Our Lord Jesus Christ and the writers of the books in the Bible have spoken a lot about marriage and family. They used the analogy of marriage for human relationships with God. In the Old Testament, the prophets often spoke in metaphors of God as a husband and Israel as an unfaithful wife (Ezekiel 16). In the New Testament, the church is depicted as the Bride of Christ. Apostle Paul and John also used this metaphor and spoke of marriage as a spiritual mystery.
Ephesians 5:31,
32
“Therefore a
man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it
refers to Christ and the church.
Revelation 19:7-8
Let us rejoice
and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and
his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with
fine linen, bright and pure” - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the
saints.
Since Paul used marriage as an analogy for a
relationship with God, he considered it holy and honourable.
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be
held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will
judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
The writer is speaking against certain philosophies of the time that marriage is evil. He also advises the married people to honour the marriage. The married bed must be undefiled from sexual immorality and adultery.
1
Corinthians 7
Apostle Paul, in his letters to the churches, often
gave advice for families—husbands, wives, and children. He exhorted them to
love and honour each other. Most of his such advices mainly address women. It
may be because, in the Corinth society, women did not enjoy freedom in marriage
as men did. But a modern-day reader can read his letter as addressing both men
and women.
Paul was a Pharisee, one of the strictest bodies of
Judaism, and prided himself on being a devout adherent to all Jewish laws. He
was tutored in the school of Rabbi Gamaliel and taught according to the perfect
manner of the Mosaic law. Paul was “zealous toward God” and “more exceedingly
zealous” in fulfilling the requirements of the law. (Acts
22:3)
Acts 22:3
“I am a Jew,
born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of
Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being
zealous for God as all of you are this day.
Acts 23:6
Now when Paul
perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in
the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect
to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
Acts 26:5
They have known
for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the
strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee.
Galatians 1:14
And I was
advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely
zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
Philippians 3:4-6
though I myself
have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has
reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day,
of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to
the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to
righteousness under the law, blameless.
We are not sure whether Paul was married, a
widower, or divorced. But when he was writing 1 Corinthians, he was living
without a wife.
Paul’s teachings on marriage are found in 1
Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 11, and Ephesians 5. 1 Corinthians was written
probably between 53 and 55 AD. It was a letter Paul wrote in response to some
questions asked by the new church in the city of Corinth. Today we do not have
a copy of the letter sent from Corinth to Paul. So, we assume the questions
from the answers given by Paul. Paul addressed many topics in his letter.
In 1 Corinthians 1-6, Paul dealt mainly with four
problems in the church at Corinth, about which he received reports from other
people. From chapter 7 onwards, he is addressing their questions about
different spiritual and moral problems that the church faced.
Corinth was a city under Greek and Roman
influences. They were rich and intellectual but had a morally loose culture.
Sexual irregularities, divorces, etc. were rampant. They considered it an
accepted norm of the land. It was natural for the new believers who join the
church to follow these local customs. So Paul had to admonish them in many of
these matters. The questions about marriage, divorce, and family must be read
against the dark background of the Corinth culture of the time.
Chapter 7 addresses the first question they asked
Paul. It was about marriage. He answered the question following the principles
established in the preceding chapter. (1 Corinthians 6:12-20). Apostle Paul
urged the Corinthian believers to flee from sexual immorality.
1 Corinthians
6:18
Flee from
sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but
the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
The word used for “sexual immorality” in 6:18 is
“fornication” in KJV and “porneia” (por-ni'-ah) in Greek. The word denotes all
kinds of illicit sexual relations. Metaphorically, the word means the worship
of idols, the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices
offered to idols. So we can rightly assume that Paul speaks not against lawful
marriages but about illicit sexual relations.
Following this line, Paul started to answer their
question with these words:
1 Corinthians
7:1
Now concerning
the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual
relations with a woman.”
1 Corinthians
7:1 (AMP)
Now as to the
matters of which you wrote: It is good (beneficial, advantageous) for a man not
to touch a woman [outside marriage].
“Now concerning the matters about which you wrote”
is the starting point where Paul turns to their questions. “It is good for a
man not to have sexual relations with a woman” is the topic for discussion.
This sentence may be the question asked by the Corinthians rather than an
answer. The English Standard Version and New International Version give this
sentence in quotation marks. In the Amplified Bible, the meaning is amplified
as it is good, beneficial, or advantageous for man not to touch a woman outside
marriage. So the question can be, is it beneficial or advantageous for a man
not to have sexual relations with a woman outside the marriage and a woman not
to have sexual relations with a man outside the marriage? The question is
philosophical, moral, and spiritual.
The Corinthians were confused with the pagan philosophy that sexual relations
and thus marriage itself are evil. This was a teaching of Gnosticism, an early
heresy. Gnosticism is a religious and philosophical movement that emerged in
the first two centuries. They argued that salvation came from knowledge, not
faith. People can attain salvation and overcome the material world only through
attaining secret knowledge. They considered all physical matters as evil. So,
genuine knowledge involved turning away from the body and the material world.
The human body, all forms of sexuality, and pleasant food were evil for them.
So, they denied marriage and taught people not to eat certain foods.
So, the idea spread among the gentile world in the
early century that marriage was a less holy state and celibacy was an eminent
spirituality. However, this pagan philosophy led many to sexual immorality and divorce
instead of leading to purity. This is the urgency of the matter for Paul to
address it.
The first reaction of Paul to the question is further explained by the next
sentence.
1 Corinthians
7:2
But because of
the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each
woman her own husband.
He starts the sentence with the word “but.” That
means his verdict on the matter is not over with the first verse. Once again,
Paul is using the Greek word “porneia” (por-ni'-ah) for “sexual
immorality." The meaning is the same: illicit sexual relations. So Paul is
prohibiting illicit sexual relations. To avoid these kinds of sins, Paul
advises that “each man should have his own wife and each woman her own
husband.” This is the norm of the Bible.
Paul is not saying that marriage is meant only for
sexual relationships, but he is addressing a problem in the Corinthian culture.
He is not either prohibiting marriage, for he cannot. God Himself has declared
that singleness is not good and provided the first man with a wife.
Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord
God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a
helper fit for him.”
Paul’s convictions
about marriage
Paul’s writings on marriage reveal his convictions
about the importance of marriage in God’s eternal plan. He wrote in 1
Corinthians 11 as follows:
1 Corinthians
11:11
Nevertheless,
in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman;
Paul did not prohibit married people from church
leadership.
1 Timothy 3:2
Therefore an
overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded,
self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
Titus 1:5-6
This is why I
left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint
elders in every town as I directed you - if anyone is above reproach, the
husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge
of debauchery or insubordination.
Paul wrote to Timothy to be aware of false teachers
who forbid marriage. These will be deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. Here,
Paul might have been referring to the Gnostics of the time.
1 Timothy 4:1-3
Now the Spirit
expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting
themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the
insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and
require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving
by those who believe and know the truth.
Marriage is a mystery
Paul cannot be inconsistent in his teachings on any
subject. He cannot teach anything against the plan of God for humans. Paul
really had a high regard for marriage. He considered marriage as a spiritual
mystery.
Ephesians 5:31,
32
“Therefore a
man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it
refers to Christ and the church.
Paul is speaking about marriage as a spiritual
mystery because it refers to Christ and the Church. In marriage, the husband
and wife leave their parents to hold fast to their spouse. When a person
believes in Christ and enters a new life, he leaves his worldly relations to
hold fast to Him. Father and mother in the above are not just two individuals;
they represent strong human relations. When a person is born again, his
priority is to cling to Christ rather than to human relations. This is the
spiritual mystery.
The Greek word for “mystery” as used in the verse
is “mystērion” (moos-tay'-ree-on). The word generally means religious hidden
and secret things, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals.
It describes the sacred rites associated with some kinds of temple worship.
When Paul used the word here, he meant that marriage is a sacred covenant that
is not fully revealed or understood by humans. His argument shows how estimably
he considered marriage.
God, Christ, Husband, and
Wife.
Paul explains the mystical relationship between
God, Christ, husband, and wife in 1 Corinthians 11:3.
1 Corinthians
11:3
But I want you
to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her
husband, and the head of Christ is God.
In
this verse, Paul speaks of three important concepts in the relationship from
God to humans.
1. God
is the head of Christ
2. Christ
is the head of a husband.
3. Husband
is the head of a wife.
When God designed marriage, He did so for His glory
and for our good. So, marriage is defined by God.
It is a metaphor for Christ and the Church. The
roles of its members are assigned by God according to His eternal plan. They
are rooted in the roles of Christ and His Church.
The relationship between God and Christ is explained
in John 6.
John 6:38-40
For I have come
down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And
this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he
has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my
Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have
eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
1. Jesus
came down to the earth to do the will of God.
2. The
will of God is that none of all that He has given to Christ should lose eternal
life.
3. The
will of God is that everyone who believes in Christ should have eternal life.
Everything in the above verse is the will of “my
Father." The will of Jesus Christ is not either manifested or fulfilled.
Or rather, the will of Christ is the will of the Father. The will and love of
the Father flow through Christ to humans.
John 17:21-23
that they may
all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be
in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you
have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I
in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world
may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
The same will and love of God the Father that
flowed to humans through Christ flows through the husband to a wife. To
manifest the love of the Father in His life, Christ willingly submitted His
will to God. The same is expected from a husband and a wife. Ultimately, the
will and love of God must be manifested in a husband-and-wife relationship.
Everything must be the will and love of the Father God. When the will of the
husband and the wife are swallowed up in the will of the Lord, they become a
“man of Christ" and a “woman of Christ," manifesting the love of the
Father and Christ. The depth of the Father’s love is that He gave His only
begotten son to the world as a sacrificial lamb to atone for humans' sins.
Thus, the love of a husband is a mirror-image
reflection of the love of God through Christ for the wife. And the wife loves
God through the husband and Christ. The husband is submissive to God through
Christ, and the wife is submissive to God through the husband and Christ.
The love of God the Father and Christ towards us is
defined by John in his first epistle and by Paul in his epistle to Ephesians.
1 John 4:19
We love because
he first loved us.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love
your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
The Father and Christ loved us first, and then we
loved them. They loved us not because we are perfect but to transform us into
perfect beings. Husbands and wives should love each other not because their
spouse is perfect but to transform them into perfect beings. The perfection is
the perfection of Christ that we achieve in Him. So husbands are exhorted to
love their wives as Christ loved us. And the extent of the love is to give
oneself to another. Christ gave up all His heavenly glory and died an ignoble
death on the cross to save His church. The same love is expected from a
husband. A husband accomplishes a Christ-like mission by loving, nourishing,
and cherishing his wife and by giving himself for her. The love and honour of
the Church towards Christ is expected from a wife. And true love is to love the
partner first.
The Father and the Son are one in essence. Neither
of them is superior nor inferior. But in the economy of governance, the Father
is the head of the Son. Likewise, though husbands and wives are “one
flesh," in the economy of governance, the husband is the head of the wife.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man
shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh.
The headship of a husband is not meant for command
and control. It is a responsibility to love like Christ. A husband, like
Christ, is a servant leader. He lays down his life for the wife with the heart
of a servant leader. The purpose of leadership is for the building up of the
family.
So Paul exhorts the wives to submit to their
husbands as to Christ. Husbands are in turn to submit themselves to Christ. The
governance must reflect the relationship between the church and Christ.
Marriage becomes a spiritual mystery only when it reveals the mystical
relationship between Christ and the Church.
Ephesians 5:22-25
Wives, submit
to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife
even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything
to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ
loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Questions
and answers
Married couples
1 Corinthians
7:3-6
The husband
should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her
husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the
husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body,
but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for
a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come
together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because
of your lack of self-control. Now as a concession, not a
command, I say this.
In 1 Corinthians 7:2, Paul exhorted that, “But
because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own
wife and each woman her own husband.” Continuing his discourse, he speaks about
the marital relationship. The relationship must keep away sexual immorality. In
his opinion, a husband or wife do not hold exclusive rights over their body.
Their spouse has right over the body of the other. Thus, an intimate
relationship becomes not a mercy but the right of the partner.
Paul excuses married couples to deprive one another
by agreement for a limited time for the purpose of devotion and prayer. This
clause is conditioned by the phrases “by agreement" and “for a limited
time." That means Paul does not advise denying conjugal rights to a
partner for a long time, even on mutual agreement and for spiritual reasons.
Thus, “Satan may not tempt you.”.
He ends the counsel by saying that it is “a
concession, not a command”. By “concession” he means “permission” (KJV).
“All Men Were Even as I
Myself.”
Paul preferred his unmarried status. He argues that
being single can help a person focus their attention fully on the ministry. But
the marital status is subjected to the gift a person has received from God.
1 Corinthians
7:7
I wish that all
were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and
one of another.
It seems Paul says that some have a spiritual gift
to remain unmarried and serve the Lord. This is not a general order but a wish
based on the special gift he has received from God. Jesus Christ also spoke
about such a gift received by some.
Matthew 19:9-12
And I say to
you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries
another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of
a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not
everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there
are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been
made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for
the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this
receive it.”
Jesus Christ is speaking about the unmarried status
of people, which He concluded as, “Let the one who is able to receive this
receive it.” The context is that the Pharisees came up to Jesus Christ and
asked, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” Jesus answered:
“whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another,
commits adultery.” Hearing this, the disciples responded that it is better not
to marry at all. Here, Jesus begins a talk about different kinds of eunuchs,
meaning those who do not marry by nature, force, or choice.
Some people are eunuchs by nature, and others by
violence applied to them by earthly masters, and others through a special gift
of God. Eunuchs by nature are those who are born with sexual complications so
that they cannot lead a successful married life. Slaves were castrated and made
eunuchs in Rome until Emperor Domitian banned it (reigned from AD 81 to 96).
Those were “eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men." There are some who
have the gift received from God to serve Him in unmarital status. They are not
physically castrated. They receive grace to abstain from marriage cheerfully
and contentedly. They are “eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven”.
Paul presents a similar argument in 1 Corinthians
7:7. He describes his ability to remain unmarried and unburdened by
overwhelming sexual desire as a gift from God that allows him to do the
ministry undistracted by worldly desires. He makes it clear that not everyone
has this gift, and they should marry instead of "burning with
passion" and risking sexual sin (1 Corinthians 7:7-9).
St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430, Hippo in North
Africa), in his early life, was a follower of the Manichean cult. Manichaeism
was a cult religion popular during the 3rd century. It was founded by the
Parthian prophet Mani (216–274 AD) in the Sasanian Empire (the last empire of
ancient Iran). They held the dualistic realism that God or spirit was good
while creation or matter was bad. St. Augustine, even after converting to
Christianity, held a similar view and considered that the basic sin of man was
sexual expression. According to Augustine, marriage is good to beget children,
but it is better not to marry.
Both marrying and staying celibate are valid ways
of living a life dedicated to God. One is not elevated over the other. God has
different callings for each of our lives.
Unmarried and widows
In 1 Corinthians 7:8, Paul speaks “to the unmarried
and widows," in verse 10, “to the married," in verse 12, “to the
rest." The third group is those who are in an interfaith married life.
1 Corinthians
7:8-9
To the
unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I
am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is
better to marry than to burn with passion.
This verse addresses the widows who are not married
again. Paul speaks about the young unmarried or betrothed later in verses
25–27.
It is difficult to explain the phrase “as I
am" because we are not sure of Paul’s marital status. Paul might have been
a bachelor. Some scholars think that he was a widower by either divorce or the
death of his wife. For either of these two opinions, we have no substantial
evidence.
In general, Paul’s opinion is that widows and
widowers should not remarry unless they could not control their passions. This
seems to be a negative view of marriage. But the real problem Paul addresses in
this passage is illicit sexual relations. A Christian believer in all
circumstances must avoid immoral relations.
But later Paul reversed or further explained this
advice. In verse 8, he advised, “the widows I say that it is good for them to
remain single." But later in 1 Tomothy 5, he charged young windows to
marry. The 1 Corinthians was probably written between 53-55 AD and the 1
Timothy between 62-64 AD.
1 Timothy 5:14
So I would have
younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the
adversary no occasion for slander.
Here Paul is not writing himself contradictorily.
He was addressing different situations. In both cases, he disapproved of
illicit relations.
He explains the reason for the young widows to
marry in 1 Timothy 5:9–15. In verse 9, Paul says, “Let a widow be enrolled if
she is not less than sixty years of age.”
1 Timothy 5:9
Let a widow be
enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of
one husband
Here Paul is speaking about enrolling widows for
support by the church. Some scholars think that it is enrolling in the church
ministry. The Arabic version of the New Testament renders it, "if a widow
be chosen a deaconess." Verse 5 is the qualifications of a true widow:
“She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and
continues in supplications and prayers night and day." It is more about
her spiritual status, not her bereaved condition. Verse 9 says, “Let a widow be
enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of
one husband." “The wife of one husband” cannot be a criterion for charity
to a poor widow over 60 years old. So “enrolling” must be about involving a
widow in the church ministry. Or it can be both. The church supported poor
widows over 60 years, and they were involved in some activities of the church.
In 1 Timothy 5:14, Paul is expressing his fear
about younger widows that they will desire to marry when their passions draw
them away from Christ. Some may abandon their former faith and stray after
Satan. So he told Timothy to refuse to enrol them in church ministry.
1 Timothy 5:11
But refuse to
enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they
desire to marry.
Paul advised younger widows to marry. The Church
neither provides for them nor enrols them in ministry. That is, the problems he
addressed in 1 Corinthians 7 and 1 Timothy 5 are different. His opinions are
also different.
Divorce and interfaith
marriages
In 1 Corinthians 7:10 and 11, Paul disapproves of
divorce. He claims that his advice has the authority of Christ. If a husband or
wife divorces from the partner, that person must remain unmarried or reconciled
to the partner.
1 Corinthians
7:10, 11
To the married
I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her
husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to
her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.
Following this precept, Paul deals with interfaith
marriage and divorce. So some scholars consider verses 10 and 11 as part of his
counsel about interfaith marriages.
To the rest I
say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and
she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a
husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not
divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and
the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your
children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy….
“To the rest” are those who were in an interfaith
married life. Since Corinth was a gentile city, interfaith marriage was a
common problem in the early Church. The problem arose when one of the partners,
after their marriage, became a Christian and the other remained pagan.
In Greek homes, wives were expected to worship the
gods of their husband’s family. In situations where the wife becomes a
Christian and the husband remains an unbeliever, the wife could not worship the
pagan gods. If the husband becomes a believer and the wife remains an
unbeliever, religious tension develops in the family. In Judaism, marriage to a
non-Jew was not considered a valid marriage. If one of the Jewish spouses
becomes a Christian and the other remains in Judaism, the Christian partner can
be considered a non-Jew, and the marriage becomes invalid. The Corinth church
was a mixture of Jewish and Gentile Christians. Corinthians had a doubt whether
they should continue the relationship or was it holy to live with an
unbelieving partner. So they asked Paul whether a believer who is already
married to an unbeliever should seek a divorce based on the new faith.
Paul advises them to continue the relationship, taking
gospel to their homes, in the hope of winning the soul of the partner. The
relationship and their children are holy because of the Christian partner. To
be sanctified in this way does not mean the unbelieving partner is saved. It
only means that the relationship is sanctified. The purity of the marriage is
not defiled by the unbelieving spouse. Thus, their children are also not
defiled. So, there is nothing sinful about the relationship. Stay in the
marriage. Do not divorce, even if the spouse is not a Christian.
Christians must not initiate divorces from
unbelievers. In verse 16, Paul explains why the Christian should remain in the
marriage. One does not know if the unbelieving partner will come to faith in
the future. So have peace in the marriage relationship. The believer should
continue the marital relationship with an unbeliever in the hope that the
spouse may accept Christ by seeing the life of the believer.
1 Corinthians
7:16
For how do you
know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband,
whether you will save your wife?
1 Peter 3:1-2
Likewise,
wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the
word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they
see your respectful and pure conduct.
Paul is not encouraging interfaith marriages but
discouraging divorce among those who are already married. His advice must be
read along with 2 Corinthians 6:14.
2 Corinthians
6:14
Do not be
unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with
lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Paul also addresses another situation in the
interfaith marriages. What if the unbelieving leaves the believer because of
the Christian faith? He permits a divorce in this case and declares that the
believer is free from the marriage covenant.
1 Corinthians
7:15
But if the
unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or
sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.
The Greek word for “enslaved” is “douloō” (doo-lo'-o),
which means, be under bondage, to make a slave of. Paul says that, if the
unbelieving spouse is unwilling to stay but divorces, “let it be so.” One need
not live enslaved by the other partner. The divorced believer is not under any
kind of commitment towards the separated partner. He or she is a free person.
So, the advice of Paul in this matter may be
concluded as follows: In interfaith marriages, the believer must not initiate a
separation based on faith if the partner consents to remain in the married
life. (7:12-13). Because God has called us to live in peace. But if the
unbelieving partner decides to leave the marriage based on faith, allow him or
her to leave. And the believer who is divorced is free from the marriage
covenant.
Live as you are called
Verse 17 does not offer either a new teaching regarding
marriage or addresses a new group. The verse says, “let each person lead the
life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” Paul
also adds, “This is my rule in all the churches.”
1 Corinthians
7:17
Only let each
person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has
called him. This is my rule in all the churches.
If this verse is a continuation of verses 12-16, we
may explain it as, one must not change the marriage status because they have
come to Christ and are married to unbelievers. This can be a general
instruction not particularly to any group. Apostle Paul uses two illustrations
to prove the argument. (7:18-24). If a person is circumcised when he comes to
Christ, then he may remain circumcised. If he is uncircumcised, he must not be circumcised.
The second illustration is from slavery. If a person is a slave when he or she comes
to Christ, they may remain so. A person can be a slave, and still be a Christian.
But if he can gain his freedom through legal methods, he may avail it (7:21). Therefore,
“in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.” (7:24).
Likewise, the Christian is not to initiate a divorce from the unbelieving spouse
but remain in the marriage. This counsel can be applied to any similar
situations.
Unmarried or betrothed
The next group appears in verse 25, “Now concerning
the betrothed.” It is the young, unmarried believers. To them he advises to
remain in the same status. In verse 25, he says that this is not a command from
the Lord. But he poses as the Lord’s "trustworthy.”.
1 Corinthians
7:25-27
Now concerning
the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one
who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view
of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are
you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not
seek a wife.
“Now concerning” signifies that Paul was answering
a question raised by the Corinthians. The Greek word for “betrothed” is
“parthenos” (par-then'-os). The word means a vigin or an unmarried,
marriageable maiden.
We are not sure what “present distress” he was
referring to. Paul might have been referring to the persecutions against the
church during the time. Or it may be a crucial situation that was referred to
by the Corinthians in their letter to him.
Paul was overly concerned about the “present
distress," some kind of impending trouble. All his counsels are shadowed
by these thoughts. So, “in view of the present distress,” Paul advises neither
to marry nor to leave the partner. His explains the reasons in the following
verses.
1 Corinthians
7:28-29
But if you do
marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not
sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you
that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short.
From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none,
Paul is expressing his concerns about an impending
trouble through the words, “worldly troubles” and “the appointed time has grown
very short”. However, Paul is not condemning marriage. He makes it clear that,
“But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries,
she has not sinned.”
Paul continues his advice to the betrothed in
verses 36–38.
1 Corinthians
7:36-38
If anyone
thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions
are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no
sin. But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity
but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to
keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his
betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.
This is a difficult passage for translators working
from the original Greek. Some, like ESV, NIV, NLT, etc., translate it as advice
for the betrothed. Some others, like AMP, see this verse as being addressed to
the father of a virgin.
In this verse, Paul is addressing the question of
whether a man who is already engaged to be married should go through with it.
Paul has already said that marriage is not a sin or less holy. He now advises
the betrothed to marry under the right conditions. It is decided based on their
passions and desires.
Those in the ministry
In 1 Corinthians 7:29–35, Paul addresses those who
are in the ministry. Verse 35 does clarify that Paul’s words were intended “to
promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” And it
is because “the appointed time has grown very short.” (7:29), “For the present
form of this world is passing away.” (7:31).
1 Corinthians
7:32-35
I want you to
be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the
Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly
things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the
unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be
holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things,
how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any
restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided
devotion to the Lord.
Paul prefers freedom from anxieties about worldly
relations. He is afraid that a married person will be worried about the
partner. He sees a split in the interest between the spouse and the Lord in the
ministry. So, for undivided devotion to the ministry, he advises an unmarried
life. But again, Paul does not “lay any restraint upon you.”.
Coram Deo
His last counsel in 1 Corinthians 7 is to widows
and widowers whose partner has departed them through death.
1 Corinthians
7:39-40
A wife is bound
to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be
married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment she is happier
if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Paul permits the widowed husband and wife to marry
anyone they wish. The only condition he put forth is “only in the Lord."
That means the partner must be a Christian believer. Again, Paul prefers that
they remain unmarried. He draws spiritual authority for his counsel, saying,
“And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.”
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