Lesson #10

1CORINTHIANS 7:10-16
Lesson #10
THE BIBLICAL MODEL FOR MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

• Memory Verse: Gen 2:24

• In our previous lesson, we began to get some idea of the Biblical model for a Christian marriage that included an equal status before God for husbands and wives, a bond of commitment, and the practice of unconditional love.
• Read 1Cor 7:10-11 The marriage model and divorce
• This section considers the topic of divorce. We are going to deal with it, without bias, verse by verse in the context of Greek society so as to understand exactly what Paul is telling us by way of his message to the Corinthian church in Greece.
• The ideal model (10-11)
• Paul says that he is speaking for the Lord and teaching exactly what Jesus Christ taught.
• Paul says that neither wife nor husband should initiate a divorce.
• Of what importance is this statement in the context of the Corinthian society?
• The Greek concept of marriage and divorce was that a man could very easily divorce his wife by simply saying in front of 2 witnesses, “I divorce you.” There was no legal court process. As a result divorce was easy and common.
• However, a wife could never divorce her husband because of the status of women in the Greek culture and because of the Greek concept of marriage that we discussed previously.
• Paul’s statement is important because it puts husband and wife on an equal level.
• The permissive model (11)
• Because human beings are sinful and weak, Paul indicates that there are times when marriages simply do not work according to the ideal model above. Sometimes Christians will reject God’s perfect will and insist on God’s permissive will much to their peril. It is important to understand the limitations of God so as to remain in God’s perfect will.
• In cases where the wife insists on leaving the husband, there are two choices:
• =1= The husband or the wife should seek reconciliation with the other spouse.
• In other words, Paul says that this separation should be only temporary so as to work out the marriage problems with the ultimate goal of reconciliation and restoration of the original marriage.
• =2= If the wife leaves the marriage she should remain single for the rest of her life.
• The reason Paul says this is because there was no provision in the Corinthian law for women to legally divorce their husbands. Therefore, she would continue to be legally married to her husband for the rest of her life or until her husband died.
• What happens if a husband insists on leaving his wife?
• If you notice carefully, Paul does not specifically speak about this event. Why?
• The Corinthian law was not equal and the Christian should abide by the secular law of the nation.
• Because Paul has told us previously that husband and wife are equal, it is possible to assume some equality in this case and still keep the Corinthian law.
• Therefore, if the husband leaves his wife, he should remain single for the rest of his life unless there is a legal divorce.
• Remember that in Corinth men could legally divorce their wives.
• Consequently, the difference between a husband leaving his wife and a wife leaving her husband was determined by that which was permitted according to Corinthian law. Men could divorce but women could not. Divorced men could remarry but un-divorced women could not remarry.
• In a society where both men and women are equally permitted to legally divorce, they are free to re-marry. If they do not legally divorce, they should remain single.
• This point concerning the freedom to re-marry is controversial. Many argue that a divorced person is not to remarry while many others say that they are free to do so.
• Verse 15 says, “…A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases:”, and this phrase is taken to mean that they are free to remarry.
• However, it is better that neither the Christian husband nor the wife initiate a divorce.
• A REVIEW OF THE BIBLICAL TEACHING CONCERNING DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE:

• Because Paul brought the Lord Jesus Christ into his statements about divorce in verse 10, we need an understanding of the complete Biblical teaching concerning divorce and remarriage.
• Marriage before the giving of the Law of Moses:

• According to our memory verse, God created the way for one man and one woman to live together in God’s perfect will. That way was by means of marriage between a man and a woman.
• The Bible never says that marriage includes homosexual relationships because, as we discussed in our last lesson, homosexuality is the sin of fornication. In Gen 2 God restricted the definition of marriage to one man and one woman.
• Moses’ view of divorce and remarriage according to the Old Testament Mosaic Law:
• Read Mal 2:16 God hates divorce. Why?
• God’s goal in all of life’s experiences is restoration, restitution, and redemption. Satan’s goal is destruction, division, and divorce.
• God said that in a marriage, the man and the woman become one flesh. In other words there is such a bond of unity in marriage that a division by means of divorce is like a tearing of the flesh, causing extreme pain.
• Because of God’s love and benevolence, He seeks to help us avoid this extreme pain.
• Read Mat 19:3-9
• Read Deu 24:1-4
• According to Moses, marriage was to be a permanent lifestyle following God’s command in Gen 2:24. However, because of man’s sinful nature, the ideal was not always possible.
• Therefore, in God’s permissive will, divorce was an option.
• Moses says that divorce was permissible only for the sin of “uncleanness”.
• What does that mean?
• In Judaism, the word “uncleanness” was interpreted in two ways:
• =1= The Shammai School of interpretation said that “uncleanness” was adultery.
• =2= The Hillel School of interpretation said that “uncleanness” was anything that a man decided was unclean: spoiling the dinner, an uncovered head, talking to men in public, quarrelsome, etc.
• The Hillel School had the greater influence and acceptance of the people.
• No Jewish woman could divorce a man.
• In Jewish law, if a man married a gentile, he was forced to divorce her because she was considered unclean.
• The process of divorce by a man was extremely simple. He only had to write down, “I divorce you” and give it to his wife in the presence of 2 witnesses. She was required to leave the house.
• In Mat 19:3-9 Jesus sought to reform these permissive practices that made divorce too easy. He tells us what Moses actually intended by the word, “uncleanness”.
• Jesus said that the only cause for divorce is fornication. Therefore, the word, “uncleanness” refers to the sins of fornication.
• We have already defined the word fornication to include any sexual acts committed outside of marriage.
• Jesus said that if a man who divorces his wife for any reason other than the sin of fornication, he causes her to commit adultery.
• In other words, in God’s eyes, that couple is still married.
• If she marries another man, she and her new husband commit the sin of adultery in the eyes of God. Adultery is one form of fornication.
• Marriage in the Roman culture in which Jesus ministered:

• Originally Roman religion and society were founded on the home. They had the highest form of marriage. In the first 500 years of the Roman Empire, there was not one divorce. When the Romans conquered the Greeks, Greek immorality, like that which we have seen in the city of Corinth, infiltrated the Roman Empire. Divorce eventually became common throughout the Roman Empire.
• Summary:
• God says nothing about marriage and divorce to those who are not believers. Why?
• As we have seen earlier in 1Corinthians, the non-believer does not listen to God, nor does he understand the things of God. The result is that non-believers are going to live like the devil. We cannot expect them to live any other way.
• The command then, is to preach to the non-believers so that they become saved and learn about the principles of life from God. In turn, the Holy Spirit changes them, and He conforms them to the image of Christ.
• God has a special interest in blessing His people. He wants to pour blessings and love on those who belong to Jesus Christ. He does this through a Biblical Christian marriage. Why? What are the beautiful blessings of a Biblical Christian marriage?
• It is in marriage that we learn the greatest lessons of how to live in the kingdom of God.
• Marriage is the training camp where we learn faithful commitment, unconditional love, forgiveness, submission, self-less motivations, and other Christian character qualities.
• Unfortunately some Christians seek divorce and run away from God’s training camp.
• For those who have divorced for reasons other than fornication, God extends forgiveness as He does for any repentant sin.
• Christians who are married to non-believers:
• Read 2Cor 6:14
• Paul gives us the principle of an unequal yoke.
• The basic idea of a yoke refers to two oxen that are yoked together for the purpose of plowing a field. An ox is trained from birth to be yoked to another ox. He learns how to move in harmony with the other animal so as to make the plowing easier. If he does not learn to be equally yoked, one ox kicks against the other ox, each wanting to go in his own direction.
• For the good of the Christian, he is to marry another Christian because in this relationship where both belong to Christ, they can live in harmony without one pulling against the other.
• The Christian is not to marry a non-believer because the world view of the Christian is opposite the world view of the non-believer. These two opposing views of life will cause great difficulty in marriage, which is already difficult without adding this conflict of an unequal yoke.
• Read 1Cor 7:12-16
• In this passage, Paul says that he is not quoting the Lord Jesus Christ, but that this is his counsel guided by the Holy Spirit. (12)
• Because there is a model for Christian marriage that the unbeliever neither understands nor embraces, how can a believer and a non-believer maintain a successful marriage together? That was evidently the question of some people in the Corinthian church. These people were married to non-believers and then became Christians. What must they now do with their unsaved spouses?
• Some of the Christians in that church were leaving their non-believing spouses.
• After that, some Christians considered marrying again with other believers in the church.
• Paul tells them that Christians must not be the ones to abandon the marriage.
• If a non-believing spouse wants to continue the marriage even though the other partner is now a Christian, the Christian should stay in the relationship of marriage.
• If, on the other hand, the non-believer wants to terminate the marriage because the other partner is now a Christian, the Christian is then free to divorce and re-marry.
• Why does Paul counsel them to remain married to their non-believing spouses?
• The idea is that the believing spouse can be a witness to the non-believing spouse. (14)
• Paul says the unbeliever is sanctified by the believing spouse. Exactly what does that mean?
• Remember the word, sanctified, means to set apart for a special work of the Holy Spirit.
• Therefore, the unbeliever, living with a spouse who is a believer, has a double dose of conviction and attraction that is performed by the Holy Spirit living inside the believer in that home.
• The believer is a testimony by the change in his life after becoming a Christian.
• The believer is a testimony by conversation, character, and attitude.
• Read 1Peter 3:1-4
• The result of this special working by the Holy Spirit through the believer in a mixed marriage is the possible salvation of the unbeliever and their children.
• The children in a mixed marriage between a non-believer and a believer also receive grace because of the believer in that relationship. They learn about Christ and salvation.

HOMEWORK
1CORINTHIANS 7:17-40
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework lessons to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 1Cor 7:10-16
• What part of this lesson speaks specifically to your life?
• If there is any unrepentant sin which the Holy Spirit reveals to you, ask the Lord to forgive you.
• If there is no sin revealed, Thank God for His grace.
• If you are married, ask God to help you make your marriage a stronger blessing to your spouse.
• If you are not married and desire to be married, ask God for His guidance in finding another believer for you.

• Preparation for 1Cor 7:17-40
• Read 1Cor 7:17-24
• What is the principle in this passage for entering into serving God?
• Read 1Cor 7:25-40
• What is Paul’s counsel concerning the single life?
• What are some possible distractions in life that prevent people from serving Christ fully?
• Memory verse: 1Cor 7:23