Tag: Pauline Privilege

“Each Man Must Remain In That Condition In Which He Was Called”

Neal Pollard

Yesterday, as part of a Bible class on 1 Corinthians, it fell my lot to teach chapter seven. This tends to be a controversial chapter, one in which too many teachers, preachers, elders, and other church leaders have misled people and asserted a doctrine known as “The Pauline Privilege.” Among the arguments used to defend this position, people say:

  • “Not under bondage” (15). If an unbeliever departs, the believing mate who is abandoned is free to remarry.
  • “God has called us to peace” (15). Peace includes the idea that the abandoned is free to remarry (this is not seriously or widely taught as credible).
  • “Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called” (18-24).

We spent our time in class dealing with the main argument, the first argument concerning “not under bondage” (watch class here). This position cannot be right, as it has Paul contradicting himself (see 7:10-11) and, in doing so, contradicting Jesus (see Matthew 19:1-9). “Under bondage” means enslaved and is never used in the New Testament as the marriage bond. Paul uses a different word for the marriage bond (cf. Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:27,39). Paul is saying one is not enslaved to his or her unbelieving spouse, and the Christian should not choose the spouse over Christ. Paul had said not to leave the non-Christian mate (12-14), but if divorce occurred he had already given the two options available in verses 10-11: “remain unmarried…or be reconciled.”

One other matter that is often used in arguing a broader acceptance of divorce and remarriage than Jesus taught in Matthew 5 and 19. The argument is made that a person is allowed to stay in whatever condition they are in when they obey the gospel. So, if one has been married and divorce multiple times when they become a Christian, Paul is saying it is acceptable to stay in that situation. He compares it to circumcision and slavery, so the argument goes.

The central problem with this is that it also makes Paul contradict himself and Jesus in the explicit teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Remember that after Jesus states His authoritative position, the apostles lament that if such was the case it would be better not to marry. No one would conclude this of this position.

It also misunderstands the point Paul is making. It is a summary of the position he set forth in verses 12-14. If you become a Christian and are married to a non-Christian, don’t dissolve the marriage. Under the Old Law, “mixed marriages” were forbidden (Exodus 34:16) and those that were formed had to be dissolved (Ezra 10, Nehemiah 9). These new Christians may have been influenced by such teaching and wondered if that applied to them. Whatever they may have thought, Paul makes clear that they should stay married.

Without a doubt, sorting through and untangling the real-life circumstances of people’s marriages is among the hardest challenges to face in being faithful to Jesus and His will. Our task is to show the compassion of Christ and lovingly minister to all who are confronted with challenges and struggles. While our hearts break for difficult situations, we are not at liberty to pick and choose which commands and teachings of His to teach and which to ignore or change.

1 Corinthians: That There Be No Divisions Among You (XI)

Unity And Complicated Marital Issues (7:10-24)

Neal Pollard

With so much moral confusion and corruption among the Corinthians,  Paul had his hands full in addressing the various complications that arose in this congregation. Having already dealt with incest, homosexuality, fornication, and even spouses depriving one another, he moves on to another complicated matter. What do you do when your non-Christian spouse wants to abandon the marriage? What are your rights and restrictions? 

Unfortunately, some have interpreted 1 Corinthians 7 as a passage giving one an additional “exception” to the Lord’s rule in Matthew 19:9 (this belief is often called “The Pauline Privilege”). Is Paul adding to the Lord’s teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage? If one’s spouse “deserts” them, is he or she free to remarry?

First, notice that Paul begins by reviewing just what the Lord said during His ministry (10-11). He signifies this by saying, “But to the married I give instructions, not I but the Lord….” (10). In other words, Paul reviews what the Lord taught as recorded by Matthew (19:1-12). It is a summary of that passage. Keep in mind that anything Paul subsequently says cannot contradict what the Lord taught in His ministry on the subject. Everything Paul says here must be understood in the light of how he begins–“stay married, but if you divorce, remain unmarried or be reconciled to the husband you divorced.”

Second, notice that Paul is dealing with something the Lord did not address in His earthly ministry. That’s what Paul means when he says, “But to the rest I say, not the Lord…” (12).  Paul addresses an apparent concern for Christians in a pagan society like Corinth (our nation would be a lot more like Corinth than Jerusalem!). Paul delves into what a Christian ought to do who is married to an unbeliever. He begins with the scenario that the unbeliever is okay with staying married to the Christian. In that case, there is nothing to do. Do not leave them if they want to remain married (13-14). 

Then, he discusses a scenario where the unbeliever is not okay with staying married to the Christian. A spouse would then be in a quandary, deciding whether or not to stay with Christ or choose the unbelieving mate (15). Paul is saying, your duty to your husband does not outweigh your duty to Christ. If they force you into that choice, choose Christ. Some try to make the word “bondage” in this verse refer to the marriage bond, believing Paul to say you are free to remarry. Paul is using that word throughout this paragraph to speak of being enslaved, not to speak of being married (“bondage” is found in eight New Testament verses; the other seven–Acts 7:6, Rom. 6:18,22, 1 Cor. 9:19, Gal. 4:3, Ti. 2:3, and 2 Pet. 2:19–all mean “to make someone a slave”; that’s what Paul is saying here. Paul uses the word for “marry” several times in this chapter, a different word with a different meaning altogether). 

Third, understand the rest of this paragraph in light of what Paul has already said. He is not allowing people to do something which, as he has already pointed out, the Lord explicitly forbad. His words in 1 Corinthian 7:15-24 do not give a person an additional reason to divorce and remarry. Paul is illustrating with the circumcision analogy what he has just taught in verses 13-14. 

There is nothing in this context or any other passage that teaches that non-Christians who obey the gospel and are in an unscriptural marriage can remain in that condition. He is simply using multiple means to make a singular point: “Do not become enslaved to man’s will because you belong to Christ.” Do not choose your spouse over Christ. If they threaten to leave you if you don’t leave Christ, you must stay faithful to Christ. 

Sin brings complications. No relationship must be honored or prioritized over Christ. When a Christian is married to a non-Christian, he or she is to do everything possible to win the non-Christian spouse (cf. 1 Pet. 3:1ff). As Paul says, ” For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?” (16). That’s the ideal. But in less than ideal situations, always choose Christ! 

Observations From Perhaps The Most Difficult Passage In The New Testament

Neal Pollard

What is perhaps the most difficult statement in the Bible is not grammatically complex or difficult to comprehend from an intellectual standpoint. But what elder, preacher, or other member has not agonized over it many times. Asked point blank for His teaching on the subject of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, Jesus says, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery” (Mat. 19:8-9). There are quite a few observations that can be made from this reading.

  • Jesus makes a timeless statement (“from the beginning”).
  • Jesus makes a universal statement (This applies to “whoever”).
  • Jesus makes an authoritative statement (“I say to you”)–Matthew often reveals Jesus’ contrasting His teaching with the inferior Law of Moses.
  • Jesus does not mandate (necessitate) that divorce occur in the case of fornication.
  • Jesus identifies the exception to the rule (“whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery”)–It is fornication (BDAG–“Unlawful sexual intercourse”).
  • Jesus’ teaching here cannot be negated by other Scripture (cf. 1 Cor. 7; 2 Cor. 5:17).
  • Jesus teaches that another marriage (excepting for one’s spouse’s fornication) is adulterous.
  • Jesus does not free the guilty to remarry.
  • The duration of adultery in the second marriage considered by Jesus persists as long as that subsequent marriage persists.
  • The teaching has been difficult from this inception (see Mat. 19:10-12).

This passage must be taught patiently, lovingly, wisely, compassionately, and prayerfully! Yet, on what grounds can we decide not to teach it? Treating it with the reverence it deserves, why would we seek to dismantle or discredit it? Of course, we would not.  By teaching it, we risk losing good will and favor with many but by teaching it as Jesus taught it we show respect and fidelity to His supreme authority. May God grant us “a spirit…of power and love and discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7) on this eternally important passage. 

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