Guidance in Marriage

KEY VERSE: “Every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.” —I Corinthians 7:7

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: I Corinthians 7:3-16

WITH THESE WORDS to the church at Corinth, Paul answered a request for his advice on various matters of morality and marriage. In considering his advice we must understand the complex situation existing in that, and other, mixed congregations of Jews and Gentiles. The Jews, having been under the Law, had higher ideals of morality and the sanctity of marriage than those whose background was pagan, and who traditionally held those matters lightly.

The apostle’s advice was neither for or against marriage. He himself had chosen celibacy, but readily conceded that this might not always be the best course for others. He advised those who chose marriage to do so with a deep sense of responsibility toward its demands and requirements—marriage was not to be treated casually, and Christian principles must rule.

Paul was fully cognizant of Jesus’ teaching on the matter of marriage, when he said, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matt. 19:3-9) This is the essence of the Master’s teachings concerning marriage. His lesson was occasioned by an attempt by the Pharisees to trap Jesus into saying something contrary to the Law of Moses.

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus had said that “whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery.” (Matt. 5:32) In making this assertion, Jesus, in part at least, repudiated a ruling made by Moses which said, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.”—vs. 31

The Pharisees were eager to expose Jesus as being disloyal to Moses. They asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?” (Mark 10:2) In answer to this, Jesus referred them to the Genesis record of Creation and of the law which the Creator there inaugurated—namely, that male and female when united in marriage become one flesh. The joining, therefore, was according to divine law, hence no human being has a right, arbitrarily, to bring about a separation.

This was the answer the Pharisees were waiting for, and they quickly asked Jesus how he harmonized his view with the teaching of Moses on the subject. Certainly they did not expect the answer which the Master gave them. “He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matt. 19:8) In other words, Moses had made a concession to the unrighteousness of the people, and whether or not the expediency met with divine approval, it did not change God’s original arrangement, nor make it wrong.

Jesus, explaining in greater detail how the divine law should operate among Christians, forbade divorce, except where one of the parties should be guilty of fornication. While this ruling set forth by Jesus should help a great deal to safeguard marriage, it can serve only as a legal safeguard under divine law, and if adhered to only through constraint, and not in spirit, its value is largely lost.

While Paul’s heart-searching treatise on the subject of divine love, translated “charity” in our Common Version (I Cor. 13:4-7), was not particularly designed by him as an answer to marriage problems, it can well be adapted to this purpose. Whether it be in the home, in the church, or in any association with others, to the extent that the spirit of love is manifested there is certain to be peace, harmony, and unity. Love will find a way to surmount every difficulty occasioned by human imperfection. If it were diligently applied in marriage, most divorces would be eliminated.

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