Command, Permission, Judgment and Options in Paul

The Mixed Bag of 1 Corinthians 7

Not I. The Lord.

Thesis: In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul distinguishes divine command from apostolic concession/judgment, not as a rhetorical game but as a transparent map of authority. Where Jesus has already spoken as Lord about marriage and divorce, Paul relays that command without options (vv.10–11). Where the Lord gave no earthly ruling, Paul—having the Spirit of God (v.40; cf. 14:37)—issues apostolic judgments that authorize lawful options within stated circumstances (vv.5–6; 12–16; 25–40). The chapter therefore models how the Spirit of Wisdom inhabits apostolic rule (Heb. māšal-mind): fixed norms where God has commanded; sanctified prudence where God has left room for choice.

Method and Key Terms

• Command (παραγγέλλω, v.10; cf. διατάσσομαι, v.17): a binding rule grounded either in Christ’s dominical teaching (vv.10–11) or in an apostolic ordinance uniformly imposed on the churches (v.17).

• Concession/permission (κατὰ συγγνώμην… οὐ κατ’ ἐπιταγήν, v.6): an allowance that is not a universal mandate.

• Judgment (γνώμη, v.25; cf. v.40): a Spirit-informed ruling when Jesus left no specific earthly command, often tethered to contingent factors (“the present distress,” v.26).

• Options: where Paul gives counsel, he explicitly presents more than one faithful path; where he gives command, he presents none.

Context: “Now concerning the things of which you wrote” (7:1)

Chapter 7 answers specific questions sent from Corinth. That situational frame explains why Paul repeatedly signals when he is quoting the Lord’s settled teaching versus when he is applying wisdom to new cases. The chapter is thus a handbook in Spirit-led casuistry—not relativism, but prudence under authority.

Exegesis by Units

7:1–7 — Marital duty; temporary abstinence

Paul affirms conjugal obligation (vv.2–5). He then says: “But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment” (v.6). The demonstrative “this” points to temporary abstinence by mutual consent for prayer (v.5). The Spirit’s wisdom here authorizes two lawful options: (a) continue normal relations; or (b) abstain briefly by mutual consent for focused prayer, returning “lest Satan tempt you.” This is classic concession: real permission, explicitly not a standing rule.

7:8–11 — The Lord’s command (no options)

“To the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband… and a husband is not to divorce his wife” (vv.10–11). Paul is relaying Jesus’ dominical teaching (Matt. 5:31–32; 19:3–9; Mark 10:2–12). Because this is command, Paul withholds options: if separation has occurred, the only paths are remain unmarried or be reconciled (v.11). This is the chapter’s non-negotiable baseline.

7:12–16 — Mixed marriages; apostolic ruling

“But to the rest I, not the Lord, say…” (v.12). The phrase means Jesus gave no direct earthly teaching on this case; it does not mean Paul lacks inspiration. Indeed, he concludes the chapter asserting, “I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (v.40), and elsewhere: “The things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (14:37). Here the Spirit’s wisdom grants contingent options:

• If the unbelieving spouse consents to live with the believer, do not divorce (vv.12–13).

• If the unbeliever departs, “let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace” (v.15).

Thus Paul’s ruling preserves the Lord’s anti-divorce ethic while acknowledging a circumstance (willful desertion) in which the believer is released from enslaving obligation (οὐ δεδούλωται), consistent with the chapter’s governing aim of undistracted faithfulness and peace.

7:17–24 — A trans-congregational ordinance

“But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches” (v.17). This is not a concession but an apostolic ordinance (διατάσσομαι) binding across churches. The rule: remain in the calling (station) in which you were called—circumcised/uncircumcised, slave/free—without turning the gospel into a social-revolution program. Yet even here the Spirit’s wisdom recognizes lawful improvement: “If you can be made free, rather use it” (v.21). Command and prudence interlock.

7:25–38 — Virgins; no dominical command, trustworthy judgment

“Concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one shown mercy to be trustworthy” (v.25). Rationale: “the present distress” (v.26) and the shortness of time (v.29–31). Conclusions:

• Lawful options: to marry is not sin (vv.28, 36); to remain single is advantageous for undistracted devotion (vv.32–35, 38).

• Scope: the advantages are framed by circumstances; the morality is constant—both states are holy, but singleness may better serve a particular crisis.

7:39–40 — Widows; a guarded freedom

“A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (v.39). That is commanded boundary with freedom inside the fence. Paul then adds judgment: “She is happier if she remains as she is—and I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (v.40). The “I think” is a rhetorical litotes (understatement) that actually asserts Spirit-given wisdom, not doubt.

The Pattern: Command where God has spoken; Options where God gives room

Across the chapter:

• Command (no options): vv.10–11; the permanence of marriage; v.17 ordinance across churches; v.39 “only in the Lord.”

• Concession/Judgment (lawful options): vv.5–6; 12–16; 25–38; 40.

Whenever Paul speaks as concession/judgment, he is answering a specific question and explicitly stating options. Whenever he relays the Lord’s command, no options are offered.

Addressing Common Objections

Objection 1: “Paul’s ‘I, not the Lord’ means his words are merely private opinion.”

Response: In context it means Jesus did not address this case during his earthly ministry. Paul’s words are still authoritative: he claims the Spirit of God (7:40) and later calls his writings “commandments of the Lord” (14:37). Peter also recognizes the wisdom given to Paul (2 Pet. 3:15). Inspiration and prudential judgment are not enemies.

Objection 2: “Paul uses rhetoric to make everything effectively ‘command.’”

Response: The Greek signals clear genre shifts: suggnōmē (concession, v.6), gnōmē (judgment, v.25), parangellō (I command, v.10), diatassomai (I ordain, v.17). Moreover, the presence or absence of options tracks these signals: where he says “command,” options vanish; where he says “judgment/concession,” options are stated and constrained by reasons.

Objection 3: “The desertion clause (v.15) contradicts Jesus’ divorce teaching.”

Response: Jesus addressed covenant members contemplating divorce; Paul addresses mixed marriages where an unbeliever chooses to depart. Paul does not license divorce; he forbids believers to initiate it (vv.12–13) and allows them not to be enslaved to an unbeliever’s departure (v.15). The Lord’s ethic stands; the apostolic ruling preserves peace and relieves bondage in an unaddressed case.

Objection 4: “Paul’s preference for singleness creates an ascetic law.”

Response: He repeatedly denies that: “If you marry, you have not sinned” (vv.28, 36). His preference is prudential (“because of the present distress,” v.26) and missional (undistracted devotion, v.35), not a universal law.

Objection 5: “Concession means the ‘lesser moral good’ or a tolerated fault.”

Response: Concession is permission within holiness, not toleration of sin. Both choices—marry or remain single, abstain briefly or not—are good when pursued under the stated conditions and aims (chastity, prayer, peace, undistracted service).

The Spirit of Wisdom in Paul’s Mashal-Mind

1 Corinthians is saturated with pneumatology: “We have received… the Spirit who is from God… we have the mind of Christ” (2:12, 16). In chapter 7 that Spirit expresses itself as Wisdom in three ways:

1. Covenantal Fidelity: Where Jesus has given clear command, Paul transmits it without dilution (vv.10–11). Wisdom here is submission to the Lord’s voice.

2. Peace-Seeking Prudence: In unaddressed cases, Paul’s rulings aim at peace (v.15), holiness (v.14), and undistracted devotion (v.35). This is Hebraic māšal—ruling by wise proverbs—brought under the cross.

3. Vocation and Providence: Paul’s ordinance (v.17) teaches believers to abide in their calling, reading providence (circumcision/slavery) without being ruled by it. The Spirit’s wisdom refuses both lawless freedom and legalistic compulsion.

The result is an apostolic “rules/reign” that is neither soft relativism nor brittle maximalism. It is kingly prudence: immutable commands at the core; concentric rings of counsel where circumstances and callings differ; all animated by the Spirit’s aim—holiness, peace, and undistracted service to the Lord (vv.14–15, 32–35).

Paul means exactly what he says.

• When he says command (vv.10–11; 17; 39), he binds the conscience with the Lord’s will and gives no options.

• When he says concession/judgment (vv.5–6; 12–16; 25–38; 40), he authorizes options within holy boundaries, explaining the reasons so believers can act wisely.

This is not rhetoric in which everything collapses into command; it is the Spirit of Wisdom governing Christ’s church through an apostle who knows when to bind and when to loosen—when to repeat the Lord’s voice, and when to apply the Lord’s mind.

Paul’s māšal-mind rules the house with the King’s decree at the center and Spirit-wise counsel at the gates, so the saints may walk “as God has distributed, as the Lord has called” (v.17), without sin, without bondage, and without distraction, unto the Lord.