A question about marriage laws in the Bible?

Question

The book of Ephesians, which contains the verses that say "wives submit to your husbands...husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church," was written by Paul, a man that was never married. Isn't that kind of ironic? I mean, I don't mean to undermine scripture, because a lot of it is valuable. But I realized this a while ago, and it jumped out at me. Your thoughts?

Wow! So many answers in so little time.

I am not trying to taunt or ridicule the scripture, just to make sure we are all on the same page = ). I am not saying anyone said that, I just want to assure that we all understand each other.

I also had a feeling that I would get a lot of answers saying that Paul was divinely inspired. But how do we really know that? Don't get me wrong; I was brought up to believe that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit well. But how can we know that. Or...better yet--is ALL of it divinely inspired? After all, not only was it written by people, it was also compiled by people as well.

Food for thought.

Answer 1

I don't think many people pay much attention to the fact that Paul was not (or was probably not) married in spite of the fact that he wrote that. Heck, I don't even think that most people even think of the Bible as being composed by humans. That's not to say that it isn't important, because it is.

Answer 2

All scripture is given by divine inspiration. Doubting it, refusing it, taunting it, or ridiculing it will NOT change that. It's okay to question if you don't know. But it's not okay to curse it and say "it's not so". Paul was a man, but he spoke out of inspiration. The fact is in God's design there is order. IF we follow that order we understand why God says what should be. When a man loves his wife as he should a woman is willing to trust her husband to make the best decision for her. No matter what the world thinks, this is the true order of how things should be. When it is done by order it is perfection and nothing less.

Answer 3

The Bible never says whether Paul was married or not. Some think that he was at one time based on what he said in 1 Corinthians 9:5, "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?" If Paul was married at one time, his wife likely passed away considering he never mentions her in any of his writings. Paul declared that he had the gift of celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7.

Some believe that the Apostle Paul was married because history tells us that a member of the Sanhedrin was required to be married. However, Paul never stated that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. He definitely seemed to be on the path, "I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). However, Paul might not have advanced that far before He converted to Christ. So, was the Apostle Paul married? It is possible that he was at one time, but again, the Bible does not specifically say.

Answer 4

No, because he was sharing what the Holy Spirit told him to write. If the men really wrote the Bible the way people say they did, then they would boast about themselves more. He just wants us to help each other out, but not be a door mat for our husbands.

Answer 5

It's like this; we are all under the laws of the land and we are to submit to them. Likewise with marriage. My pastor put it this way. A woman is the weaker vessel in the relationship but she is not necessarily the "lesser" vessel. He also compared women to fine china. Normally, you'd want to treat porcelain eating plates with a lot of CARE. Likewise, men should treat their wives with CARE.

My pastor also added this; if any guy beats his wife, he is "scum."

I guess Paul was just elaborating on what Christ taught.

Answer 6

Perhaps he wasn't single all of his life. Most men in those days went through many wives. Child birth was dangerous and some people died from a simple scratch from infection. Tetnus claimed lives and he was inspired by God to write what he did.
Kind of like a secretary taking dictation.
It never tells his life before coming there. Most men in those days were married. But lots of them didn't finish their life married.Think of all the women who have breach birth, c section, those were not possible then. they just died.

Answer 7

True, but if you look at it there is a verse where he explains that he's really talking about Christ and the Church (he even says that he knows it's a profound mistery). And he adds that in addition to learning this truth about the relationship of Christ and the Church (and by extention how we should conduct ourselves individually - submiting to God) it is applicable to marriage.

Answer 8

Yes, I would consider this Apostle to be misogynous. There is another verse in which he says that women should not speak in the congregation. Remember, biblical times were no feminine liberal times. Being a woman then was like it is now in most Muslim countries. Men literally ruled over them. Consider the Roman Catholic hierarchy in comparison. No offense meant.

Answer 9

It was written by the Spirit of God who used Paul. It did not originate with Paul.

Answer 10

sevenlies: He told women to be quiet AFTER HE GAVE DIRECTIONS for them LEADING PRAYER OR PROPHESYING. That was involving a SPECIFIC PROBLEM IN THAT CHURCH. Paul told 3 groups of people in that church to be quiet. It was ABOUT ORDER and PRESENTING A GOOD IMAGE TO OUTSIDERS. Not about WHO was talking.

ALL SCRIPTURE IS VALUABLE:
2Ti 3:16 God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right.