July 05, 2023 | Be On Mission
On Christian Singleness and Marriage
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7(NIV)
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Devotional
In the previous two chapters, Paul addressed the problem of sexual immorality in the church at Corinth. Here in chapter seven, he segues into a discussion on marriage and sexuality. At first blush, his statement seems straightforward: “But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband” (v. 2). Keep in mind that temple prostitution, sex outside of marriage, and homosexuality were ways of life in Corinth. Paul was telling the Corinthian Christians that sex belonged in marriage, period.
This was a hard message for them in their culture, just as it is in ours. It somehow feels invasive to place sexual morals from the Judeo-Christian ethic over and above the secular-humanistic ethic. Who are Christians to tell the culture how to think or speak or behave? In some ways, Paul was not asking the believers in Corinth to change accepted cultural norms of their society. In 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 he said, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” Expect the world to be worldly.
But from those who claim the name of Christ, a higher moral standard is expected. So here in chapter seven, Paul gives advice on sex within marriage, divorce, and what it means to be single. Some would argue that Paul and the other authors of the Bible didn’t understand our modern culture. There is no way, they say, that people like Paul could grasp what life in America would be like two thousand years later. And they are right.
And they are wrong. The Bible says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). This was written by King Solomon in his later years, after he had sought pleasure from one thousand wives and concubines. Upon reflection, Solomon said, “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Eccl. 1:2). One thousand women didn’t bring meaning to his life. Paul seems to be echoing these ancient sentiments – marry once, stay faithful, enjoy each other.
Poem
Called To Peace
1 Corinthians 7:15c
The body God gave you—
The temple of God—
A gift lies inside it
A miracle sod
The drive of creation
Two seeds in a pod
An ovum, a sperm cell
United in love
The call to be married
To faithfulness true
A call to give freely
Fruitfulness is pursued
A sacred, pure union
Between just the two
God’s planned testimony
Lived out in full view
The call to be single
Is also a gift
For sake of the Gospel
Sexual passions dismissed
Instead the heart burns
For God’s mission exists
The calling of this life
Self-control leads, persists
Whatever the calling—
However God speaks—
In prayer with discernment
The list’ning for each
Each one is a gardener
Each one yields increase
When lived out in vict’ry
The calling to peace
