1 Corinthians 7:15

7:15 But if the unbeliever wants a divorce, let it take place. In these circumstances the brother or sister is not bound. ¹  God has called you in peace.

1 Corinthians 9:5

9:5 Do we not have the right to the company of a believing wife, like the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?

1 Corinthians 8:9

8:9 But be careful that this liberty of yours does not become a hindrance to the weak.

1 Corinthians 8:11

8:11 So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister, ²  for whom Christ died, is destroyed. ³ 

1 Corinthians 8:13

8:13 For this reason, if food causes my brother or sister to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause one of them ⁴  to sin.

1 Corinthians 5:11

5:11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian ⁵  who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, ⁶  or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

[7:15]  ¹ sn Interpreters differ over the implication of the statement the brother or sister is not bound. One view is that the believer is “not bound to continue the marriage,” i.e., not so slavishly tied to the instruction about not divorcing (cf. vv. 10-11) that he or she refuses to face reality when the unbelieving spouse is unwilling to continue the relationship. In this view divorce is allowable under these circumstances, but not remarriage (v. 11 still applies: remain unmarried or be reconciled). The other view is that the believer is “not bound in regard to marriage,” i.e., free to remain single or to remarry. The argument for this view is the conceptual parallel with vv. 39-40, where a wife is said to be “bound” (a different word in Greek, but the same concept) as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies, she is “free” to marry as she wishes, only in the Lord. If the parallel holds, then not bound in v. 15 also means “free to marry another.”

[8:11]  ² tn Grk “the one who is weak…the brother for whom Christ died,” but see note on the word “Christian” in 5:11.

[8:11]  ³ tn This may be an indirect middle, “destroys himself.”

[8:13]  ³ tn Grk “my brother.” Both “my brother or sister” earlier in the verse and “one of them” here translate the same Greek phrase. Since the same expression occurs in the previous line, a pronoun phrase is substituted here to suit English style, which is less tolerant of such repetition.

[5:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “a brother,” but the Greek word “brother” may be used for “brother or sister,” “fellow Christian,” or “fellow member of the church.” Here the term “brother” broadly connotes familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).

[5:11]  ⁵ tn Or “a reviler”; BDAG 602 s.v. λοίδορος defines the term as “reviler, abusive person.”