Divorce and Remarriage?
by Dr. Ken Matto
The principles of marriage and divorce and remarriage apply to both believer and unbeliever. God did not make two separate sets of rules for either. The following study contains verses which deal with this subject and you will notice that there is no difference between unbeliever and believer when it comes to marriage rules.
(1 Cor 7:27-28 KJV) Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. {28} But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
First, we must ask the question, how does God view marriage?
(Gen 2:24 KJV) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The one flesh principle continues throughout the Scriptures and we need not expound on that any further, but the next question is, if a divorce takes place, then what about remarriage according to 1 Corinthians 7:27-28? If we would isolate these verses, we could come to a conclusion that remarriage after divorce is permissible. However, verse isolation is not the biblical manner for interpreting the Bible, God's method is found in 1 Corinthians 2:13:
(1 Cor 2:13 KJV) Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
It behooves us at this point to see what the rest of Scripture says about remarriage after divorce:
(Mat 19:3-11 KJV) The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? {4} And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, {5} 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? {6} Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. {7} They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? {8} 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. {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. {10} His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. {11} But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
(Deu 24:1-4 KJV) When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. {2} And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. {3} And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; {4} Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
(Mark 10:9-12 KJV) What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. {10} And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter. {11} And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. {12} And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
(Luke 16:18 KJV) Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
(Rom 7:2-3 KJV) For 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. {3} So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
(1 Cor 7:39 KJV) 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.
We can plainly see that God speaks of marriage after divorce as committing adultery, yet he says in 1 Cor. 7:27-28 that if one marries they have not sinned. We are at an impasse and have a contradiction! Perish the thought there are no contradictions in Scripture. The key to understanding 1 Cor. 7:27-28 is found in the following two verses:
(Rom 7:2-3 KJV) For 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. {3} So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
(1 Cor 7:39 KJV) 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.
We find the answer to be that the only biblical method of being loosed from a wife is through death of the spouse and the principle works both ways. If either spouse dies, the other is free to marry. Now let us apply that to 1 Cor. 7:27-28:
(1 Cor 7:27-28 KJV) Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. {28} But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
In the first instance we read, "seek not to be loosed." This implies that we are not to seek a divorce since what God joined together, man shall not put asunder. In the second, instance we read, "art thou loosed from a wife?" which implies the death of the spouse since this is the only way a marriage bond can be biblically broken as we saw in Romans 7:2-3 and 1 Corinthians 7:39. To build more into these verses would violate the Biblical parameters God set up for marriage. So the biblical conclusion is that anyone who marries after divorce is living in a state of adultery as the Scriptures teach. This does not mean you divorce but since you are married to a divorced woman, you need to ask God for forgiveness in violating His commands and also to continue on as if it is the first marriage, since the grace of God does cover that sin also. God can heal us and strengthen us if we come to Him in sincerity.