Scripture to Read: 1 Corinthians 7:12–14
God continued to use Paul to write His Word, and so now, we read in 1 Corinthians 7:12–13, “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. 13 And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away.” As God led Paul to write, God had Paul clarify that this was a word for everyone else in the church. God also had Paul note that Jesus had not taught specifically on this point but that did not make it any less God’s Word. God wanted the Christian men to know that if any of them had a wife who was not a Christian and she was willing to stay married to him, the Christian husband must not leave her. God also had Paul address the Christian wives telling them basically the same thing. God had Paul tell them why in 1 Corinthians 7:14, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.” God had Paul declare that the wife who was a Christian brought holiness to her marriage because of Christ in her and it was the same for the Christian husband. God wanted the Christians to see that He would work through them to draw the unbelieving spouse and their children to Jesus.
Challenge & Application
How did God plan to use the Christian husband or wife in the marriage relationship?
Why is it important for Christians to marry other Christians after seeing what God had Paul write today?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!