1 Corinthians 7
1 Corinthians 7
[00:00:00] Hey everyone. Welcome to God's plan. Your part year two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire new Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. Today, we are going to take a look at first Corinthians seven. And if you are a regular listener, apologies are in order today as a double feature Monday, because obviously we did not get an episode out on time on Friday.
Uh, it was actually, frankly, just one of those days where we kind of needed a little bit of a break. We've been recording a lot, uh, late in the evenings and I, we've had a couple of pretty busy weeks and, uh, we just didn't get behind the microphone at all for, uh, what, Thursday night. So, um, sorry for that, but because we've been starting with apologies a lot lately.
Yeah, that's true. We need to come on, Ryan and Jenny do better. Um, so we, we're sorry. Um, that is why there are two episodes releasing today. Today. You can check out first Corinthians seven and first Corinthians eight. Um, so. There's [00:01:00] that. Yeah. So today, specifically, which should have been our, our episode for Friday, we're talking specifically about marriage or remaining single, essentially.
There's also some things at the end of the chapter that talk about, um, widows and just like being unmarried. Uh, but I think what's interesting about this chapter is we, like the two of us, Ryan and Jenny are coming from a. Married perspective. So I don't know why you're hesitating about that. We are 100 percent married We 100 percent are, but I think that being said, there are some of you that are not married that are listening to this.
So I would actually be very interested to know your perspectives, um, as you're listening to this chapter, as you're reading the chapter for yourself, what that means to you. And then some things that did stick out to me or even to us as a married couple. That I think carry a lot of really significant weight, uh, and I think are really important to [00:02:00] lean into because of a lot of the like stereotypical ways of just thinking about faith or thinking about your relationship with God and what marriage looks like in it or doesn't look like in it.
I think there's a lot of things that we make up in our heads and Paul puts some really cool light. On being single as well. So I would say just to understand what's going on in the chapter, a very key verse, just to understanding why he takes this turn is the very first verse now concerning the matters about which you wrote.
And then he goes into this, what Paul's doing in this section, uh, starting in chapter seven is actually answering specific questions from the church in Corinth. So he's not just taking like a wild Paul based turn. He's actually, um, I guess like teaching application based on questions that he received from the church in Corinth.
And I would say the task at hand in the immediate first half of the chapter, yes, it's marriage, but I think even more than marriage is actually sex, which is like a little [00:03:00] bit, makes like a little bit of hesitancy. I don't know why. I think sometimes I'm still like 15 years old in my mind where I'm like, I don't know.
Can I talk about that or not? Um, but. It's, it's worth calling out, um, that the Corinthian culture was a sex soaked culture. We talked about how there was a lot of temple prostitution, most likely. Um, and probably a lot of people in that church were coming from a place where they were, I mean, we actually know from just first Corinthians that there were still people practicing things sexually that they shouldn't have been.
And there was a lot of sexual confusion in that congregation. So a lot of scholars look at this passage and assume that. That the Corinthian Christians were actually coming from a place of thinking that sex was wrong altogether. Um, that it, that it was not a holy thing. It was not an honoring thing and they should abstain from it.
And so Paul kind of. Addresses this issue. Now I'm, I'm taking that from some scholarship and some history. You won't find it explicitly in the text, but Paul does actually at first [00:04:00] address marriage. And sexual relations within marriage. Well, I think it's really interesting too, because he's throwing this out there as like, Hey.
It's not this horrible thing that you get rid of. And I think that's something that we struggle with today too, because there have been a lot of ideas that like just sex in general is wrong and it's not. Within marriage. And I think that's what gets very confused. So there is a difference between sex and sexual sin.
And like, I think it probably gets so muddled simply because what you were saying, everything was just like rampant in the Corinthian church, like, That was just like, almost like culture. It's crazy. It makes a lot of sense that they were hesitant that they had questions. They were concerned. Um, we, I would teach in youth group settings.
I don't know why I'm still goofy about talking about this stuff, but I would teach this God. I feel like I'm sitting with a 10 year old. Yeah. Kind of God designed all the things like God designed everything. So God actually designed sex and God has like a [00:05:00] clear mandate for what it is meant to be and what it is meant to be.
What it exists for. And you know, we don't have to be ashamed of that or afraid of that. We can embrace that in within God's design for it. And so I think that's kind of what Paul's talking about. Like, Hey, you don't have to refrain from this. In fact, Paul actually says, if you're married, you should not refrain from it.
Um, unless you're going to both like promote this spirit of prayer for a short period of time. So to be very pointed, Paul's saying like, Hey, healthy marriages. Um, have sex in them and do not abstain from it because that would be unhealthy. And then he goes on to talk about marriage and sickleness and all those kinds of things.
I do also appreciate within like the first five verses how it goes back and forth. He says like the, the husband has this, Like essentially over his wife and the wife also has this over her husband. So one, one instances, verse, uh, four for the wife does not have authority over her own body, [00:06:00] but the husband does.
Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. So I just, I really appreciate that because I feel like a lot of times we come from this perspective that it's like, like this weird only submission thing from the wife, but it's like it's equal submission to each other.
So I like that he calls that out too. You actually cannot be. Two made into one flesh if one of the halves has more authority than the other and you know I guess to speak directly to it. We have talked about kind of complimentary to compliment Complementarianism how husbands and wives have different roles, but they are both of the same value And of the same purpose.
And we are the two, Jenny is uncontrollably laughing now. It's because this episode just has you in knots. Um, we, we are one flesh. Um, and at the same time we have unique roles within that, within that relationship and all those things. So. This is [00:07:00] what he's setting up and talking about when it comes to marriage.
Now, I do want to call out something interesting in verse eight to the unmarried and to the widows. I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am, but if they cannot exercise self control, they should marry one. There's a pretty hilarious thing that's being said there. Like, Hey, if you can't. Uh, have control over yourself sexually.
You should get married. Um, which I used to think was like really offensive and not like, maybe that shouldn't be the first and foremost reason that you're getting married. Uh, but Paul does say like, Hey, if you can't control yourself, like get married, that's fine. Um, the thing I want to focus on is that he says you should remain single as I am.
And because of that, many people have assumed that Paul was a single man. I just want to recognize that it's possible that he was a single man. Well, a hundred percent, he was a single man at this time, but it's possible that he was actually like a divorced man or an abandoned man. There is an idea out there that history tells us Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin.
And [00:08:00] the only way you could be a member of the Sanhedrin was to be a married man. So it's very possible that Paul actually was married at one point in time and his wife either died or, you know, possibly left him because he became a Christian and he was like Shaming her by following Christ. Uh, we can see an acts 23 six, um, that he identified as a Pharisee himself.
He actually said he was a Pharisee and it was sort of like an unspoken rule that you had to be married to be a Pharisee. So that is some evidence for this argument. And then Galatians one 14 talks about how. He, he says himself, he was, um, moving quickly up the ranks essentially in Judaism and you would not have been able to do that as a single man.
So it's very likely that Paul, um, was married at one time and that actually makes these passages more powerful to me, not less like he's speaking from the perspective of like, Hey, I actually know both sides of this. And one, I know like what a healthy marriage. Looked like, because perhaps he was part of one at one time.
And two, I know now that I can follow Christ even more [00:09:00] passionately and even less distracted because I am a single man. Uh, and then he goes on to say that you really should not be divorced. So there's, there's a lot of interesting things going on in this passage. Yeah. And I, the parts that I picked up on specifically about divorce, uh, verse 10 and verse 12.
So he's speaking about, um. Essentially not separating from your wife, but also if there's an unbelieving spouse that they should not separate either. But if, if the unbelieving husband or wife decides to separate, like, don't, don't hold, I guess, essentially hold them back. But what's interesting about both of those verses 10 and 12, uh, it says, I give this charge or to the rest, I say, but then it says, not I, but the Lord.
So that's the first one. Yeah. It's like a, it's like a personal, but then the second one to the rest, I say, I, not the Lord. So it's interesting that he's like, separating himself. It seems a little bit from like, It's almost like what God says, but then my interpretation, [00:10:00] I like actually that he's trying to be clear on it because the things that he knows clearly are from God, he's not afraid to say, Hey, this is from God.
And the things that he knows, like, this is actually my opinion. This is not a command from God. He's clear on that as well. I think it's actually a great example for anybody that's going to teach the word today to be able to clearly understand where God is speaking authoritatively and where you're just trying to give a informed opinion based on what the spirit has revealed to you.
I think I think it's helpful to reveal those things. Um, also I want to point out that the, the middle of the chapter, I would say probably like verse 12 through verse 16. It's this thing about like, if you're married and you have an unbelieving spouse, um, his Paul's argument is basically try to stay married as long as you possibly can and be a witness of Christ in that marriage.
What Paul is teaching here is specifically for people who were not Christians and got married and then became Christians after they're married. It is not a case to be made for somebody who is a [00:11:00] Christian that they should pursue a marriage relationship with somebody who is not, that's not wise. And you should not do that.
I mean, that leaves room then for like unmarried, or excuse me, unmarried Jebus, um, like unbelieving couples, just both of them and like, say they get married and won. becomes a believer. Right. I feel like that is more, that sheds more light onto like what he's talking about. And knowing the context of the Corinthian church, certainly there would have been relationships like that and that's why he's given the directions that he's giving.
Yeah. So then we move into a little bit more throughout this chapter and I, I personally was very, um, convicted by this because it was like, oh my goodness, I have known so many people throughout my life. I feel like we have gotten married, we got married pretty young. I think we were graduated college when we were married, but anyway, it doesn't happen like that for everyone.
And I know plenty of my girlfriends that often that, you know, they did the whole college scene didn't really date [00:12:00] anybody. And it was a couple of years, if not longer, if not, still hasn't happened yet. Um, where a lot of my friends would just like fall apart because like, I don't know who I'm going to be with.
I don't know why I'm not with anybody. I don't know why I'm not married. And I think, again, from this perspective as being a married woman, it is very different for me. Obviously, I'm not feeling the same feelings and all of those things. However, I am. I've, I've always felt bad and like, huh, I wonder like, why isn't that happening for them?
I don't get it. Um, and I've seen the pain and it is awful. Like I just, I don't, there's nothing you can do about it. Um, and I feel like God does definitely work in those situations 100%. But if you have ever read first Corinthians seven. There are some serious, like, encouraging verses for us as believers, which should be first and foremost anyway, for people who are single.
And it does say in verse, [00:13:00] it's essentially verse 32 to 34, I'm just going to read it. It says, I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things and how to please his wife and the interests are divided.
The unmarried betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord and how to be holy in body and spirit, but the married woman is anxious about worldly things and how to please her husband. And so to me, that's just like, I don't know that it makes one better than the other, but he is saying like, if you are not married, if you are single, you have the ability to stay fixated solely and completely on what the Lord is requiring of you.
In your relationship with him. And there are little to no distractions. And I just, I know I have a lot of really good friends or have known friends throughout the years that just so deeply desired marriage. But Paul is encouraging here. Like. It's not a bad thing to not be married. You actually have the [00:14:00] ability that married people don't have to say so laser focused on what God is up to.
And I think that's the important thing to understand completely about first Corinthians seven. The point of first Corinthians seven is that we are called first and foremost to honor and glorify Christ. And actually what we're called to do is avoid any distractions from that purpose. Paul's making the case that marriage is not a bad thing, but when you're married, obviously you're concerned about serving your wife, serving your kids, taking care of your family, and that can at times distract you from being wholeheartedly committed to serving God.
I mean, for example, if I wanted to be a missionary tomorrow, it obviously would be a much more difficult decision to make, um, than it would be. You know, 20 years ago when it was like, yeah, I'll just go. Like one of my favorite stories about being young is like, I heard that there was a hurricane in Houston, uh, on like a Thursday and on that Friday afternoon, I was headed to Houston to fix up houses in Houston.
Like it was, it was actually Galveston Island. Um, but it was not a big deal to go. I didn't have to get it. Like I didn't have to line up any [00:15:00] schedules. I didn't have to worry about the money because it was just me. And obviously when it's just you, you have more freedom to serve Christ. So if you are single, don't despise the fact that you're single serve Christ.
If you're married, don't despise the fact that you're married. Serve Christ, which brings us to our, your part, which I'll go ahead and make here. Verse 24. There you go. Verse 24. So, uh, actually I'll start in 23. You were bought with a price. Do not become bond servants of men. So brothers in whatever condition each was called there, let him remain with God.
The point is to serve God. The point is to be satisfied in the ability to serve God. It's not wrong to get married. It's not wrong to be single. It's not wrong to be in the job that you're in. It's not wrong to get a different job, but whatever you do, do it to honor Christ, laser focused on honoring Christ.
And that's what all of us want to strive to do. So, uh, it is double feature Monday. We'll be, we'll be back again in five minutes, perhaps, uh, with first Corinthians eight, or maybe you don't want to listen to us twice in one day. You can pick us up tomorrow. Uh, but we're going to be [00:16:00] cutting another episode on first Corinthians eight here in just a second.
We'll see you then. Thanks for listening to today's episode. Before we get to the reading, I want to recommend another podcast that I'm a part of called God's whole story. This year, we're releasing one episode a week on Monday mornings, overviewing one book of the Bible each week. So God's plan. Your part is a deep dive chapter by chapter where God's whole story is taking it one book at a time.
If you enjoy this podcast, you'll enjoy that one. Go check it out. Now, here's the reading. First Corinthians, chapter 7. Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. [00:17:00] Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self control.
Now as a concession, not a command, I say this, I wish that all were as I myself am, but each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows, I say, it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self control, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
To the married I give this charge, not I, but the Lord, the wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband, and the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say, I, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
If any woman has a husband who is an [00:18:00] unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.
But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and which God has called him.
This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.
Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. [00:19:00] Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of this opportunity. For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
You were bought with a price. Do not become bondservants of men. So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress, it is good for a person to remain as he is.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers. The appointed time has grown very short.[00:20:00]
From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods. And those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things. How to please his wife. And his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit.
But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, his passions are strong, as it has to be, let him do as he wishes.
Let them marry, it is no sin. [00:21:00] But whoever is firmly established in his heart being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part.
Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform. And YouTube. Let us know what you thought of today's episode and if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there. You can also reach out to us directly at God's plan, your part@gmail.com. As always, if you don't have a Bible or if you'd like to use the one that we use, uh, reach out to us via email and we'll be happy to send one to you.
Thanks again for [00:22:00] listening. We'll see you again tomorrow.
