What does the Bible say about divorce and remarriage? A study of 1 Corinthians 10.Know that divorce is not the unpardonable sin. Divorce proofing your marriage.

1. Unscrambling the Egg
Divorce and Remarriage
1 Corinthians 7:10–17

2. 1 Corinthians 7:10–17
10 But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the
Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband 11 (but
if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else
be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband
should not divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I say, not
the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an
unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must
not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has an
unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her,

3. she must not send her husband away. 14 For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and
the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing
husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but
now they are holy. 15 Yet if the unbelieving one leaves,
let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under
bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.
16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save
your husband? Or how do you know, O husband,
whether you will save your wife? 17 Only, as the Lord has
assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this
manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.

4. she must not send her husband away. 14 For the
unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and
the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing
husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but
now they are holy. 15 Yet if the unbelieving one leaves,
let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under
bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.
16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save
your husband? Or how do you know, O husband,
whether you will save your wife? 17 Only, as the Lord has
assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this
manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.

5. 1 Corinthians 7:23–24
You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of
men. Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that
condition in which he was called.

6. Unscrambling the Egg
Divorce and Remarriage
1 Corinthians 7:10–17

7. 41 percent of first marriages end in
divorce.
60 percent of second marriages end in
divorce.
73 percent of third marriages end in
divorce.
The average length of a marriage that
ends in divorce is eight years.
People wait an average of three years
after a divorce to remarry (if they
remarry at all).
The average age for couples going
through their first divorce is 30 years
old.
Statistics

8. Matthew 19:3–12
3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and
asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any
reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you
not read that He who created them from the beginning
MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON
A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO
HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 “So they
are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God
has joined together, let no man separate.”

9. 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to
GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” 8 He
said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart
Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from
the beginning it has not been this way. 9 “And I say to
you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality,
and marries another woman commits adultery.” 10 The
disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man
with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But
He said to them, “Not all men can accept this
statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 12
“For there are eunuchs who were born that way

10. from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who
were made eunuchs by men; and there are also
eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of
the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this,
let him accept it.”

11. Pharisee Test
Can a man divorce for any reason?
Talmud-any reason or no reason
Is adultery only the grounds for
divorce?
Torah-only sexual indecency

12. Jesus’ Answer
Have you not read that He who created them from the
beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR
THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND
BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE
FLESH’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What
therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.

13. Unpacked
 Male and female-
made for each other
 Leave all other
relationships
 Cling to spouse
 The joining sexually
produces “one flesh”
 Joining by God
produces “one soul or
mind”

14. Gotcha!
Why then did Moses command
to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF
DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?

15. Challenge Accepted
Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted
you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it
has not been this way.
Hardness of heart
Not God’s plan
Adultery is only grounds

16. Reaction
If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it
is better not to marry!
Revolutionary

17. Christ Concludes
Matthew 19:11–12…Not all men can accept this
statement, but only those to whom it has been given.
For there are eunuchs who were born that way from
their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were
made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs
who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the
kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let
him accept it.

18. Christ’s Actions
Woman at the well 5+1
Woman caught in adultery
Woman with the alabaster jar

19. Clarification at Corinth
But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the
Lord
Do not divorce
If you do, don’t remarry
Reconcile

20. Paul adds
But to the rest I say, not the Lord,
Unbelieving spouse, stay married
Unbelieving spouse leaves, you
are free

21. You bring
holiness to the
relationship
For the unbelieving husband is
sanctified through his wife, and
the unbelieving wife is
sanctified through her believing
husband; for otherwise your
children are unclean, but now
they are holy.

22. Your behavior counts
For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save
your husband? Or how do you know, O husband,
whether you will save your wife?
1 Peter 3:1…In the same way, you wives, be submissive
to your own husbands so that even if any of them are
disobedient to the word, they may be won without a
word by the behavior of their wives,

23. Divorce is
not the
unpardonable
sin
Malachi 2:16
I hate divorce, says
the Lord God...
Divorce Is Not In
God’s Plan For
Us…But it was not
this way from the
beginning.

24. Best Advice
Ephesians 4:31–32…Let all bitterness and wrath and
anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-
hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also
has forgiven you.
Does the first verse sound like a divorce?

25. Restoring your relation with God
1 John 1:9…If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.
Acts 3:19…Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your
sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may
come from the Lord.

26. Confess Repent Forgive
1. To regret the decision you made or the act that
you committed.
2. To think and act differently than you did before.
3. Have a desire to reverse the harm that you
committed.

27. Divorce Proof
Your Marriage
Spirit
Mind
Body

28. Spirit
Pray with and for your spouse
1 in 10,000 Dr. Phil
1 out of 1156 Gallup Polls
Devotional time
Serve the Lord together

29. Mind
Communication
Report talk
Rapport talk

30. Body
Love Languages
Quality time
Acts of service
Giving and receiving gifts
Words of affirmation
Physical touch

31. Unscrambling the Egg
Divorce and Remarriage
1 Corinthians 7:10–17