1 Corinthians 7:8-11 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
In chapter seven of First Corinthians, we have a recurring theme: Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. (verse 26) Paul beseeches the believers to remain contentedly in their present status in life, not adding upheaval by seeking change. He desires for them to focus on the realities of the kingdom of God, rather than on their temporal existence. Seeking the kingdom of God first should be their preeminent concern in life, not making their own lives easier or better. Living for God should be their purpose in life; anything else is a waste of time; for the celestial is forever. For Paul, nothing else but living for Christ truly mattered, especially since he believed with a passion in the imminent return of his Lord. His commission to preach the gospel, given to him by Christ himself, burned in his heart; therefore, he was willing to give his whole life to God. For the purpose of Christ, he was content in any state or circumstance he found himself. Now, he encourages the Corinthians to have the same mind he has: to be content in whatever circumstance or station in life that they find themselves.
N
(verse 20)
evertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. And he goes on to say,
Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.
(verses 17 & 20) Paul desired his converts to have the same passion he possesses: to lay down their lives and their concerns about their lives, to be totally committed to Christ.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) He did not want the Corinthians to make choices that would bind them to this earth: For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:53-55) Paul does not want the Corinthians, who are now new creatures, clinging to the beggarly elements of this world that contain no eternal value. He wants their hearts oriented toward to the heavenly, not the earthly.
In view of this contentment, the unmarried and the widows should stay as they are: unmarried or widowed. But, if they burn with passion, they should change the circumstances of their lives and get married. Paul's basic concern for them as Christians is for them to live decent and wholesome lives. He does not want their lifestyles to bring a reproach on the gospel of Christ. Paul told his spiritual son, But godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6) The gospel of Christ should bring people to a life of dedication to the Lord; such a life reflects God's holiness, his righteousness, to the world. Stable, loving, and caring marriages reflect this same image of God. Jesus was asked about marriages by the Pharisees. Since the Pharisees knew some marriages in their community did not reflect the nature of God, and there were many divorces, they wanted to see what Jesus would say. Of course, Jesus was not going to validate the present situation with many divorces within the Jewish culture. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Jesus states that the condition of marriage was designed from the very beginning to be a permanent situation. Two would become one. By their union as one, they were to live their lives as a reflection of God's complete nature of being both masculine and feminine. When they break up their marriage, they break up the image of the nature of God himself as He desired to reflect himself to the world. For the purpose of the message of Christ, remaining as one in a stabile marriage provides a better witness for the spreading of the Word, the Good News. But because of the nature of the world, the violence and pain often propagated on people within a marriage, divorce is an ongoing reality because of sin, the waywardness of stubborn man.
The disciples were concerned about the nature of man and the consequences of the hardness of his heart. They wanted to know whether to be holy and upright, perhaps they should not marry to prevent divorce from becoming a part of their lives. Otherwise, they recognized that the sinfulness of the heart of mankind was a permanent condition. How could there not be divorces if this was the nature of people? The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” (Matthew 19:10-12) Jesus is saying what Paul tells the Corinthians: things that are should remain as they are. Seek ye the first the kingdom of God. (See Matthew 6:33-34) Do not change what is. If you are married, if possible, do not change your state. If you are unmarried, do not seek a mate. If you are a widow, do not seek to remarry. Be content in whatever state you find yourself. Paul said exactly this: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (Philippians 4:11) Contentment can bring great glory to God if you lift him up in your situation. Your days and nights will be spent serving the Lord and not longing for something else. Your heart will be set on the heavenly and not on the earthly. As we read earlier in this study, Paul wants the Corinthians to remember their lives have been bought at a price: Christ Jesus and his shed blood. No other price could satisfy God's need for justice: to pay back the evil that man has created. Jesus represents the perfect sacrifice. The Corinthians needed to live their lives in full response to such a price. We, too, thousands of years removed from Paul's teaching to the Corinthians, need to respond wholeheartedly to God's message of love with our total commitment to God's purposes for our lives. We should not be concerned about changing our lives to make them better here. We should be concerned about being living sacrifices for God: not our will but yours be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment