Again Paul advised remaining as they were, but he also allowed an exception.
"While Paul displays ambivalence toward whether widowers and widows should get married (vv. 8-9), he consistently rejects the notion that the married may dissolve their marriages."172
7:10 The Lord Jesus Christ gave instruction concerning what believers are to do in marriage when He taught during His earthly ministry (Matt. 5:27-32; 19:3-12; Mark 10:1-12). Paul cited some of this teaching and added more of his own.173Of course God's instructions through Paul are just as inspired and authoritative as His teaching through Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. This is one of Paul's few commands in this chapter (cf. vv. 2-5).
The main point of Paul's advice is that Christians should not break up their marriages (Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:7-9). "Leaving"and divorcing (vv. 12-13) were virtually the same in Greco-Roman culture.174In our day one popular way to solve marriage problems is to split up. Nevertheless the Lord's will is that all people, including believers, work through their marital problems rather than giving up on them by separating permanently.
7:11 If separation (divorce) occurs, they should either remain unmarried (i.e., stay as they are) or reconcile with their mate. Paul said this was to be the wife's course of action because if she left her husband she would be the mate who had to decide what to do. However the same procedure would be appropriate for the husband.
I believe Paul did not deal with the exception that Jesus Christ allowed on the grounds of fornication (Gr. porneia; Matt. 5:32; 19:9) because it is an exception. Paul wanted to reinforce the main teaching of Christ on this subject, namely that couples should not dissolve their marriages.
The Corinthian Christians appear to have been separating for ascetic reasons, to get away from sexual activity. In modern western culture the reason is usually the opposite; people usually divorce to marry someone else. Regardless of the reason for the temptation, Paul commanded Christian husbands and wives to stay together and to share their bodies as well as their lives with each other. It is impossible for a Christian husband and wife to provide a model of reconciliation to the world if they cannot reconcile with each other.
