Paul's Discipling of the Corinthian Church
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Well we are going to continue our study of 1 Corinthians. So while you’re opening your Bibles to , want to take you on a journey down memory lane.
I want you to think back to when you first became a believer. And I want you to think about what your “normal” looked like before you gave your life to Christ. I realize some of you became believers when you were very very young, while others perhaps were an adult. But think back to what your life was like BEFORE you gave your life to Christ.
What seemed normal and acceptable to you before Christ, that is now unacceptable IN Christ?
Now, stay right there at your point of conversion.
Did you know exactly what your new normal was supposed to look like?
Were you immediately aware of how you were supposed to live?
Was there some confusion as to what was Worldly and what was Christ-like?
What was the environment…the culture like that you were surrounded by?
Did the environment…the culture surrounding you add to that confusion?
For me it did.
Without having a mature believing man to mentor and guide me, I sorta backslid into the normal I knew.
I became a believer when I was 37 years old and after living for 37 years as a Pagan you tend to become a very seasoned veteran Pagan. That kind of lifestyle becomes second nature to you. You don’t even think about sinning, sinning is as normal as breathing. So when I became a believer, I really didn’t know what the new normal was. I knew the basics like what is found in the 10 commandments, but I didn’t exactly know why I should keep them except that God said so. I actually had a lot of unanswered questions. I had no mature believing man to mentor and guide me leaving me really confused and unsure of what was good and what was not. Adding to that, I was sent on deployment for a year with the Army isolating me into a deeper well of depravity with almost no chance Godly mentorship. So I had nobody to disciple me, but the World was there to guide me and so I backslid.
It seems the Corinthians were experiencing the same thing too. Paul had been in Ephesus 2 years and they were backsliding too.
We know that because Chloe’s people ratted them out. This is a big deal, because they were not even Corinthians. In fact Chloe is from Ephesus and her people were probably her slaves that were christian. And when Chloe, who most commentators would say is not a christian, when she was visiting Corinth she brought her slaves along to service her. (You know like some of those British shows we watch where the Crown or Downton carry their entourage with them). While they were with her in Corinth, they witnessed stuff that made them concerned about the church there they reported it back to Paul when they returned to Ephesus.
(5:00)
That the tactful Paul names his informants suggests they were not Corinthian. Possibly they were Christian slaves of an Ephesian lady visiting Corinth. Whether Chloe was herself a Christian is unknown.
And it was because of this report that Paul made an emergency visit back to them once from Ephesus.
And when that didn’t help, 3 Corinthian believers Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus came to deliver a report of the condition of the church in Corinth face to face to Paul. But they also delivered a letter that contains questions for Paul that he will begin to respond to in chapter 7 and continue to throughout the rest of the letter.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 16
Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus
Same could be true of the Corinthians. Paul had been gone from Corinth for at least 2 years. ?????Those leaders Paul left behind obviously didn’t know what to do because they appealed to him by bringing first sending a report to him via Chloe
Same could be true of the Corinthians. Paul had been gone from Corinth for at least 2 years. ?????Those leaders Paul left behind obviously didn’t know what to do because they appealed to him by bringing first sending a report to him via Chloe
and later the ????3 guys??? . And these two reports are what Paul is addressing in the first 6 chapters of this letter.
And, hating Christians and Christian things was my normal.
and later the ????3 guys??? . And these two reports are what Paul is addressing in the first 6 chapters of this letter.
****NOW CONCERNING***
And chapter 7 is where we’ll pickup the letter.
As we get into the text we can almost visualize the specific question that people were asking.
BTW…when God finally blesses us
As we get into the text we can almost visualize the specific question that letter contained.
Why would the Corinthians
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You Sexual Intimacy within Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:1–7)
Why would the Corinthians begin to think that it is good for a husband and wife not to share sexual intimacy? The answer comes from their own kind of environment. The Corinthians live in the midst of a society in which sexual expressions are closely tied with pagan worship. As a matter of fact, the goddess of love is popularly worshiped in Corinth, and part of the remains of the temple for the goddess of love still exist among the ruins of Corinth.
People who worship the pagan goddess of love believe that one of the ways to come into intimate contact with their deity is by having intercourse with a member of the opposite sex as a part of worship. Consequently, some women give themselves to voluntary religious service by making themselves available for intercourse with the men who come to worship. Men do the same thing for women worshipers.
Citizens who have grown up in Corinth have grown up with sexual expression as a normal part of pagan living. They have tied sex to paganism; so it is natural that when some of these people turn to Christianity, they wonder whether or not something they have been doing as a part of pagan worship can be done as a part of Christian living. Many of them have begun to think that they can no longer be Christians and have sexual intimacies with their wives, for sexual intimacy is so dirty.
Surely we can relate to that today. It is unfortunate how many Christian couples enter marriage with only the dirty concept of sex. Many young Christian women have a very difficult time being “naked and not ashamed” in the presence of their husbands.
****NOW CONCERNING**** Anywhere you see “Now Concerning” throughout the rest of the letter is Paul’s indicator that he is transitioning to the next question on the list.
1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
Anywhere you see “Now Concerning” throughout the rest of the letter is Paul’s indicator that he is transitioning to the next question on the list.
2. It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.
3. One even renders “It is good for a man not to marry”
This last one couldn’t possibly be what Paul is saying here in light of God’s command in .
it is good for a man not to touch a woman (1 Corinthians 7:1b)
In my study, I found most consider this phrase as probably the “Slogan of the Day.”
Why would this be a slogan
It is similar to the slogan found in Chapter 6:12-13.
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. ()
1 Cor. 6:12–13
12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
Well considering the sexual immorality of the day, many of the Corinthian believers swung to the far extreme of the pendulum to avoid falling into sexual sin.
There Paul affirms All things are lawful for me, but qualifies it with but not all things are profitable. He’s saying yeah…even though I’m not under the law everything is lawful for me, but that doesn’t mean everything is profitable to me.
He’s doing that same thing in verse 1…yeah you’re right it is good for a man not to touch a woman
This phrase was a euphemism for sexual relations…So its saying it good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman…in other words it is good for a man to be celibate.
But here comes the qualification in verse 2. but because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
Well considering the sexual immorality of the day, many of the Corinthian believers swung to the far extreme of the pendulum to avoid falling into sexual sin.
What do you think Paul is commanding here in verse 2?
Your translation probably says “Should have” man says “is to have”
What do you think Paul is commanding here in verse 2?
One of the difficulties studying Scripture in English is that English does not really translate the full meaning of a word or phrase well from the original language.
I’m finding that to be the same in Albanian.
The English here is misleading. At first glance, it appears Paul is commanding people to marry to avoid the immoralities that single people face.
In a sexual context, the Greeks used to have to describe sexual intimacy. In other words, Paul is saying in an immoral culture, continue to have that intimacy with your spouse.
In other words, celibacy is NOT good for marriage.
In other words, celibacy is NOT good for marriage.
In other words, celibacy is NOT good for marriage.
In other words, celibacy is NOT good for marriage.
Why do you think Paul had to respond to this?
What do think made the Corinthians begin to think that celibacy in marriage was the better way?
People in Corinth grew up believing in the goddess of love. They believed that
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You Sexual Intimacy within Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:1–7)
The Corinthians live in the midst of a society in which sexual expressions are closely tied with pagan worship.
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You Sexual Intimacy within Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:1–7)
People who worship the pagan goddess of love believe that one of the ways to come into intimate contact with their deity is by having intercourse with a member of the opposite sex as a part of worship.
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You Sexual Intimacy within Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:1–7)
Citizens who have grown up in Corinth have grown up with sexual expression as a normal part of pagan living. They have tied sex to paganism; so it is natural that when some of these people turn to Christianity, they wonder whether or not something they have been doing as a part of pagan worship can be done as a part of Christian living. Many of them have begun to think that they can no longer be Christians and have sexual intimacies with their wives, for sexual intimacy is so dirty.
Because of the sexual immorality of the day, and because of their pre-Christ “normal”, they were confused about what normal was supposed to look like for them as followers of Christ.
We all have learned already condition of Corinth in Paul’s day.
Because of the sexual immorality of the day, and because of their pre-Christ “normal”, they were confused about what normal was supposed to look like for them as followers of Christ.
And so many of the Corinthian believers swung to the far extreme of the pendulum, they believed that celibacy even in marriage was the only way to live a holy life.
So Paul, in response to the first issue they wrote to him says:
Celibacy as a single…GOOD.
Celibacy in marriage…BAD. And to be sure they get it…he elaborates this opening statement in verses 3-7.
(9 minutes to here)
(9 minutes to here)
But since the extremists had taken this idea so far to the extreme...Paul is also affirming, because of all the immoral sexual temptations, it is good for a man to have a wife and a woman to have a husband.
BUT before we go there…don’t think he is advocating that marriage is simply a solution for sexual temptation. Paul places a much higher value on marriage than that. Just do a study on Ephesians Chapter 5 for a better understanding on that.
Paul here is making the point the celibacy is NOT good for married people and it is the opening statement for what he’ll elaborate on in verses 3-7.
3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command. 7 Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
1 Corinthians 7:
Now these 5 verses are a sermon series all by themselves, but in them Paul gives us several reasons for sexual intimacy in a marriage.
And you all are smart enough to get the
****THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOUR GOSPEL WITNESS. Why was Paul so concerned? Because their depravity as Christians was blaspheming God’s name. Much like the Israelites who God made His people so they could be a living breathing testimony, Christians were to be that and the Corinthians were failing. And their witness was be displayed to the whole world (according to the idea that Corinth was an epicenter and Chloe’s people.)
3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
But let’
Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians Word and Phrase Study
used in this same sense in the Septuagint in Gen. 2:18. Paul’s whole concern is what is best for the individual in times of distress and what is best for the Kingdom of God.
Reason #1
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Is a Debt that Each Owes to the Other (3)
It Is a Debt That Each Owes to the Other
The Greek word for duty is actually debt.
But allow me to make a few observations:
The Greek word for duty is actually debt.
Why do you think Paul uses a word for debt?
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Is a Debt that Each Owes to the Other (3)
one of the spiritual services that a husband and wife give to each other is the physical act of intimacy.
It may seem odd to think that something so physical could be spiritual.
Can you name other physical acts that are definitely spiritual?
Baptism
Prayer
Lord’s Supper
So what spiritual service are we providing our spouse in sexual intimacy? These are found in the other reasons for sexual intimacy.
Reason #2
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Helps Fulfill God’s Creative Design of Our Mates (4)
It Helps Fulfill God’s Creative Design of Our Mates
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Suitable for him literally means in the Hebrew, “Corresponding with what is placed in front of the man.”
One commentator writes:
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Helps Fulfill God’s Creative Design of Our Mates (4)
Part of what God is revealing there is the physical design of the husband and wife and their physical counterpart in intimacy. Because that is the way God has made us, then one is not satisfied physically without the other.
Doesn’t that just floor you??
In verse 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body literally translates to the wife does not have power over her own body.
The Greek in verse 4
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Helps Fulfill God’s Creative Design of Our Mates (4)
That means that she does not have power to be satisfied in the sexual dimension of her life apart from the husband’s contribution. Anytime a husband and a wife share sexual intimacy, they are helping to fulfill the creative design of God for the mate as well as for self.
The commentator continues:
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Helps Fulfill God’s Creative Design of Our Mates (4)
That means that she does not have power to be satisfied in the sexual dimension of her life apart from the husband’s contribution. Anytime a husband and a wife share sexual intimacy, they are helping to fulfill the creative design of God for the mate as well as for self.
Reason #3
First Corinthians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You It Helps Protect the Mate from the Onslaught of Satan (5)
It Helps Protect the Mate From the Onslaught of Satan
5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Is this not convicting?
I shudder to think of standing before Judgement seat of Christ and He asking me, Why did you not protect your wife from satan?
The word “agreement” or you might have “mutual consent” comes from the Greek word Symphonos which we get our English word Symphony.
It has the sense of harmony, be harmonious, be of the same feeling.
Have you ever been to an Elementary school band concert? Or choir?
You love em, and are proud of them…its just an awful noise. It’s hard to make sense of what you’re hearing.
When we are out of harmony as married couples, the devil knows this and he will exploit that with all the tricks up his sleeve.
Gen
2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
Paul is not saying that everyone has such a lack of self-control that if they don’t immediately return to their marital duties they will fall into sexual sin.
So Paul
What he’s saying is that long periods of abstinence leads to vulnerability and satan is well experienced in finding ways to use that vulnerability against you.
Husbands are to take the lead in fulfilling his duty.
John Piper describes his marriage and home as a precious garden. If you are not constantly tending to your precious garden, it will whither. It will lose strength and it will be vulnerable to destruction.
When Jacqueline and I were dating, we would listen to this series on the Song of Solomon that led me to incorporate this promise into my vows to her on our wedding day:
I promise that every fox in your vineyard is a fox in My vineyard and therefore I promise to “catch the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyard,” no matter the cost.
I love these two illustrations and this passage is a reminder to me of my duties to protect our marriage.
6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command.
Notice that Paul addresses the husband first. This implies that we, husbands, are to take the lead in fulfilling our marital duties to our wives.
The concession (prayer time) is not the only reason for abstinence.
Neither man or woman has a larger duty to the marriage than the other.
The concession (prayer time) is not the only reason for abstinence.
The immediate context Paul is addressing here is that some married Corinthian believers refusing their spouse for no other reason than the false belief that celibacy is more holy even in marriage.
Sadly, some husbands have used this passage as proof that there is no other reason to refuse them other than prayer.
This passage is not justification for physical abuse by husbands against their wives. AND This passage should not compel a wife to submit to their husband’s sexual desires even when they suffer from physical impairments, illness, mental or emotional struggles.
7 Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
Paul wishes that everyone was single like him, but quickly concedes that not everyone has the gift of celibacy like him. What is important here is that Paul is saying that celibacy is a gift and that marriage is a gift. The Greek word here for gift is charisma, the same word he will use later in the letter when discussing spiritual gifts.
And in that discussion, Paul will define the purpose of the charisma is to edify the church.
Paul’s identifying both celibacy and marriage as charisma indicates that he views them both as equally edifying to the church.
What he’s saying is that long periods of abstinance leads to vulnerability and satan is well trained in finding ways to use that vulnerability.
John Piper describes his marriage and home as a precious garden. If you are not constantly tending to your precious garden, it will whither. It will lose strength and it will be vulnerable to destruction.
But let’s remember two things,
This passage should not compel a wife to submit to their husband’s sexual desires even when they suffer from physical impairments, illness, mental or emotional struggles.
Paul has a MUCH higher view of marriage than this and a much more sacrificial view of a husbands role in marriage. Just read
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself her in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
(NASB95)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself her in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself her in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, Long periods of deprivation makes a spouse more vulnerable to satan’s temptations.
What he’s saying is that long periods of abstinance leads to vulnerability and satan is well trained in finding ways to use that vulnerability.
John Piper describes his marriage and home as a precious garden. If you are not constantly tending to your precious garden, it will whither. It will lose strength and it will be vulnerable to destruction.
John Piper describes his marriage and home as a precious garden. If you are not constantly tending to your precious garden, it will whither. It will lose strength and it will be vulnerable to destruction.
But let’s remember two things,
But let’s remember two things,
But let’s remember two things,
This passage should not compel a wife to submit to their husband’s sexual desires even when they suffer from physical impairments, illness, mental or emotional struggles.
But wait, there’s more…I don’t often quote the KJV, but it renders verse 5 as “Defraud ye not one the other”
In other words, Paul is telling these married couples to stop cheating each other out of what is owed to them.
The text says the only concession to this is ONLY for prayer and ONLY if both spouses agree and ONLY if they agree ahead of time. This is simply a concession…it isn’t even a command.
Why was Paul so concerned about clarifying celibacy is good for singles and not good for marriage?
The ONLY concession…the only allowance Paul gives for
This is so HEAVY reading this from a 21st century context. It is so DANGEROUS reading this from a 21st century context.
And as one commentator puts it:
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Corinthians A. General Outlooks on Marriage (7:1–9)
these words have been used to justify physical abuse by husbands against their wives. They have also been used to compel women to submit to their husbands’ sexual desires even when these women suffer from physical impairments and illnesses.
But let’s remember two things,
Scripture teaches the principle of love and sacrifice throughout. Particularly Paul’s treatment of marriage in prevents us from ever imposing this passage in an abusive way.
We should always read Scripture from its current context.
Additionally, this is a good reminder for us to read this passage from its current context. Sexual immorality was the norm. As we learned in earlier chapters, there was even a temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite where a Corinthian could worship through one of the hundreds of prostitutes there. Sexual immorality was part of the fabric of the Corinthian society, it is no wonder that many Corinthians fell into the trap of false teachers that ????Sex is bad even in marriage.???
The current context in Corinth is that Sexual immorality was the norm. There’s even a temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite where a Corinthian could worship through one of the several hundred prostitutes there. Sexual immorality was part of the fabric of the Corinthian society, it is no wonder that many Corinthians Christians that celibacy was better.
Sexual immorality was the norm.
As we learned in earlier chapters, there was even a temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite where a Corinthian could worship through one of the hundreds of prostitutes there. Sexual immorality was part of the fabric of the Corinthian society, it is no wonder that many Corinthians fell into the trap of false teachers that ????Sex is bad even in marriage.???
Paul says, “NO WAY MAN!” That’s only for single folks. In marriage what’s his is hers and what’s hers is hers. I mean...
Why does Paul say…don’t abstain for too long so satan doesn’t tempt you.
When God said he wouldn’t make a helper suitable for him, he did not say a servant suitable for him. God did not want men to have a beautiful companion. To love honor cherish and enjoy. And Adam was so pleased with the blessing that God gave him he said This is the bone of my bones and the flesh of my flesh.
You should always be seeking to fulfill the pleasures of your spouse…but I will give you this one concession found in verse 6. Here Paul refers to is the abstinence, not marriage. The concession only allows for abstinence for prayer and fasting and that’s ONLY if both spouses agree and ONLY if they agree ahead of time and ONLY for a short time.
In other words, Paul is telling these married couples to stop cheating each other out of what is owed to them.
Paul commanded that they stop this sort of thing unless three conditions were met: (a) The abstention from sexual intercourse was to be a matter of mutual consent on the part of both husband and wife. (b) They were to agree beforehand on a time period at the end of which normal intercourse would be resumed. (c) This refraining was to enable them to devote themselves to prayer in a concentrated way.
The concession in verse 6 that Paul refers to is the abstinence, not marriage. The concession only allows for abstinence for prayer and fasting and that’s ONLY if both spouses agree and ONLY if they agree ahead of time and ONLY for a short time.
But Paul says…don’t abstain for too long because so satan doesn’t tempt you. Now this sounds like he’s saying as soon as your done, get back to your duty.
Additionally, this is a good reminder for us to read this passage from its current context. Sexual immorality was the norm. As we learned in earlier chapters, there was even a temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite where a Corinthian could worship through one of the hundreds of prostitutes there. Sexual immorality was part of the fabric of the Corinthian society, it is no wonder that many Corinthians fell into the trap of false teachers that ????Sex is bad even in marriage.???
This is Paul’s meaning here.
satan,
This is Paul’s meaning here.
And then he finishes this section with saying that
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Corinthians A. General Outlooks on Marriage (7:1–9)
these words have been used to justify physical abuse by husbands against their wives. They have also been used to compel women to submit to their husbands’ sexual desires even when these women suffer from physical impairments and illnesses.
But before we go there, we need to remember and recognize that Scripture teaches the principle of love throughout. Again, Paul’s treatment of marriage in limits this passage’s negative implications.
Additionally, this is a good reminder for us to read this passage from its current context. Sexual immorality was the norm. As we learned in earlier chapters, there was even a temple dedicated to the goddess of love Aphrodite where a Corinthian could worship through one of the hundreds of prostitutes there. Sexual immorality was part of the fabric of the Corinthian society, it is no wonder that many Corinthians fell into the trap of false teachers that ????Sex is bad even in marriage.???
Paul is answering a specific question*****Start here. Point I’m making is that Paul is answering a specific question regarding the confusion about whether sex is bad or not even in marriage.****
Y
Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians Contextual Insights to 7:1–40
We must remember that Paul is addressing a local first century, Gentile, factious, cosmopolitan situation.
Holman New Testament Commentary: I & II Corinthians A. General Outlooks on Marriage (7:1–9)
The Corinthians were defrauding each other of their sexual rights, so Paul pointed out the obligations to sex that married couples bear. He also let them know that these obligations were mutual—the husband has a duty to have sex with his wife just as she has a duty to have sex with her husband. Neither partner has the right without good cause to refuse the other.
Paul expressed his view in a remarkable way. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband, or as the NASB puts it, “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.” Unfortunately, these words have been used to justify physical abuse by husbands against their wives. They have also been used to compel women to submit to their husbands’ sexual desires even when these women suffer from physical impairments and illnesses. We must recognize, however, that other teachings of Scripture, such as self-protection and the principle of love, inform us of limitations on Paul’s statement.
The only time Paul says it is ok to refrain from their duty is
David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 517.The only time Paul says it is ok to refrain from their duty is
Because their depravity as Christians was blaspheming God’s name. Much like the Israelites who God made His people so they could be a living breathing testimony, Christians were to be that and the Corinthians were failing. And their witness was be displayed to the whole world (according to the idea that Corinth was an epicenter and Chloe’s people.)
Paul presented this possibility for temporary abstention from sexual intercourse in marriage as a concession if the preceding stipulations were met. He did not want his advice construed as a command.
Paul rounds out this section inferring that he wishes that everyone was single and celibate like him.
He is not suggesting that singleness is better or else he would not confess that not every man has the gift of celibacy like him.
Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians Contextual Insights to 7:1–40
There is a universal theme running through chapter 7. It is characterized by verses 17, 20, 24, 26, 40 and alluded to in verse 8. That theme is “stay as you are” because the time is short. This cannot be a universal principle because (1) this is related to a period of persecution; (2) marriage is God’s will for mankind (cf. Gen. 1:28); and (3) this church faced internal problems with false teachers.
Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians Discussion Questions
1. How do we apply the truth of chapter 7 to today?
2. How much of chapter 7 is cultural and how much is universal?
3. Is celibacy a higher spiritual state for Paul than marriage? If so, why?
4. Does the Bible allow for divorce? If so, does the Bible allow for remarriage? (vv. 28, 39)
5. What was the “present crisis” to which Paul refers in v. 26?
6. Is the term “virgin” used differently in vv. 25 and 36?
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
1 corinthians
1. How do we apply the truth of 7:1-7 to today?
2. How much of this passage is cultural and how much is universal?
3. Is celibacy a higher spiritual state for Paul than marriage? If so, why?
4. Does the Bible allow for divorce? If so, does the Bible allow for remarriage? (vv. 28, 39)
5. What was the “present crisis” to which Paul refers in v. 26
6. Is the term “virgin” used differently in vv. 25 and 36
Robert James Utley, Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians, vol. Volume 6, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International, 2002), 95.
Paul presented this possibility for temporary abstention from sexual intercourse in marriage as a concession if the preceding stipulations were met. He did not want his advice construed as a command.
Why was Paul so concerned
I am very aware that people are watching me in this city.
David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 517.
At the school, at the gallery, when we visit and out in public.
They are paying attention to the way I speak to my wife, the way I look at my wife, the way I interact with my wife and they can get a good sense of the harmony or lack there of.
When I have been depriving, or neglecting my precious garden, it is manifested in all these things and Jesus’ name is blasphemed.
Additionally, I take seriously my responsibility to protect my wife from satan. I have been given a stewardship over here and it is my responsibility that she’s taken care of.
****Be sure to end with saying that this is what we’ll face with new believers***
****PRAY****
****Be sure to end with saying that this is what we’ll face with new believers***