Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20010107.htm

1 CORINTHIANS: MINISTERING TO BELIEVERS WITH DEEP PAGAN BACKGROUNDS
Part XIII: The Edifying View On Divorce And Remarriage
(1 Corinthians 7:10-40)
  1. Introduction
    1. Divorce is on the rise worldwide, and with its increase come questions and disagreements as to what the Bible teaches on the issue: for example, one might quote Jesus in Matthew 19:9 to argue that immorality may possibly be grounds for divorce while another can show Paul categorically denying divorce as right in 1 Corinthians 7:10. Well, what is the right view on this delicate, important issue, and WHY?
    2. A careful examination of all pertinent Biblical passages answers these questions, teaching us what to do:
  2. The Edifying View On Divorce And Remarriage, 1 Corinthians 7:10-40.
    1. Principle One - The believer in Christ is wrong to initiate any divorce proceedings, 1 Cor. 7:10.
      1. Answering the Question: "Did not Jesus condone divorce for fornication' (KJV) in Mtt. 19:9?"
        1. The word for the KJV's "fornication" is from the Greek word, porneia (UBS Grk. N.T., p. 72), a condition not involving adultery as Matthew 19's context would involve, for adultery is called moicheia (Arndt & Gingrich, Grk.-Engl. Lex., p. 528); rather, porneia in the context speaks of three era-related conditions that are not applicable to marriage today: (a) the first era-related condition called porneia was marriage to a close relative (Lev. 18) that had to be annulled under the Law; (b) the second era-related condition called porneia included the union of a Jew with a Gentile (Ezra 9-10) that was to end in a divorce under the Law; (c) the third era-related porneia condition was a divorce needed to break a betrothal before the couple had physically been united as seen in Mtt. 1:18-19, cf. Howard G. Hendricks, Christian Counseling for Contemporary Problems, p. 112-113. Thus, Jesus was not condoning the divorce of fully wed people in today's Church era!
        2. Also, the disciples' response to Jesus' Matt. 19:9 word in verse10 shows they felt Jesus was too conservative: even the Shammaite Jews who permitted divorce only for immorality in a formal marriage would not have been that conservative, meaning Jesus' "exception for porneia" clause was unusually conservative. That means Jesus used porneia only to refer to the era-related conditions!
      2. Answering the Question: "But didn't Moses order divorce according to the testimony of Mtt. 19:7?" Though the Pharisees recalled the Deut. 24:1-4 event where the "then" clause in the KJV is in verse 1, making divorce commanded for marital infidelity, the Hebrew text properly puts the "then" beginning in verse four: thus, Jesus accurately showed that Moses was showing what to do if a divorce had occurred, that the original partners were not to re-wed if they divorced second mates.
      3. Conclusion: Matthew 19 and Deut. 24 do not oppose Paul's prohibition against divorce in 1 Cor. 7:10.
    2. Principle Two - If a divorce occurs, the believer involved should either remain single or be reconciled to his original spouse, 1 Cor. 7:11 (involving believers) and 7:12-14 (involving unbelievers).
    3. Principle Three - The believer is to allow himself to be divorced by his unsaved spouse (only), 1 Cor. 7:15. The intent is not to remarry a believer, but to preserve rapport in hope of an eventual reconciliation:
      1. Though some take the "a brother is not under bondage in such cases" to mean one is free to remarry another partner after a divorce, such a view opposes the context at 1 Cor. 7:11-14. By "bondage" then, Paul must mean bondage to fight the divorce proceedings with the original spouse rather than bondage to the marital union. Marriage to a third party cannot fulfill the intended reconciliation of 1 Cor. 7:16!
      2. Conclusion: If divorced by an unbelieving partner, the believer must allow the divorce proceedings to proceed unchallenged to keep the rapport with the estranged spouse good enough for a reconciliation.
    4. Principle Four - If one discovers he is in a "mixed up" marital union, he should remain in his latest state, not rocking the boat, 1 Corinthians 7:17-24.
    5. Principle Five - A believing widow or widower (by application) who is not divorced (to be consistent with 1 Cor. 7:10-11) may remarry a qualified believer, 1 Corinthians 7:39-40.
    6. Principle Six - Though Jesus claimed divorce and remarriage to a divorced party was technically adultery (Mtt. 5:31-32), since Paul does not call for church discipline were remarriage to occur in 1 Cor. 7:11, we should not seek to exercise church discipline in such cases except where a couple by clear premeditation are seeking to use divorce and remarriage for spouse-swapping purposes (immorality). Adultery which occurs while one is currently wed to a legal spouse is an excommunicable sin in 1 Corinthians 5:10-11, 13, but technical adultery in the case of most remarriages is not considered in the same category.