INTRODUCTION: This week our study is 1 Corinthians 7 and Paul's
controversial statements about marriage. Let's dive in!
I. HUMANITY: THE MARRYING TYPE?
A. Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-2. Paul's letter
is a response to
one or more letters the Corinthian church
had written to him.
Looking at v.1, what do you find is one of
the topics about
which the Corinthians wrote to Paul? (Whether
to get married.)
B. When a client writes me a letter with several
questions, it
is common that I repeat each question (in
at least an
abbreviated form) before I answer it. This
helps to make my
advice less confusing. With this background,
in the second
half of v.1, is Paul stating his opinion or
just repeating the
question of the Corinthians? (Our lesson suggests
(Sunday)
that Paul is just repeating the question.
If that were true,
then v.8 is pretty hard to explain.)
1. Let's give
the lesson the benefit of the doubt and say
that the second
half of v.1 is not Paul's opinion, but a
mere repetition
of the Corinthians' question. Is Paul
recommending
marriage in vv. 1-2? (This would hardly
qualify as a
ringing endorsement! The phrase, "damned by
faint praise,"
keeps coming to mind.)
2. If Paul is
in favor of marriage, what is his basis for
supporting marriage?
(Verse 2: to avoid sexual
immorality.
What a grudging and negative support for
marriage!)
a. If they were not surrounded by this sinful
atmosphere, would Paul endorse marriage? (It seems
not.)
C. Read vv. 3-6. Is verse 3 a continuation
of Paul's thought
in v. 2? (No doubt. To avoid sinfulness, each
spouse should do
his or her "duty" to the other.)
1. Just in case
you had any doubt, the word translated
"duty" (ofeileen)
is the same word for the obligation to
pay taxes (Romans
13:7) or overdue debts (Matthew 18:32).
2. Is a pattern
beginning to emerge in Paul's view of the
marriage relationship?
D. As you consider the general Biblical view
of marriage, is
it consistent with these verses in 1 Corinthians
7? Is the
general Biblical view of marriage that:
1. It is permitted to avoid sin; and
2. The sexual
relationship is a duty, akin to paying your
taxes or overdue
debts?
a. What is the Biblical view of marriage set forth
in Genesis 2:18 at creation? ("Not good for man to
be alone." Obviously, no issue of a sexually
immoral atmosphere in Eden.)
b. What is the Biblical view of marriage set forth
by Moses? (Deuteronomy 24:5. A matter of happiness
that is more important than defending Israel -- as
least in the beginning.)
c. What is the Biblical view of marriage set forth
by Jesus? (See Matthew 19:4-6. Jesus refers back to
the Genesis situation.)
3. Has Paul completely
fallen off the wagon? How can his
advice be so
at odds with the rest of the Bible?
a. Is it possible for Paul's advice to be at odds
with the rest of the Bible since 2 Timothy 3:16
tells us "All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching....?" ALL Scripture!
(1)(This afternoon, when you get home, consider
how 1 Corinthians 1:14-16 fits into the "God-
breathed" idea. Can the Holy Spirit be
forgetful? Uncertain? Consider also Paul's
statement in 1 Corinthians 7:12 that he is
giving personal advice, and not God's advice.
Does the Holy Spirit let the human instrument
get off on a "toot of his own?" Is this
consistent with the concept of "God-breathed"
Scripture? It seems the answers must be, "Yes
-- at least to some extent.")
b. Before we conclude that Paul is "off on a toot,"
we need to read more of what he says so that we can
properly interpret his writings.
E. Read 1 Corinthians 7:7-16. Is there a common
principle in
here? A common thread in Paul's statements
about marriage?
(Yes. Skip ahead to vv. 32-34. He seems to
be focussing on
promoting the kingdom of God. If you are single,
you can focus
more completely on promoting the kingdom.
If you cannot stand
to be single because of your passions, you
should marry (v.9).
If you are married to an unbeliever, if you
stay with them you
may convert (sanctify) him (v.14). But you
are not required to
remain married to an unbeliever who wants
out. Why? "God has
called us to live in peace." (v.15))
F. Is Paul's advice on marriage more practical
advice than
eternal principles?
G. Does God have "hard and fast" rules about
marriage? Has He
always had "hard and fast" rules? (Turn with
me to Matthew 19.
Read Matthew 19:3-12.
1. What does
Jesus seem to say is the ideal? (If you
marry, stay
married.) Since Jesus refers back to Genesis
2:24, and God
said (in Genesis 2:18) that it was good to
be married,
Jesus endorses marriage by this reference.)
2. Did God ever
make exceptions to this rule? (Yes. Verse
8 says that
divorce was permitted "because your hearts
were hard."
(See Deuteronomy 24:1-4.) Note that Jesus
says "it was
not this way from the beginning." This shows
us that at least
some of His listeners thought that
divorce had
always been permitted.)
3. What is the
disciples' reaction to hearing this rule
on divorce?
(They are shocked! If you cannot get out of
a marriage,
they thought it better not to marry in the
first place!
(v.10))
4. What does verse 11 mean?
a. Is Jesus accepting the disciples' remark "it is
better not to marry" and saying that not everyone
can refrain from marriage to avoid the "marriage
standard?"
b. Or, is Jesus saying that we still have an
exception to the rule of "no divorce and
remarriage?"
5. Does v. 12 tend to support "a" or "b" above?
(The short answer is, "I don't know." My initial reaction is that
Jesus still allows an exception. Consider the dialogue in vv. 9-12.
Jesus first gives (in the view of the disciples) a shockingly
difficult standard for marriage. In response, the disciples say,
"If this is true, forget marriage!" What "word" (v.11 "not everyone
can accept this word...") then, would Jesus logically be referring
to? The "no divorce" "word" He gave in v.9 or the "word" of the
disciples to "forget marriage?" It seems more reasonable that
Jesus is referring to His original statement of the standard, and
not the disciples' reaction. On the other hand, verse 12 seems to
be an acknowledgement that the disciples have suggested the only
"safe course" (celibacy) to avoid the "no divorce" rule. But He
seems to say this is not for everyone. Some are able to renounce
marriage to advance the kingdom of heaven.
Having given you my reaction, three commentaries
that I read
(Matthew Henry; Adam Clarke; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown all
disagree with me and say that the "word" Jesus refers to in v. 11
is the disciples' statement about abstaining from marriage. Elwell
agrees with me that the "word" of v.11 refers to Jesus' no divorce
standard, but concludes that the balance of v.11 means that if you
cannot meet the standard, you best not get married. I defer to
these commentators and am grateful this is not an issue for me
because I have been married only once, to the "wife of my youth.")
H. Do you see a parallel in Matthew 19:12 and
Paul's statement
in 1 Corinthians 7:32-33? (Jesus does not
endorse or condemn
the idea that a person can renounce marriage
"because of the
kingdom of heaven." Since He does not
condemn that idea, we
cannot say Paul was "off on a toot" when he
elaborates on the
idea that a single person can be more fully
devoted to
promoting the kingdom. A critical principle
of the gospel is
giving up yourself to promote the kingdom.
This fits into that
principle.)
II. "SAMENESS"
A. Many years ago, my wife's father died. Right
after his
death, the children were suggesting changes
to the home, etc.
that his widow might like to make. She
was adamant,
vociferous even, that she believed in "sameness."
No changes!
Then a few months later, she remarried and
left hardly
anything unchanged! Let's read what
Paul says about
"sameness:" 1 Corinthians 7:17-24.
1. Is Paul referring
only to our marriage situation
remaining static?
(No.)
2. If Paul is
going beyond marriage, how would you apply
this message
to your situation today?
3. I have seen
individuals, after they became converted,
change their
career to go to the seminary or become a
literature evangelist.
What does Paul advise on this?
(The key is
found in vv. 20 and 24: do what God called
you to do.
If God has called you to witness in your
current job,
do not believe you must quit your job,
uproot your
family and go to the seminary to please Him.
Even a lawyer
can promote the gospel!)
III. THE PRESENT CRISIS
A. Read 1 Corinthians 7:25-31. Does Paul give
us an
explanation for his advice promoting being
single and
remaining as we are? (Yes, the "present crisis."
(v.26. See
also vv. 29,31)
1. What do you
think Paul meant by the "present crisis?"
(It could be
trouble of any sort. However, his reference
in v.31 to "this
world in its present form is passing
away" must be
a reference to the second coming of Christ.
The fact that
Paul believed the second coming was
imminent is
clear from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. If he
had not thought
that Jesus was coming within his
lifetime, he
would have simply said, "Hey, its not a
problem (your
friends dying, that is). We are all going
to be dead before
Jesus comes again!")
B. Read Ephesians 5:23-33. How is this positive
view of
marriage (and even a reference back to the
Genesis view!)
consistent with the "dark" view of marriage
that Paul gives us
in 1 Corinthians 7? (Barclay suggests (Letters
to the
Corinthians, pp. 69-70) that when Paul wrote
Ephesians he
realized that Jesus was not coming back immediately.
"Had
Paul thought that he and his converts were
living in a
permanent situation, he would never have written
as he did [in
1 Corinthians 7]." The notes to the NIV Study
Bible place the
writings of 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians
before
Ephesians. (However, the time spread is not
very much.)
Although Barclay's suggestion is certainly
subject to debate,
I think he has it right; especially when you
consider that
Paul's comments on remaining single in the
first half of 1
Corinthians 7 all focus on promoting the gospel.)
C. What lesson, if any, about marriage
from 1 Corinthians
7 can we profit from today? (God approves
of being married or
being single. Although the general tenor of
the Bible is to
uphold the institution of marriage, a person
may very well
elect to remain single to more effectively
promote the kingdom
of heaven.)
IV. NEXT WEEK: FOOD FOR THOUGHT ABOUT IDOLS. 1 Corinthians 8&11.
Study!