ordinary christianity for the world.
Corinth, A Church Divided, Corinthians 7:12-24
Poetic Praise
Called In Place
Corinthians 7:12-24
Paul turns his attention from the marriages of believers to what we call mixed marriages, where one marriage partner is not a believer. This is a special circumstance and calls for special treatment.
When he says, "To the rest I say (I, not the Lord)" in verse 12, he suggests that what he is about to say has not been explicitly said anywhere else in Scripture. He is not demeaning his comment, as if to say that we are free to disregard it if we are so inclined. But rather, he is indicating that the Old Testament does not spell out how a believing spouse should treat an unbelieving spouse. Mixed marriages were simply not allowed in the Old Testament, but had grown in the New Testament era with the expansion of the Kingdom through the explosion of evangelism that gripped the Mediterranean area in the wake of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection — and particularly in the wake of the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. As the Gospel brought in increasing numbers of Gentiles into Christ's churches, those Gentile Christians brought the problem of mixed marriages with them. Paul was simply addressing the problem, and noting that biblical scholars would not find reference to mixed marriages in the light of Christ anywhere else in Scripture.
Again, Paul was not saying that his instructions to Christians who found themselves in mixed marriages were optional. Rather, he was simply applying what he knew about Jesus Christ and the grace of the Gospel to this new situation. And by extension, he was showing us how to apply what we know about Scripture, the Gospel and Jesus Christ to new situations. His application of the light of Christ provides a model for us as we encounter new situations that are not explicitly covered in Scripture. Here we see how the foundational element of God's covenant is to be applied in the light of the grace and mercy of Christ's work on the cross.
Paul went on to say, "if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her." (v. 12). Elsewhere Paul said "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14), which includes marriage. The reference to a yoke suggests an agreement or covenant. In verse 12 Paul was directing his comments at unmarried people. So, if you are not yet married, Paul says not to marry an unbeliever. That is not the ideal situation because the unbeliever cannot recognize or honor their covenant with God, and it is the recognition of our prior covenant with God that provides the foundation for biblical marriage. Without that covenantal foundation, difficulties will ensue.
But if you become a believer and your spouse does not, what then? Paul turns his attention to this situation. And his advice is simple — remain married if your spouse is willing to remain married. The reasons for this are several. First, marriage provides a perfect picture of our covenantal relationship with God. It provides a building block and a model for covenantal social relationship of various kinds. The picture that Scripture paints suggests that God will not divorce Himself from His people unless they willingly divorce themselves from Him. God's grace is extended to all, except those who willfully reject it, because God knows that conversion will eventually come upon everyone who does not willfully reject Jesus Christ. This is not an argument against election, but is rather a goad to make one's calling and election sure. God will hang in there for the long run regardless of what the circumstances look like. And Christians should model God's love, patience and persistence.
Conversely, sinners should also realize that God's commitment to His covenant means that their rejection of God is not the end of the matter. But rather, God will eternally pursue those who reject and break His covenant with curses and judgments. The rejection of God does not break or end the covenant. It only marks the individual as an unredeemed covenant breaker. Only God can break the covenant, but His promise is that He will not do so. God's covenant with man is eternal.
So, if the unbelieving spouse is willing to remain married, willing to honor the covenant of marriage with all its privileges and responsibilities — even apart from the realization of God's role in it, then that marriage should remain in tact on three counts: 1) in the hope of the eventual conversion of the unbelieving spouse, 2) as a model for covenantal social relationships more generally, and 3) as a pillar of strength and hope for the children of the marriage.
Verse 14 raises the issue of sanctification, "For the unbelieving husband is made holy (hagiazo — sanctified) because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy (hagios)." Notice that he said that they are holy, not that they will become holy. Reflecting our Baptistic and non-covenantal understanding of Christianity and marriage, we wonder how it is that a believing spouse can be a means of sanctification for an unbelieving spouse — much less for the children of a marriage! This idea of covenantal sanctification is found elsewhere in Scripture. For instance:
Act 2:39: For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
Romans 9:8: This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Act 11:14: he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.
Act 16:31: And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
The issue in these verses is about God's authority and the means of salvation. What is it that makes the gospel effective unto salvation? How are people saved? Paul asked it this way to the Galatians,"Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" (Galatians 3:2). To the Romans he said "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). Putting them together we see that salvation comes by hearing God's Word.
We know that God "chose us (the elect) in him before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4). But we also know that the Holy Spirit is not awakened in God's people until they hear the Master's voice (John 5:25, 10:3, 10:27). So, salvation is a matter of hearing the voice of the Lord, of hearing the gospel correctly preached (spoken). If it is not correctly understood by the preacher, if it is not correctly formulated, if it is not preached in it fullness, in its totality, then it is not in the words spoken and cannot be heard by slumbering saints.
So what Paul is saying is that if either spouse is a Christian, the whole family will at some point have the gospel spoken in their hearing. Not all will hear it efficaciously, of course, but the gospel will be spoken in their hearing. And the speaking of the Word of God is sufficient to awaken God's elect. Thus, a believing husband or wife is a sufficient means for the sanctification — or we could say evangelization — of his or her family.
And yet, there is another sense in which the believing spouse will sanctify his or her family. As we have talked about before, salvation is not merely a matter of entering into a personal relationship with Jesus, but is a matter of entering in a covenantal relationship with God, and with His people. Our covenantal relationships are a legal relationships by definition. A covenant is a legal arrangement.
God's law was violated by Adam at the Fall and restitution was made by Jesus at the cross. Sin is not a matter of metaphysics or of being. It is not some physical, mental or intellectual lack. Adam lacked nothing physical, mental or intellectual that kept him from living in obedience to God's Word. Rather, sin is a moral issue. It is a matter of the will and of the spirit, which means that salvation does not impart anything physical, mental or intellectual that turns an unbeliever into a believer.
Rather, salvation is a matter of changing one's will, one's heart, one's spirit, from a spirit of willful rebellion against God's Word — God's law, to a spirit of willing obedience. Sin is a matter of being legally defined by God as a criminal because of Adam's sin and our willing complicity in the cause of sin. And salvation is a matter of being legally restored to full citizenship in God's Kingdom by the propitiation of Christ on the cross and our willing complicity in the cause of Christ — which is to bring honor and glory to God and to His Word.
The issue with regard to the legality of the covenant pertains to the legal status of ownership and the authority and comprehensiveness of God's covenant. God's covenant applies to all of life — every thought is to be held captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), every tongue is to confess and every knee is to bow to Jesus Christ (Romans 14:11).
We have already seen that the husband owns the wife and the wife owns the husband, and both are owned by God. The ownership of each spouse by the other implies that each is subsumed under the legal ownership of the other. God's covenant applies to everything a person owns. Thus, the ownership of the husband by the wife brings the husband under the authority structure of God's covenant. The same applies to the children of the marriage. The issue is not whether the spouse and children recognize that they are under God's covenant. The issue is the efficacy of the covenant, the power of God to apply His covenant to people whether or not they recognize it. The issue is God's power and sovereignty.
Paul goes on in verse fifteen, "But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace." In essence Paul is saying that if the unbelieving partner walks away from a marriage because the other person has become a Christian, then the one who separates is not rejecting the believing spouse, but he or she is rejecting God. The rejecting spouse may argue that the believing spouse has changed since becoming a Christian, that the believing spouse is no longer the same person that he or she married — and we hope that that would be true! Nonetheless, it is a rejection of Christ and Christianity, not a personal rejection of the believing spouse.
Having rejected God, then, the unbelieving spouse who chooses to end the marriage should be allowed to do so. And the believing spouse should be at peace with the situation because it is God's will that unredeemable people not be yoked to believers. Let it be so. God has called believers to be at peace about it.
Verse sixteen affirms that we cannot read the hearts of other people. We don't know whether our efforts will contribute to the salvation of a person or not. Salvation belongs to the Lord. So we must be at peace with providence, trusting in the sovereignty and wisdom of God in all things. Verses 17-24 conclude this thought with a general rule that Paul applied to all people in all churches. Because this applies to all Christians in all churches it is important.
"Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God" (1 Corinthians 7:17-24).
There is a contemporary saying that reflects the sense of this idea: Bloom where you are planted. Becoming a Christian means being an agent and instrument of God in your current circumstance, whatever that circumstance may be. If you are married, be content to remain married unless the other person walks away. If you are not married, be content to remain unmarried unless the Lord leads you into marriage with a believer. If you work in a factory, be content to work in a factory. If you are the president of a bank, be content to be the president of a bank. Wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever your station in life, be content in it — and use your situation to forward the cause of Christ where you are. The first responsibility of believers is to be content to remain where they are and as they are.
Obviously, Christians should not be content to remain in sin. Obviously, we are not to be content to remain biblically ignorant or undisciplined. Rather, Paul is saying that we should remain in our social circumstance, and at the same time begin to avoid sin and to grow in biblical knowledge and discipline. What we are not to do is to use Christianity or other Christians as a means to get something that we want — power, position, wealth, happiness, etc. Christianity is not a matter of us using God to achieve our own purposes. It is a matter of God using us to achieve His purposes. By remaining in our social position when converted our Christianity will be infused throughout the culture — and that is God's purpose. God doesn't want all faithful Christians to become accountants or politicians or pastors, or to all join the same church. Leaven does its work by spreading throughout the entire loaf. That's the model.
Slavery provided a particular difficulty, and is defined as a function of debt in Scripture. So, Paul says hat slaves who become Christian should similarly be content to remain as slaves. That is a heart concern. But at the same time, they are to work off the debt that they owe, to repay the dept and regain their freedom. In other words, they should not run away from their lawful circumstance as slaves — their indebtedness, but should work diligently to repay their debts, and then live as free men and women, as people without debt.
By implication, Paul tells Christians to remain in whatever employment circumstance they find themselves. From an employment perspective, Paul does not believe that the ideal Christian life involves some church related job. You don't have to become a pastor to serve the Lord. Rather, the ideal is to bring Christian values and principles into whatever job or social position a person already has. The ideal is not to concentrate Christian values and principles in the church, but to disburse them into society as leaven.
And this is the rule that Paul has for all churches everywhere. Become a Christian, and then because your are a Christian be content to be in whatever circumstance you find yourself. It is out of that sense of contentment and peace that the Holy Spirit reaches out with the Word of God spoken by you, by ordinary Christians in ordinary circumstances, to evangelize, convert and reform the whole of society in the likeness of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is not brought in by revolutionaries, but by people in ordinary circumstances who are content to remain in ordinary circumstances, and to speak the truth in love in the midst of their ordinary relationships. May the Lord so bless and empower you and me.
