1 Corinthians 7:16 – Peace in practice

For of what are you aware, O wife will you be saving your husband or of what are you aware, O husband will you be saving your wife?

In verse 15, Paul argued that the brother or sister would let the unbelieving partner go if they no longer wanted to live with him or her. Then why can’t the believer have peace with that? It is not your own choice to believe, it happens to you.

A believer can pull out all the stops to change the mind of the unbeliever, but who knows if you will actually succeed? By “saving” Paul apparently means here, to turn the unbeliever into a believer. Or at least to persuade him or her to a believer’s point of view, so that they no longer want to continue the divorce. Then the partner would also be saved as a spouse.

Attempts to turn the unbelieving marriage partner into a believer (= saving) are disastrous and in practice a source of dissatisfaction. It leads to endless discussions and conflicts with the net result: removal. Whoever knows the Evangel, knows that GOD is also the Savior of the unbelieving partner. And in time GOD will also give him or her this belief (:17). That realization is peace!

Delen: