Why does Paul say it is not he, but the Lord, who gives the charge about marriage?

1 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV)

10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband

In short

Paul says it is not him, but the Lord, who gives the charge about marriage because

Jesus taught that divorce for convenience is not acceptable.

The Corinthians have written to Paul about several matters including marriage. He explains that married couples should not abstain from sexual relations, unless on agreement and only for a time. Now he points to the Lord’s instruction on divorce. What does Paul mean when he says that the Lord, and not Paul, gives a charge on marriage?

When Paul says that the Lord gives a charge on marriage, the instructions are that a wife or husband is not to divorce. We know from the Gospels that Jesus explicitly taught that one is not to divorce except in the case of adultery (Matt. 5:32). Thus, because Jesus taught specifically about divorce, Paul can lean on Jesus’ authority and teachings when it comes to instructions on divorce.

Another reason to think that when Paul says it is not him but the Lord who gives the instructions on divorce, he is referring to Jesus' known teachings, is that Paul addresses the wives and then the husbands. That Paul addresses the wives and then the husbands suggests that he addresses a specific circumstance in Corinth where a wife wants to divorce her husband. We can deduce this because Paul addresses the husbands first in 1 Corinthians 7:2–5, so it is telling that he now addresses the wives first. Since he addresses a specific situation, and the Lord taught on the matter of divorce, the most effective way to address the matter is for him to lean on the authority of Jesus.

Finally, we know from historical records that divorce was ubiquitous in first-century Corinth. A husband or wife could divorce by simply telling their spouse to leave and would often do so because they preferred to marry someone else. Paul knows that divorce is easy, and common in Corinth, but not befitting for Christians. To make this clear, Paul simply leans on the authority of Jesus, and his known teaching on divorce, to explain that divorce for convenience or discontentment is not permitted.

Some might counter that because Paul does not quote Jesus directly, or point to the Gospels, that we cannot be sure that he refers to Jesus' known teachings. In other words, it could be that we are not sure what he means when he says that it is not him but the Lord who gives the charge about marriage. Or it could be that Paul had a vision from Jesus with these instructions, so he shares them. The problem with this counterargument is that Paul did not necessarily lean on Jesus’ recorded teaching on divorce, but his known teachings. In other words, Jesus’ teachings on divorce are recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which implies that Jesus’ teachings on divorce were public knowledge to his followers. Since Jesus was acquainted with the apostles, he was also acquainted with Jesus' public teachings, so there is no reason to suggest that Paul learned these teachings from a vision.

In first-century Corinth, divorce was ubiquitous and convenient. Such an attitude toward marriage is not fitting for Christians. While Paul instructs the Corinthians on marriage, he leans on Jesus’ authority to explain that divorce for convenience is not an option.

Interpretation 1:
Jesus taught that divorce for convenience is not acceptable.

Summary:

Paul responds to a letter from the Corinthians and offers instructions on marriage. He has addressed married people and abstinence (1 Corinthians 7:2–5), single people and widows (1 Corinthians 7:8–9), and now he addresses divorce (1 Corinthians 7:10–16). Paul knows that the rules for divorce in Greco-Roman Corinth are loose, so he leans on Jesus’ known teachings to explain that divorce for convenience is not permitted.

When a couple marries, they enter a covenant to protect and love each other for better or for worse. Jesus allowed for divorce if a married partner committed adultery (Matthew 5:32), but one could not divorce for convenience or discontentment. Christians ought to think carefully about who they marry, and if they marry, Christians are called to cherish their spouse for the rest of their lives.

Advocates:

Raymond Collins
Gordon Fee
David Garland
Frederik Grosheide
Craig Keener
Pheme Perkins
Frederik Thiselton

Minor differences:

All our authors agree that Paul leans on Jesus’ known teaching to explain to the Corinthians that divorce for convenience is not an option for Christians. Perkins points out that in Corinth, divorce was an all too simple matter that did not require legal or religious intervention.¹ Gordon Fee makes a similar point, explaining that in Greco-Roman culture, one did not even need documents for a divorce. If a husband or wife sent their spouse away, the divorce was settled, and the husband or wife would take a new partner.² Given the flexibility around marriage and divorce in Corinth, Paul leans on Jesus’ authority to explain that matters are not so simple for a Christian.

Some of our authors wonder if Paul here addresses a specific issue, or marriage and divorce in general. Raymond Collins surmises that someone may have reported to Paul that a woman was seeking to divorce, and this prompted him to address the issue.³ Frederik Grosheide wonders if the Corinthians asked Paul about the matter in their letter.⁴ David Garland, on the other hand, thinks that Paul introduces the Lord’s instruction on divorce as a segue into his next topic, which is marriage to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 7:12–16).⁵

Arguments

Explanation:

Since Paul is an apostle, it is implied that his teachings are consistent with that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Still, there are topics that Jesus does not address specifically, so Paul and the other apostles will apply the heart of Jesus’ teachings to various circumstances.⁶ In other cases, the apostles face a situation on which Jesus did offer specific instruction, and this is exactly what we run into in 1 Corinthians 7:10. Jesus explicitly taught that married couples should not divorce, except if one of the partners commits adultery (Matthew 5:32; Mark 10:11–12; Luke 16:18). Whether Paul addresses a specific situation in Corinth, or offers instruction on marriage in general, he explains Jesus’ teaching on divorce to the Corinthians.⁷

Counterargument:

While it is possible that Paul is leaning on Jesus’ known teachings on marriage and divorce, if this is the case, we should expect him to quote from the Gospels directly. Since Paul does not quote from the Gospels, we should not assume that he has Jesus’ known teachings in mind. Further, it is likely that the gospels were not written before Paul wrote to the Corinthians, so how could he have access to Jesus’ recorded sayings? (Mark Allen Powell suggests that 1 Corinthians was written within AD 53–57 AD, Mark was written within AD 65–73, while Matthew and Luke were compiled in the mid-80s AD.⁸) Thus, it is not clear what Paul means when he says that the charge about marriage comes from the Lord and not from him.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument will not do because Paul does not need to quote from the Gospels directly to lean on Jesus’ known teachings about divorce. For one, even if the gospels had not yet been composed, Paul likely knows Jesus’ public teachings on divorce through his interactions with the other apostles. Also, Paul’s remarks align closely with Jesus’ remarks in the Gospels such that it is unmistakable that Paul has Jesus’ known teachings in mind.⁹ This implies that Paul shares the same knowledge as Jesus' public teachings on divorce as the gospel writers.

In 1 Corinthians 7:2–5, Paul addresses the husband and then the wife. When we reach 1 Corinthians 7:10–11, he first addresses the wife and then the husband. This suggests that he has a specific situation in mind. He has likely learned through the Corinthians, or a third party, that there is a woman in Corinth who thinks it is acceptable to divorce her husband for convenience. Maybe she wants to marry someone else or to live a life of celibacy.¹⁰ Paul knows that such an attitude toward marriage runs counter to Christ’s explicit teaching, and because Paul is an effective teacher, he simply explains that Jesus himself forbids such an approach to marriage and divorce.

Counterargument:

The fact that Paul has a specific issue in mind does not require him to rely on Jesus’ authority to impart his teaching. We know from 1 Corinthians 7:2–5 that Paul likely addresses a specific situation in Corinth, but he does not rely on the authority of Jesus. It seems that married people abstain from sexual relations. This is a problem because married people should not abstain due to sexual temptation. Paul explains the problem and issues his instruction without mentioning the Lord’s authority. Why should he suddenly rely on the Lord’s authority to make his point when he reaches 1 Corinthians 7:10?

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument misses the fact that when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:10 that it is the Lord and not him who issues the charge about divorce, he is referring to Jesus’ known teachings. Since Paul is an apostle of Christ, it is implicit that he speaks as an authoritative representative of Jesus’ teachings. This is why, when Paul explains that husbands and wives should not abstain from sexual intercourse, he does not need to point out that this is Jesus’ command. The fact is, there is no public record that Jesus addressed the issue of abstinence in marriage, so there is no known teaching for Paul to point to. Instead, he relies on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as an apostle of Christ to help him apply the theological principles of Jesus’ teachings along with the rest of Scripture so he can teach on these matters. In the case of divorce, Jesus did explicitly teach on the matter. Because it is an important issue, and Paul is faced with a specific situation where a woman believes she is free to divorce her husband, he references the authority of Christ himself to explain the correct teaching on marriage and divorce.

Explanation:

In the Greco-Roman culture to which Paul addressed, a person could divorce for the basic reason that they preferred to marry someone else.^11,12 Divorce proceedings were also a simple matter, which could be carried out by simply sending a husband or wife away.¹³ Paul sees that the Greco-Roman view of marriage and divorce is contrary to Jesus’ teachings, and to ensure that the Corinthians understand this, he leans on Jesus’ authority to make his case. Jesus explicitly taught that no one could divorce simply because they wanted to marry someone else (Matthew 5:32). Jesus’ teaching on divorce was likely generally known, so Paul can appeal to Jesus’ authority to effectively make his point.¹⁴

Counterargument:

While it might be that the fact that divorce was a simple matter in Corinth is why Paul gives his instructions on the matter, this does not mean that he leans on Jesus’ generally known teachings on the matter. It could be that Paul had a vision of Jesus where Jesus gave him his teachings on divorce. Thus, he says that the teachings on divorce come from the Lord because the Lord passed these teachings directly to Paul.

Response to counterargument:

We should assume that Paul was familiar with Jesus’ teachings either through his interactions with the other apostles, or some other means.¹⁵ We know that Jesus explicitly taught that divorce for the sake of convenience was not permitted, and these teachings are recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Thus, when Paul says that what he writes comes from Jesus himself, he likely refers to Jesus’ known teachings. There are occasions when Paul has a vision from Christ but when this happens, he points out the fact his knowledge is due to a special revelation (Galatians 1:12).

Possible weaknesses:

The only problem with this view is that we are accustomed to Paul, and other biblical writers, referring to Scripture as writings. When he references Scripture, we expect him to say something like, as it is written and then quote the passage he has in mind. That he does not do this in 1 Corinthians 7:10 leaves us to wonder if he has Jesus’ known teachings in mind, or something else. Of course, this weakness is not as strong as it first appears, because more likely than not, Paul was not quoting from the gospels directly. Indeed, the gospels may not have been written by the time Paul wrote to the Corinthians. Still, since Jesus’ teachings on divorce are recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke we can assume that his instructions were public knowledge to Jesus followers. Thus, Paul leans on the authority of Jesus' known teachings, not necessarily his recorded teachings.

Interpretation 1:Jesus taught that divorce for convenience is not acceptable.

Interpretation 1:
Jesus taught that divorce for convenience is not acceptable.