1 Corinthians 7:13

13 If you are a woman with a husband who is not a believer but he wants to live with you, hold on to him.

1 Corinthians 7:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 7:13

And the woman which hath an husband that believeth
The apostle puts the case both ways, there being the same reason for one as for another; that if she that was a sister, who was partaker of the grace of God, and a member of the church, had a husband to whom she was married before her conversion; who was an unbeliever, had no faith in Christ, nor any notion of the Gospel, but an infidel to both:

and if he be pleased to dwell with her;
loves her, and is willing to continue with her; neither puts her away from him, nor departs from her on account of her Christianity:

let her not leave him;
but continue, and cohabit with him as man and wife; this is the advice the apostle gives, as agreeably to the light of nature and reason; as becoming the Gospel of Christ, and as what might serve to recommend it, and spread the knowledge of it.

1 Corinthians 7:13 In-Context

11 If a wife should leave her husband, she must either remain single or else come back and make things right with him. And a husband has no right to get rid of his wife.

12 For the rest of you who are in mixed marriages - Christian married to nonChristian - we have no explicit command from the Master. So this is what you must do. If you are a man with a wife who is not a believer but who still wants to live with you, hold on to her.

13 If you are a woman with a husband who is not a believer but he wants to live with you, hold on to him.

14 The unbelieving husband shares to an extent in the holiness of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is likewise touched by the holiness of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be left out; as it is, they also are included in the spiritual purposes of God.

15 On the other hand, if the unbelieving spouse walks out, you've got to let him or her go. You don't have to hold on desperately. God has called us to make the best of it, as peacefully as we can.