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1 Corinthians 7:10–16
“To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) . . .” (v. 12).
We have seen that the false teachers in Peter’s day twisted Paul’s writings to support their heresies (2 Peter 3:15–16). Peter acknowledged that some of Paul’s letters contain difficult passages, and this reality makes careful interpretation essential. Over the next few days, we will examine several challenging texts from Paul’s epistles to sharpen our ability to handle Scripture rightly.
First Corinthians 7:10–16 has puzzled readers because Paul appears to distinguish between his own teaching and the teaching of Jesus. In verse 10, he says, “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband.” Then in verse 12, he writes, “To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) . . .” Does this mean that Paul is admitting that his instruction in verse 12 lacks divine authority? Not at all. As an Apostle, Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and he himself acknowledges in this very letter that his words are “a command of the Lord” (14:37). The distinction he draws in chapter 7 is not between authoritative and unauthorized teaching but between teachings that come from a known saying of Jesus during His earthly ministry and teachings that do not.
When Paul writes “not I, but the Lord” in verse 10, he is pointing to a direct command that Jesus gave about divorce during His public ministry (see Mark 10:2–12). When he writes “I, not the Lord” in 1 Corinthians 7:12, he is addressing a situation that Jesus never directly spoke about during His time on earth—namely, the case of a believer married to an unbeliever. Paul is applying Christ’s principles to a new circumstance, but he is doing so with full Apostolic authority.
This distinction protects us from two errors. On one hand, we must not reduce Apostolic authority to only those passages in which the Apostles directly quote Jesus, for the entire New Testament carries the authority of God. On the other hand, we should appreciate the care with which the Apostles handled their sources.
The practical lesson is that the whole of Apostolic teaching, not just the words printed in red in some editions of the Bible, carries the full weight of divine authority. When Paul addresses the Corinthians about marriage, food offered to idols, spiritual gifts, or the resurrection, he speaks as one entrusted with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), and his words bind the conscience of believers just as surely as the words that Jesus spoke during His earthly ministry.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
We do not honor Christ by treating some portions of Scripture as more authoritative than others. Every word was written under the guidance of the same Spirit and carries the same divine weight. Let us receive the whole of Scripture with equal trust, for in all of it God addresses His people with binding authority.
For further study
- Deuteronomy 13:1–4
- 2 Corinthians 8:1–9
- 2 Peter 1:19–21
- 2 Peter 3:15–16
The bible in a year
- Psalms 131–133
- 1 Corinthians 10:1–22