1 Corinthians 7:12-16

Context

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul answers questions about marriage that the Corinthian church had raised in a letter. In verses 10-11 he tells married believers not to divorce, presenting this as a command from the Lord. Then, beginning in verse 12, he addresses "the rest," that is, marriages in which only one spouse is a believer. His words "not the Lord" are commonly interpreted to mean that, because Jesus did not directly address this situation, Paul gives instruction in his capacity as an apostle; they do not imply that his words carry less authority.

Paul's instructions are as follows:

• If the unbelieving spouse is pleased to live with the believer, the believer should not separate (vv. 12-13).
• The reason is that the unbelieving spouse and the children are "sanctified" and "holy" (v. 14).
• If the unbelieving spouse departs, the believer "is not under bondage," for God has called us to peace (vv. 15-16).

Interpretation

• The common reading of "is sanctified" (v. 14): Most commentators do not take this to mean that the unbelieving spouse personally obtains salvation. Instead, they understand it to mean that the marriage and household are set apart and legitimate before God by virtue of the union with a believer, since in verse 16 Paul leaves the spouse's salvation an open question.
• The Reformed reading: Calvin and other Reformed (Presbyterian) theologians cite "else were your children unclean; but now are they holy" as one of their grounds for holding that the children of believers belong to the covenant community, and they have used it in support of infant baptism.
• The Baptist reading: The Baptist tradition, which baptizes only believers, objects that the same verse also calls the unbelieving spouse "sanctified," yet that spouse is not baptized; therefore, this holiness cannot serve as a ground for baptism.
• Institutional applications of verse 15: Chapter 24 of the Westminster Confession of Faith recognizes, alongside adultery, willful desertion (abandonment of one's spouse) that cannot be remedied by the church or the civil magistrate as a ground for dissolving a marriage, and this passage is read as its basis. The Catholic Church derives from this passage the so-called Pauline privilege, a provision under which, in a marriage between two unbaptized persons, if one party is baptized and the other departs, the marriage may be dissolved and the baptized party may remarry.

Debates and Issues

• Whether remarriage is permitted: Even among Protestants, views differ on whether "is not under bondage" extends to freedom to remarry. Those who hold that it releases the believer only from the obligation to maintain the marriage read it together with Jesus' prohibition of divorce and take a cautious position on remarriage. For further discussion, see Divorce and Remarriage.
• The meaning of verse 16: The original text is a question: "For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?" It is read in two ways:
• Since the believer cannot know whether the spouse will be saved, the believer should not try to force a departing spouse to stay.
• A hopeful reading: since the believer may yet be the means of the spouse's salvation, the couple should remain together.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, where many members are the only believers in their families, this passage is often cited in preaching and counseling concerning relationships with unbelieving spouses. Verse 14 is also frequently mentioned in explanations of the infant baptism debate.

Related Passages

• 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 — The Lord's command to married believers
• Matthew 19:3-9 — Jesus' teaching on divorce
• Mark 10:2-12 — Mark's account of the same teaching
• 1 Peter 3:1-7 — Exhortation to wives with unbelieving husbands