1 COR 7 PT 2

INTRO

Before we went into the holiday season, we were in the middle of a very important chapter in First Corinthians.

We were looking at the topic of Sexual Health, Marriage, and the intimacy that should exist between a husband and a wife.

THIS WEEK

We will continue that narrative and continue to learn from what Paul was saying to the Corinthians.

THOUGHTS

So many times I see on social, or when I was young, I would hear preachers talk about marriage as if it were a notch on our spiritual belts.

I’ve seen Marriage exalted

I’ve seen Marriage seen as a goal for all christians.

Though it is a beautiful thing, and a very practical way of experiencing the Gospel, I believe that both the married and the single christian have value in God’s Kingdom.

TURN TO

:5-

1 Corinthians 7:5–40 NKJV

5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? 17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. 22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. 25 Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy. 26 I suppose therefore that this is good because 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 loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you. 29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away. 32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. 36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. 38 So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better. 39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God.

PRAY

1 Corinthians 7:5–6 NKJV

5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.

:5-

WE START HERE IN VERSE 5 TO GET THE CONTEXT OF THE REST OF THE CHAPTER

WE MUST REMEMBER THAT THIS CULTURE WAS SEXUALLY BROKEN

For whatever reason, wives were being very frugal when it came to having sex

Because the husbands lacked self control

They would alleviate their sexual drive by participating in adulterous practices

Worshipping the gods of the sexually promiscous culture by having sex with temple prostitutes

In order to combat this self control, Paul begins to put structure to the sexual practice of the Christian.

He encourages the Christian Couple to not deprive themselves from being joined together.

In fact, the only time he suggests that a married couple practice abstinence, is while setting a side a time to pray and fast for certain causes.

Even then, Paul puts a limit on that time for a specific reason

Come together again

Why?

So that Satan doesn’t tempt you

Why?

Because of your lack of self control.

Paul then says something that puts everything into context.

Church, the reason why Sexual Brokenness exists is not always because of our past or our lack of chemistry between our spouse.

But our poor attention to detail in our individual walks with the Lord.

Because we lack self control

We act sinfully

Because we lack patience

We try and force pleasure

Because we have yet to invest in the fruit of the Spirit

Paul makes this concession.

What does he mean by this?

It means that this concession is not the best option for a marriage

It’s a compromise

Because of _______ then well, we are just going to have to lower the bar yet again for christianity.

This happens a few times in the Bible

One in particular is with the topic of divorce.

Where because of our hard hearts, Moses allows married couples to get a divorce.

Just because Moses permitted it, doesn’t mean it’s good

WHAT DOES PAUL GO ON TO SUGGEST?

1 Corinthians 7:7–9 NKJV

7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

1 Cor 7:7

Friends, because of the lack of devotion to our walks with Jesus, everything suffers.

We begin to represent Christ poorly

We see friendships wrong

The realityw

We see work and rest wrong

We have a poor view of marriage

Because Paul is dealing with Christians who have yet to mature

He encourages them to do something counter culture.

“I wish that you were as myself, single, celibate, sold out for Jesus”

I wish that you were as myself, single, celibate, sold out for Jesus

To the Unmarried and Widows, it is good for them to remain single and celibate.

Though it is easy for Paul to say this

The Church needed this encouragement

They needed to grow on an individual level

They needed to work on the minutia of walking with Jesus before they stepped into covenant with someone else.

However, Paul knew that there were some that would challenge this statement.

To people who fall into this category, Paul says:

Find yourself a spouse

For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

However, just because you are burning with passion and must find yourself a partner

This doesn’t give you permission to compromise other things

If you are going to go find yourself a spouse

May the leading of the Spirit be alive and well in your life.

May you keep the standard of holy living in your search for love.

Remember

#1 Do not be unequally yoked

#2 Keep it clean before you say “I do”

1 Cor 7:10-

Some of the hardest situations I’ve had to minister in

Is when heartbreak leads to compromise.

When people compromise their faith because they feel God owes them something.

Friends, during times of heartbreak, our faith in Christ and our vow to holiness must prevail.

We must not compromise because things didn’t go as planned

CHECK OUT WHAT PAUL SAYS:

1 Corinthians 7:10–16 NKJV

10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

If your marriage is on the brink of divorce

There are a couple things to keep in mind

Paul is encouraging us again, as a concession

Again, we shouldn’t even be talking about this

The Christian should be so in tune with the Spirit

So saturated with the Will of God

That the one they are led to marry is a Forever Thing

An Eternal thing that God is doing

Paul says:

To those who are married

A Wife is not to depart from her husband

But obviously there are some situations that may lead the wife to leave

In such cases, she has two options

Remain unmarried and separated

Or seek reconciliation with her husband

What if two individuals get married, and for some reason, one of the spouses comes to the knowledge of the truth?

What if they are now unequally yoked?

What do we do?

Paul says:

If your partner is willing to live with you

Do not divorce him/her

Why?

Because the life of a Christian, saturated by the Spirit, can act as a very convincing argument that God exists.

The Ministry of the believer unto the unbeliever is powerful

The one who is saved, serving faithfully, loving how they have been loved, will serve as a testimony to the one who is unbelieving.

Now, if the unbeliever wants nothing to do with the believer, and he/she departs

It’s all good, let he/she go

And once the divorce is final

You are no longer held to the covenant you had with them, since they legally unbound you.

One thing we forget is that God has called us to peace.

When a spouse leaves a marriage, you christian, must remain peaceful

For how do we know if God will intervene?

Why is this important?

Because when we are not at peace, we say hurtful things

We say things that echo throughout eternity

But if we remain at peace, we leave the door open for ministry

We enable the work of the Holy Spirit.

Most importantly, we live without regret of saying hurtful things that may have closed the door for us to move forward in peace

FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNMARRIED

WE SEE PAUL EXPOUNDING ON VERSES 17-40

BRINGING SOME CLARITY TO THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN

To those who are slaves

You are called to remain a slave for Jesus

Spiritually you are free

But that doesn’t mean that you are called to proclaim freedom

Paul says:

“Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called”

Be the best _______________ until God calls you elsewhere.

To those who are Gentiles

So long as it does not compromise your proclamation of faith

As people come to Jesus, the transformation within will begin to work itself into the every day actions

You are called to remain a Gentile for Jesus

IN VERSE 25-40

WE SEE PAUL GET GRANULAR WITH THE CORINTHIAN CULTURE.

The Corinthian Church was caught up in fitting all the Criteria of the Christian Church

They were complicating the Gospel

Seeking to change everything about themselves because of what Jesus had done

Though it was a good thought, it created external problems.

Paul brings clarity:

If you are married, stay married

If you are single, stay single

If you were engaged when God saved you, don’t break off the engagement, stay engaged.

Paul desires the Corinthian Church to be about Jesus

For those who are unmarried

They have such a freedom to serve Christ

Their whole life is surrounded by how they can please the Lord

For those who are married

Their lives are surrounded with the call to serve Christ within their families.

It is a more focused ministry

Because the Corinthian Christians had yet to mature,

Paul encourages them to remain single and go on an adventure with Jesus