John Wesley — "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder."
What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.
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More from John Wesley
"Holiness of heart and life is the one great end of all our preaching."
"Preach faith till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith."
"I have been as much as possible upon the stretch for 70 years, and I bless God, I am not tired yet."
"I am as much a High-Churchman as ever I was. And I hope to live and die so."
"Preach not doctrines, but Christ."
About John Wesley (1703-1791)
English Anglican cleric and founder of Methodism, whose open-air preaching and class-meeting structure created the largest 18th-century evangelical revival. Closely associated with Charles Wesley (his hymn-writing brother) and George Whitefield (early co-revivalist, later doctrinal opponent). For an intellectual contrast, see George Whitefield, Calvinist evangelical revivalist — Whitefield's predestinarian Calvinism vs Wesley's free-grace Arminian theology split the early Methodist movement permanently in the 1739-41 break. The founding evangelical Calvinist-Arminian schism — the two parallel evangelical traditions American Christianity descends from.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Marriage is a sacred, permanent covenant ordained by God — not a contract humans can dissolve at will. Husband and wife are spiritually united by divine authority, a bond that transcends human law or personal desire. The phrase warns against any interference in that union, whether by courts, individuals, or social pressure. Once God has joined two people, no human power holds legitimate authority to break what the divine has bound together.
Relevance to John Wesley
Wesley drew on this biblical text as foundational to Methodist theology's emphasis on disciplined, holy living within covenant relationships. Though his own marriage to Mary Vazeille in 1751 was notoriously unhappy — she eventually left him — Wesley consistently preached marriage as sacred duty. His Methodist societies promoted family stability and moral accountability, making covenantal marriage a cornerstone of the righteous household he believed Christians were called to build and sustain.
The era
In 18th-century England, divorce required a private Act of Parliament, accessible only to the wealthy elite. The Marriage Act of 1753 placed marriage firmly under Church of England oversight. Meanwhile, Enlightenment philosophy increasingly challenged religious authority over personal life. Wesley's insistence on marital permanence pushed back against aristocratic casualness toward marriage and the secularizing trend eroding ecclesiastical control over matrimony, reinforcing the church's role in sanctifying domestic and family life.
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