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1 Corinthians (Lesson 23)
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Please
open your Bible at 1 Corinthians 7:25.
1 Corinthians 7
25: Now concerning
virgins (engaged
women), I have no command of the
Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is
trustworthy (His apostle).
26: I think then
that this is good in view of the present distress, that it
is good for a man to remain as he is.
27: Are you bound
to a wife? Do not seek to be
released. Are you released from a
wife? Do not seek a wife.
28: But if you
marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this
life, and I am trying to spare you.
Back
at 7:12 Paul said “I (not the Lord) say
to the rest of you: This does not
deny the divine inspiration of his words.
He simply means: “This is not part of the revelation I have
received from the Lord.” In verse
25, he confirms this explanation by his statement: Now
concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord…
Some
argue that since these are Paul’s words and not the Lord’s they carry no
“weight.”
But
Scripture says something totally different.
Everything in Paul’s letters was divinely inspired as emphasized in 2
Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:16, where Peter calls all Paul’s writings, “Scripture,” which the untaught and unstable (people) distort (twist) as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
The
phrase “Now concerning” takes us
back to 7:1 where Paul begins answering the Corinthians questions. In this particular section, he is addressing
those who are engaged to be married.
Paul’s opening remarks make it clear that he is giving an inspired opinion on the matter of singleness. The revelation Paul received from the risen
Lord did not include the subject of marriage, so the counseling the Corinthians
are receiving from Paul on this topic does not fall under the heading of a
command from the Lord.
Bear
in mind that Paul’s advice or judgment was based on the conditions at Corinth
at that time and it wasn’t a picnic, as verse 26 points out: I
think then that this is good in view of the present distress,
that it is good for a man to remain as he is…
But if you’re able to discern the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3), then you’re aware the circumstances
in Corinth aren’t that different from today.
Our social fabric is collapsing and America’s morals continue to decay
at an alarming rate, so these suggestions from Paul are more appropriate than
many people are willing to admit.
The
key to understanding why Paul said this is the phrase, “the present distress.”
In
these verses Paul recommends singleness in light of the challenging
circumstances in Corinth and elsewhere.
In verse 7:26 he speaks of the
present distress and in verse 7:28 he refers to trouble in this life. It’s
likely these phrases are referring to a couple of things. I found the following information in an
encyclopedia and The New Complete Works of Josephus.
1) There was a famine
occurring in Corinth and other parts of the Roman world. (See
the Famines under Claudius who reigned from 41-54 AD) The Apostle Luke’s account in Acts 11:27-28 refer to the famine of 45 AD which was particularly
centered in Judea. The historian Josephus
writes about this famine as well: (Antiquities 20.2.5 49-53). The third famine is
the one we draw our attention to. It
centered in Greece in about 50 AD. Scripture
informs us Paul was taking up a famine relief collection for Jerusalem at 1
Corinthians 16:1-4.
2)
The present
distress also
refers to the persecution raging against God’s church and the prospect that
this will increase as time marches on. Paul’s
concern for the Corinthian saints is evidenced here: Yet
such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.
Let’s
go to verses 29-33.
1 Corinthians 7
29: But this I say,
brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those
who have wives should be as though they had none;
30: and those who
weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did
not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess;
31: and those who
use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this
world is passing away.
32: But I want you
to be free from concern. One who is
unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the
Lord;
33: but the one who
is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his
wife.
Paul
said: the time has been shortened; and by this he
means to say the last days or that
time period prior to the rapture of God’s Church, an event that precedes the
coming Tribulation period. We’ve been
living in the last days since the
Lord Jesus Christ’s first advent (Hebrews 1:2).
Paul’s phrase agrees with the other comments he made in his letters concerning
the Lord’s imminent return. Paul had no
idea that this current dispensation would last two thousand years. He fully expected to be alive when the Lord returned
for His church (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15). So, this is Paul describing conditions that
are going to grow progressively worse and then come to a climax during the Great
Tribulation period or the latter half of the Tribulation.
I
think we’re ready for verses 34-35 now.
1 Corinthians 7
34: and his interests
are divided. The woman who is unmarried,
and the virgins, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be
holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married in concerned about the things
of the world, how she may please her husband.
35: This I say for
your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is
appropriate and to secure undistracted
devotion to the Lord.
Here
Paul acknowledges that married people are concerned about their spouse, and
their children in some circumstances, and rightly so. If not, someone is going to find themselves
in the proverbial “dog-house.” Marriage
isn’t easy; it’s work, ask anyone who is married. Marriage requires energy, sacrifice, and time
from both partners. You may have heard
it said that marriage is a 50-50 proposition, but I’m here to tell you that if
you want a happy marriage and a happy home-life both the husband and the wife
will need to contribute 100% each and every day.
Paul’s
point is the marriage relationship can keep the husband and wife from devoting themselves
to Jesus Christ, which means He is no longer the Main Thing in their lives. For example, they must balance their devotion
to their spouse, their children, their work or careers (you have to have money
or it all comes crashing down around you – Amen) and the Lord gets the
“leftovers” of your time, energy, and effort.
Who hasn’t fallen asleep at night in the midst of their prayers, for instance? Paul said this throws their lives out of
balance - but the one who is married is concerned
about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests
are divided. This is why Paul advised
the Corinthians to remain as he was, single; it has multiple advantages over
the married life.
Let’s
go to verses 36-40.
1 Corinthians 7
36: But if any man
thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter,
If she is past her
youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let
her marry.
37: But he who
stands firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his
own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well.
38: So then both he
who gives his own virgin daughter in
marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.
Please
note the word daughter appears in each of the verses above in italics. This means the word was added to the text by
the translators to help the reader. I
mention this because I believe it confuses an already difficult passage of
Scripture. People have interpreted the phrase any man… toward his virgin daughter in one of three ways:
1) A believing father
and his unmarried daughter (NASB)
2) A believing man and
his fiancée (NKJV)
3) A type of spiritual
marriage (NEB)
Working
through this, option one picks up Paul’s words in 7:36 and shows that the
father might be acting unbecomingly (unreasonably
or unfairly) toward his unmarried daughter “If she is past her youth,” and having fallen in love with a man,
evidently, has not been given permission to marry him by the father. The authority for this decision rested with
the father back in Paul’s day. In
addition, it is assumed that the young man in question was a Believer
(7:39). I believe this is the best
interpretation of the three options based on the textual evidence.
The
phrase he (the father of the virgin)
who stands firm in his heart (v37)
refers to his purpose or reasons for keeping his daughter from being married.
Perhaps the man in question, hoping to marry this man’s daughter, is not
a Believer. But, in reality, there could
be any number of valid reasons as to why the father chose to withhold his
blessing. The words stand fast is opposed to a disposition that is indecisive or troubled
and denotes a man who has authority over
his own will; has decided this in
his own heart, in keeping his daughter in an unmarried state. Paul said, he will do well.
Paul
wraps up this counseling section on marriage and remarriage with these words:
39: A wife is bound
as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free
to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.
40: But in my
opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have
the Spirit of God.
Here
Paul underlines all his counseling on marriage, divorce, and remarriage
emphasizing that marriage is for life and Believers should only marry
Believers. Paul states clearly death is
the only circumstance that frees a person for remarriage and this is applicable
even today. There are people who hold
other opinions on this, but you’re hearing it from our apostle, which is the
same thing as hearing it from the risen Lord.
In
this present dispensation there is no ground or reason for obtaining a
divorce. The marriage vows are binding
until death. The “writing of divorce”
that Moses gave the hard-hearted Israelites is not a rule for us today and even
the one exception, adultery, (fornication),
which our Lord allowed, was based on the fact that Jehovah’s wife, Israel, had
to be divorced because of her multiple idolatries. Praise God she will be restored and re-united
again to her true Husband in the coming future (Jeremiah 3:20; Isaiah 54:5-8).
Believers
are only to marry other Believers
whether this is your first marriage or a second. Let’s be clear on this by Believer Paul means
to say someone who has a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and not
someone who simply says, “I believe there’s a God.” Believers are to be “equally yoked.” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Verses
12 thru 40 may be summed up in this manner:
If single stay single, if married
stay married, if divorced stay divorced, if a slave remain in slavery unless
set free, if circumcised do not become uncircumcised, if uncircumcised do not
become circumcised. The intent of
Paul’s advice was for each person, no matter their station in life, to conduct
his or her life in such a manner that would not create any unnecessary anxiety
or stress during the present distress,
knowing the Lord’s return is imminent. Just
keep on keeping on, in the Lord, if you will.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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