1 Corinthians 7:16

For how knowest thou,. wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? Or how knowest thou,. husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

'For how knowest thou' -'For how do you know' (NASV). 'This verse has been used as. reason to keep the marriage going and as. reason to let it go.' (McGuiggan p. 109) Paul is saying either: (1) The reason to keep the marriage together and not leave, is that you may just convert your unbelieving mate. (2) Let the determined unbeliever depart, make it peaceful on your part, because. refusing to let them leave, making it very difficult upon them, or compromising your Christianity in the misguided hope that such will enable you can keep them, and eventually save them..is based on an uncertain hope. There are no assurances that your mate would of ever obeyed the gospel, no matter how hard you would of tried, or how many spiritual compromises you would have made.

Actually. third view is possible. Paul may be saying, 'Don't compromise your faith, and don't act ungodly during the divorce, let is happen, live in peace, because in the end, you might just save them, i.e. because of your stand for truth and in demonstrating godly attitudes during the worst of times, they might just come back, and convert to Christianity. If this view is correct, or if view number (2) is correct, then this verse offers one more proof that "not under bondage" of 1 Corinthians 7:15 doesn't refer to the marriage bond. For the unbelieving mate, the person one isn't in bondage to, is still called by the terms "thy husband" and " thy wife", i.e. the marriage is still in tact in the eyes of God.