The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Thoughts on 1Cor 7:12ff

Hi Joe,
Thanks for your post. Just to translate Hodge's Latin tag for those who don't speak Latin, it reads:-

'If a foreign woman becomes a proselyte and her daughter with her, if she [the daughter] was conceived and born in sanctity [ie. wedlock] she is as an Israelite girl in all respects.' Clearly this does not concur with our Lord's words in John 3:3-6, nor with Gal 3:7.

At this point, all I would like to say is that Hodge does not address the questions that I asked. In 1Cor 7:14:-

1. If the children are born sanctified and are presumed fit to be baptized, why does the same not apply to the unbelieving spouse who is also 'sanctified'.

2. Why does Paul switch from the third person to the second person ('your'). If, as I am saying, he is referring to the children of all the Corinthians, then he is comparing them to the unbelieving partener. Surely he MUST be saying, 'your children are by nature sinners just like the pagan spouse. But just as he has been sanctified by the marriage relationship, so they are sanctified by the parent-child relationship. If that were not true you would all have to separate from your children as well as from an unbelieving husband/wife.'

There is a lot more I could say. Hodge is mixing up the covenants. The new Covenant is 'not according to the [Old] Covenant (Jer 31:32; Heb 8:9). He is making tabernacles for Moses and Elijah as well as for Christ, when the command from heaven is, 'This is my beloved Son, hear Him.' However, I'd be grateful if you would answer my two points on 1Cor 7:14 before addressing these points.

My answer to all three of your questions about children is, 'No; not until they believe' (Gal 3:7).

Every blessing,
Steve