In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul makes a statement that has puzzled many sincere students of the Bible. In discussing marriage, Paul writes, “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:10 NASB95). In the next sentence, Paul writes, “But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her” (1 Corinthians 7:12).
What did Paul mean when he said, “I say, not the Lord”? Was he giving his uninspired opinion? Was he contradicting what the Lord had taught? Neither of these is the case. Let’s take a closer look.
Paul first addresses two believers who are married and prefaces his teaching by saying, “not I, but the Lord.” The instructions he gives to two married believers are the same as what Jesus taught in His public ministry. For example, in Matthew 19, Jesus taught that, “whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9). But who was Jesus addressing? He was speaking to a Jewish audience. He was addressing the case of a Jewish husband and wife who were both in a covenant relationship with God. Jesus never addressed the case of a believer married to an unbeliever because He was addressing the Jewish nation under the Old Covenant.
But Paul is addressing a different group—the church at Corinth. Corinth was a Greek city where it was not uncommon to find a believer married to an unbeliever. When Paul addresses this case, He adds the qualifier, “I say, not the Lord.” What does he mean? Paul is saying that by inspiration, he is now giving additional teaching from the Lord for the situation where a believer is married to an unbeliever. His instruction is not uninspired opinion, nor does it contradict the Lord’s teaching. It is simply something that Jesus did not address in His public ministry.
What is the content of this additional teaching? If the unbeliever wants to stay in the marriage, the believer must not divorce them. But in the case where the unbeliever leaves the marriage, the brother or sister is not under bondage. And what does that mean? This is something we will discuss in the sermon this week.
—Scott Colvin
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