Written by: Peter Ridge - Church Army
1 Corinthians 7 v 10-16
Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me;
it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband. But if she does
leave, she must not marry again, or she should make up with her husband. Also
the husband should not divorce his wife.
For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): If a Christian
man has a wife who is not a believer, and she is happy to live with him, he must
not divorce her. And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer,
and he is happy to live with her, she must not divorce him. The husband who is
not a believer is made holy through his believing wife. And the wife who is not
a believer is made holy through her believing husband. If this were not true,
your children would not be clean, but now your children are holy.
But if those who are not believers decide to leave, let them leave. When this
happens, the Christian man or woman is free. But God called us to live in peace.
Wife, you don’t know; maybe you will save your husband. And husband, you
don’t know; maybe you will save your wife.
Notes
Whether or not you or I are now married, this passage has a message for all
of us. But first, Paul reminds us of Jesus’ teaching (Mark 10 v 9)
that marriage is supposed to be for life and therefore divorce is not part
of God’s plan for his people. People who have gone through divorce
know just how painful and costly it is, emotionally and spiritually, let
alone financially. God’s laws are for our benefit and as the old prayer
book says, marriage is not to be undertaken unadvisedly or lightly but reverently
and in the fear of God.
All the big decisions in our lives need a lot of prayer: asking for God’s guidance and listening to his voice to know his will, whether choosing a university, a career, a boy/girlfriend and especially a marriage partner.
Circumstances change; people come to know Jesus as their Lord and saviour and their lives are transformed. If their partner is not a Christian (and often today this is the husband), it can be very unsettling for both as the priorities and behaviour of the Christian alter. The non-Christian is puzzled by profound changes in their partner. The young Christian may struggle to explain new attitudes and commitments. But God is gracious; often the quite humble witness of the believer in how they behave raises questions that bring the other partner to his or her own faith in Jesus.
This is the message for every Christian: our friends will observe how we behave and will take note, for good or ill. “Christian, you don’t know; maybe you will save your friend.”
Prayer
Father, help me this day, to be kind, to be generous, to be forgiving. Help
me not to get things wrong and to be prepared to apologise if I upset anyone.
Help me to show that being a Christian makes a difference. Amen
1 Corinthians 7 v 17-24
But in any case each one of you should continue to live the way God has given
you to live - the way you were when God called you. This is a rule I make
in all the churches. If a man was already circumcised when he was called,
he should not undo his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when
he was called, he should not be circumcised. It is not important if a man
is circumcised or not. The important thing is obeying God’s commands.
Each one of you should stay the way you were when God called you. If you
were a slave when God called you, do not let that bother you. But if you
can be free, then make good use of your freedom. Those who were slaves when
the Lord called them are free persons who belong to the Lord. In the same
way, those who were free when they were called are now Christ’s slaves.
You all were bought at a great price, so do not become slaves of people.
Brothers and sisters, each of you should stay as you were when you were called,
and stay there with God.
Notes
After Sir Cliff Richard became a Christian, the newspapers reported that he
was thinking about giving up his singing career to become a schoolteacher.
Given his enthusiasm for life, he would no doubt have been a very good teacher.
But he learnt that God wanted him to continue to entertain us, and as a Christian
in the public eye he is a wonderful witness to God’s power in his life.
It is quite right for young Christians to think about aspects of their lives that need changing. But the change is about how we behave in what we do, not about what we do. God wants to change us from the inside, not the outside. When soldiers coming to be baptised by John asked how their lives should change to show repentance (Luke 3 v 14), he told them to be good soldiers; he didn’t tell them to change their role in life.
The first Christian leaders were all Jewish people who had been circumcised in accordance with their religion. When non-Jewish people became Christians, some thought that they should conform and be circumcised too. But Paul said, “No” - don’t slavishly follow what others do; rather, seek out what is God’s will. His words show us the freedom, bought at the great price of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, to be fully ourselves. In a sense we become God’s slaves, but he is a loving master who calls us his friends (John 15 v 15).
Prayer
Father, help me this day to know your will for my life. Thank you for the great
price you paid to save me. Help me not be a slave to my old ways before I
knew you. Amen
1 Corinthians 7 v 25-28
Now I write about people who are not married. I have no command from the Lord
about this; I give my opinion. But I can be trusted, because the Lord has
shown me mercy. The present time is a time of trouble, so I think it is good
for you to stay the way you are. If you have a wife, do not try to become
free from her. If you are not married, do not try to find a wife. But if
you decide to marry, you have not sinned. And if a girl who has never married
decides to marry, she has not sinned. But those who marry will have trouble
in this life, and I want you to be free from trouble.
Notes
On the beaches of Britain they fly a red flag when the bathing is dangerous.
In Florida they sound a hooter to warn bathers to get out of the water if
lightning is about to strike. Neither is saying that bathing is wrong; merely
that for the time being it is very dangerous. That is the burden of what
Paul was saying to his friends at Corinth: go swimming when the water is
calmer. He was certainly not against marriage at the right time. Indeed in
Ephesians 5 v 22-33 he compared human marriage to the relationship that Christ
has with his church.
He may have anticipated the persecution of Christians by the Romans - he certainly knew that it was a time of trouble and upheaval - and his practical advice was: “Don’t get married now; it will add to your concerns.” During the Second World War, many deferred thoughts of marriage until the war would be over, because of the uncertainty. Unhappily, some who chose to marry lost their loved one in battle and endured a double misery.
Most of us are blessed in not having to face such an extreme situation, but there is still a clear message for us to be responsible in our decision-making if we are to honour God in our lives. Helping your church leaders each week may be fine, but if it takes time from your studies and leads to you failing your exams, God is not honoured. If you build a business and never see your kids grow up, God is not honoured.
Prayer
Father, thank you that you understand the pressures of life upon me. Help me
to seek your wisdom day by day in making difficult choices about how I should
use my time. Amen
1 Corinthians 7 v 29-35
Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: We do not have much time left. So
starting now, those who have wives should live as if they had no wives. Those
who are crying should live as if they were not crying. Those who are happy
should live as if they were not happy. Those who buy things should live as
if they own nothing. Those who use the things of the world should live as
if they were not using them, because this world in its present form will
soon be gone.
I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the
Lord’s work, trying to please the Lord. But a man who is married is busy
with things of the world, trying to please his wife. He must think about two
things - pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. A woman who is not married
or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants
to be holy in body and spirit. But a married woman is busy with things of the
world, as to how she can please her husband. I am saying this to help you,
not to limit you. But I want you to live in the right way, to give yourselves
fully to the Lord without concern for other things.
Notes
This is a difficult passage for us to understand in relation to our experience
today, yet it contains a principle that is well worth dwelling upon. Its
message applies to us all and is far deeper than the immediate question the
writer, Paul, addresses of how married people should behave towards each
other. Clearly, he believed that the last days were upon them: the church
was expecting the imminent second coming of Christ, perhaps triggered by
an increasing expectation of intense persecution of Christians.
To get a sense of how the Corinthians must have felt, imagine your fear and dread if you were a Jew living in Nazi Germany, when every day might be your last and your whole community was being systematically destroyed. This is in marked contrast with how many Christians think today. There is a vague acceptance that the world will end some time, but no real consideration is given to the possibility that it might end in our lifetime. Too many Christians have lost any sense of urgency about spreading the gospel amid the daily cares of just living.
Yet death is all around us by disease, by accident and, sadly, by the design of others. In New York the terrorist attack of 9/11 was a wake-up call, as was the outrage of 7/7 in London. Paul was saying that the normal things of the world should not blunt our desire to serve God daily, and we should give ourselves fully to the Lord, for “the Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him” (Matthew 24 v 44).
Prayer
Father, help me to give myself fully to you today and to live each day as though
it were my last. Amen
1 Corinthians 7 v 36-40
If a man thinks he is not doing the right thing with the girl he is engaged
to, if she is almost past the best age to marry and he feels he should marry
her, he should do what he wants. They should get married. It is no sin. But
if a man is sure in his mind that there is no need for marriage, and has
his own desires under control, and has decided not to marry the one to whom
he is engaged, he is doing the right thing. So the man who marries his girl
does right, but the man who does not marry will do better.
A woman must stay with her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband
dies, she is free to marry any man she wants, but she must marry in the Lord.
The woman is happier if she does not marry again. This is my opinion, but I
believe I also have God’s Spirit.
Notes
Paul was answering questions about marriage and immorality from the Corinthians
(see verse 1 and 2 of this chapter). In their Greek culture, the body was
thought of as evil and only the spirit was pure. With that understanding,
there was a tendency either to sexual excess (because it did not matter)
or to total abstinence to avoid contamination. But as Christians we know
that God loves the complete person: body, mind and spirit. Indeed our bodies
are called the temple of the Holy Spirit (chapter 3 v 16) and we should take
care not to abuse them.
Human sexuality is a very powerful God-given force. The mutual attraction of male and female for each other is a wonderful gift and delight that can drive us dizzy with anticipation but if uncontrolled can lead to trouble. Sex outside of marriage damages us, damages the church and dishonours Christ who died for us. Promiscuity is one of the curses of our age that leaves a trail of misery and broken homes.
Marriage is the God-given answer to deal with our sex drive. But there are some who can so control their natural desires that they are right to remain single. I know lots of unmarried Christians who forego the joys of family and children, or who marry late in life, to allow them time to concentrate on serving God. Paul was clear that both the married and unmarried state is right; promiscuity is wrong.
And we shouldn’t overlook Paul’s strong advice “to marry in the Lord”. That means marrying another Christian and praying for God’s guidance before we pop the question! The lessons here for us today are equally applicable to men and women.
Prayer
Father, thank you for the joy of human fellowship and marital love. Help me
today to honour you in my body and in my mind. Help me to overcome lustful
thoughts. Amen
1 Corinthians 8 v 1-8
Now I will write about meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we
all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds
up. If you think you know something, you do not yet know anything as you should.
But if any person loves God, that person is known by God.
So this is what I say about eating meat sacrificed to idols: We know that an
idol is really nothing in the world, and we know there is only one God. Even
though there are things called gods, in heaven or on earth (and there are many “gods” and “lords”),
for us there is only one God - our Father. All things came from him, and we
live for him. And there is only one Lord - Jesus Christ. All things were made
through him, and we also were made through him.
But not all people know this. Some people are still so used to idols that when
they eat meat, they still think of it as being sacrificed to an idol. Because
their conscience is weak, when they eat it, they feel guilty. But food will
not bring us closer to God. Refusing to eat does not make us less pleasing
to God, and eating does not make us better in God’s sight.
Notes
In Corinth, it was virtually impossible to buy any meat that had not been offered
to an idol or used as part of a pagan sacrifice before being sold in the
shops. Some new Christians were keen to show off their knowledge that since
idols were just shaped lumps of wood or stone, they were really nothing,
and the food was therefore unaffected and OK to eat. If they sought Paul’s
praise, they were to be disappointed.
Rather than applauding them, Paul started by saying that love is a higher gift than knowledge. Loving God is what really matters. After all, the world was made through Jesus and we must live for him. Yes, some people were worried about eating meat because of the idols, but so what? Neither eating the meat nor avoiding it made any impact on God.
It is quite possible for us in our enthusiasm as young Christians (and older ones too!) to be rather proud and boastful of our superior knowledge over others. But that is not living in love for our neighbours. If you want to boast, then boast in the Lord (2 Corinthians 10 v 17).
Prayer
Father, I thank you that you are a God of spirit, not of stone; that through
Jesus you have made yourself known to me. Help me, by the Holy Spirit, to
give you the glory for all I am and all I achieve this day. Amen
1 Corinthians 8 v 9-13
But be careful that your freedom does not cause those who are weak in faith
to fall into sin. You have “knowledge,” so you eat in an idol’s
temple. But someone who is weak in faith might see you eating there and be
encouraged to eat meat sacrificed to idols while thinking it is wrong to
do so. This weak believer for whom Christ died is ruined because of your “knowledge.” When
you sin against your brothers and sisters in Christ like this and cause them
to do what they feel is wrong, you are also sinning against Christ. So if
the food I eat causes them to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again
so that I will not cause any of them to sin.
Notes
This reading develops the argument that Paul used in the previous passage:
love is the highest command and surpasses knowledge. Christ has made us free.
There is no tedious rule book that I must follow in order to know him and
to experience his forgiveness.
But I must not exercise my freedom and my knowledge if it encourages others to do what they think is wrong. Suppose I like going to the pub for a drink and can see no harm in it, but a young friend believes that all alcohol is wrong. Suppose that I persuade him to join me one evening against his conscience; then I am sinning against him and, by extension, I am sinning against Christ.
In every church and Christian community, we come across those whose views we disagree with. There can be profound differences over doctrine and church practice. We may think that others are weak in the faith because they have opinions that we think are inconsistent with a gospel of grace. Yet whether we are right or they are, we are fellow believers and Christ’s command is that we love one another (John 15 v 12).
It is sad to say, but church councils are perfect training grounds for trying out this practice of loving fellow Christians. Remember the Vicar of Dibley who constantly had to handle sympathetically the nonsense beliefs and dodgy practices of her council members.
Prayer
Father, help me this day to be gentle with those I meet. May I not belittle
the beliefs of others, but seek to show your love for me in the way I love
others, especially the difficult ones. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text
taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright
1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes