1 Corinthians 7:8-16 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 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. To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
In the above focus we see Paul encouraging fellow believers to live as he lives, unmarried and completely committed to God. Paul lives his life as a living sacrifice to the will of God. Since he met Jesus in a personal way on the road to Damascus, he fell under the will of God; his life of murderous threats and anger towards others was transformed to the love of God for all people. Paul’s commitment to God demonstrated his love for Jesus. Jesus told his disciples that to enter the Kingdom of God and yet hang onto this world is an impossible life to live successfully as followers of Christ. Jesus illustrates this point when talking to a wealthy young man who addresses him as good master. “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16) This man had followed the commandments and its regulations in a perfect way. Jesus loves him because he is so dedicated to God, but he does not confirm his life as being perfect; instead, Jesus asked something of this man that he could not do: If you want to be PERFECT, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (21) The disciples immediately recognized what a difficult task it would be for humans to abandon everything in this world and follow God as perfect servants of his will. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (25) Jesus calms their fears by saying, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (26) This statement shows us the magnitude of God’s grace for imperfect human beings. When Jesus was put on the cross: the impossible was committed that day, the death of the Son of God. Jesus had told the people in his Sermon on the Mount, “Be ye perfect as God is perfect.” Of course, God giving us Jesus as the propitiation of our sins makes us perfect. So, as Jesus said, all things are possible to God. Now in our focus for the day, Paul is suggesting to the Corinthians to live a more perfect life is not to marry. It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. Of course unmarried people are free from the entanglements of being responsible to another person. In a marital relationship, the other person’s needs and desires are paramount in a successful union. Marriage is a union of two made one, under an oath to God and to others. This is a serious commitment, for it places the two in the hands of God. Has not the one God made you? You BELONG to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. (Malachi 2:15) If God accepts and sanctifies this marital relationship, then all in this relationship, including the children, are under God’s protection, his umbrella of love. God will bless such a relationship as long as the couple are faithful to each other. “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 flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)
Not all people can live as Paul lived: unmarried. In many ways it is an unnatural life, even going against God’s command for humans to procreate, to populate the world. Men and women are given a God-driven sexual passion, a passion necessary to produce children. Paul is asking the Corinthians not to give in to this intrinsic biological sexual desire, to put aside their basic instinctive desire to have sex and serve God completely. But Paul understands what he is asking and that it is an impossibility for most people, so he relents and says, I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. (1 Corinthians 7:7) Peter was married, yet he carried out the will of God in his life. He forsook everything in his life to follow God. We must assume that his wife too forsook everything in her life to follow God, for they had been united under God’s blessings. Under God’s blessings--divorce is not an option except for unfaithfulness. Jesus told the disciples that Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. The disciples said to him, If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry. (Matthew 19:8-10) This statement shows the carnality of humans. If we are straddled with just one sexual partner under our marital oath to God, should we free ourselves of this restriction by not marrying? Jesus said, realistically under the commandment of God to procreate, men and women struggle with sexual activity. Should they marry or not? Should their attention in this life be completely for God in his service or should they marry and divide their attention between their partner and God? Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” (Matthew 19:11-12) Are you willing to live sexless lives for the kingdom of God? That is your choice; not everyone can do that: like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Paul verifies this statement of Jesus about the eunuchs when he writes, each of you has your own gift from God. If God desires you to be married, then give yourself into a marital relationship. If you were born not to be in union with another in marriage, then live that way and thank God that you can give your whole life to God. If your self-discipline is strong and you are willing to forgo marriage for the sake of God, do it with thankfulness and faithfulness to God only. Paul understood well what he was asking of the Corinthians. He also understood that the Corinthian society was lascivious and unrestrained in their sexual activity, all of it impure, without God’s blessing on it.
In Paul’s teaching about sexual activity and marriage in the Corinthian church, he is primarily focused on these new converts to know Christ in his fullness, to become rooted deeply in Christ. Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. (Colossians 2:6-8) Within the Greek society, many deceptive philosophies had been taught to them from their earliest awareness. Variant sexual practices were considered good and only natural. Prostitution was rampant, embedded in their culture, even in their temples. The new converts in the the Corinthian church struggled with the idea of faithfulness to one partner, for it seemed to be an unnatural requirement put on the flesh. The Corinthian church had even allowed incest within their congregation and they boasted about it. Paul warned them that their service to God must be stronger than their fleshly urges of sexual passion. Because the Corinthians struggled with sexual issues as viewed by the Greek society, some were asking whether they should just forgo marriage all together, because unfaithfulness was so much a part of their culture. Paul is saying, no, but their lives must depend on the role God has given them, some can be married and serve God wholeheartedly and some cannot serve God wholeheartedly unless they are single. Paul wishes for the latter, but he knows this lifestyle is only for a few. Jesus talked about a farmer (or God) sowing seed throughout the world. Some seed fell on hard paths, such as we see in the stories of Noah and Lot. The people in those stories were actively involved with the world. Their agendas were too strong and prominent for them to notice the seed that was sown in their lives. The devil quickly snatched up the seed from their lives and in both cases God judged them for their wickedness. Other seed was sown on rocky ground where the roots could not go deeply within the soil. They had received the Good News with joy for a while, but then in a time of testing they fell away. Some seed fell among weeds and they sprouted, but life’s worries, riches and pleasures caused them not to mature. This was Paul’s chief worry about the Corinthians, could they put away the sexual pleasures that they had participated in within the Greek culture? Could they come into maturity? Paul’s teaching about appropriate sexual behavior under the authority of God was designed to bring them into maturity so that they would produce much fruit for the kingdom of God. He had to be rather explicit to disengage them from learned practice from their youth. For Paul, salvation for all was his primary purpose for this teaching on sex and marriage. He urges believers not to divorce their unbelieving mate, if their mate wishes to stay married to them. Why? For the salvation of their unbelieving mate. Paul wants the unbeliever in the marriage to experience the Good News by observing the believing wife or husband. Our friends around this breakfast table, sexual activity and sexual pursuits outside of God's will for you can damage your whole life. Live in integrity and faithfulness with others in every part of your life. If single, live happily in that framework; if married, likewise. In all things, live your lives unto God, knowing his blessings, that his constant and active presence within you are for the good.
No comments:
Post a Comment