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If all Scripture is inspired by God, why does Paul say some of his words are not from the Lord?
Hard question · Acts and the letters · raised by 3 of the lists sceptics circulate
See the passages joined in the interactive mapThe passages
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God”.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
On divorce Paul passes on the Lord’s own command; on mixed marriages he says, “to the rest speak I, not the Lord”.
And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
On virgins Paul has “no commandment of the Lord” and gives his judgment.
Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
Paul adds, “I think also that I have the Spirit of God”.
But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
What Paul writes are “the commandments of the Lord”.
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
In his boasting Paul speaks “not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly”.
That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
The objection
2 Timothy says that all Scripture is inspired by God. But in 1 Corinthians 7 Paul says that on some matters he speaks “not the Lord” and has “no commandment of the Lord”, and in 2 Corinthians 11 that he speaks “not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly”. If Paul admits that some of his words are his own, how can all of Scripture be God’s word?
The answer
In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul is telling his readers where each instruction comes from, not denying that he writes with authority. On divorce between believers he says, “not I, but the Lord” (7:10), because Jesus had spoken on it directly during his ministry (Mark 10:9–12). On marriages between a believer and an unbeliever Jesus had given no recorded teaching, so Paul says “speak I, not the Lord” (7:12) and gives the ruling himself, as an apostle. He adds that he has “the Spirit of God” (7:40), and later in the letter that what he writes is “the commandments of the Lord” (14:37). Where he has “no commandment” (7:25) he gives advice rather than a binding rule, and says so; 7:6 likewise speaks of a concession (Greek syngnōmē), not a command.
2 Corinthians 11:17 is different again. There Paul deliberately plays the part of a boaster, to answer rivals who boasted about themselves, and he warns that this style of speaking is not how the Lord would speak. The record of that ironic speech is part of Scripture, just as Scripture faithfully records the complaints of Job’s friends. Inspiration means that what was written is what God meant to be written, including Paul’s careful labels on his own advice.
From the classic commentators
In ordinary cases he writes on inspired apostolic authority (1Co 14:37); but here on the direct authority of the Lord Himself (Mr 10:11, 12).Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary, on 1 Corinthians 7:10 (1871)
his sense is, that he did not then speak as an apostle, or one sent by Christ; he put off this character for the present, and took that of a fool upon him, that he might speak the more freely to the Corinthians, and the more severely against the false apostlesJohn Gill, Exposition of the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 11:17 (1746–1763)
Sources
- Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary: 1 Corinthians 7 (1871), at Bible Hub
- John Gill, Exposition of the Bible: 2 Corinthians 11 (1746–1763), at Bible Hub