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July,
2019
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Volume
11
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Issue
#3
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"Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
Psalm
119:105
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Robert T. Oliver
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DID PAUL GIVE A
SECOND REASON FOR DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE?
A STUDY OF 1 CORINTHIANS 7:10-16
This question recently came
before our eldership. There has been a strong movement in the
religious world to ignore what the Bible teaches and operate on a
"what they think, or want" philosophy.
Recently
a major denomination was discussing whether to accept the LGBTQ
society. One of their well-known, and popular preachers, Charles
Neal, who was in favor of accepting them made the following statement
to those that believed it would be Biblically wrong: "However,
to be consistent, the church would need to apply the same reasoning
to such issues as divorce or the role of women in the church. While
Jesus never makes a statement forbidding same-sex relations he does
say 'anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of
un-chastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a
divorced woman commits adultery.'" Then Neal
continues, "If we honored this position today, it would
adversely affect a significant percentage of United Methodists."
Notice his wording: "If we
honored this position today..." They have chosen to ignore what
Jesus said as a religious body. They have chosen to do "that
which is right in their own eyes." (Judges 17:6)
First, notice that Jesus was
quite specific in his instruction concerning divorce and remarriage:
Matthew
5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoevershall put
away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to
commit adultery: and whosoevershall marry her that is
divorced committeth adultery.
Matthew
19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put
away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall
marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth
her which is put away doth commit adultery.
The disciples stated that this
would be very difficult to obey, but Jesus had an answer.
Matthew 19:10-12 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the
man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.For
there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there
are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be
eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of
heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
THE BIG QUESTION: DID PAUL
CHANGE THE LAW OF CHRIST?
Remember that Paul was an
inspired apostle:
Romans
1:1 Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God,
2 Corinthians
11:5 For
I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostle.
Paul repeats the Lord's law of
marriage:
1 Corinthians
7:39 The
wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her
husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will;
only in the Lord.
Romans 7:2For
the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the
husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
So how does 1 Corinthians 7:12
fit in to this: "But to the rest speak I, not the Lord:"
Paul is stating
that Jesus did not deal with this issue. What he said was inspired,
but in that he was inspired, Paul would never contradict what the
Lord said. Notice the following texts:
1 Timothy
2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I
speak the truth in Christ, and lie
not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
1 Corinthians
11:1 Be
ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:11-13 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my
brethren, by them which are of the
house of Chloe, that there
are contentions among you.Now this
I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos;
and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.Is
Christ divided?was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the
name of Paul?
To say that the law of Christ
was changed by the apostle Paul is blasphemy. Jesus' law is clear.
There are no other exemptions to be found--period. Jesus even
explained why He instituted this law:
Matthew 19:4-8 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them
male and female,And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and
mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one
flesh?Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to
give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?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.
The male/female relationship was
established from the beginning.
Marriage creates a new family
unit. In God's eyes they are "one".
Man does not have the authority
to end a marriage with Christ giving the one and only exception
(Matthew 5:21). In essence, only Christ can permit a marriage to end.
Other than death, fornication is the only acceptable reason according
to Christ.
Once again, Jesus said divorce
was not allowed in the beginning.
With this in mind, what does
Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16
1 Corinthians 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I,
but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:11 But and if she depart, let her remain
unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
[In this verse Paul repeats the
principal of what Jesus said.]
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord:
[Here Paul indicates Jesus did
not explain what a Christian was to do if their unbelieving spouse
left them.]
If any brother hath a wife that
believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put
her away.13 And the woman which hath
an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with
her, let her not leave him.14 For
the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the
unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your
children unclean; but now are they holy.
[If the unbelieving spouse is
willing to continue the marriage, that is good.]
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him
depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
It is a false assumption to
assume that the phrase "not under bondage" means they are
free to remarry.
They are "not under
bondage" to meet the obligations laid down for marriage, such as
support: 1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his
own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the
faith, and is worse than an infidel.Also, the sexual relationship:1
Corinthians 7:4-5 The wife hath not
power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband
hath not power of his own body, but the wife.Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent
for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and
come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Barnes Commentary: "A
brother or a sister is not under bondage ...Many have supposed that
this means that they would be at liberty to marry again when the
unbelieving wife or husband had gone away. But this is contrary to
the strain of the argument of the apostle. The sense of the
expression "is not bound," etc. is, that if they forcibly
depart, the one that is left is not bound by the marriage tie to make
provision for the one that departed;"
1. Jesus forbade divorce for any reason
other than fornication or adultery. This is very clear.
2. Jesus' law was a difficult law as the
apostles mentioned.
3. Paul would not deny Jesus and change
His law.
4. It is an erroneous assumption to
believe that Paul was giving a second reason for divorce and
remarriage. The text does not force that assumption and it would
violate the will of Christ which Paul would never do.
5. This is in harmony with the preceding
verses (10-11) where Christians were not allowed to remarry if their
spouse desserts them. Why would this law be effective for an innocent
Christian spouse married to a Christian, and not for a Christian
whose spouse was a pagan, should they depart the marriage?
6. In the final analysis, it is human
nature to try to force God's word into a position that we want, to
satisfy our own desires. That is not the way God operates. God's word
is final. Jesus' laws are untouchable. Defy them at your own peril.
Eternity is a long, long time for existence is without end.
Human reasoning is a powerful
persuader! If there is something WE want, we will often be able to
come up with an excuse for ourselves. Satan is good at that. Remember
Eve. Jesus' law is clear. If we want to "make our calling and
election sure" we will follow the will of the Lord.
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Feature
Two: an article by R. C. Oliver
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R C Oliver
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The One God For
The One World
We
live in but one world, distant points of a decade or more ago have
vanished, and other such points are vanishing day by day - there are
no distant points! But far more challenging is the fact that over this
one world there reigns in majestic glory and celestial splendor but
one God, He is the God of the Christian Religion. He is the one God
for the one world.
The
purpose of this lesson is to introduce this God to you, "though
He be not far from every one of us: for in Him we live, and move and
have our being."(Acts 17:28). Let me begin by explaining why
I believe in His existence.
I
believe in the existence of God because I believe in the Bible, and
the Bible declares His existence. Genesis 1:1 affirms: "In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."Isaiah
45:22 further states: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all
the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none
else." Further, Hebrews 11:6 states: "But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him." No man can believe the Bible and deny
the existence of God.
I
believe in God because of philosophical necessity, for it is an
axiomatic proposition that "from nothing, nothing comes."
But something "is," therefore, from philosophical necessity,
something must have always been-something must have existed from
eternity. I believe that something is God.
I
believe in God because it is more rational to believe that the first
cause is God, than to accept the only other alternative, which is
Atheism. I am fully aware that to prove that there must have ben a
first cause, is not to prove that God is that cause. Still, it is far
more rational to believe that God is the first cause than it is to
believe that dead matter is the first cause. After all, we are forced
to one or the other of these two extremes; either God was first and
created, brought into existence, dead matter, or else dead matter was
first and created, brought into existence mind or intelligence. There
is no escape: either mind created dead matter, or dead
matter created mind, for these are the only two things that in reality
exist!
Regarding
the matter of faith there is but little difference between the
Christian on the one hand, and the Atheist on the other, for both are
believers. The Christian believes that mind was first, and that mind
created matter, but the Atheist believes that dead matter was first,
and that dead matter created mind or intelligence.
I ask you, which occupies the
more rational position? Indeed, Atheism is unreasonable, unsound and
unsafe. It is a philosophical absurdity! On the other hand,
considering those four well known traditional arguments can
satisfactorily prove that God does exist: the ontological,
teleological, anthropological and cosmological arguments. It is
therefore as unphilosophical as it is unscriptural to argue against
the existence of God, and such evidence is what makes us believe in
the existence of the one God for the one world.
Though
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth his handywork," as David declares in Psalm 19:1,
yet I am confident that if we were left to the dim light of nature
alone, we could n4ver see God as clearly as we can through the
revelation he has made of himself in his word. It is therefore to the
Bible that we must look primarily and chiefly for a proper conception
of His being, His character, and His attributes. Now consider some
things God has revealed concerning Himself.
First, God is one."Hear,
O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord."(Deuteronomy 6:4).
Neither is He a conglomeration of all the false gods in this world.
Yet in this sublime Unity there is embraced a three fold personality.
This we can see when we observe such passages as Genesis 1:26. Here
God is represented as having said: "And God said, Let us make
man in our image". Here the pronouns "us" and
"our" reveal the plurality of the Creator in some sense.
Again, in the formula of Christian Baptism we see an expression of
plurality in the Divine Unity in the language of Jesus, for said
he: "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
So, and f the Holy Ghost,"- Matthew 28:19.
It need not seem strange that God
has in this manner revealed himself to us, for man is a plurality in
one sense, and a marvelous unity in another and different sense, for
it is said of man: "they twain shall be one flesh."(Mark
10:8). Also, the church is a plurality in one sense -"we
have many members," and yet a unity in another and different
sense, for we are "but one body". (1 Corinthians
12:20). Also, Jesus prayed that we might be one, even as he and the
Father are one, in John 17. And it may be in this sense, and in this
sense only, that God is a plurality and at the same time a unity. Let
that be as it may, it is the Divine Unity in one sense and the Divine
Plurality in another and different sense. Both are as clearly taught
in the Bible as anything else, but to fully comprehend these two
attributes of the divine nature is perhaps beyond our understanding.
Let us pass therefore to our next consideration. In John 4:24 Jesus
said: "God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth." God, then, is not a
flesh and bones being, as some would have us believe, for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones. (Luke 24:39). We are not made in the image
of God in the sense that God is flesh and bones, rather, we are
intellectual, volitional, and emotional beings, even as he is an
intellectual, volitional and emotional being, and it is in this sense
that we are made in his image -in his likeness. (Genesis
1:26-27).
In knowledge God is omniscient,
in power, omnipotent. This knowledge and power he has demonstrated by
his marvelous prophecies, his mighty works, and by direct testimony.
God therefore has the power to know anything he chooses to know, but
being omnipotent as well as omniscient, he also has the power to shut
out of his mind such things as he man not wish to know. Examples where
God has so exercised his powers can be found in Genesis 22:12;
Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35 et cetera. God does not do all that is
within his power to do, neither does he know all that is within his
power to know, rather only such as is in keeping with his divine
nature does he do and know.
Not only does God have the power
to know all things, and not only is he omnipotent in his power but he
is represented as filling the universe with his presence. He is
omnipresent! Hear it. Psalm 139:7-10 Whither
shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed
in hell, behold, thou art there.If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea;Even there shall thy
hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Men cannot escape God. Should
they think to escape him in this life they shall meet him in judgment.
There is no escape from him with whom we have to do. For this
reason "we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled
to God."For then can you say with David in Psalm 46:1-3
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble.Therefore will not we fear, though
the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the
midst of the sea;Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with
the swelling thereof. Selah."
The God of the Christian
religion is also a God of justice and mercy, for it is written of
him: "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy
throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face."(Psalm
89:14). In keeping with his divine justice and mercy he shall
recompense "tribulation" to the wicked, and "rest"
to the righteous, for it is written again: "Seeing it is
a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that
trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming
fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians
1:6-8). This is another reason we plead with you who are lost to
accept his conditions of pardon. There is no escape from his presence,
and there shall be no escape from his judgment, for "it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
(Hebrews 9:27).
If ongoing to the judgment we
are found guilty before God, and condemned, it will be in spite of the
goodness and mercy of God, for he is infinitely good and merciful, so
much so "that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." (John 3:16). We ought therefore to say:
"We love him, because ye first loved us."(1 John
4:19) rather than to trod under our feet the Son of God, counting the
blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and doing despite unto the
Spirit of Grace. (See Hebrews 10:29).
Indeed, the God of the
Christian religion is the source of all good things, for he has
existed from eternity, for it is written again: "Psalms
90:1-2 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all
generations.Before the mountains were
brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." His laws are immutable,
and his was past finding out. From such an introduction to the one God
for the one world, we must conclude that he is a being who makes no
experiments. And whose will is the only proper standard of rectitude,
We therefore urge you to unconditionally surrender to the God whom we
serve, for though "there be gods many, and lords many," yet
to us who are saved, there is but one God for the one world.
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Feature Three: Sandy's Women's Corner
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Sandra Oliver
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Editor's Note: You
can read weekly articles from Sandy at the following Web site:
abiblecommentary.com "Blog for Christian Women"
THE IMITATORS
We are so blessed in our
congregation with babies and "little people". Children three
and under hold a special place in my heart.
I
don't teach them in Bible class anymore. I'll leave that to the
younger women. I have paid my dues in that department; but I love talking
to them, playing with them, and sometimes just watching them.
Lately,
one of the three-year olds has been sitting with us during worship. He
is a bright little boy, active, happy, and with a smile that makes you
want to squeeze him.
Daniel
knows his colors and his shapes; and when he looks at books, he does
so with such intensity that you think he is reading. He is just fun to
be around.
As
I watch the little people in our congregation, I see them watching us.
The song leaders get a lot of attention from the little boys. They
watch them and soon start to move their little arms, pretending to
lead. Some fold their hands to pray, and they always want to help pass
the communion trays.
They
find great joy in watching for the collection plate and dropping in
their dollar or some coins. Sometimes, at least the first time or two,
they try to take out the money instead of putting it in.
Did
you ever think that they are imitators of the adults that sit around
them or stand before them as we worship? So what do they see? Do they
see us singing, bowing our heads and closing our eyes in prayers? Do
they see us with open Bibles as we listen to God's Word being read or
discussed? Maybe they see the grown-ups checking their email, looking
at Facebook, eating or drinking during the worship, whispering to
those around them, or maybe writing notes.
Remember
that our little people are imitators. They do what we do.
There
was a time when cigarette ads were popular on television. I remember
one of a little boy, about five or six, sitting beside his dad as he
pulled out his pack of cigarettes. The little boy tried to copy what
his dad was doing. Fortunately, we don't see those ads any longer.
I
have watched as children pretend to do all kinds of things their
parents do. I also hear them imitate the language their parents use.
It is not unusual to hear a child using profanity, euphemisms, or even
telling dirty stories or jokes. They do what they see and hear.
I
want to share a story with you. It's one of Bob's favorite stories
about him and his dad.
Many
years ago, it was the custom for the men on the front row to kneel
when they prayed. Bob was sitting with his dad during the worship
service; and when it was time for the prayer, dad knelt beside the
pew. Bob knelt by the pew too. When the prayer was over, Bob said to
his dad, "I did what you did".
I
can almost see the tears in Dad's eyes as they rose from the kneeling
position, and Bob whispered to him.
Paul
said, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (First
Corinthians 11:1 ESV). We would do well to follow Paul's instruction
so that those little people that look to us for guidance will have
good examples to follow.
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Feature Four: Our Communication
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This is
a new idea to me, but an interesting thought:
Avoid
relying on visual aids.
Steve
Jobs instituted a rule at Apple that banned all PowerPoint
presentations. Similarly, Sheryl Sandberg instituted a PowerPoint ban
at Facebook. Both leaders realized that PowerPoint presentations can
hinder rather than help communication.
Be
prepared to use words, compelling storytelling and nonverbal cues to
communicate your point with the audience. Avoid using visual aids
unless absolutely necessary.
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Feature Five: Bible
Question
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There are several
religious groups that will ask you if you are a trinitarian. While
many New Testament Christians would to that question answer
"yes", technically we are not trinitarian. Neither are we
unitarian.
The
concept of being a unitarian means you believe either Jesus
is the Father and His power or force is the Holy Spirit; or Jesus was
a created being by God, the Father, who is the one and only God.
The
trinitarian view is that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all
partake of the nature of God. It does, however, also imply to many
that God is a "triune" being. When one uses the apple to
illustrate the nature of God (the core, the flesh, and the peel) they
are describing the concept of the trinity. Those aspects are three in
one apple, or three in one body.
Interestingly
the Bible describes man as being a triune being. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
reads as follows, "And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly; and I pray God your whole spiritand souland bodybe
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."In
our being we have a spirit, a soul, and a body. That is three in one,
or a trinity.
While
the Bible speaks of God as being "one" in various places
such as:
Mark 12:28-32 "And one of the scribes
came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he
had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of
all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the
commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is
one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment. And the
second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the
truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but
he:"
Our
question then must be, is it possible for God to be both one and three?
Let the Bible answer that question for us. Consider a parallel from
the words of Jesus. In Matthew 19:4-5 Jesus is speaking and said,
"...Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them
male and female, And said, For this cause shall a manleave
father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they
twain shall be one flesh?If you
stick a husband with a pin, his wife will not holler "ouch".
They are two separate beings, but one in a very real sense.
I
am not suggesting that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in the
same sense that a husband and wife are one, but the precedent is set
Biblically that if two can be one, then three can be one.
Would
you be surprised to learn that Jesus wants all Christians to be
"one". In fact, he wants us to be "one" the same
way that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. Jesus had been
praying for the men chosen to become apostles, but then changed his
thoughts to those that would be his followers in time to come, or for
Christians: John 17:20-21 "Neither pray I
for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word;That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me."
Jesus
was in perfect unity with His Father and with the Holy Spirit. The
only time Jesus and his Father differed, if you could call it that,
was when Jesus was praying in the garden before He was crucified. It
is obvious that Jesus dreaded the coming crucifixion. Yet, to show the
unity, Jesus said in Luke 22:42 "Father, if
thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will,
but thine, be done."
Therefore
we may say that God is "three" in "one", but
actually not a "trinity".
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The little girl was sitting with
her grandmother, who had presented her with her first little
children's Bible, when she was very young.
Now, a few years later, the old
lady was ready to spend a few sweet moments handing down the big old
Family Bible, in the time-honored King James Version, to her only
grandchild. Understandably excited, the youngster was asking a number
of questions, both about the family members whose births and deaths
were recorded therein, and about various aspects of the Scriptures
themselves.
Her grandmother was endeavoring
to answer all the child's questions in terms she could understand; but
the one that stopped her cold was this sincere inquiry:
"Which Virgin was the mother
of Jesus? Was it the Virgin Mary, or the King James Virgin?"
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I recently
published a book entitled, Basic Bible Knowledge About the
Holy Spirit. Many people are afraid to study about
the Holy Spirit due to the many seeming controversies surrounding Him.
Some questions this book will answer are:
- Why are people afraid
to study the Holy Spirit?
- How is God
"one" when there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit?
- What "gift"
do we receive from the Holy Spirit when we are baptized?
- Why did Cornelius
receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit before he was baptized?
- How were the spiritual
gifts given to men? Are they available today?
- What is the difference
between a "miracle" and a "wonder"? Are there
miracles today.
- What is the sin against
the Holy Spirit?
This book is designed to teach basic information
that every Christian should know. The cost of the book is $9.99 and
may be purchased from:
Christian
Family Bookstore
www.theChristianFamilyBookstore.com
Remember: Past issues of "Light for our
Age" can be found on the following Web page:
Abiblecomentary.com/Lightforourage
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