Here is a helpful comment on 1 Corinthians 7, by Warren
Weirsbe regarding the statement of Paul: “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and
the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband.
Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.”
(1 Corinthians 7:14,
NIV)
Comment[1]
Some of the members of
the Corinthian church were saved after they had been married, but their mates
had not yet been converted. No doubt, some of these believers were having a
difficult time at home; and they asked Paul, “Must we remain married to unsaved
partners? Doesn’t our conversion alter things?”
Paul replied that they
were to remain with their unconverted mates so long as their mates were willing
to live with them. Salvation does not alter the marriage state; if anything, it
ought to enhance the marriage relationship. (Note Peter’s counsel to wives with
unsaved husbands in 1 Peter 3:1–6.) Since marriage is basically a physical
relationship (“they shall be one flesh,” Gen. 2:24), it can only be broken by a
physical cause. Adultery and death would be two such causes (1 Cor. 7:39).
It is an act of disobedience for a Christian knowingly to marry an unsaved
person (note “only in the Lord” in 1 Cor. 7:39; see also 2 Cor. 6:14).
But if a person
becomes a Christian after marriage, he should not use that as an excuse to
break up the marriage just to avoid problems. In fact, Paul emphasized the fact
that the Christian partner could have a spiritual influence on the unsaved mate.
First Corinthians 7:14 does not teach that the unsaved partner is saved because
of the believing mate, since each person must individually decide for Christ.
Rather, it means that the believer exerts a spiritual influence in the home
that can lead to the salvation of the lost partner.
What about the
children? Again, the emphasis is on the influence of the godly partner. The
believing husband or wife must not give up. In my own ministry, I have seen
devoted Christians live for Christ in divided homes and eventually see their
loved ones trust the Savior.
Salvation does not
change the marriage state. If the wife’s becoming a Christian annulled the
marriage, then the children in the home would become illegitimate (“unclean” in
1 Cor. 7:14). Instead, these children may one day be saved if the
Christian mate is faithful to the Lord.
[1] Wiersbe,
Warren W.. Be Wise (1 Corinthians): Discern the Difference Between Man's
Knowledge and God's Wisdom (The BE Series Commentary) (pp. 87-88). David C.
Cook. Kindle Edition.
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