Every Christian needs to be aware of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7. Unfortunately, this is a chapter that is quite frequently ignored both in sermon and in text. Contained in this chapter is not just good advice. It is a significant word of God for how we should conduct our intimate relationships.
Paul mentions that he is not married. There are several possibilities that could have resulted in this since he was a Pharisee and most likely to have had a wife. Yes, he might’ve been so busy persecuting the church before his conversion that he did not take a wife. However, alternatives are that she may have died; she may have disowned him since he became a Christian or that she met some other tragic end.
Let us break this chapter down by topic. Both the Old and New Testament are concerned about people committing fornication and adultery. This is because the marriage between a man and a woman as instituted in the Garden of Eden and thereafter are the human exemplification of the church and Christ with the church being the bride of Christ while Christ is the groom. Such a comparison is in the book of Hosea and the book of Revelation. This is our first admonition.
Versus three through five tell us that through marriage we no longer own our own bodies but that they belong to our spouse. If you cannot trust the other person with your body, you should not have been in a relationship with that person in the first place. During a Wednesday night Bible study, I mentioned this verse and many of the women objected to it. We cannot object to the Scripture. It is God’s word for us to obey. The following verses that talk about loving your spouse speak loudly about how we should treat the other person’s body.
Paul also uses an interesting word about abstaining from sex by saying the word defraud. We have a legal and spiritual contract before man and God. There’s only one reason to abstain from sex and that is temporarily to devote oneself with God for short time span and then to resume the relationship.
Paul afterwards mentions the probability for unmarried or widows to marry rather than to burn. We all know that resisting the temptation of intimacy is well described by the word burning. With this thought in mind, Paul addresses the wife and the husband that they ought not to depart from their spouse. In that situation, the person has the option of remaining unmarried or being reconciled. In that context, if a spouse is an unbeliever but is willing to remain married to the believer, it is the believing spouse that should have spiritual maturity so that their life has a positive influence on the other. Interestingly, if the unbelieving spouse chooses to leave the marriage, the believing spouse is not obligated under the marriage contract and may remarry.
Beginning at verse thirty-two, is an interesting contrast between the married and the unmarried person, between a wife and a virgin. The married couple has an obligation toward each other while the unmarried may devote themselves more fully to service toward God. The thought herein is a question of how distracted we are serving the Lord. Verse thirty-seven offers an interesting phrase, “have power over his own will.” God expects us to monitor our behavior and avoid temptation. The chapter concludes with the supposition that a spouse may pass away at which time it’s acceptable in the Lord’s eyes to remarry.
Some of these things most people would assume to be usual. Some of these things mentioned in this chapter may be hard for a person to absorb into their life. Whichever is the case, we are bound by the word of God.
Christian Writer 