«　WEEK 7　DAY 6　»

　　1 Cor. 7:10 But to the married I charge, not I but the Lord, A wife must not be separated from her husband.

　　2:13 Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things with spiritual words.

　　The principle in 1 Corinthians 7:10 is the same as that in Galatians 2:20, where Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” In both verses we see the principle of incarnation; two persons living as one person. In 1 Corinthians 7:10 we have two persons, the Lord and Paul, speaking as one….Why does Paul not say in this verse, “But to the married the Lord charges”? Why does he say that he charges, yet not he but the Lord? The answer to these questions is that Paul realized that he was one with the Lord and that what he spoke was the Lord’s word. Even when he did not claim to have a word from the Lord, because he was one with the Lord, whatever he said was the Lord’s word.

　　Verse 25 says, “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who has been shown mercy by the Lord to be faithful.” A wife should not be separated from her husband. This, the apostle says, is the Lord’s commandment (v. 10). But concerning virgins not marrying, he says he has no commandment of the Lord, but he gives his opinion in the following verses. He dares to do this because he has received mercy of the Lord to be faithful to the Lord’s interests, and he is really one with the Lord. His opinion expresses the Lord’s desire. This is again based on the New Testament principle of incarnation. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 380-381)

　　Some readers of 1 Corinthians may think that Paul was too strong in giving his opinion when he had no commandment from the Lord. Which one of us would dare to say that we have no commandment of the Lord concerning a certain matter, but that we give our opinion? Yet this is the very thing Paul does in 7:25. Here we see the highest spirituality, the spirituality of a person who is so one with the Lord that even his opinion expresses the Lord’s mind. Paul was absolutely one with the Lord and thoroughly saturated with Him. Because his entire being was permeated with the Lord, even his opinion expressed the mind of the Lord. For this reason, we say that verse 25 expresses the highest spirituality.

　　All these words indicate the New Testament principle of incarnation, that is, God and man, man and God, becoming one. This differs drastically from the principle of Old Testament prophecy—speaking for God. In the Old Testament, as we have pointed out, the word of Jehovah came unto a prophet (Jer. 1:2; Ezek. 1:3), the prophet being simply the mouthpiece of God. But in the New Testament the Lord becomes one with His apostles and they become one with Him. Both speak together. His word becomes their word, and whatever they utter is His word. Hence, the apostle’s charge is the Lord’s charge (1 Cor. 7:10). What he says, though not by the Lord, still becomes a part of the divine revelation in the New Testament (v. 12). He is so one with the Lord that even when he gives his own opinion, not the commandment of the Lord (v. 25), he still thinks that he also has the Spirit of God. He does not claim definitely to have the Spirit of God, but he thinks that he also has the Spirit of God. This is the highest spirituality; it is based on the principle of incarnation.

　　We need to see the principle of incarnation illustrated here and receive mercy and grace from the Lord to speak in a genuine and frank manner without any pretense. In order to speak like this we need to be saturated with the Spirit. Then what we utter or express will be our thought, our opinion, but it will also be something of the Lord because we are one with Him. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 381-383)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Speaking for God,” ch. 3; CWWL, 1985, vol. 4, “Everyone Speaking the Word of God,” chs. 1-2