Divorce Too....

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To understand the basis for the manner in which Paul handles the topic of
divorce, we must understand the setting in which he wrote. Many Christain
converts were being added all the time. Under the Law, should a converts
spouse not follow the Law, the convert had to put them away. The converts
to Christ were asking if they too were to put away their unbelieving
spouses.
Also, there were those who under the Law who had more than one wife.
They were asking if they should divorce all but one (one would assume they
would keep the first one). Let's examine Paul's treatise on divorce.

1 Corinthians 7

1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man
not to touch a woman.

2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and
let
every woman have her own husband.

3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also
the wife unto the husband.

Pretty straight forward. Marry to avoid fornication and be 'nice' to each
other.
Also, Paul states that it is to be one husband and one wife.

1 Corinthians 7

4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise
also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that
ye
may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that
Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Sex is to be a part of marriage with neither holding anything back from the
other, in the natural use of the body, of course, except for limited times
of
fasting and prayer, and then only by mutual consent. This does not justify
rape but it does lay a responsibility upon both parties to put their own
interests below the interests of the other. In other words, they should be
willing to comply for the sake of the other but that all should be done by
mutual consent.

1 Corinthians 7

6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
Paul says here that all that has passed above is his opinion and not
commandments of God.

1 Corinthians 7

7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his
proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they
abide even as I.

9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than
to
burn.

More of Paul's personal opinion. One point: When Paul says it is better to
marry than to 'burn' here, he is not speaking of Hell Fire. He is speaking
of
desire. He is simply saying that it is better to marry and not sin in one
desire
(not lust) for communion of the flesh than to 'burn' with this desire unto
the
sin of lust. Paul was a firm believer that marriage hindered one's walk and
that if one could avoid it, they should. He also admitted that not all
could, nor
were all meant to.

1 Corinthians 7

10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife
depart from her husband:

11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her
husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

Now, you cannot separate these two statements without destroying the
meaning. Paul now says that this is from the Lord, making a distinction
between his opinion and God's commandment. Paul says the Lord commands
that a woman not leave her husband but "if" she does, that she remain
unmarried or go back to her husband. What he is saying here is that it is
God's intent for married people to live together but if this is not possible
and
one feels they must leave, they can, but they are still married. Since they
are
still married, they can live apart from their spouse but they cannot marry
anyone else. All of this is in perfect line with even the Law of Moses.
Moses
said that you could put away your wife. You can, but you cannot remarry.
The reason that this was no problem in his day was that you could have as
many wives as you could afford. Therefore, no conflict. God doesn't intend
for a woman to stay with an abusive husband but if and when she (or he)
departs, they must remain true to the marriage, at least until one of the
other
conditions of "spousal death" occurs. As we have seen, Jesus has said that
this does not have to be literal, physical death, but as in the case of
adultery,
spiritual death to the marriage counts too.

1 Corinthians 7

12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that
believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her
away.

13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be
pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

Note here too that Paul is making a clear distinction between his opinion
and
the commandment of God. Note also that Paul was one of the foremost
authorities on the Law of his day. Couple this with the fact that as he
wrote
this, he was full of the Holy Ghost and that God knew we would be sitting
reading this today.

Why then is Paul telling the new converts (and they have to be new, which
we will cover later) that should their unbelieving spouses decide to leave
them, that they, the believers were not bound and could therefore remarry?
The answer is in that Jesus fulfilled the Law. Those who are reborn into
Christ are 'dead to the Law of sin and death', or as it is put so
eloquently:

2 Corinthians 5

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The new convert is "Alive" for the first time. What of the 'old spouse'?

Ephesians 2

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh
in
the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by

nature the children of wrath, even as others.

The unbeliever is already "dead". This is why Paul says that the believer is
not bound should they decide to leave: You can't be bound to a dead person.
Yet, this is not the end of the matter.

Luke 6:26
brotim@gte.net
Timothy Litteral
Let's chat on ICQ or NetMeeting
http://members.tripod.com/~trlitteral/