If you haven't read Part 1-5, you will not understand this part.
In Part 5, I have explained the original intent of God for marriage as a covenant. Jesus revealed in Matthew 19 that men should not divorce their wives.
He said in Matthew 19:9 - And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Marriage Covenant is so treasured in the eyes of God that if you divorce your wife to re-marry to someone else (apart from the exception clause), it is regarded as adultery.
We can see that Paul was in line with Jesus' words in 1 Corinthians 7.
1 Cor 7:10-11 - But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should NOT leave her husband 11 (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. (emphasis added)
When Paul said, "not I, but the Lord", he wasn't saying that it was a personal God-directed instruction to him as some claimed to be. He was saying, "The Lord taught on this before. I'm following Jesus' very words that were already spoken by Him." See Matthew 19.
The wife should not leave her husband and the husband should not divorce his wife. The Greek word used for "leave" is "chorizo", which means "separate" or "to leave the spouse --- of divorce". It is the same word used for Matthew 19:6 - "...let no man separate (chorizo)." (Greek word added for clarity)
Note: The woman had the power of effecting a divorce under the Greek and Roman Law. This is why Paul addressed the wife too.
The Greek word for "divorce" in 1 Cor 7:11 is not "apolyos". It is "aphiemi", which also means "send away" or "putting away" - the equivalent of divorce.
Hence, Paul, following the words of Jesus in Matt 19, said that the wife should NOT divorce her husband and vice versa. If the wife (or the husband) were to divorce her husband, she must remain unmarried OR be reconciled to her husband. Why? It would be considered adultery to marry someone else when the husband is still alive (Matt 19:9; Romans 7:3). The marriage covenant is for life!
According to Paul, the only two conditions to be free from this marriage Covenant and to re-marry another is either death of the spouse (1 Cor 7:39; Romans 7:2) or in a marriage where one spouse is a believer and the other is an unbeliever ------ and the unbelieving spouse wants to leave the believing spouse (1 Cor 7:15).
In 1 Cor 7:12, which leads to the instruction in verse 15, Paul said, "But to the rest I say, not the Lord..."
Some claimed that this was not from God. They argued that it was simply Paul's personal view. Nothing is further from the truth. When Paul said, "...I say, not the Lord", he was saying, "Jesus did not teach about this before." Thus, Paul was speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor 7:40; 2 Timothy 3:16). If you don't believe it is inspired by God, then you can tear off that part, or throw away your Bible.
Let's look at the only two conditions to be free from marriage Covenant:
1 Cor 7:39 - A wife is bound AS LONG AS her husband LIVES; but if her husband is dead, she is FREE to be married to whom she wishes, ONLY IN THE LORD. (emphasis added)
1 Cor 7:15 - Yet if the UNBELIEVING one leaves, LET HIM LEAVE; the brother or the sister is NOT under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. (emphasis added)
A wife whose husband has passed on is known as a widow. Paul confirmed that a widow can re-marry in verse 8-9. In fact, in 1 Timothy 5:14, he encouraged young widows to re-marry due to some issues.
1 Cor 7:8-9 - But I say to the UNMARRIED and to WIDOWS that it is good for them if they remain even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (emphasis added)
Do note that in those days, it was more common for the women to live longer than their husbands. Hence, Paul used the word "widows" to instruct the Corinthian Church. The same principle should be applied to widowers.
The word "unmarried" is likely referred to single men and single women (who are not virgins). We will see this in later part of this article.
However, some claimed that the word "unmarried" refer to the divorced. As mentioned in Part 3, they likely interpreted based on 1 Cor 7:34 (NASB):
"The woman who is UNMARRIED, AND the VIRGIN, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband." (emphasis added)
It is believed that since the virgin is already single, the unmarried must be the divorced.
This is a flawed interpretation. We can see from Scriptures that the virgin doesn't refer to the single in general. It is specifically referred to the single WOMAN (1 Cor 7:28; 1 Cor 7:34, 36-38).
If the word "unmarried" refers to the divorced, 1 Cor 7:8-9 will become as follows:
"But I say to the UNMARRIED (DIVORCED) and to WIDOWS that it is good for them if they remain even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (emphasis and "divorced" added)
Firstly, it's unlikely that Paul did not address any single man in the Church for the issue of marriage and sexual immorality. In fact, he would rather the men remain single as he was.
Do note that 1 Cor 7:1-2 is not talking about single men. Paul was speaking about married couples. He said, "...each man is to HAVE his own wife." The word "have" in Greek is to "possess". It speaks of sexual relations in a marriage. Verse 3-5 confirms the context.
Secondly, Paul would then contradict what he said in 1 Cor 7:39, that the woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. She is still bound even if she is divorced. The only way to be set free from that bondage is when her husband dies.
Thirdly, if we read the whole context of 1 Cor 7:32-34, we will realise that the unmarried is used for single man (based on context) but the VIRGIN is always used for single woman.
1 Cor 7:32-34 - But I want you to be free from concern. One who is UNMARRIED is concerned about the things of the Lord, how HE may please the Lord; 33 but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the VIRGIN, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that SHE may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (emphasis added)
We can see clearly that v32-33 is talking about the man while v34 is talking about the woman. The virgin is ONLY used for single women and not single men.
In the Greek, verse 34 could be translated as "The woman unmarried AND virgin cares for the things of the Lord..."
It could also be translated as "The woman unmarried, (also, even) virgin, cares for the things of the Lord..."
You cannot be divorced and still be virgin. The misled interpretation that "unmarried" is "divorced" is clearly inconsistent with Scriptures.
Even we interpret based on NASB, it is as follows:
"The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband."
The woman who is UNMARRIED can be a single woman who is no longer a virgin. She cannot be a widow, because Paul is specific to address a widow as "widow". She cannot be a divorcee, because Paul allows the unmarried to marry (1 Cor 7:9).
Hence, it is possible that the unmarried woman can be a believing woman whose unbelieving husband left her (1 Cor 7:15) or a single woman who is not a virgin (i.e. prostitute --- since prostitution and immorality were prevalent in those days in Corinth).
In a nutshell, Paul gave the following instructions:
1. Unmarried men and women, widows and virgins can remain single (encouraged by Paul due to certain advantages and "present distress") OR marry
2. Divorced are not allowed to re-marry. They either remain unmarried or be reconciled to their spouses
3. Believing spouse whose unbelieving spouse left her/him can re-marry or remain unmarried
Notice, No. 2 is completely in line with Jesus' words in Matthew 19:9 - And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
This is why Paul would not permit the divorced to re-marry based on Jesus' words (1 Cor 7:10-11).
In Matthew 19:9, however, Jesus seemed to give an exception clause for divorce. Many believed that Jesus was referring to adultery or sexual immorality.
In Part 7, we will conclude on what this exception clause really meant.
Additional note: It is very likely that apostle Paul was once married. To be the Pharisee of the Pharisees, you must be married. It is considered a duty to be married in that sect. You will be judged for not marrying. Furthermore, to be a member of the Sanhedrin, you have to be married. Thus, Paul's wife could have died earlier or left him (she was an unbeliever) when he became a believer. We don't know what happened because the Bible was silent on that.
P.S: Again, I thought I would need to repeat and emphasize that these articles are not targeted at those who are divorced, re-married or are going through marital issues. It is meant to preserve what the Word says. In the final post, we will talk about God's heart for the divorced and the re-married. He is the Redeemer and perfect Love! #marriage #covenant
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