There were two distinct groups in Corinth who needed
counsel regarding the Christian and divorce; (1) Christian
couples, where both husband and wife are believers in Jesus
Christ; and (2) “mixed marriages,” where one of the two
partners has come to faith in Christ after marriage. Verses
10-11 address the first group.
If staying single is what it takes to be spiritual, then
does this mean Christian couples should terminate their
marriages? Divorce was a culturally acceptable option in
Corinth. Paul’s words to Christian couples regarding divorce
are clear, concise, and authoritative.
Paul’s teaching about marriage and divorce is mutual, what
is good for the husband is good for the wife, and
vice-versa. No Christian mate can control the actions of the
other. Thus, it is possible that one mate will forsake the
marriage, even though he or she is a believer. Paul speaks
to each in terms of the sphere of their control and
responsibility. Paul is not just forbidding the Christian
spouse to file for a divorce first. He is not just
prohibiting one mate from packing up and leaving the other.
He is instructing each mate to do everything in his or her
power to keep the marriage alive and well. A mate who
disobeys Paul’s teaching in the previous verses may withhold
sex from the other partner and thus tempt him or her to be
unfaithful, or to initiate the divorce. We should never be
the cause of our partner’s departure.
Further, when Paul forbids terminating the marriage, he
forbids both separation and divorce. All too often,
Christians acknowledge that divorce is forbidden, and then
proceed to encourage someone in a troubled marriage to
separate. Their thinking is that divorce is one thing, and
separation is quite another, Paul clearly differs. Paul does
not distinguish between separation and divorce. Paul sees a
marital union where the two partners live separately as a
broken union, and even worse, as a broken vow.
Paul’s words are clear and emphatic to Christian couples:
“Don’t divorce and don’t separate. He gives no exceptions.
This does not necessarily prove that there are no
exceptions. Granted, divorce is permissible in the case of
immorality, but it is never something in which God delights;
it is something God tolerates, due to the hardness of men’s
hearts. Divorce is not a license for the wicked to sin by
forsaking their vows and their mate; it is a protection for
the “innocent” partner, making legal provision for their
remarriage. If the other partner chooses to disregard
biblical teaching, they may pursue a divorce, which is
beyond the obedient Christian’s control. If the disobedient
partner divorces and marries another, the “innocent party”
has the freedom to remarry for two reasons: (1) the marital
union has already been broken by the other party’s adultery,
and (2) remarriage to the partner who initiates the divorce
is impossible once that partner has married another
(Deuteronomy 24).
