1 Corinthians 7:10

The Lord Jesus Christ gave instruction concerning what believers are to do in marriage when He taught during His earthly ministry (Matthew 5:27-32; Matthew 19:3-12; Mark 10:1-12). Paul cited some of this teaching and added more of his own. This is one of the rare instances when Paul appealed directly to Jesus’ teachings (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:14; 1 Corinthians 11:23; 1 Timothy 5:18). Usually he taught in harmony with Jesus without citing Him. Of 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. 1 Corinthians 7:2-5).

The main point of Paul’s advice is that Christians should not break up their marriages (Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:7-9). "Leaving" and divorcing (1 Corinthians 7:12-13) were virtually the same in Greco-Roman culture. [Note: Ibid., p. 293.] "Separate" (Gr. chorizo) was vernacular for "divorce." [Note: William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 899.] In our day one popular way to deal with marriage problems is to split up, and this has always been an attractive option for many people. 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.