This is a paper I wrote for grad school. To be honest, I would not have taken the divorce and no remarriage view if not for my father. Most Christians believe in divorce and remarriage.
However, take an honest look at what the Bible says, if taken literally, as it is, the divorce and remarriage view is outnumbered 5-0 in terms of biblical support.
DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE
Introduction
In this paper, the present writer will first be presenting various views that Christians hold in the matter of divorce and remarriage. Second, the present writer will be presenting his own understanding of what the Bible is saying in reference to divorce and remarriage. Third, the present writer will be defending his understanding of what the Bible is saying in reference to divorce and remarriage. Fourthly, the present writer will conclude this paper.
The Three Views Concerning Divorce and Remarriage
There are three views that Christians hold in the matter of divorce and remarriage. The three views are: divorce and remarriage, divorce and no remarriage, and no divorce and no remarriage. These three views are rooted primarily in three or four Bible passages. The first Bible passage is the so-called �exception clause� from Matthew 5:32, and 19:9. Matthew 5:32 says, �But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.� From this passage and 19:9, the argument becomes, what is the correct understanding of the Greek word, porneia, which is translated as sexual immorality? The divorce and remarriage view holds that porneia is referring to sexual immorality or adultery. This view holds that for the innocent spouse, divorce and remarriage is allowed because of the unfaithful spouse. The second view, divorce and no remarriage, holds that porneia is referring to sexual sins such as adultery, for which divorce is allowed, however, there can be no remarriage. The third view, no divorce and no remarriage, holds that the exception clause found in Matthew 5:32, and 19:9 does not allow divorce or remarriage.
The second main Bible passage is 1 Corinthians 7:10-16, and 39. The primary verse here is verse 15, which says, �But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.� The divorce and remarriage view holds that verse 15 teaches that desertion by the unbeliever from the believer dissolves the marriage ties, and the spouse is free to remarry. The other two views hold that verse 15 does not teach that the believing spouse is free to remarry. The proponents of this view have suggested many different interpretations of verse 15, which will be presented later on in this paper.
The third main Bible passage is Mark 10:11-12 or Luke 16:18, Verses 11 and 12 of Mark 10 say, �And he said to them, �Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.� In this passage, Jesus simply says that remarrying is adulterating, and the exception clause of sexual immorality is not included. Luke 16:18 also does not include the exception clause. These two passages are primarily the foundation for the view of divorce and no remarriage, or no divorce and no remarriage.
The View of The Present Writer
The present writer would now like to present his view of what the biblical account is concerning divorce and remarriage. The first primary reference to divorce in the Bible is Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Verse one reads, �When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house.� There is not mention of remarriage. The word for indecency here means nakedness and figuratively a disgrace or blemish. In Matthew 19:4-5, the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce and Jesus refers past the account in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 to Genesis 1:27, saying that man and woman will leave father and mother and become one flesh. Jesus then addresses the mention of divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Jesus concludes by saying, �And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.� Jesus� view was more strict than the Pharisees. Jesus condemns remarriage. Also, Matthew 5:32 says, �But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.� Jesus condemns remarriage. Two other passages in the Gospels which mention divorce are Mark 10:11-12, and Luke 16:18. The Mark 10:11-12 passage reads, �And he said to them, �Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.�� Jesus condemns remarriage. Paul the Apostle referred to remarriage only once in a clear way in Romans 7:1-4. Verse 4 says, �Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.� Remarriage can occur only if her husband dies. If she remarries, with here husband still alive, she is an adulteress. Another verse that aligns with Romans 7:4 is I Corinthians 7:39, �A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.� The point with all these verses is that remarriage is not even once mentioned within the context of the husband and wife still being alive. The one and only passage that creates some debate is I Corinthians 7:15. Within the context of this verse, it reads, �To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.� This verse clearly says that if the husband and wife separate they cannot remarry, unless they are reconciled back together. The present writer holds to the belief that if at all costs there should never be divorce, and there should never be remarriage after divorce. Now, the only passage in the entire Bible that must be carefully examined is I Corinthians 7:15. This verse reads, �But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.� The Greek word for unbelieving here means what it says, disbelieving, or without Christian faith. The word for separates, chorizo, comes from the Greek word chora, which means �to place room between�. Brother and sister mean the same thing in Greek. The key word here is enslaved, or douloo, and its root is doulos or slave. Douloo means, �to enslave (literal or figurative)�bring into (be under) bondage�become (make) servant. The word called is kaleo, which simply means to call. The last word, peace, is eirene, which is translated as peace eighty-nine times in the King James Translation. This word is, �Probably from a primary verb eiro (to join); peace (literal or figurative); by implication prosperity.� The present writer has tended to hold to a tentative interpretation of I Corinthians 7:15 that he heard in a sermon at one time. What is the brother or sister not to be enslaved to? �Paul said to let him or her go (in other words, let them initiate the separation or divorce). The only alternative would be for the Christian to deny his or her faith to preserve the marriage, and that would be worst than dissolving the marriage. Paul�s chief purpose in writing this was to urge married couples to seek unity, not separation�� Of course, separation is one of the key proponents of the divorce and remarriage camp, seeing that once remarriage occurs there is no going back to the first marriage. So, Paul was saying that the brother or sister did need to be a slave to the marriage, in such a way as to deny his faith in Christ to preserve the marriage.
The Defense of The View of The Present Writer
The present writer would now like to present his defense of his view that the most Biblical view is for divorce in only minute circumstances, and that remarriage after divorce is not allowed. The interpretation that Paul was saying that the Corinthians did not need to be enslaved to their marriage in such a way as to deny the faith, and keep the marriage with the non-believer intact, makes sense contextually. As has already been said, verses 10 through 13 actually condemn remarriage if the husband or wife is still alive. Verse 14 reads, �For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.� From this verse, my personal addendum to the enslaved to deny faith interpretation can be added. John MacArthur, who himself holds that verse 15 allows for remarriage, interprets verse 14 to mean that the presence of a Christian within a family brings familial and matrimonial sanctification, grace, and blessings to the non-believers within the family. The knowledge of this in the Corinthian Christians may have made them feel reluctant to separate, or enslaved to the marriage with the non-believers, since the non-believers were being sanctified to some degree, and were receiving grace and blessing from the presence of the Christian. The Christian in the family wanted to remain with the non-believers so that they would continue to receive God�s blessings. However, the non-believers wanted to separate, and the Christian felt like denying their faith so that they could continue to bring blessings to the family, and potentially bring the non-believers to saving faith in Christ. Verse 16 also agrees contextually with the interpretation of verse 15, �For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?� This verse seems to referring back to verse 14, with the Christian wanting to remain within the family of non-believers to bring God�s blessing, and to be a witness for Christ in the family. John MacArthur�s comment on verse 16 actually agrees with the interpretation of being enslaved to the marriage to an extant of denying the faith. MacArthur says, �Some may have been reluctant to let go of their unsaved spouse, who wanted out and was creating discord in the home�thinking they could evangelize the spouse by hanging on for the purpose of seeing that one converted. Paul says there are no such assurances and it is better to divorce and be at peace (v.15), if the unsaved partner wants to end the marriage that way.� In verses 26-28, Paul is simply saying that those married should stay together and those single should remain single. However, Paul says that getting married is not a sin. Verse 39 again resonates with verses 10-13, and verse 15, that remarriage cannot occur while either husband or wife is still alive.
The present writer would now like to present several other interpretations among scholars in the no-remarriage camp. John Piper presents a very plausible explanation for 1 Corinthians 7:15, ��In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved ��. Piper says, �1 Corinthians 7:15 does not mean that when a Christian is deserted by an unbelieving spouse he or she is free to remarry. It means that the Christian is not bound to fight in order to preserve togetherness. Separation is permissible if the unbelieving partner insists on it.� Piper presents several reasons why this is the correct interpretation. First, marriage is an ordinance by God, and binding upon all human marriage, regardless of believers or non-believers. Second, Paul did not use the word enslaved, douloo in verse 39, like he did in verse 15. Instead, in verse 39 Paul used deo, or bound, to say that husband and wife were bound together, as long as they lived. Paul often used deo to refer to the legal aspect of marriage, but when Paul spoke of desertion in verse 15, he used douloo. Piper says, ��which we would expect him to do if he were not giving a deserted spouse the same freedom to remarry that he gives to a spouse whose partner has died (verse 39).� Third, verse 15 ends with God�s call to peace, which aligns with Piper�s interpretation that the Christians does not need to be enslaved to make war on the non-believer so that the marriage would remain intact. The peace here is marital harmony, and if the non-believer wants to get out of the marriage, the Christian is not enslaved to a tumultuous marriage, and can let the non-believer go. Fourth, this interpretation of verse 15 corresponds with verses 10-11 where a foreseeable separation is not grounds for remarriage. Fifth, verse 16 asks, �How do you know you will save your spouse?� This question cannot be answered and therefore, one, ��should not make the hope of saving them a ground for fighting to make them stay.� This augments the interpretation that the heart of verse 15 is about not being enslaved to remaining together, and not about being a slave to remain single. Sixth, Paul did not see being single as slavery, and so would not have seen single-hood as slavery.
Another interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7:15 is presented by
Charles C. Ryrie. Ryrie observes,
Two things need to be noted. First, the departure of the unsaved spouse is not necessarily a divorce; it may only be a separation which would in no case leave the other party free to remarry. Second, even if it does refer to a divorce initiated by the unsaved partner, Paul says nothing about a second marriage for the believer. Indeed, both vv 14 and 16 make it clear that remarriage is not the subject of v 15 at all. Paul does not introduce that subject until v 39.
Ryrie then quotes from Archibald Robertson,
�All that οὐ δεδουλώται [not under bondage ] clearly means is that he or she need not feel so bound by Christ's prohibition of divorce as to be afraid to depart when the heathen partner insists on separation.� Ryrie continues,
Like the Lord, Paul disallowed divorce. He did recognize that the unbelieving partner in a spiritually mixed marriage might leave (and subsequently divorce) in which case the believer could not prevent it. But in no case was the believer free to remarry. The legal facet of any marriage may be dissolved, but the one flesh relationship and vows made to God do not become non-existent until the death of one of the partners.
Another proponent of the no remarriage position in 1 Corinthians 7:15 is Robert Olender. Olender substantiates the no remarriage position in 1 Corinthians 7:15 by saying, ��Paul�s use of οὐ δεδούλωται indicates that God does not require a believer to maintain a marriage forcibly against the will of an unbeliever�it serves to exonerate the believer from any guilt associated with an unbeliever�s initiation of divorce.� Olender also suggests a dynamic translation of 1 Corinthians 7:15 by taking note that of the perfect passive form of douloo. This form essentially makes a past act stressing a present or future inference. Therefore, verse 15 could be rendered, �The brother or the sister in such cases has not been made a slave (by a link of subjection�he is not the slave of that which has dominated him).� The Christian does not need to be tied to the marriage, leaving the non-Christian able to leave if need be.
Andreas Kostenberger, who unfortunately is part of the divorce and remarriage camp presents another view of the no-remarriage camp. This view holds that the deserted spouse is not obligated or enslaved to persuade the unbelieving spouse to remain together. Kostenberger also points out the men who hold to the belief that there should be no remarriage. These men being, Robert Gundrey, Warren Carter, Andrew Cornes, Jacques Dupont, F.F. Bruce, James M. Boice, Joseph Fitzmyer, Abel Isaksson, J.C. Laney, Dwight Pentecost, including other men within this paper and other men besides these. The present writer would have to agree with Kostenberger that there is no �silver bullet� argument that will explain what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 7:15. The present writer believes that one cannot be dogmatic about any of the interpretations on 1 Corinthians 7:15 that have just been presented. Those on the remarriage side cannot be dogmatic on any of their interpretations of 1 Corinthians 7:15. However, the present writer believes that both sides can be dogmatic in their overall positions of remarriage and no-remarriage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the present writer has now presented various views that Christians hold in the matter of divorce and remarriage. The present writer has also presented his own understanding of what the Bible is saying in reference to divorce and remarriage. The present writer has also defended his understanding of what the Bible is saying in reference to divorce and remarriage.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bacchiocchi, Samuele. �Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible.� Biblical Perspectives. Accessed February 22, 2013. http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/marriage/4.html.
Borcher, Gerold L. �1 Corinthians 7:15 and the Church�s Historic Misunderstanding of Divorce and Remarriage.� Review and Expositor (1999).
Grudem, Wayne. �I See That You Endorsed John Piper�s Book, This Momentary Marriage. Does This Mean That You Agree with Piper�s View That Remarriage Is Never Justified After a Divorce?� Gayne Grudem, 2013. http://www.waynegrudem.com/remarriage-and-divorce/.
Heth, William A. �Another Look At The Erasmian View Of Divorce And Remarriage.� Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (September 1982). http://www.galaxie.com.libproxy.ni.edu/article/jets25-3-02?highlight=remarriage.
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House, H. Wayne. Divorce and Remarriage: Four Christian Views. InterVarsity Press, 1990.
Jones, David W. �The Betrothal View of Divorce and Remarriage.� Bibliotheca Sacra (January 2008). http://www.galaxie.com.libproxy.ni.edu/article/bsac165-657-07?highlight=divorce%20remarriage.
Knowles, Horace. New English Bible Illustrated. Bible Society, 1990.
Morgan, Charles L. �Is Desertion A Scriptural Ground Of Divorce?� Bibliotheca Sacra (April 1886). http://www.galaxie.com.libproxy.ni.edu/article/bsac043-170-07?highlight=not%20under%20bondage.
Piper, John. �Does the Bible Allow for Divorce in the Case of Adultery?� Christian Post, June 7, 2011. http://www.christianpost.com/news/does-the-bible-allow-for-divorce-in-the-case-of-adultery-50926/.
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WORKS CITED
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MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2006.
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Piper, John. �Divorce & Remarriage: A Position Paper.� Desiring God, July 21, 1986. http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/divorce-remarriage-a-position-paper.
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Spicq, Ceslas, and James D. Ernest. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament. Hendrickson, 1994.
Individuals miss the fact that Paul goes out of his way to tell the reader that it is a command from the Lord that a wife is not to depart from her husband and a husband is not to put away hiis wife.
How do preachers and teachers of the word miss this?
I used to marvel at why Jesus would call it adultry when a spouse married another. Then I finally realised the reason. It is because they break any possibility of repentence. The new spouse comes between the work God could possibly do to bring repentence and reconcilliation.
The NO remarrige is not a biblical position because in
1 Cor 7:27Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 28But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned;
Their is one position for a husband to remarry according to scripture that is not a sin.
In Dueteroniomy 24 1When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man�s wife. 3And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
This passage does not condone remarriage. This passage is just stating the reality that a woman has been put out and was remarried. My focus is on the reality that a husband who has a wife who was remarried is not to return to her as according to the command of the Lord in Cor.
If a wife is to be reconcilled to her husband then a husband is also commanded to be available to recieve his wife back.
Since in Deut a husband can not recieve back a wife who has been remarried he now becomes loosed from that wife. In this one case it is not a sin to remarry.
