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We don't know.
correct ... and they are answers to specific issues to which we are not privy.
correct.
Paul gave guidance and counsel to the church at Corinth. And we do not know specifically what was going on at the time. We can look at historical records which could give us a glimpse, but we cannot claim that because Paul said something we know with certainty the question or issue which had arisen.
Paul counseled the believing spouse to remain married to an unbelieving spouse which appears to be in conflict with "be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers", but which is in full alignment with what Jesus taught concerning divorce when the pharisees tried to tempt Him. Paul's counsel in 1 Corinthians 7:12 further confirms the high regard God places on the marriage covenant ... the voluntary commitment between husband and wife.
All we know is the guidance and counsel Paul gave to the church in response to specific questions or issues the church brought up in a letter to Paul. All we can do is guess at what was in the letter.
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There are several problems with this argument.
First, saying that we do not know everything that was happening in Corinth does not mean we cannot know what issues Paul was addressing. Paul explicitly identifies the subjects of his responses. In 1 Corinthians 7 he discusses sexual relations within marriage (vv. 1–5), the unmarried and widows (vv. 6–9), separation and divorce (vv. 10–16), and virgins and marriage (vv. 25–28). We may not know the Corinthians' original wording, but Paul's answers themselves tell us what subjects were under discussion. Calling all attempts to identify those issues “guessing” is therefore an overstatement.
Second, 1 Corinthians 7:12 does not establish the claim that Paul was simply giving situational advice with no broader principle. Paul says that a believer married to an unbeliever should not divorce if the unbelieving spouse is willing to remain. That is a clear instruction concerning a specific marital situation. The fact that Paul distinguishes it from a command previously spoken by Jesus (“not the Lord”) does not make it mere personal opinion; it means that Jesus had not given a recorded command covering that particular case.
Third, the appeal to “be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” does not create the alleged contradiction. 2 Corinthians 6:14 addresses entering or participating in an unequal spiritual partnership; 1 Corinthians 7:12–16 addresses what to do when such a marriage already exists. Paul explicitly says not to dissolve the existing marriage merely because one spouse is an unbeliever. Those are different questions.
Finally, saying “all we know is the guidance Paul gave” actually undermines the argument being made. We know more than that: we know the subjects Paul explicitly addresses, the instructions he gives, the distinctions he makes between the Lord's command and his own apostolic instruction, and the principles he gives for applying those instructions.
So the reasonable conclusion is not, “All we can do is guess at what was in the letter.” It is: we cannot reconstruct the Corinthians' original letter in full, but Paul's response gives us substantial evidence about the issues they raised. What is uncertain should be called uncertain; what Paul explicitly addresses should not be dismissed as unknowable.
