Does Paul Give His Own Opinion or Speak for God in 1 Cor. 7:12?

1 Corinthians 7:10-12

¹⁰ To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband ¹¹(but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

^{1 2}To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.

In verse 10, Paul says, “I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband…”  Then, in verse 12 he says, “I say (I, not the Lord) that….”  Should we take this to mean that Paul is writing God-breathed words (2 Tim. 3:16) in verses 10-11 but is simply giving a non-authoritative opinion in verse 12?  I don’t think that is what is going on here.

So, what does he mean by what he says?  In verses 10-11, the “charge” Paul gives is actually from the recorded words of Jesus in the Gospels.  On several occasions the gospel writers wrote down Jesus’ teaching on divorce (see Matt. 5:32, 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18).  

However, in verse 12, Paul deals with an issue that Jesus did not speak directly about during his earthly ministry (at least it was not recorded for us in the Gospels).  He is telling the Corinthians about how to handle a marital situation in which one member becomes a Christian and the other does not.  So, when he says, “I not the Lord,” he does not mean what follows is uninspired, take-it-or-leave-it advice.  As A.T. Robertson says, “This is no disclaimer of inspiration. He simply means that here he is not quoting a command of Jesus.”^[1]

As an apostle, writing a book that is God-inspired, Paul is writing the words of God here.  Paul indicates that he is aware that he is speaking by the Spirit of God, for he says in verse 40 of this same chapter, “And I think that I too have the Spirit of God” (see also 1 Cor. 14:37 “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.”).

In conclusion, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7 are all God-breathed words and carry the authority of God.  The reason Paul distinguishes in verses 10 and 12 between what he says and what the Lord says is that he is noting what the Lord Jesus specifically addressed in his earthly ministry and a situation which he did not. 

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^[1] Robertson, A. (1997). Word Pictures in the New Testament (1 Co 7:12). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems.