In last week's lesson on I Corithians 7:17-24, the apostle Paul, recognizing the discontentment that was prevalent among the new believers in the Corinthian church, urged them to live, and remain, and to be content in whatever situation they were in when the Lord called them to salvation! And so, whether one was married or unmarried, or married to a believer or to an unbeliever, he (or she!) should regard his (or her) current state as the place where God--in His sovereignty--had placed them, for the time being, and concentrate on serving the Lord in that state rather than spending their time and energy trying to change it! Likewise, that "if a man was called when he was already circumcised," he was not to become uncircumcised (as some apparently tried to do), and if uncircumcised, not to be circumcised! Because, as he later wrote in Galatians 5:6, "neither circumcision means anything (to a believer under the 'New Covenant'), but faith working through love"!
Even slaves, Paul noted, "shouldn't worry" about their state, because if they were called in the Lord while a slave, they were actually "the Lord's freedmen"! And if one was "called while free, he was Christ's slave"! In fact, all believers, Paul emphasized, should see their station in life, including their occupations, and their relationships, as "Divine appointments" and their vocations as "vocations of God," and therefore not only remain in the places where they were called, but to "bloom where they were planted"!
And, most importantly, they were to always remember that they were "bought with a price," and so therefore shouldn't allow themselves to (again!) become "slaves to the ways of the world"!
We were reminded about how much the Bible has to say about our "freedom in Christ"! Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-2, "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has made you (us!) free from the law of sin and death"! And in Galatians 5:1 that, "it was for freedom that Christ has set you free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery!" And how about the beloved disciple John's words in John 8:38, that "if Christ has set you free, you are free indeed'! Hodge, the Bible commentator, added that "they are only free whom Christ makes free! Christ, our Redeemer, and the author of our salvation"! (And so, you may want to shout, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once did: "Freedom now!")
But all that was last week! But the apostle Paul was finished with his "words of wisdom" concerning the marriage relationship, and so had more to say on the subject in our lesson last night on I Corinthians 7:25-40 (in answer to questions the Corinthians had apparently written to him about!)--where he again shows his personal advocacy (and perhaps a bit of "bias") for "some brothers and sisters" to remain unmarried! Like him!
"Now concerning virgins..." the NASV begins! (ESV says, "the betrothed"! Phillips, "young unmarried women"!) Having already established "his opinion" in the preceding verses that both marriage and singleness are "good and right," he expresses his opinion again that--"in view of the present distress"--it is good for one to "remain as he (or she!) is! Are you bound by a wife? Don't seek to be released! Are you free from a wife? Don't seek a wife! But if you (a man!) marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin (ESV says, "betrothed woman"!) marries, she has not sinned! Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you!"
And so, Paul says that it's better to remain single! First of all, because of the "present distress"! (Phillips says, "amid all the difficulties of the present time"!) None of the commentators seem to know for sure what the "present distress" was, but Constable notes that it may have been some kind of crisis in the Corinthian church, or in the city of Corinth! MacArthur thinks Paul may have had a sense of the terrible Roman persecutions that would begin with Nero some ten years after Paul's epistle to the Corinthians!
Paul certainly knew what it was like to live in times of great distress! In II Corinthians 6:4 he describes himself, along with other believers, as living "as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger..." and he goes on! And he seemed to be making references here as well to the "last days" when there would be even greater hostilities toward believers, along with an increasing apostacy in the church! Jesus told the disciples (in John 15:18-20) that they were going to suffer persecution and that "if the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you! If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you..." And then Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:1-5, "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come! For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness, while denying its power"!
Persecution is difficult enough for a single person, but the problems are multiplied for one who is married!
Then, another reason for remaining single, Paul writes, is because of "the trouble in this life! Some versions call this "problems of the flesh"! MacArthur notes that "it's hard enough for a sinner to live by himself, let along with another sinner..." and, when you have children, with a bunch of "little sinners"! Not to mentions grandchildren! And so, when two people are bound together in marriage the problems of human nature are multiplied! Marriage involves conflict, demands, hardships, sacrifices, and adjustments that singleness doesn't! And though ordained by God, good and holy, and fulfilling, there's still the problem of the fallen flesh"! Gordon Fee writes, that "with all the troubles that the Corinthian believers were already experiencing, who needs the additional burdens of marriage as well?"
Then there's "the shortness of time," and the "passing of the world"! I Peter 2:24 says, "All flesh is as grass, the glory of man is like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls away!" In verses 29-31, Paul says that marriage and all human relationships, emotions, possessions, and pleasures are passing away, should not be "overvalued," and become sinful when they dominate our thoughts and behavior, and detract us from serving the Lord! And so, even though marriage is God-ordained and sacred, and a picture of Christ's relationship to the church, and blessed, it is not an eternal relationship and only becomes what it ought to be when two people are solely devoted to Jesus Christ! Note what Jesus said, in Matthew 22:30, in answer to a question raised by the Sadducees: "For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven"!
Then, relatedly, Paul suggests that, in his opinion, it's better for one to remain single because of the "preoccupations of marriage"! Both husbands and wives tend to be "overly concerned with the things of the world"! The husband, "that he might please the wife, and the wife that she might please the husband"! And Paul says in verse 32 that he wants them to be free from the anxieties that go with that kind of lifestyle! MacArthur notes, however, that "marriage doesn't prevent great devotion to the Lord, and that singleness doesn't guarantee it either!" But that singleness has fewer hindrances and results (supposedly!) in fewer anxieties!
In verses 36-38, Paul appears to be giving advice to fathers who are making vows to keep their daughters as "virgins," and free from marriage (at least as it's interpreted in NASV), while the ESV (and other translations) seem to see Paul giving the same advice to men who are considering marriage to virgins to whom they are betrothed! MacArthur notes that in the Jewish culture of that day, parents, and particularly fathers, played a dominant role in deciding whether, and to whom their children should marry! Arranged marriages were the norm! And so, some fathers in the Corinthian church were apparently committed to dedicating their daughters to the Lord as permanent virgins! Constable notes that the fathers may have made this vow because of what Paul had written or otherwise taught about singleness as the preferable state, or because of the "ascetic influences" in the church that gave a false sense of "spirituality" for remaining celibate! Or, because of the "present distress"! (This kind of thinking, in controlling who our children would marry would probably not work so well in the culture of our day!)
In any event, the bottom line was that Paul seemed to come to his senses and write that the fathers noted should feel free to change their minds and allow their daughters (who were of age and desirous of getting married!) to marry! And, if the context is that of a fiancé, for the man to consider marrying the woman to whom he was betrothed!
And finally, the apostle Paul seems to be giving one more reason why it might be better for singles to remain single! And that's because of the "permanency of marriage"! "A wife is bound to her husband as long as her husband lives," and likewise for the husband being "bound" to the wife! Implying that this might be a good reason for a man not to marry! Ha! Remember how the disciples responded to Jesus' teaching, in Matthew 19:19, about the permanency of marriage! "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this," they responded (implying "being stuck" with her for life!), maybe "it's better not to marry"!
And with that, Paul ends his "discourse" on marriage, and divorce, and singleness, with one final shot (giving his own somewhat "biased" opinion) as to why it might be better for some to remain unmarried!
Constable sums it up by writing that "his chapter (chapter 7 of I Corinthians) is one of the central passages about marriage in the Bible (the others being Deuteronomy 24, Matthew 5 and 19, and Mark 10). And it reveals that Paul was not a hard-nosed bigot and advocate of celibacy as some have accused him of being! He was extremely careful to distinguish his personal preferences in non-moral aspects of this subject from the Lord's will. Even when the will of God was unequivocal (as in verse 39) he did not 'pound the pulpit' but simply explained God's will objectively! May all of us who preach and teach on this subject follow his example," Constable concludes!
As a sidenote, this passage (and all of I Corinthians 7), at least in my observation, gives a lot better understanding as to why the Catholic church might have chosen to require its priests, and monks, and nuns to live a life of singleness and celibacy (although I could never agree with their judgment)!
Marriage is ordained by God from the beginning, for all the right reasons, and what a blessing it is to married to another believer who wants to join in serving and being devoted to the Lord, having a Christian home, and raising children to honor and follow Jesus Christ! But then too, some may be called, and given the gift of singleness! Thank God, not me!
Men, love your wives!
Lowell
Even slaves, Paul noted, "shouldn't worry" about their state, because if they were called in the Lord while a slave, they were actually "the Lord's freedmen"! And if one was "called while free, he was Christ's slave"! In fact, all believers, Paul emphasized, should see their station in life, including their occupations, and their relationships, as "Divine appointments" and their vocations as "vocations of God," and therefore not only remain in the places where they were called, but to "bloom where they were planted"!
And, most importantly, they were to always remember that they were "bought with a price," and so therefore shouldn't allow themselves to (again!) become "slaves to the ways of the world"!
We were reminded about how much the Bible has to say about our "freedom in Christ"! Paul wrote in Romans 8:1-2, "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has made you (us!) free from the law of sin and death"! And in Galatians 5:1 that, "it was for freedom that Christ has set you free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery!" And how about the beloved disciple John's words in John 8:38, that "if Christ has set you free, you are free indeed'! Hodge, the Bible commentator, added that "they are only free whom Christ makes free! Christ, our Redeemer, and the author of our salvation"! (And so, you may want to shout, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once did: "Freedom now!")
But all that was last week! But the apostle Paul was finished with his "words of wisdom" concerning the marriage relationship, and so had more to say on the subject in our lesson last night on I Corinthians 7:25-40 (in answer to questions the Corinthians had apparently written to him about!)--where he again shows his personal advocacy (and perhaps a bit of "bias") for "some brothers and sisters" to remain unmarried! Like him!
"Now concerning virgins..." the NASV begins! (ESV says, "the betrothed"! Phillips, "young unmarried women"!) Having already established "his opinion" in the preceding verses that both marriage and singleness are "good and right," he expresses his opinion again that--"in view of the present distress"--it is good for one to "remain as he (or she!) is! Are you bound by a wife? Don't seek to be released! Are you free from a wife? Don't seek a wife! But if you (a man!) marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin (ESV says, "betrothed woman"!) marries, she has not sinned! Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you!"
And so, Paul says that it's better to remain single! First of all, because of the "present distress"! (Phillips says, "amid all the difficulties of the present time"!) None of the commentators seem to know for sure what the "present distress" was, but Constable notes that it may have been some kind of crisis in the Corinthian church, or in the city of Corinth! MacArthur thinks Paul may have had a sense of the terrible Roman persecutions that would begin with Nero some ten years after Paul's epistle to the Corinthians!
Paul certainly knew what it was like to live in times of great distress! In II Corinthians 6:4 he describes himself, along with other believers, as living "as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger..." and he goes on! And he seemed to be making references here as well to the "last days" when there would be even greater hostilities toward believers, along with an increasing apostacy in the church! Jesus told the disciples (in John 15:18-20) that they were going to suffer persecution and that "if the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you! If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you..." And then Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:1-5, "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come! For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness, while denying its power"!
Persecution is difficult enough for a single person, but the problems are multiplied for one who is married!
Then, another reason for remaining single, Paul writes, is because of "the trouble in this life! Some versions call this "problems of the flesh"! MacArthur notes that "it's hard enough for a sinner to live by himself, let along with another sinner..." and, when you have children, with a bunch of "little sinners"! Not to mentions grandchildren! And so, when two people are bound together in marriage the problems of human nature are multiplied! Marriage involves conflict, demands, hardships, sacrifices, and adjustments that singleness doesn't! And though ordained by God, good and holy, and fulfilling, there's still the problem of the fallen flesh"! Gordon Fee writes, that "with all the troubles that the Corinthian believers were already experiencing, who needs the additional burdens of marriage as well?"
Then there's "the shortness of time," and the "passing of the world"! I Peter 2:24 says, "All flesh is as grass, the glory of man is like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls away!" In verses 29-31, Paul says that marriage and all human relationships, emotions, possessions, and pleasures are passing away, should not be "overvalued," and become sinful when they dominate our thoughts and behavior, and detract us from serving the Lord! And so, even though marriage is God-ordained and sacred, and a picture of Christ's relationship to the church, and blessed, it is not an eternal relationship and only becomes what it ought to be when two people are solely devoted to Jesus Christ! Note what Jesus said, in Matthew 22:30, in answer to a question raised by the Sadducees: "For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven"!
Then, relatedly, Paul suggests that, in his opinion, it's better for one to remain single because of the "preoccupations of marriage"! Both husbands and wives tend to be "overly concerned with the things of the world"! The husband, "that he might please the wife, and the wife that she might please the husband"! And Paul says in verse 32 that he wants them to be free from the anxieties that go with that kind of lifestyle! MacArthur notes, however, that "marriage doesn't prevent great devotion to the Lord, and that singleness doesn't guarantee it either!" But that singleness has fewer hindrances and results (supposedly!) in fewer anxieties!
In verses 36-38, Paul appears to be giving advice to fathers who are making vows to keep their daughters as "virgins," and free from marriage (at least as it's interpreted in NASV), while the ESV (and other translations) seem to see Paul giving the same advice to men who are considering marriage to virgins to whom they are betrothed! MacArthur notes that in the Jewish culture of that day, parents, and particularly fathers, played a dominant role in deciding whether, and to whom their children should marry! Arranged marriages were the norm! And so, some fathers in the Corinthian church were apparently committed to dedicating their daughters to the Lord as permanent virgins! Constable notes that the fathers may have made this vow because of what Paul had written or otherwise taught about singleness as the preferable state, or because of the "ascetic influences" in the church that gave a false sense of "spirituality" for remaining celibate! Or, because of the "present distress"! (This kind of thinking, in controlling who our children would marry would probably not work so well in the culture of our day!)
In any event, the bottom line was that Paul seemed to come to his senses and write that the fathers noted should feel free to change their minds and allow their daughters (who were of age and desirous of getting married!) to marry! And, if the context is that of a fiancé, for the man to consider marrying the woman to whom he was betrothed!
And finally, the apostle Paul seems to be giving one more reason why it might be better for singles to remain single! And that's because of the "permanency of marriage"! "A wife is bound to her husband as long as her husband lives," and likewise for the husband being "bound" to the wife! Implying that this might be a good reason for a man not to marry! Ha! Remember how the disciples responded to Jesus' teaching, in Matthew 19:19, about the permanency of marriage! "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this," they responded (implying "being stuck" with her for life!), maybe "it's better not to marry"!
And with that, Paul ends his "discourse" on marriage, and divorce, and singleness, with one final shot (giving his own somewhat "biased" opinion) as to why it might be better for some to remain unmarried!
Constable sums it up by writing that "his chapter (chapter 7 of I Corinthians) is one of the central passages about marriage in the Bible (the others being Deuteronomy 24, Matthew 5 and 19, and Mark 10). And it reveals that Paul was not a hard-nosed bigot and advocate of celibacy as some have accused him of being! He was extremely careful to distinguish his personal preferences in non-moral aspects of this subject from the Lord's will. Even when the will of God was unequivocal (as in verse 39) he did not 'pound the pulpit' but simply explained God's will objectively! May all of us who preach and teach on this subject follow his example," Constable concludes!
As a sidenote, this passage (and all of I Corinthians 7), at least in my observation, gives a lot better understanding as to why the Catholic church might have chosen to require its priests, and monks, and nuns to live a life of singleness and celibacy (although I could never agree with their judgment)!
Marriage is ordained by God from the beginning, for all the right reasons, and what a blessing it is to married to another believer who wants to join in serving and being devoted to the Lord, having a Christian home, and raising children to honor and follow Jesus Christ! But then too, some may be called, and given the gift of singleness! Thank God, not me!
Men, love your wives!
Lowell
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