Bedside Watchman -- PAUL AND INSPIRATION

Last Updated on : October 11, 2014

The Bedside Watchman

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August 26th -- 1 Corinthians 7

PAUL AND INSPIRATION

AN oft-quoted "difficulty" in Paul's writings might be considered. Does not Paul expressly disclaim inspiration for some things he says in I Corinthians 7? The answer is, No. First, verse 6 must be understood as in the R.V. "And this I say by way of permission, not of commandment." It is not of the origin of what he says, but of the option his readers might exercise, that he speaks. Then in verse 10 he says: "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord." By this he means that the Lord Jesus had spoken on the subject of this question and Paul quotes what the Lord had said, as recorded in the gospels. This reference to the Lord's words raises an interesting query whether the gospels were not written much earlier than is generally recognized. But in verse 12, Paul answers one of the questions the Corinthians had addressed to him on which there was no guidance from the Lord's discourses. He therefore says: "But to the rest speak I, not the Lord." It is not inspiration he is disclaiming, but only saying that no decree from the Lord's own lips could be cited, but as the Lord's ambassador he spake, giving instructions what they should do.

JOHN CARTER, The Oracles of God, page 94