Singleness, Marriage, and the Unbelieving Spouse

Paul tells the unmarried and widows that remaining single can be good, but marriage is honorable where self-control is not given. He then distinguishes an instruction he attributes to “the Lord” concerning married believers from his apostolic judgment about mixed marriages where one spouse is not Christian.

That “not I, but the Lord” language is important: it probably preserves Jesus tradition concerning divorce. Paul’s “I, not the Lord” does not mean the next instruction lacks authority; it means Jesus’ recorded earthly teaching did not directly address this new missionary situation. Paul therefore applies the gospel to a circumstance created by Gentile conversion.