Salvation, therefore, is not only forgiveness. It is re-union.
Healing is not merely curing. It is re-integration.
Love is not possession. It is participation in unity.

So when Jesus says,
“What God has joined together, let no one separate,”
He may be revealing nothing less than the hidden architecture of creation itself.

A universe designed not for division, but for communion and sharing. 

"Therefore, when Jesus said, 'What God has joined together, let no one separate,' He may have been revealing the hidden structure behind all of creation: a universe designed not for division, but for communion, unity, and sharing. 

Just as wisdom and knowledge are a pair of twin identities bestowed upon us by God, they should not be separated if we pray with sincerity; material wealth, on the other hand, can be added later. As Acts 20:35 states:

'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Thus, I believe that sharing these thoughts with you, gentle readers, is more blessed for us than mere possession. May we all find wisdom and light in unity. Thank you."

 

Mandarin Version: 

 

标题：

《神所配合的，人不可分开》：神学、自然与现实结构中的神圣合一原则

在《马太福音》19:6 与《马可福音》10:9 中，耶稣宣告：

“既然如此，夫妻不再是两个人，乃是一体的了。所以，神所配合的，人不可分开。”

圣经中这节极其简短却深刻的经文，多年来一直萦绕在我的心中：神所配合的，人不可分开。
我在过去无数次思考这句话，并逐渐意识到，它的意义远远超越了婚姻中男女的结合。它更像是一条普遍的宇宙法则，适用于神在时间之前所创造的一切存在。

在这里，我想与大家分享我个人的思考——把哲学、神学与科学结合在一起，看它们如何在一个更高层次上彼此呼应，合而为一，彼此和谐。

婚姻的神圣本质

在最直接的层面上，这节经文首先是对婚姻神圣性与永久性的宣告。
耶稣强调，婚姻不仅仅是一种社会契约或法律安排，而是一个神圣的行动。真正使两个人成为一体的，不是人类制度，而是神自己。

因此，无论是文化、法律，还是情感因素，都没有道德权柄去拆散神所设立的合一。

在这个意义上，婚姻并不是人类发明的制度，而是一种本体论层面的神圣联合（ontological union）。
它不仅仅是浪漫或便利的结果，而是反映了神自身那种创造与联合万物的行动。

超越婚姻：神圣合一的普遍原则

然而，正如我们直觉中所感受到的，这节经文的意义远远超越了人类婚姻。
它揭示了一个更普遍的属灵原则：神是一位合一的神，而不是分裂的神。

神所联合的，本来就应该保持完整。

换句话说，这节经文实际上揭示了现实本身的结构。
宇宙并不是由孤立的碎片构成，而是由有意义的关系、互补性与联合所组成。

阴与阳：互补的语言

中国古老的“阴阳”思想，恰恰表达了非常相似的宇宙直觉。
现实世界是由一对对互补的要素构成

光与暗

热与冷

正与负

男与女

活动与休息

这些并不是敌人，而是平衡中的伙伴。

任何一方若脱离另一方，都失去真实意义。

宇宙并不是通过消灭对立而运行，而是通过统一对立而达成和谐。

这与圣经的世界观高度一致：
神通过“关系性的配对”来创造万物。
分离带来混乱，合一带来生命。

身体与灵魂的合一

从属灵与神学角度看，人并不是一个“使用灵魂的身体”，
也不是一个“被困在身体里的灵魂”。

人是一个整体的存在：身体与灵魂由神联合成为一个人。

若只把人看成生物机器（唯物主义），
或只看成纯粹灵体（过度灵性化），
都是在“拆散神所联合的”。

真正的人类丰盛生命，来自于对这两者同时的尊重：

没有灵魂的身体只是机器，
没有身体的灵魂只是幽灵。

只有两者合一，我们才成为“一个人”。

基督与教会：终极的联合

圣保罗把耶稣的教导推向更深层次。
在《以弗所书》5:31–32 中，他把“一体”的概念应用于基督与教会：

“这是极大的奥秘，但我是指着基督和教会说的。”

在这里，婚姻成为一个宇宙性的象征。
正如夫妻成为一体，基督也与他的子民永远联合。

这不是松散的关系，而是盟约式的生命联合。

信息极其激进而深刻：
神不是在远方统治人类，
而是亲自与人类联合。

基督里的神性与人性

早期基督教神学甚至把这节经文应用在基督本身的本性上。
耶稣是完全的神，也完全的人，两种本性合一于一个位格。

任何试图把耶稣只变成神或只变成人的理论，
都被视为异端。

原因很简单：
因为这同样违背了那条神圣法则：

神所配合的，人不可分开。

基督本身，就是天与地在一位身上的相遇。

科学中的回声

虽然耶稣并不是在讲科学，但令人惊叹的是，现代科学不断发现同样的合一结构。

时空（Space-Time）

爱因斯坦证明，空间与时间并不是两个独立实体，
而是一个四维整体：时空。

没有纯粹的空间，也没有脱离空间的时间。
重力本身，就是时空结构的结果。

质量与能量（Mass–Energy）

爱因斯坦最著名的公式：

E = mc²

质量与能量并不是两种不同物质，
而是同一现实的两种表现形式。

当它们被极端方式分离（如核反应、核武器），
释放出来的是毁灭性的力量。

再次印证同一原则：

合一维持秩序，
分离释放混乱与破坏。

婚姻与家庭的破裂，其实也是同样的模式。

物质与能量：现代寓言

从哲学角度看，现代物理仿佛在为耶稣的话提供一个“自然法则版本”的注解：

物质与能量不能被消灭，只能被转化。
人类可以操控、重组、利用它们，
却无法废除神写入宇宙结构中的合一性。

真理的不可分割性

一些神学家（如约翰·本格尔）甚至把这个原则扩展到“真理”本身：

凡是神所定义、祝福、设立的，
都不应被人类的聪明、意识形态或法律主义所扭曲。

真理本身是一体的。
当人类把事实与意义分开，
把科学与伦理分开，
把知识与智慧分开，
结果不是启蒙，而是混乱。

写在现实结构中的深层模式

从这个角度看，《马太福音》19:6 不只是关于婚姻，
而是关于神如何建构整个宇宙：

不是通过孤立的原子，而是通过关系

不是通过分裂，而是通过整合

不是通过对抗，而是通过互补

从夸克到星系，

从身体与灵魂到基督与教会，
从质量与能量到空间与时间，

现实本身仿佛在低声诉说同一个信息：

合一不是偶然的，
它是根本的，
它是神圣的。

我的最后反思

也许耶稣的话揭示了更深的真理：
神不仅是万物的创造者，
更是关系的创造者。

而罪在最深层次上，不只是错误行为，
而是分离：

与神的分离，
与他人的分离，
与自我的分离。

救赎不只是赦免，
而是重新联合（re-union）。
医治不只是修复，
而是重新整合（re-integration）。
爱不是占有，
而是参与合一。

所以当耶稣说：

“神所配合的，人不可分开。”

他也许是在揭示整个创造背后的隐藏结构：

一个不是为分裂而设计的宇宙，
而是为共融、合一与分享而存在的宇宙。

正如智慧与知识是神赐给我们的一对“双生身份”，
若我们真心祈求，它们不应被分离；
而物质财富反倒可以后来再加。

正如《使徒行传》20:35 所说：
施比受更为有福。

因此，我相信，与温柔的读者分享这些思想，
比单纯“拥有”更为蒙福。

愿我们都在合一中得着智慧与光明。
谢谢大家。