“But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife. But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.”

Turning from the singles, Paul now addresses the marrieds. Some at this juncture assert that Paul here distinguishes his own personal opinion in contrast to inspired teaching. He writes in verse 10, “I give instructions, not I, but the Lord.” Then, in verse 12, he writes, “But to the rest I say, not the Lord …” Yet Peter considers Paul’s writings on the same level as Scripture (2 Peter 3:16), without distinction. Paul begins this letter writing with the authority of “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (1 Cor. 1:1). But then, why does he write to the Corinthians in a way that seems to distinguish between his teaching and the Lord’s teaching?

When he says “not I, but the Lord,” he is referring to specific teaching that our Lord Jesus Christ gave while walking on earth before His resurrection. Jesus clearly taught about marriage and divorce (Matt. 19:3–12). In fact, that teaching even touched on those who are called to remain single “for the sake of the kingdom.” So Paul says this is not all new teaching that he is giving about marriage, some of it has already been taught by the Lord. But when he writes, “But to the rest, I say, not the Lord …” he is introducing new teaching that the Lord Jesus did not give during His time on the earth.

But shouldn’t we give more weight to the teachings of the Lord than the teachings of Paul? Some have touted the so-called “red-letter” Bible, where the teachings of Christ are printed in red, while the rest of the words of the Bible are printed in customary black. However, it is the same Holy Spirit at work in the Lord as He was in Paul. All Scripture is inspired, not just the “red letters” of Jesus Christ. So Paul’s teachings as recorded in the Bible carry divine authority! He is not giving fallible human opinion.

So, “to the rest,” Paul addresses people who are already married, not to those contemplating it. Divorce is never an option or alternative! Separation does not make divorce permissible. Does Paul allow for separation? Not explicitly, but he recognizes that it may happen. Even in that case, there should be no divorce. What if one became a believer, but the spouse did not? Still no divorce. If the spouse abandons? Again, no divorce. The same for the wife as for the husband. Marriage is a lifelong commitment.

Lord, help me remain faithful to the permanence of marriage as You created it.