20. Being Married to an Unbeliever
“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. And the woman which hath an husband that
believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife
is sanctified by the husband...But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A
brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us
to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or
how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” (1 Cor.
7:12-16).
In this section of his letter to the Corinthians,
Paul is answering questions from the ecclesia (7:1). Therefore we need to
reconstruct the original questions which were put to him. The believers had
probably asked something like: “What is the position of a man or woman
already ‘married’ under Gentile law at the time of his or her
baptism? Is he or she to be considered by the ecclesia as a married person? Or
should the ‘marriage’ entered into before learning the Truth be
considered no marriage at all? If this is the case, can such a new brother or
sister take steps to end the legal union and leave the unbelieving
partner?”
In a situation like that described in Acts, where
“many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (Acts
18:8), there would inevitably be a number of cases where one mate accepted the
Truth but the other did not. How were they to react in this difficult
situation?
We note that the apostle describes the
unbelieving partner as “a wife” or “a husband” who
believes not. That is to say, he regards the brother or sister concerned as
being truly and properly married to their partner, no matter under what
situation or what law the ceremony had been performed. This ought therefore to
be the attitude of the ecclesia in the matter. If two people are regarded as
married by generally accepted law, then the ecclesia should also recognize them
as married — with all the Scriptural implications that such recognition
carries with it. Thus the apostle lays upon the one believing partner in such a
case exactly the same obligations to maintain the union (vv. 12,13) as he has
previously laid upon two believing partners (vv. 10,11).
The baptism of one partner in an existing
marriage does not give that one any authority or right to seek to terminate the
marriage. In fact, the apostle Paul teaches the very opposite: the believing
partner should use the marriage relationship (and the practical application of
the spiritual lessons of marriage), even in trying circumstances, in such a way
as to seek to bring the other to salvation (v. 16)!
