When Paul tells wives not to divorce their husbands in 1 Corinthians 7:13 or tells couples to give their spouses their sexual rights he is not talking about enduring abusive behavior. But let’s back up.
I started this project earlier this year when news broke of Josh Duggar ‘s arrest for using child pornography.
It took me almost three and a half months to finish it, in part because of an eight-week trip our family took where I did not write much. But this article has served as a catalyst for me to rethink our common views as conservative Christians about the roles of men and women.
It took me a while to finish it because I keep listening to more stories. I keep taking second and third looks at passages in the Bible that I once thought clearly taught a particular view of gender roles.
I am increasingly concerned that much of our interpretation of Scripture regarding gender roles is informed by patriarchal culture rather than sound exegesis. For those familiar with the term, I am not comfortable with egalitarianism. But there is almost too much baggage associated with complementarianism for me to hold it with any sense of dogma. This project is an attempt to resolve in my own heart and mind some of the crucial issues to which I refer.
More specifically, I am asking the question, “What should submission and respect look like in the context of abuse according to biblical theology?”
Many have wondered if Josh Duggar’s wife Anna will divorce him. Sources close to the Duggar family say it is unlikely Anna Duggar will leave her husband. That would mean abandoning the belief system the Duggars have built their theology of marriage on: Wives must submit to and respect their husbands.
The Duggars are not the only ones who live by this motto. Much of conservative Christianity in America has been built around the purity movement and the teachings of people like Bill Gothard and Emerson Eggerichs. As far as I know, Gothard and the Eggerichs have nothing to do with each other. But the purity movement, Gothard, and Eggerichs all emphasized that women should submit to and respect their husbands, even in abusive situations. This mindset has shaped much of conservative Christianity’s view of marriage today.
But are women really supposed to “submit and respect” at all times?
Should Anna Duggar (or any other woman similarly situated) put up with her husband’s constant sexual sins and hope things will change?
Or is there a place for a wife to separate herself and her children from her husband? Could separation be necessary for protection and could it provoke a husband like Josh to actually get the help he needs?
The Biblical Basis for “Submit and Respect”
The concept that wives are to submit to and respect their husbands comes from two main passage: Ephesians 5:22-24, and 1 Peter 3:1-6. Both passages emphasize that wives are to be “subject to” their own husbands, and 1 Peter goes so far as to say, “…even if some do not obey the word.” It appears that submission is not contingent upon the husband being obedient. Rather, Peter suggests that such husbands can be “won without a word” through respectful and pure behavior.
1 Corinthians 7:13 further establishes the idea that wives are to submit to and respect their husbands. Here Paul says, “If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.” Jesus also taught against divorce, which we will discuss later. At first glance, it looks like there’s not much leeway for women who are in abusive situations to get divorced. But I think we should clarify a few things before we conclude what’s best for wives (or women in general) who are in dangerous relationships.
First, we need to understand the context of Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3, and 1 Corinthians 7. Second, we need to define “submit” and “respect.” Third, we need to observe whether Paul (or any other biblical author) addresses what to do when a spouse is abusive or living in sin.
Paul’s vision for people in 1 Corinthians 7 is that each person “remain as he is” (verses 17 and 24). He says this not to bind us to an impossible task, but to promote good order and secure our undivided devotion to the Lord (verse 35). We should keep that in mind when we see what these New Testament writers have to say. The goal is not to figure out how to get our way – be it husband or wife, oppressor or oppressed. The goal is to have “undivided devotion to the Lord.” How are we to live when we are fully committed to Jesus as our King? This is the question.
With this question in mind, we dove in to better understand the context of these passages. We gained context for Ephesians 5 in the first article, and context for 1 Peter 3 in the second article. In this article, we’re going to gain context of 1 Corinthians 7 and see if we can understand specifically what Paul is referring to.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 7:13
In light of what we looked at with the 1 Peter passage, it is interesting to note the language Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 7. In verse 10, he says the Lord commands the married women not to leave their husband. It makes no reference to sexual immorality nor abuse. Rather, it seems this command is simply a general principle.
In fact, if we zoom out and look at the chapter as a whole, Paul seems to be addressing ways to avoid sexual immorality (vs. 2). If people are married, they have a proper relationship with which to experience sexual intimacy (vs. 3-4). And if they are married, they should not leave or else they (a) cause their spouse to commit sexual immorality or (b) greatly increase the temptation for their spouse to commit sexual immorality, depending on one’s interpretation of Matthew 5:32, 19:9 and 1 Corinthians 7:5.
The great exception, however, has to do with the spouse committing sexual immorality. Jesus gave space for someone to leave their spouse if their spouse had committed sexual immorality.
Paul, himself, seems to give space for a spouse potentially leaving. In verse 11, he says, “But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband — and a husband is not to leave his wife.”
Two observations worth addressing are,
- Jesus only references the husband leaving his wife in the case of sexual immorality in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9
- Paul only references the wife possibly leaving her husband in 1 Corinthians 7:11
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