Lesson 464

(Lesson464)(11-22-12) 1 Corinthians 7:10-17, "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 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: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 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? But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches."

In this lesson, Paul lays down God's rules for married couples as to how they are to approach the consideration of separation.

Paul makes it clear that neither the Christian husband, nor the wife, under God's rule, is allowed to divorce. However, if a Christian is married to an unbeliever, the unbeliever is "sanctified" by the Christianity of the other. Seeing that the term "sanctified" is defined by Strong's Greek linear bible dictionary as: (to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow, to separate from profane things and dedicate to God, consecrate things to God, dedicate people to God, to purify, to cleanse externally, to purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin,to purify internally by renewing of the soul.), the unbeliever is "purified" by the believer so long as the two remain married. "For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?"

However, if the unbelieving mate decides to leave the Christian, Paul says that the unbeliever should be allowed to leave without bringing guilt on either party. It appears that under that circumstance the marriage, between believer and unbeliever, would simply be annulled.
In the final analysis, Paul instructs the Churches, "But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk."~