1 Corinthians 7:12

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ Now, I have a command for those who are married. Actually, it is not from me; it is what the Lord commanded. A wife should not leave her husband. ¹⁰ To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband ¹⁰ Vnto the maryed comaunde not I but the Lorde: that the wyfe separate not her selfe from the man. ¹⁰ But to the married I command -- not I, but the Lord -- that the wife not leave her husband ¹⁰ To married people I give this command (not really I, but the Lord): A wife must not leave her husband.Malachi 2:14,16; Matthew 5:32; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18; Malachi 2:14,16, 1 Corinthians 7:12,25, 40;">[xr] ¹⁰ But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife is not to leave her husband ¹⁰ Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband. ¹⁰ But to the married I give charge, [yes] not I, but the Lord, That the wife is not to depart from her husband, ¹⁰ And to the married I command, [yet] not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from [her] husband: ¹⁰ To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

speak: 1 Corinthians 7:6, 1 Corinthians 7:25, 2 Corinthians 11:17

If: Ezra 10:2, Ezra 10:3, Ezra 10:11-19

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 24:1 - send her 1 Corinthians 5:11 - called 1 Corinthians 7:10 - yet 1 Corinthians 7:27 - thou bound 2 Corinthians 8:8 - speak

Cross-References

Genesis 7:4
For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground."

Genesis 7:4
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will destroy from off the face of the ground.

Genesis 7:4
Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth. It will rain forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe off from the earth every living thing that I have made."

Genesis 7:4
For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made."

Genesis 7:4
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights: and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from the face of the earth.

Genesis 7:4
In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. Every living thing that I have made, I will destroy from the surface of the ground."

Genesis 7:4
"For in seven days I am going to cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy (blot out, wipe away) every living thing that I have made from the surface of the earth."

Genesis 7:4
For yit and aftir seuene daies Y schal reyne on erthe fourti daies and fourti nyytis, and Y schal do awey al substaunce which Y made, fro the face of erthe.

Genesis 7:4
for after other seven days I am sending rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and have wiped away all the substance that I have made from off the face of the ground.'

Genesis 7:4
For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But to the rest speak I, not the Lord,.... He had spoken before to married persons in general, and had delivered not his own sentiments barely, but the commandment of the Lord, that such should never separate from, or put away each other; in which he has respect to such as were upon equal foot in matters of religion, who were both of them believers in Christ; but now he speaks to the rest, to such as were unequally yoked, the one a believer, the other an unbeliever; and what he delivers on this head, concerning their living together, there being no express determination of this matter by the Lord himself, he under divine inspiration gives his sense of it; as that such marriages were valid, and that such persons ought to live together, and not separate on account of difference in religion: or the sense is, that as "to the rest" of the things they had wrote to him about, besides what he had given answer to already, he should speak to under divine illumination; though he had not an express law of Christ to point unto them, as the rule of their conduct: and particularly, whereas they had desired his judgment and advice upon this head, whether one who before conversion had married an unbeliever, ought to live with such an one, or whether it would not be advisable to leave, or put such away, to it he answers,

if any brother hath a wife that believeth not; that is, if any man who is now a brother, one called by the grace of God, and is in church fellowship, has a wife to whom he was married whilst in a state of unregeneracy and infidelity; who is as she was when he married her, entirely destitute of faith in Christ; not one that is weak in the faith, or only makes an outward profession, but that has no faith at all in Christ, nor in his Gospel, not so much as an historical one; who disbelieves, denies, and rejects, the truths of the Gospel:

and she be pleased to dwell with him; loves her husband, chooses to continue with him, notwithstanding their different sentiments of religion:

let him not put her away; infidelity is no reason for a divorce. The Gospel revelation does not dissolve the natural obligations men and women are in to one another. The Jews had a law prohibiting marriages with Heathens and idolaters; and such marriages were dissolved, and such wives put away, Exodus 34:16 but this was a law peculiar to that people, and was not obligatory on other nations, and especially has no place under the Gospel dispensation.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But to the rest - “I have spoken in regard to the duties of the unmarried, and the question whether it is right and advisable that they should marry, 1 Corinthians 7:1-9. I have also uttered the command of the Lord in regard to those who are married, and the question whether separation and divorce were proper. Now in regard to “the rest of the person’s and cases” referred to, I will deliver my opinion.” “The rest,” or remainder, here referred to, relates particularly to the cases in which one party was a Christian and the other not. In the previous verses he had delivered the solemn, explicit law of Christ, that divorce was to take place on neither side, and in no instance, except agreeably. to the law of Christ; Matthew 5:32. That was settled by divine authority. In the subsequent verses he discusses a different question; whether a “voluntary separation” was not advisable and proper when the one party was a Christian and the other not. The word “rest” refers to these instances, and the questions which would arise under this inquiry.

Not the Lord - See the note at 1 Corinthians 7:6. “I do not claim, in this advice, to be under the influence of inspiration; I have no express command on the subject from the Lord; but I deliver my opinion as a servant of the Lord 1 Corinthians 7:40, and as having a right to offer advice, even when I have no express command from God, to a church which I have founded, and which has consulted me on the subject.” This was a case in which both he and they were to follow the principles of Christian prudence and propriety, when there was no express commandment. Many such cases may occur. But few, perhaps none, can occur, in which some Christian principle shall not be found, that will be sufficient to direct the anxious inquirer after truth and duty.

If any brother - Any Christian.

That believeth not - That is not a Christian; one who is a pagan.

And if she be pleased - If it seems best to her; if she consents; approves of living together still. There might be many cases where the wife or the husband, that was not a Christian, would be so opposed to Christianity, and so violent in their opposition, that they would not be willing to live with a Christian. When this was the case, the Christian husband or wife could not prevent the separation. When this was not the case, they were not to seek a separation themselves.

To dwell with him - To remain in connection with him as his wife, though they differed on the subject of religion.

Let him not put her away - Though she is a pagan, though opposed to his religion, yet the marriage vow is sacred and inviolable. It is not to be sundered by any change which can take place in the opinions of either party. It is evident that if a man were at liberty to dissolve the marriage tie, or to discard his wife when his own opinions were changed on the subject of religion, that it would at once destroy all the sacredness of the marriage union, and render it a nullity. Even, therefore, when there is a difference of opinion on the vital subject of religion, the tie is not dissolved; but the only effect of religion should be, to make the converted husband or wife more tender, kind, affectionate, and faithful than they were before; and all the more so as their partners are without the hopes of the gospel, and as they may be won to love the Saviour, 1 Corinthians 7:16.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 7:12. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord — As if he had said: For what I have already spoken I have the testimony of the Lord by Moses, and of my own Lord and Master, Christ; but for the directions which I am now about to give there is no written testimony, and I deliver them now for the first time. These words do not intimate that the apostle was not now under the influences of the Divine Spirit; but, that there was nothing in the sacred writings which bore directly on this point.

If any brother — A Christian man, have a wife that believeth not, i.e. who is a heathen, not yet converted to the Christian faith, and she be pleased to dwell with him, notwithstanding his turning Christian since their marriage, let him not put her away because she still continues in her heathen superstition.