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.
For this cause. The propagation of the Church from Christ, as that of Eye from Adam, is the foundation of the spiritual marriage. The natural marriage, wherein 'a man leaves father and mother 'Aleph (') B Delta G omit "his," which A C support) and is joined [proskollethesetai: cemented closely] unto his wife,' is not the principal thing here; but the spiritual marriage, on which it rests, whereby Christ left the Father's bosom to woo to Himself the Church out of a lost world (Ephesians 5:32): His earthly mother, as such, He holds secondary to His Spiritual Bride (Luke 2:48-49; Luke 8:19-21; Luke 11:27-28). He shall again leave His Father's abode to consummate the union (Matthew 25:1-10; Revelation 19:7). This, then, is the first prophecy in Scripture, and 'Adam the first prophet' in typical act (Jerome in Ellicott).
They two shall be one flesh. So the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, etc., read (Genesis 2:24), instead of 'they shall be one flesh.' So Matthew 19:5. In natural marriage, husband and wife combine to form one perfect human being: the one is the complement of the other. So Christ, as God-man, is pleased to make the Church, the body, a necessary adjunct to Himself, the Head. He is the archetype of the Church, from whom, as the pattern, she is formed. He is her Head, as the husband is of the wife (Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Corinthians 15:45). Christ will never allow any power to sever Himself and His bride (Matthew 19:6; John 10:28-29; John 13:1).