1 Corinthians 11:2-6 – Recognizing your identity

In these verses Paul dealt with the issue of the concern about the covering of women’s head in worship. It seems unusual for Paul to begin by commending the Corinthians. For Paul had heard that despite the differences in the church, the people had high regard for Paul and remembered what he had taught and held on to them.

Paul began in verse 3 by reviewing Christ’s relationship to man, then the man’s relationship to his wife and finally Christ’s relationship to God. The word headship is not describing superiority. Between Christ and God there is equality and dignity and they each fulfill a different function. The significance about headship is that one does not function independent of the headship. Since Christ is the head of the man, He should be the man’s model in family relationship.  The headship of husband to his wife should not be viewed as a chain of command for him to act as a dictator. Instead it is an indication of responsibilities that the man must practice to ensure order in the family

 Evidently we could see that in a worship gathering, the congregation were engaged in praying and prophesying. There seemed to be evidence of confusion in identities in their midst. Praying as we know is man talking to God and prophesying is God using the instrumentality of man to speak to men about Himself.

Paul here told them that it would be a shameful thing for men to pray or prophesy with their heads covered. In the original language, this word refers to having a lengthy hair that dangled from the head to touch the shoulder like a veil. A man who purposely dressed to look like a woman to conceal his manliness is a disgrace to his Creator. Paul was probably using this as an illustration and not that there were actual incidence of such practice. He wanted to show how ridiculous that would be in contrast to a wife. But Paul here criticized the wife for doing the opposite, i.e. to pray and prophesy without covering their head. They were not wearing a veil or not bunting up their hair. Veil or hairdo would indicate their marital status and hence they were not free to act independently from their husbands. For the married women who prayed or prophesied without the covering it would reflect her desire to act in independence. Woman who let their hair down or did not cover with a veil would give the signal that they were single and available. Some scholars believed that prostitutes in those pagan temples wore short hair and also did not wear a veil.  So to jostle them into sanity, Paul used a shock treatment saying, if they did not mind being mistaken as shameful women like the prostitutes by not wearing a veil, then have their hair cut off as well.

Paul wanted a woman to look and dress like one and not to dress like a man. There was a possibility that women when they prayed or prophesied they wanted to look like men. This could be attributed to the culture where women were seen as inferior to the men. But we all know that for a woman to be effective in church, she need not be a man or look like a man. Trying to do so would violate how God had used women in the Bible. Paul wanted the husbands and wives to recognize their identities and live by it.      

We need to be clear about our identity in Christ and family relationship. In service for Christ, let’s do all things to honor Him. We shall not give the slightest hint of rebelliousness. A husband and wife can mutually and satisfactorily serve God and further His purpose without compromising on their identity.

1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 - Principle of edification

In the remaining verses of this chapter Paul went on to tie up some loose ends.

The issue was how far should one’s liberty go? Paul proposed that it should go beyond the question of legality to the question of helpfulness and edification. It should not be “Is it legal?” but “Is it helpful and does it edify?”  

Here there was another matter, what about food sold in the market by worshippers of idols or slain by pagan priests.  To Paul buying anything sold in the market was perfectly legal. One need not know whether it was offered to idols or not. For Paul the earth belongs to the Lord and everything it contains (Psalm 24:1).    

In his earlier discussion, Paul maintained that eating food offered to idols in the temple is absolutely no-no. But it would be different when eating in a different environment. If invited to a meal by an unbeliever and the invitation was accepted, the person should just eat without asking question so that nobody’s conscience need to be affected.  However, if alerted by someone that the food were offered to idols, then do not eat it. Think of the informant and for conscience’ sake don’t eat it. A believer must act in a way that he would not stumble his brothers who may be from a different culture, the Jews, Greeks and fellow believers. The welfare of our brothers should be considered and don’t insist on one’s better understanding and right to do anything he deems fit.  

 

However, Paul made sure that the principle of Christian liberty was not threatened. The liberty of a Christian should not be judged by the conscience of another person. A believer must not allow his own conscience to play trick on him and think that he is doing something evil by the mere act of eating the food. He will refrain from eating to avoid hurting the other person’s conscience; but in his own mind he knows he has a right to eat this food.

Paul summed up by saying that whatever he did, he did it all for the glory of God. Whether in eating or drinking he applied the same principle. He adapted himself so as not to give offence to anyone. His did not go for self-profit but the profit of the whole in order to reach them for Christ. So in 1 Corinthians 11:1 he asked the church to imitate him just as he also imitated Christ.

Seeking the good of all. What a needful principle to maintain unity and progress. We must have a gentle grasp over the convictions we have. Let’s seek always to obey the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 10:14-22 – Honor God alone

In calling them to flee idolatry in verse 14, we sense Paul’s resolve in the matter of eating food offered to idols. He was basically asking them not to play with fire. Inadvertently participation in the feast held in pagan temples where they ate meat offered to idols, could easily lead a person into idolatry. So tenderly addressing them as his beloved spiritual children, he urged them to flee, shun or avoid idolatry. Using a little sarcasm, he called them wise or sensible men and then goad them to use their wisdom to judge for themselves what he would be saying to them.

 

To Paul, idolatry was not an option for believers. Why? That’s because the believers were already united with Christ. The Lord’s Supper demonstrates that believers have entered a relationship with the Lord. And this Lord’s Supper or the Communion is not just a symbol of the believers’ unity with the Lord, it is also a reminder to them that they have been united to the Lord. Besides, it’s a call to continue in the participation of that unity. In verses 16 and 17, Paul used the word “sharing” twice. The stress is on partnership. In other words in partaking of the Lord’s Supper we are in partnership with Him. So when people participate in the meal offered to idols, they are unwittingly drawn into partnership with those idols as well, and closer to paganism which those idols represent. Paul then looked back to the past of the nation Israel. He was probably referring to the incident during the time of Balaam, when the Israelites partook of the meals offered to idols and were drawn to share the altars of those pagan idols.  

 

In verse 19, Paul aligned their thoughts by saying that he didn’t think that food offered to idols or idols themselves are nothing. On the contrary, Paul was sure that when the Gentiles offer their food to idols, they have offered them to demons. Hence for believers to participate in eating food offered to idols or participate in the meals of pagan temples, would mean that they are sharing in the table of demons. A meal always binds a relationship. Christians who have their relationship cemented with the Lord in the participation of the Lord’s Supper should therefore not be participating in fellowship meals with the demons.  For that matter, we believers should not just refuse to participate in meals that have demonic connotation, we should also not participate in any activity that have any association with demons.

 

Paul then ended this discussion here asking the believers not to provoke God to jealousy. This is not the kind of jealousy we understand. God’s jealousy is to protect us. Knowing that the devil and his demons only have intention to harm and destroy believers, God’s nature is to guard over us. When it comes to the devil and his demons there is no stronger protection than being in the Lord.

 

As we think of such great protective love the Lord has for us, the only appropriate response is to honor Him. To this God we should gladly bend our knees in worship. Meanwhile we will take precautionary measures in life not to participate in any thing that has the slightest hint of demonic involvement.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 – Sin is avoidable

Earlier the Corinthians had written to Paul asking about eating food offered to idols. Some of them were eating meals that were offered during festivities in the temples of pagan gods. To them this was part of their normal social life and were oblivious to any danger. They even argued that their knowledge that there is only one God free them from the petty rules and regulations of ordinary religious life. They might even feel immune to any harm in participating in pagan festivities since they had been baptized and had eaten of the Lord‘s supper. So what can really happen?

 

In chapter 8 Paul broached the issue of the weaker brethren and mentioned that they could be led astray by the wrong examples set by those who considered themselves strong. The knowledge of the strong may become the stumbling block for the weak. Then in chapter 9, they were told very indirectly to yield their rights for the sake of others. Now in chapter 10 Paul gave a more compelling reason why they should not participate in the festivities of the temple or eat food offered to idols. He showed that it would not only endanger the weak but also expose those who practice them to spiritual dangers.

 

In verses 1-14, in his call to them to flee from idolatry, Paul cited the experience and the folly of the Israelites. They had divine guidance during their journey in the wilderness. They moved by the indications of the divine cloud. They also experienced divine deliverances. They all miraculously passed through the sea. They also shared the same divine identification. Like the Christian baptism which signifies a break from the past to a new journey with Christ, the Israelites also broke from their past into a new journey led by Moses. In baptism, Christians would be immersed in water, the Israelites were immersed under the cloud and through the water of the sea. Besides, the Israelites also had divine provision. God supplied their need for food and water. Paul’s point was this, though they had all these privileges yet they all fell into sin and they all died in the desert and almost all of them did not enter the promise land.

 

Paul told the Corinthians that what had happened to the Israelites in the wilderness was an object lesson for them. The Israelites’ experience should warn believers to watch their lives carefully and not to trifle with God. From verses 6 -11, Paul highlighted the flaws of the Israelites so that believers would not emulate them. They should not crave for evil things (verse 6), or be idolaters (verse 7), or practice immorality (verses 8), or put the Lord to a test (verse 9), or be grumblers (verses 10). Paul told them that what the Israelites had experienced was for the instruction of believers, people of God’s new era.  Paul warned in verse 12 that people who believed that they could not fall into those flaws he had listed were in danger and need to be careful. It was precisely those who had such thinking that would be exposed to such dangers. They become careless and complacent.

 

While the dangers may be lurking, verse 13 tells us that no one need to fall into it. Why?  Paul gave us four reasons: (1) There is no temptation that is specially designed for anyone because every temptation is common; (2)   God is faithful; (3)  God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear at our level of maturity; and (4)   God will not allow a temptation to come our way without providing a means to escape.  

 

God is gracious. He had brought us out of our past to experience a rich life with Him. From the experience of the Israelites, let us take heed of the warnings. Let us also rely on God’s marvelous promise in verse 13. He is faithful and he will see us through.  

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – Be winsome but exercise self-discipline

In saying that he would be all things to all men, Paul faced the accusation of being a compromiser. He could be seen as one who did not have a firm conviction and that he swayed with the wind. These last few verses of chapter 9 answer the accusation that he was wishy-washy. Paul stoutly maintained that he disciplined himself rigidly. Though he was flexible, he exercised self-control steadfastly.

 

Using the analogy of an athlete he assured the Corinthians that he did not conduct his life aimlessly and neither was he complacent nor uncommitted. Paul was well aware that like in a race, all may run but there could only be one winner who would receive the prize. So one needs to have a winning attitude. Like athletes training and competing in a race, the Corinthians were exhorted to exercise self-discipline and self-control in all things. While athletes would compete for a winner’s laurel that would perish, the Christians compete to win an imperishable crown. Practically, for Christians to mix with people of all kinds of life régime, they need to know what they stood for and be decisive in differentiating spiritual matters.

 

Seeing himself as one of the athletes, Paul assured the Corinthians that he was not aimless but was competing in the race of life according to the God-given rules in view. If not, he would find himself disqualified. He could relate with the people but he would never allow any of them to turn him into another person morally. Paul accepted that to mix with others would open up avenues of temptations, so he rigidly exercised control to put his body under self-mastery. While he was aware that in mixing with others, he could be lured by temptation and fall into sin, yet he refused to be a hermit. He would mix with them to reach them, yet at the same time exercise strict training to ensure a mastery over his body, to reflect Christ’s Lordship over his life. Paul certainly didn’t want to end up in a situation where he had worked so hard to reach others for Christ, only to find himself disqualified for reward of eternity.

 

Reaching others we must, accepting their loose moral we mustn’t! But how can we reach them without mixing with them? And how can we mix with them without being influenced to compromise on our Christian standards? The answer lies in cultivating a self-disciplined life where sin cannot have mastery over our life. It is placing the Lordship of Christ first, over each and everything in our life regime. It’s a life of disciple where one denies himself, takes up his cross daily and follows after the Lord.   

 

 

1 Corinthians 9:15-23 – Be sensitive, adaptable but uncompromising

After all that he had said, Paul wanted the Corinthians to know explicitly that his intention was not to solicit for support from them. In fact his objective was the very opposite.  The cardinal point of 1 Corinthians 9 is verse 15. For Paul, death would be preferred than to have an empty boast. We all feel uncomfortable with the word boast as it may be misconstrued that Paul was being proud.

 

So in verses 16-18 he went on to explain what he meant. After all the imposing reasoning about receiving financial support, and scriptural support for its legitimacy, Paul said he would not take a cent. For if he had received any support from them, his work as an apostle would be viewed as not given freely and willingly to God. Unlike the philosophers who would charge a fee, he offered the Gospel for free. The former were compelled by money to teach whereas he was motivated by an inner compulsion to preach the Gospel. This drove him to preach the Gospel and not the thought of money. Preaching the Gospel was a commission from the Lord, it was a stewardship and he was obligated to discharge it responsibly. It would be pure misery if he did not preach the Gospel. While to receive income or not for his service was a right he could exercise, preaching the Gospel was not. For him the issue was not about salary but service. In the service of preaching the Gospel, his deepest satisfaction was to offer it free of charge without insisting on his right for support.

 

Paul’s one all-encompassing attitude was to exercise his liberty in such a way so that he could win more people for the Lord. Though he was a free man and was at liberty to exercise that freedom, yet for the Gospel’s sake he would curtail that liberty and impose self-restriction. To Paul, the message of the Gospel should not be changed or compromised but the approach in presenting it should be adaptable. Paul advocated here that the best method to be deployed should depend on the situation encountered. In verses 20-22 he mentioned four categories of people: the Jews, the strict legalistic Jews, the Gentiles and the weak. He adapted himself to each category so that some might be saved. He did all for the sake of the Gospel so that with them, he could be fellow partakers of the blessing.

 

Like Paul we should be driven by the motive to reach the people for the Lord. And similarly, we should also not change or compromise on the message and the intention of the Gospel. We can be sensitive and adapt to the people but we must never cave in to wrong moral, for that would discredit our message and our life.   

1 Corinthians 9:8-14 - A worker has the right to receive his wage

Paul began by citing the right to be financially support using three analogies. He said that even a soldier, a vine-grower and a shepherd, were all rewarded for their works. Therefore he too, as a minister of the Word, had the right to be financially supported by the church.     

 

He began in verse 8 by showing that what he said was not merely according to human judgment but that of the Law. He asserted that even the Law given by Moses referred to this matter about rewarding workers. He then proceeded to quote Deuteronomy 25:4 saying, “You shall not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain.” Then he added that God said this to show His concern for human being and not the oxen. How is this so? A look at Deuteronomy and its surrounding verses would reveal that God was promoting dignity and justice for human being. Deuteronomy 25:4 set oddly in that context. Using the metaphor figuratively, Paul showed why they as apostles had every right to expect financial support. As the ox would not be restrained from eating the food that its labor was producing, this should also apply to the apostles.   

 

Paul asserted that the Scripture he had quoted applied to their situation. In fact he felt that their situation was akin to what the scripture had said. Paul argued that even workers, either the plowman or the thresher, would labor in the hope of having a share in the harvest. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too much if he and his associates, who had sowed spiritually into the Corinthians, should expect to be rewarded materially by them.

 

The Apostle Paul felt strongly that if anyone had the right to expect anything from the Corinthians, they, i.e. he and his ministry associates, could make a greater claim over them. But he did not exercise his rights. Why? He didn’t want it to be an interference to the Gospel. So he and his team endured and did not ask for financial support. Somehow, he believed that in asking for financial support they would create a barrier for the preaching of the Gospel. Hence he took no money.           

 

In verses 13-14 Paul reinforced with two more arguments that supported his right to receive support. The first was about the temple priests who had the right to share in the meat that was sacrificed. The second was the instruction given by the Lord Jesus himself. The Lord instructed that the proclaimers of the Gospel should get their living by the Gospel. This is exactly what Matthew 10:10 said, “…that a worker is worthy of his support.”

 

Paul did not preach the Gospel for personal gain. It wasn’t that he had no right to any support but he forgo his right in order to clear the way for the Gospel. Insisting on personal rights can become a stumbling block to the work that one is doing. In all works, let’s be mindful that we are ultimately serving the Lord. So our labor must reflect Christ’s Lordship. In ministry or in secular work, our real boss is the Lord. He will richly reward us.        

1 Corinthians 9:1-7 – Paul proving his apostleship

First Corinthian 9 naturally flows from 1 Corinthian 8:13, where Paul had imposed a self-limitation for the sake of the weak. Paul had served the invitation to those who felt that they could do anything without considering the weak, to adopt his position. Having said that, he probably felt that they were resistant to his proposition and were questioning the authenticity of his calling as an apostle. So here in verse 1 he began with a series of rhetorical questions that presupposed the affirmative to answer their doubts.

 

Paul wanted them to see that being an apostle he too could exercise his freedom like all others. He asserted that just because he imposed limitation on himself should not make them question his apostleship. Why? Because his apostleship was validated by his encounter with the risen Christ. Furthermore he was the one who had founded the community of believers in Corinth. They were the result of his work.  If anyone should question the legitimacy of his apostleship, it certainly should not be the Corinthians. For their existence as a community of faith in Christ was the result of his work. They were the seal of his apostleship.

 

Verse 3 shows Paul openly challenging his opponents who were scrutinizing his apostleship. They had placed him against their model image of what a wise man should be and began to doubt His calling as a genuine apostle of Christ. Here, those who opposed him were probing about his lifestyle, and his work as a tent-maker to support himself financially. Analyzing those areas, his opponents came to the conclusion that he wasn’t an apostle after all.

 

To answer them, Paul then launched another series of rhetorical questions to prove that, like all the other apostles, he too had the right to choose his lifestyle. He also had the right to eat, to have a wife and to be financially supported by the church that he had founded. But the Corinthians already knew he did not exercise those rights. He wanted them to see the difference between the right and exercising the right. His point is precisely this: he did not exercise his rights, not because he didn’t have them but because he chose not to exercise them. 

 

Some backdrop would help us to understand this passage better. In financial support, the usual arrangement was, apostles were supported by the church. Verse 6 reveals that Paul and Barnabas apparently didn’t take any support from the church. While he had the right to supports, Paul chose to work as a tent maker for his financial needs. To prove that he too had the right to receive financial support Paul used a soldier, a vine-grower and a shepherd to prove his point. Just as these had received their livelihood from their work, so also should preachers of God’s Word have the right to be supported by the church they served.

 

We cannot but see Paul as one who had put the people he served before himself. Self-aggrandizement was never in his nature. His preference had always been for his ministry and the salvation of souls, and not his own interest. His was a life of self-denial in order to serve Christ. What about us?

1 Corinthians 8:7-13 – It’s needful to consider others

Bear in mind that Paul was answering people who justified eating meat sacrificed to idol by saying that there is only one true God and an idol is nothing. Paul had established indeed that there is only one true God. He also made it clear that an idol is not a god even if some made it into a god and therefore it is nothing. This being the case, to eat meat offered to idol should be okay right? Wrong! Why so?
 

Paul said that not every believer in Corinth had this knowledge. They were some who were accustomed in considering an idol as a god. And eating those meat would make them feel as if they had participated in a pagan service. Eating those meat offered to idols would affect their conscience and they would feel defiled.
 

So in verse 8, Paul then imagined someone saying “But food will not commend us to God.” And this statement implies that neither eating nor abstaining would have any effect positively or negatively either way. This again boarders in the realm of knowledge without consideration for others. Paul didn’t argue against them. He just explained what he thought in verses 9-12. He urged them to consider the unenlightened. They should not let their conviction, that they were free to do anything, rule their action without considering the weaker brethren. As this would be a stumbling block to those who had a weaker conscience.
 

In verse 10, he proceeded to show the possible damage when one had scant regard for the weaker brethren and continued to eat food offered to idols. He said that the brethren with a weaker conscience might be influenced and be induced to return to the pagan cult that they had left. When that happened their ill-considered knowledge would have caused fellow believers, whom Christ had died for, to fall. The wounding of weaker brethren would make that person, who practiced his liberty without consideration, an offender against Christ too. So in verse 13 Paul concluded by making known his own resolution. He was totally prepared not only to abstain from food offered to idols but also any kind of meat that would stumble a weaker brother. In a real sense, this was an invitation for them to join him in his position.
 

“Not to be a stumbling block to another’s faith in Christ” is a good motto to adopt in life. Always consider others for whom Christ had paid an awesome price on the cross. The word of the Lord himself should be our constant reminder. He said in Matthew 18:7, “…For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 - The one true God and one true Lord

As a preparation to answer the Corinthian’s query about eating food offered to idols, Paul had established that only merging knowledge with love can that issue be solved. Whatever knowledge they had about God must be tampered with God’s kind of love to solve the issue.

 

In verse 4, Paul resumed the issue of eating food that was offered to idols. Paul dealt with their understanding of what an idol was. He echoed their sentiment saying that there was no such thing as an idol in the world and that there was only one true God. For these were what some of the Corinthians had said to justify their eating of food that had been offered to idols. So Paul affirmed that there was indeed only one true God and that an idol was nothing.

 

We need to understand the rationale of the statement. The fact is that an idol is nothing in the sense that an idol is not representing the true God. At best, an idol is just a representation of one of the many so-called gods. Since none of the so-called gods is truly God, than an idol is representing nothing. In reality there are many so called gods and lords in the world, but there is only one true God and an idol doesn’t represent Him. For Christians, we have only one true God and one true Lord.  He is the Father, the maker and sustainer of all things and the Lord Jesus Christ through Whom we all originate and exist.

 

As believers nothing can be more exciting than to know and worship the one true God. He is totally deserving of all glory and honor. We owe Him our total allegiance. We should only bend our knees to this God. Let’s be challenged by the words of a hymn that say, “The dearest idol I may have, whatever that idol be. Help me to tear it from my heart and worship only Thee (God).”

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 – Knowledge tampered with love

In the Roman-Grecian world, idolatry had permeated the everyday life. At home, at work, in social gathering, events and feasts, everything they did was saturated with religious services. Christians were unwittingly drawn into the risk of being involved in some forms of idolatrous tribute unaware. This bothered the conscience of some believers. So in their letter to Paul, food offered to idol was one of the subjects they asked the apostle.   

So in verse 1 we see Paul presenting the subject that he wanted to deal with and then veered into talking about knowledge and love. In so doing he was also recommending a principle to deal with the matter. He made clear that knowledge alone is not sufficient when it comes to deciding a behavior on Christian liberty. Everyone has knowledge and that is undeniable. But the problem is this: knowledge alone would inflate a person’s self, ego and pride whereas love builds up.

Paul’s point is this: we cannot deal with a person just based on knowledge alone. We need to tamper it with love. It is not about demanding for the right but it should also be demonstrating righteousness responsibly. The apostle showed that in correcting, loving God must be foremost. When one loves God, he would be known by God. In other words, this person’s life would demonstrate that God is in his life. Only a person who combines his knowledge with God’s love can solve the problem of eating meat offered to idols and for that matter, for all other ethical issues.

In relating with others, what we know is important. But that alone cannot solve a problem. In fact when we are overly assertive to prove how much we know, it usually would put a person off. But when we tamper it with God’s love and ours, we will find better receptivity. In fact correcting with knowledge alone tends to develop a holier-than-thou attitude in us. Love helps us to consider the other person’s situation and help us to manifest God’s love through our dealings. Let’s exercise knowledge with love in helping others to walk right.

1 Corinthians 7:36-40 -To marry or not to marry?

Aware that there would always be those who would take what he had written to extreme conclusion, Paul wrote these verses to address that situation. In the original language “to past her youth” refers to a lady who is physically matured in her life and at the summit of her child-bearing years.

 

Paul here was either writing to address a male who was engaged to his fiancée or a father of a single girl. Whatever the case, Paul said that when a lady is of marriageable age she should not be prevented from tying the knot. Whether Paul was referring to a father and daughter, or a man and his fiancée, he argued that the man could continue to keep the daughter or fiancée in her singlehood if she had not past her youth.

 

Either situation must be viewed with the crisis they were facing in mind. What was Paul really saying? Don’t be in a hurry to get married, nonetheless, don’t be guilt-ridden should a marriage becomes necessary in the midst of the crisis.  

 

In the last two verses (39 & 40), Paul turned to address the issue of a widow remarrying. His point is that death terminates a marital bond when one’s spouse has died. The surviving spouse has the liberty to remarry. But if she chooses to remarry, she must make sure that it is to a fellow believer in the Lord. 

 

Following the trend of Paul’s thought in this chapter, one could possibly conclude that he vacillates. At one moment he seemed to highly appraise singlehood then at another, he would encourage marriage. Just bear in mind that Paul refused to be bound by the culture of his day. He also refused to let them color his views on either singleness or marriage. His key consideration was governed by his view of one’s relationship with God through Christ. Paul had scant concern for one’s marital or social status.    

Thinking through all that Paul had said, what should be our view about singlehood or being married today? It’s time to see as Paul had proposed. Let not the singles think that being married is everything, and let not the married envy the singles for their liberty. Staying single or being married should not be the prime consideration. The important issue is one’s relationship and walk with the Lord. Whether single or married, the pertinent question is, “Am I giving my wholehearted and undivided service and devotion to God?”   

I Corinthians 7:32-35 – Freely devote to the Lord

In verse 32, when Paul told them that he wanted them to be free from concern, what did he mean? Was he asking them to live a carefree life and have no concern for anything at all? Of course not! Paul was still referring to the crisis that they were going through and he did not want what was happening to cause them to compromise on their service to God.

 

Paul wanted them to see that when facing persecution and financial predicament, the freedom from family encumbrance would give an unmarried person the liberty to focus his concern on his service to the Lord. His point was that a married person had to consider about the affair of the family. This did not mean that he would be a second class Christian. But if put side by side, a single person has less to be concerned about. A married person would have more to consider than a single, hence, he would not be as free to serve the Lord in the midst of crises. We all know that it would be wrong for married people to neglect their family.  Paul here is stating a practical issue i.e. a married person would have divided interest.

 

Bear in mind that Paul’s advice here is not for the married to become unmarried. Here he was addressing the singles, particularly single women and virgins. He wrote to elicit their complete and total devotion to the Lord even though they were facing a crisis. He told them that as singles they could give their unremitting devotion to serve the Lord. Whereas a married woman would also have their family and husband to attend to.

Paul was not making any spiritual comparison between singlehood and being married. He didn’t say that a single is more superior to the married, spiritually. He was not even saying married people can contribute less to the Lord because that would run counter to his teaching elsewhere about family life. He was seeking to secure the devotion of the singles for the Lord. It’s naiveté to think that just being single would automatically free one from concern and his or her energy would be translated into entire devotion to the Lord. Singles do have their heartaches, tension, loneliness, rejection, frustration, etc. Hence, Paul had to urge them focus on giving their devotion to the Lord.

 

What we should seriously seek to do is this - stay devoted to the Lord, single or married! The Lord should be our first concern and not our last option. Definitely not only when all other things in life are done and when we have some left over time. Single or married, the Lord’s promise applies. We are to seek first the Kingdom of God and all the things we need in life will be added to us.    

 

I Corinthians 7:25-31 - Appraise life rightly

In verse 25 Paul addressed the issue of single ladies who were still under the authority of their fathers. Paul did not claim that it’s a commandment of the Lord but just his honest judgment on this matter.  As a steward who was deemed trustworthy by the Lord, he felt the necessity to give his judgment on the issue. In verse 26 Paul talked about a present crisis which the Corinthian were probably well acquainted with but he did not tell us what it was. Apparently the crisis was creating hardship for them. This crisis could have both financial and social implications. Paul could also be referring to the fractured fellowship they were facing. The church was probably thrown into much discord and disagreement. When this happened, families of the church were at ought with each other. In light of the hardship that had troubled the church from within and without, Paul advised the single ladies to remain unmarried.

 

Paul maintained that a change in marital status would not alter the external circumstances. There would be the married, who thought that a divorce would relieve their stress. Then there would be those singles who felt that marriage would be the answer. Here Paul was seeking to help them stay focused. Whether remaining single or seeking marriage, the external stress would not disappear. He was trying to help them see that to spend one’s energy in pursuit of a temporary change could cause one to get out of focus. Hence that person might lose sight of the critical matter which is spiritual. In verse 28 Paul was seeking to help them stay balanced and not read his statement out of context. So he wanted them to know that staying single did not make one more spiritual and it was not immoral to want to get married.      

 

In talking about the shortness of time, Paul wasn’t referring to the end-time but rather the crisis that the Corinthian were experiencing. Everything in life is not permanent but temporary. In that sense time would be short. What did Paul mean when he said, “From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none…”? He was not advocating a life of celibacy. Neither was he asking husbands to deny or neglect their wives. He wanted them to see that there was more to life than just their marriages. So they should set their minds beyond marriage as well.

 

Paul went on to assure them that not only would the crisis be short but earthly life was also short. Paul’s point is this: nothing in this earthly life stays permanent. Everything would pass away – grief, joy, dealings in life and even marriages.  If they are so temporary why place hope on them. He wanted to spare them the agony of the devastation of an unfulfilled hope. This world would pass away Paul said. So everything relating to time, marriage, grief, joy, singleness, etc. would be gone, so don’t get hooked on it!

 

This is a call to set our eyes and minds on the things above. When we have a heavenly mindset we have a better appraisal of things. We won’t place undue importance on things that are not eternal. Therefore our spiritual status should not be determined by marriage or celibacy, joy or sadness, and riches or poverty.

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 - Remained contented

Paul called on Christians to accept whatever lots they were in when God called them to Himself. It’s a call to bloom where one is planted and don’t try to be what one is not. Since it is God who had called every believer to Himself, each should stay contented and find their contentment in Him.

 

Paul wanted believers to understand that one’s social circumstance should not be the measurement for one’s spiritual contentment. A person is not defined by outward circumstances. It is determined by the person’s own self-evaluation. Here the apostle maintained that a believer’s spirituality and standing with God is not tied to his or her circumstances. It is not affected by marital status (verses10-16), nor social status (verses 18-19), nor economic status (verses 21-22). In these verses, Paul gave two illustrations of he said.  

 

Verses 18-20 give us his first illustration. He said that a Jew didn’t have to remove the mark of circumcision in order to be free from their bigotry. And by the same token, the Gentiles need not seek to be circumcised to be accepted by God. Paul’s point was that whether Jews or Gentiles, the issue is not in the ethnicity or culture but their obedience and commitment to God. Simply put, what Paul meant is this: for a believer no change whether race or social status is required, just be obedient and committed to God.

 

In verses 21-23, he gave a second illustration, calling on the slaves not to let their conditions bother them. He told them that their slavery could be the place where they express their Christian callings. Their true freedom is in the Lord and they should live their lives accountable to the Lord.

 

He further showed that whether slave or free there is no difference. A slave could exercise his spiritual liberty in the Lord and a freedman must serve Christ his Lord, since they both belong to the Lord. Whether slave of free, they both share the same relationships of spiritual freedom and service to Christ. That’s also because they were both bought with a price by Christ. Therefore as people liberated by the Lord, they should not be enslaved and once again come under bondage of human and worldly thinking. So in verse 24 Paul exhorted them to remain in fellowship and stay connected to God, regardless of whatever state they were in, because they were called into relationship with Him.   

 

The point is this: whatever our life calling is, we must stay faithful to the Lord. Since we belong to Him, let’s allow Him to take first place in everything in our life. He must be given top priority.

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 - Stay married

Now in these six verses Paul dealt with the issue of dissolution of a marriage. First, he gave a blanket ruling that Christians, whether husbands or wives, should not divorce each other for whatever reason. Here he asserted that he was not merely giving an advice, but a command of the Lord. He was appealing explicitly to the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Although the words of Paul were not exactly the same words as the Lord’s given in the Gospel, he was echoing His instruction (Mark 10:2–12; Matthew 5:31–32, 9:3–12 and Luke 16:18).

 

We can see that Paul was both sensitive to the background of the Jews as well as the Corinthians. In Jewish custom, only a man had the prerogative to divorce his wife. Though a Jew himself, he recognized a woman’s legal right to divorce the husband. However, he urged the woman not to divorce her husband. Paul probably knew that some in the community would disobey the command not to divorce. So he gave a proviso i.e. if a wife chose to end a marriage, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to the husband. Though Paul here addressed the women, this instruction implies that it’s also applicable to the men. He was preventing either the husband or the wife from initiating a divorce.

 

In verses 12-16, Paul called for believers in Corinth who were married to unbelievers to stay in the marriage. In Jesus’ context he was addressing marriages between people of the same faith, but Paul had to confront marriages of a mixed faith. The issue is: should a believer stay married to his or her unbelieving spouse, now that he or she had become a believer? Should such a marriage continue?

 

Here Paul suggested a personal view as a guideline. He said that the marriage should remain, as long as the unbelieving spouse was willing to stay in the marriage. Nonetheless, if an unbelieving spouse chose to end the marriage, then the believer would no longer be bound to the marital commitment. Paul here argued that staying in the marriage had its positive effect, in that it could influence the unbelieving spouse to faith. It could bring sanctification to the spouse and children. Paul here declared that the power of God working through the believing spouse, had the ability to transform the unbelieving spouse and children even in a mixed marriage. Surprisingly Paul did not use the same principle he articulated in 1 Corinthians 5:6 that a little yeast leavens up the whole dough. Here Paul forwarded the thought that holiness is more powerful than impurity. But should an unbelieving spouse insist on leaving the marriage, Paul’s advice was to let it be because God had called the believer to Peace.

 

Paul rounded up in verse 16 by calling on both believing husband and wife not to underestimate the power of God in their marriage, to work in their own unbelieving spouse. We can safely conclude that Paul had experienced the power of God in changing and transforming his life, hence he had no doubt that this power could apply also in their marriages.

 

It is common in the world today to accept divorce as a solution to a troubled marriage. How should Christians view it? Here Paul offers us some perspective. He shows us that divorce is not the only solution but obeying the Lord is. As believers we should seek to stay in a marriage no matter how difficult it may appear. God has the transforming power to change and bless a marriage where both the husband and the wife would obey His instructions unyieldingly.  

I Corinthians 6:12-20 – Glorify God in your body

The Corinthians stressed a lot on personal freedom. Many of them objected to the idea of losing their personal rights. So in these verses Paul set about to deal with that mentality. He used a style of conversation known as the diatribe where he put up an imagery conversation between himself and the Corinthians. It is likely that the believers in Corinth could have based on some kind of philosophical ideas to create slogans to express their freedom in Christ. They could even have surmised from Paul’s teaching about freedom in Christ. They must have thought that Paul’s teaching of God’s unconditional grace would free them to do whatever their fleshly desires would dictate. Being aware of such an attitude, Paul set out to tackle them.   

 

In his presentation, Paul had put in place a boundary on the liberty that believers could exercise. Much like a train on the railway track. It has the liberty to run but only on the track. This principle of freedom is only limited in its application to things that would not jeopardize one’s salvation. So Paul began first by discussing about the usefulness of any practice. While a Christian is free to do anything, he must consider if what he would be doing is needful or useful. Next Paul went on to consider the matter of one’s spiritual freedom. His point is this: since believers have the liberty, why should they be controlled by any impulse.   

 

In verse 13, the apostle showed that it may seem legitimate to infer that since stomach is for food therefore all things suited for food must be allowable. Yet he said that it is true only when it pertains to things earthly and temporary. This cannot be applied to sexual immorality. Why? Because the body is not designed for that purpose. The body belongs to the Lord and is indivisibly connected to Him. Then from verses 15-17, he elaborated by stating that it’s because of this indivisible intimate connection with Christ that sexual immorality is so heinous. It is totally inconsistent with our union with Him as partakers of His spirit. Committing sexual sin is to go against the body and would end up destroying it. Hence, Paul prefaced it with an imperative. Flee immorality!

 

In verse 19, the apostle tells us that the body is God’s temple and it’s the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. And if it is profaned by immoral practices, it would ceased to be His dwelling place. And since our bodies are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, we should therefore devote them for His glory.   

 

While grace had re-written our lives, it is not a license to do any and everything. God’s generous grace showered on us should cause us to carefully evaluate the purpose of life. Let’s consider where we were brought from and where we could have been, had it not been for the grace of God. Let us live to glorify Him!   

I Corinthians 7:8-9 – Advise to the unmarried and widows

Paul told the unmarried and widows that it was good to remain single. Why? Was he saying that it was good morally? In the light of his other teachings on marriage, it can’t be that Paul is saying being married is not good. In his writings in Colossians, Ephesians, I Timothy and Titus, he gave instructions to the married and family life. Hence it can’t be that he was against marriage. Furthermore marriage is a divine institution given by God at the onset of Creation. It was unlikely that Paul should counsel against it. So what did Paul mean?

I Corinthians 7:26 and 28 seemed to suggest that there was a social political crisis that would stress a married person. Apparently, there was at that point a mandate that said that a widow should be married within 18 months. Any widow who was not married within that period was levied a special tax as a penalty. Singles were then incentivized and would rush into a marriage hastily. So Paul was saying, it was not a time to get married but to refrain from it and he advised them not to be pressured into marriage by this incentive. It was not only unnecessary but also not prudent.

While Paul did not want the single to rush into marriage, yet at the same time he did not want any to practice immorality. So he said that a person should marry if he or she has a strong sexual urge and found it hard to control that passion. In this case it would be better for that person to be married than allow the passion to burn.  By the way, verse 9 seems to suggest that a person’s desire for sexual expression is a clue to whether he or she has been called into a life of a celibate or not. However, even if a person had a strong sexual passion, Paul’s point implied that he should not hastily get married too.  

Whether married or single, every one of us must be mindful that we belong to Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and Master. Our goal in life is to please and honor Him, whether single or married. Let’s conduct our lives in such a way that would cause His name to be praised!