1Cor 7:25-39 | KingComments | STEP | . Being circumcised or uncircumcised in is about whether you’ve had or haven’t had a religious background when you are converted. But there is one more aspect that plays a role at your conversion: your social background. In the time Paul was living, slavery was a common thing. How the slave felt about this depended on the master he had, but in general it was a very inferior position. You could’ve been treated any way they wanted to. You were not more than a piece of equipment. In some of the letters Paul wrote, he also addresses the slaves. At first sight they found themselves in anything but an enviable position. Therefore history mentions many slave revolts. If you explore what Paul has to say to the slaves in his several letters, you will discover that a Christian slave had a special opportunity to testify of his Lord and Savior ( ). He could show through his behavior that he was a follower of the Lord Jesus, Who also became a Slave. Therefore he didn’t have to worry about being called as a slave. The important thing was that he behaved himself as a Christian and didn’t participate (anymore) in revolting against his master. Joseph is a wonderful example of a faithful slave. You read several times that God was with him ( ). Isn’t that encouraging when you find yourself in a subordinate position? Paul continues by saying something about the opportunity to become free. When the slave had the opportunity for that, he could make use of it. Here he presents that a freedman has other opportunities to serve the Lord. . In any case, both the Christian slave and the Christian freedman were not supposed to decide on their own how to live their life. He who was called as a slave, was called “in the Lord” and therefore free from the power of sin. But take note: he was a freedman of the Lord . The same applied to the one who was called as a freedman, for he was a slave of Christ. Christ paid the ransom for both. And what price! He paid the price of His life to redeem them from the power of satan. They now belonged to Him. They were His property now and therefore He received the right over their life. . Therefore they were not to worry about what people demanded from them. That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t listen to their superiors, but they knew that they had to be obedient to God above all. . In this verse Paul ends the section with something that applies to everything that preceded that verse. The point is that each person had to remain with God in the condition or position where he was when he was called. To you as well it is something you can ask yourself. A change is only allowed when you have been involved with an obscure job or with bad matters before your conversion. A clear example is when a harlot has been converted. It goes without saying that she cannot remain ‘with God’ by continuing to do this ‘job’. In general, it is God’s purpose, however, that a person doesn’t change from work or matters he used to do, but that he testifies in his old environment that he has changed. In Luke 3 you find examples of persons who came with repentance to John the baptist and asked him what they should do ( ). He didn’t say to the tax collectors and soldiers to quit their jobs, but that they should do their work appropriately. They could show in their jobs that they had been changed. In the society we live it is almost a normal thing that in some industrial branches the workers declare more hours than they have worked and so get paid for those hours. He who has accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord will not want to participate anymore in such practices. . In the section of , Paul now goes into more detail about what he has already hinted at in . For the unmarried and widows, he sees an important task ahead. If you read the whole section, you notice that he addresses both the unmarried man and the unmarried woman. His advice to the unmarried is to remain alone. He doesn’t just say so because it is that easy, free and without obligations. No, he does that from a certain point of view, namely keeping “the present distress” ( ) in mind. How big that distress is, you can see in the world around you. Paul had that in mind and wanted others to have that in mind also. It can touch you deeply when you imagine how many people around you are desperate and see no way out of their problems. Thoughts of committing suicide or attempts of committing suicide are no exception anymore. Statistics prove that with hard figures. If you imagine that one out of five young people has thought of committing suicide, it can really shock you. Considering the opportunity to be able to tell as many people as possible about the Lord Jesus, maybe especially to young people, Paul approaches the state of being unmarried from this point of view. He doesn’t do that because he received a commandment from the Lord to do so, but he gives his judgment “as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy”. If you read superficially, it seems like it is just an opinion of Paul which you might as well ignore. After all, he says that he hasn’t received a commandment from the Lord to do so, right? Of other matters he indeed says that he directly received them from the Lord, such as in chapter 11, regarding the Lord’s Supper ( ). But even if it is not added, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take that seriously. Paul was a man who gave himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Certainly, regarding the letters he wrote and which we find in the Bible, it is good to realize and accept it as such that the Spirit made him write it down this way. Such is the case here as well, about the unmarried. At the same time you see how carefully he writes. He is aware of the mercy he received to be faithful to the calling of the Lord. Remaining aloner to dedicate your life to the Lord and to fulfill your ministry faithfully, is something you cannot do without the mercy of the Lord, for it is not an easy thing to do. To do it by your own strength is not possible. . Therefore it is good to remain unmarried with the special purpose to devote all your efforts to the Lord. But who is bound to a husband or wife, so who is married, is not supposed to change that. And who is not bound to a husband or wife is neither supposed to change that. . “But”, as Paul adds immediately to it “if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned.” He is constantly careful not to throw a slur on being married, as if that would be something sinful. He is aware that his way of presenting matters, could make someone feel guilty when he or she got married. That is not his purpose at all. What he wants is to spare the unmarried something and that is “trouble in this life” [literally ”tribulation in the flesh”]. Tribulation in this life or the flesh means that marriage goes together with the obligation to be occupied with your husband or wife, and your family, which means that time cannot be used for directly proclaiming the gospel. Of course the Lord also gives opportunities to serve Him when you are married. But, as already said, Paul looks at everything here with in view of the present distress. Now read 1 Corinthians 7:21-28 again. Reflection: In which way do you recognize the ‘present distress’ around you? Tell that to God and ask Him how He wants to use you for that.

‏ 1 Corinthians 7:25-39

Remain With God

1Cor 7:21. Being circumcised or uncircumcised in 1Cor 7:19 is about whether you’ve had or haven’t had a religious background when you are converted. But there is one more aspect that plays a role at your conversion: your social background. In the time Paul was living, slavery was a common thing. How the slave felt about this depended on the master he had, but in general it was a very inferior position. You could’ve been treated any way they wanted to. You were not more than a piece of equipment. In some of the letters Paul wrote, he also addresses the slaves. At first sight they found themselves in anything but an enviable position. Therefore history mentions many slave revolts.

If you explore what Paul has to say to the slaves in his several letters, you will discover that a Christian slave had a special opportunity to testify of his Lord and Savior (Tit 2:10-11). He could show through his behavior that he was a follower of the Lord Jesus, Who also became a Slave. Therefore he didn’t have to worry about being called as a slave. The important thing was that he behaved himself as a Christian and didn’t participate (anymore) in revolting against his master. Joseph is a wonderful example of a faithful slave. You read several times that God was with him (Gen 39:2 ; 21). Isn’t that encouraging when you find yourself in a subordinate position?

Paul continues by saying something about the opportunity to become free. When the slave had the opportunity for that, he could make use of it. Here he presents that a freedman has other opportunities to serve the Lord.

1Cor 7:22. In any case, both the Christian slave and the Christian freedman were not supposed to decide on their own how to live their life. He who was called as a slave, was called “in the Lord” and therefore free from the power of sin. But take note: he was a freedman of the Lord. The same applied to the one who was called as a freedman, for he was a slave of Christ. Christ paid the ransom for both. And what price! He paid the price of His life to redeem them from the power of satan. They now belonged to Him. They were His property now and therefore He received the right over their life.

1Cor 7:23. Therefore they were not to worry about what people demanded from them. That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t listen to their superiors, but they knew that they had to be obedient to God above all.

1Cor 7:24. In this verse Paul ends the section with something that applies to everything that preceded that verse. The point is that each person had to remain with God in the condition or position where he was when he was called. To you as well it is something you can ask yourself. A change is only allowed when you have been involved with an obscure job or with bad matters before your conversion. A clear example is when a harlot has been converted. It goes without saying that she cannot remain ‘with God’ by continuing to do this ‘job’. In general, it is God’s purpose, however, that a person doesn’t change from work or matters he used to do, but that he testifies in his old environment that he has changed.

In Luke 3 you find examples of persons who came with repentance to John the baptist and asked him what they should do (Lk 3:10-14). He didn’t say to the tax collectors and soldiers to quit their jobs, but that they should do their work appropriately. They could show in their jobs that they had been changed. In the society we live it is almost a normal thing that in some industrial branches the workers declare more hours than they have worked and so get paid for those hours. He who has accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord will not want to participate anymore in such practices.

1Cor 7:25. In the section of 1Cor 7:25-39, Paul now goes into more detail about what he has already hinted at in 1Cor 7:8-9. For the unmarried and widows, he sees an important task ahead. If you read the whole section, you notice that he addresses both the unmarried man and the unmarried woman. His advice to the unmarried is to remain alone. He doesn’t just say so because it is that easy, free and without obligations. No, he does that from a certain point of view, namely keeping “the present distress” (1Cor 7:26) in mind. How big that distress is, you can see in the world around you. Paul had that in mind and wanted others to have that in mind also.

It can touch you deeply when you imagine how many people around you are desperate and see no way out of their problems. Thoughts of committing suicide or attempts of committing suicide are no exception anymore. Statistics prove that with hard figures. If you imagine that one out of five young people has thought of committing suicide, it can really shock you. Considering the opportunity to be able to tell as many people as possible about the Lord Jesus, maybe especially to young people, Paul approaches the state of being unmarried from this point of view. He doesn’t do that because he received a commandment from the Lord to do so, but he gives his judgment “as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy”.

If you read superficially, it seems like it is just an opinion of Paul which you might as well ignore. After all, he says that he hasn’t received a commandment from the Lord to do so, right? Of other matters he indeed says that he directly received them from the Lord, such as in chapter 11, regarding the Lord’s Supper (1Cor 11:23). But even if it is not added, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take that seriously. Paul was a man who gave himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Certainly, regarding the letters he wrote and which we find in the Bible, it is good to realize and accept it as such that the Spirit made him write it down this way. Such is the case here as well, about the unmarried. At the same time you see how carefully he writes. He is aware of the mercy he received to be faithful to the calling of the Lord. Remaining aloner to dedicate your life to the Lord and to fulfill your ministry faithfully, is something you cannot do without the mercy of the Lord, for it is not an easy thing to do. To do it by your own strength is not possible.

1Cor 7:26-27. Therefore it is good to remain unmarried with the special purpose to devote all your efforts to the Lord. But who is bound to a husband or wife, so who is married, is not supposed to change that. And who is not bound to a husband or wife is neither supposed to change that.

1Cor 7:28. “But”, as Paul adds immediately to it “if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned.” He is constantly careful not to throw a slur on being married, as if that would be something sinful. He is aware that his way of presenting matters, could make someone feel guilty when he or she got married. That is not his purpose at all.

What he wants is to spare the unmarried something and that is “trouble in this life” [literally ”tribulation in the flesh”]. Tribulation in this life or the flesh means that marriage goes together with the obligation to be occupied with your husband or wife, and your family, which means that time cannot be used for directly proclaiming the gospel. Of course the Lord also gives opportunities to serve Him when you are married. But, as already said, Paul looks at everything here with in view of the present distress.

Now read 1 Corinthians 7:21-28 again.

Reflection: In which way do you recognize the ‘present distress’ around you? Tell that to God and ask Him how He wants to use you for that.

The Time Is Short

1Cor 7:29. Time is pressing. The Lord Jesus can return any moment and then the opportunities to preach the gospel will be over. Then the curtain, so to speak, will go down for the millions of people and they perish forever. Against this background Paul presents some situations. Those are situations which are not wrong, but they may cause that the work of the Lord will not be done anymore.

When he says “those who have wives should be as though they had none” he doesn’t mean to say anything to the detriment of marriage. Needless to say, you should not leave your wife just like that. In 1Cor 7:3 he already said that husband and wife must meet what they owe to each other. No, it is that wife and children should not have priority at the expense of the work of the Lord. Even when you are married, the work of the Lord has priority. It is necessary to be reminded of this. Promising young believers have become unfit for the Lord, after getting married because they got completely wrapped up with their husband or wife.

1Cor 7:30. Sorrow and joy are expressions of emotions that are given to you by God. They occur because of several circumstances or occurrences in your life. It is common to life on earth and you may express yourself like that. But it is a fact that emotions of sorrow or joy can engage your attention in such a way that you may forget the work of the Lord.

If you are in the fortunate condition of having your own income, you are able to buy things. Then you become the owner of the purchased. But you should be careful not to fill your heart with it. If you have bought a smartphone, a pc or a car, then it could be that you easily spend a lot of leisure time on it (how much time do you spend on internet and social media for example?), while the work of the Lord is not done. Others are sensitive to nice clothes and are occupied with it for a great deal of their leisure time. As a result, the work of the Lord is not done. You don’t even think of buying gospel literature and distributing it or signing up to participate in an evangelical campaign, or to help in a children’s camp.

1Cor 7:31. The same is applicable also to “the world”. You are allowed to use everything you want in this world, but of course it concerns the lawful use. In case you have money, you are able to do all kinds of things with it, such as treat yourself to a nice vacation. You can also collect curiosities you like to have. As long as you keep on realizing that these things are outward things which are of temporary nature, you will remain useful for the Lord and His work.

1Cor 7:32. Paul writes these things because he wants you to be free from concern. From what follows, he seems to mean: without having to take care of husband or wife. The unmarried is able to devote him/herself to the matters of the Lord completely and to please Him. He who is unmarried simply has more time to do so. Some do not like to get married because of the obligations toward another person. They want to remain free to be able to do what they want to. But that should be no reason to remain unmarried. He who is unmarried, can spend his life in an amazing way. Your life is then not only complete when you are married, but your life is then complete when you see what task the Lord has given you.

1Cor 7:33. Of course this also applies to the one who is married, but yet, then comes another concern, namely how he should please his wife. She needs time, attention and care. It wouldn’t be a good thing if a husband neglects his responsibilities. The consequences will be disastrous for the marriage and for the work of the Lord as well.

1Cor 7:34. In 1Cor 7:32-33 the distinction between the unmarried and the married man is made clear. That same distinction is made clear in 1Cor 7:34 between the unmarried and married woman. With Paul there is no question of discrimination. Regarding the unmarried woman he even gets more into detail about the opportunities to live for the Lord than what concerns the unmarried man. The care, concerning the matters of the Lord, can be expressed by being holy to the Lord both in body and spirit. She can focus exclusively on the Lord.

A woman has the special opportunity to show through her body that she lives holy (that means: apart from the world and devoted to the Lord). Through the properness of her clothing (1Tim 2:9) and through her long hair (1Cor 11:15) she exposes a characteristic of her own through which she can distinguish herself from the women of the world.

It is not an easy thing to practice for a female Christian. The distinction is fading more and more. This distinction should not be an outward matter alone of course. Therefore in “spirit” is connected to it. You need to have a clear motive to be able to live holy for the Lord “in body”. A person who doesn’t have that, falls into a wrong kind of holiness. That kind of holiness is only formal and is empty. It will not make one able to go against the tide. If someone also wants to be holy ‘in spirit’ for the Lord, it means that such person has thought about doing what pleases the Lord and acts with discretion and not because others say so.

Here you see the balance between the outer and inner man. Living outwardly as the Lord is pleased to see – in the Bible you can read how He likes to see it – is only valuable to the Lord if it is a reflection of the inner devotion. Of course this holiness in body and spirit doesn’t apply only to the unmarried women, but applies to the married women as well.

You could compare this to the conditions that are mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 for someone who wants to be an overseer (1Tim 3:1-7). These conditions apply in a special way to the overseer, but of course you cannot say that someone who doesn’t want to be an overseer doesn’t have to consider this. Every Christian is supposed to strive for reflecting the attributes mentioned in that chapter in his life. In 1 Corinthians 7, where the unmarried woman is directly concerned, it is exactly because of her being unmarried, she has the special opportunity to live holy in body and spirit, devoted to the Lord.

1Cor 7:35. Paul very well senses what reactions could arise after the previous comments. Therefore he adds that he says these things to the “own benefit” of the Corinthians. He doesn’t want to make it difficult or put a restraint upon them. He doesn’t want to create false contradictions between marriage and being occupied with the matters of the Lord. What he wants is that they, and we, think about these things.

He puts the state of being married and the state of being unmarried in the light of the Lord and the work for Him. Then being unmarried is not something inferior, but it rather gives the possibility to spend all time and attention to the Lord and the service for Him.

Now read 1 Corinthians 7:29-35 again.

Reflection: Name some ‘things of the Lord’ and name some ‘things of the world’.

Free to Be Married, Only in the Lord

It is still about marriage. This chapter does not bring up this important issue from the point of view that God had in mind when instituting marriage, namely, as the image of Christ and the church. This chapter is about the Christian's point of view, the way he/she looks at it and that in connection with all the work that is to be done for the Lord. This means that you are allowed to make your own decisions in this respect. You are allowed to make your own choice.

Of course you will make this choice by consulting the Lord in prayer, but it is about your own responsibility that you have in this respect.

Making a choice is only a real choice if you have carefully weighed the advantages and disadvantages of a certain matter. These are presented to you by Paul in this chapter – under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, do not forget that! In 1Cor 7:36-37 the two possibilities are once more presented concretely and practically, while in 1Cor 7:38 the conclusion is given.

1Cor 7:36. This verse is a bit difficult to translate, but what it says, is quite clear. In practical terms it means that a person, who thinks that for him it is better to marry than to remain unmarried, is free to marry. You can actually conclude from the word “thinks” that this choice is made after having thought about it. That a person is completely free to make such a decision, you can conclude from the sentence “let him do what he wishes”. There is no need to feel guilty, for there is no mention of sin. It goes without saying that he who considers this matter seriously, will make it a matter of prayer. All his personal thoughts which will lead him to make a certain choice, will be in the presence of the Lord.

1Cor 7:37. The application for 1Cor 7:36 also goes for 1Cor 7:37 and yet to a stronger degree. There you read four conditions if you want to remain unmarried. You ought to

1. stand firm in your heart,

2. being under no constraint,

3. have authority over your own will,

4. and have decided this in your own heart.

Paul does not talk about the decision to remain unmarried as if it were something you just simply do. Without holding back anything he gives the terms for it. If you neglect one of them, you will make a wrong decision.

The ‘heart’ is mentioned twice, at the beginning and at the end. In between, something is said about emotions (point 2) and about your will (point 3).

First of all, you must stand firm in your heart. You’re not supposed to be persuaded easily to change your mind. Second, you should have no necessity. That refers to 1Cor 7:2 ; 9. When there is a desire (which is not wrong) for a life partner, there is a necessity to be married. It is better to marry than to burn with passion. Then the question is whether you have authority over your own will. Do you really want to live totally for the Lord without having to be occupied with the things of the world, of course not the wrong ones. If you have taken all these things into consideration carefully, then you are able to take a responsible decision in your heart to remain unmarried.

1Cor 7:38. As a sort of conclusion Paul repeats the alternatives. He doesn’t do that with words like good or wrong. That contrast is not found here. In both cases it is about something good. Only one of the two cases is better.

1Cor 7:39. Marriage is a lifelong bond. In Romans 7 marriage is also mentioned as a bond for life (Rom 7:2). The only way a marriage can be annulled is by death. Only then someone is free to marry another person. This freedom has two sides. On the one side, the person is free because the life partner has died. Through death the marital bond has ended, after all. Now it has become possible to marry another person. On the other side, there is freedom in choosing another life partner.

It says: “To whom she wishes.” Yet there follows the significant addition “only in the Lord”. That may seem to be a limitation of the freedom, but that is not the case. The addition indicates a good direction in which the freedom ‘to marry to whom one wishes’ must be searched. He/she who wants to acknowledge the rights of the Lord in his/her life will not want otherwise than to marry someone who also wants that.

Here in this verse the main thing is about someone who was married and has become a widow due to the death of her husband. But the addition “in the Lord” is too significant to apply that only to the remarriage of a widow. It is good for each person, who thinks that he/she should marry, to make sure that his/her desires are ‘in the Lord’. ‘In the Lord’ goes further than only both being believers. It goes without saying that to marry ‘in the Lord’ cannot be with an unbeliever. Even if the other person is a believer, it is important to be convinced that both of you are willing to do the will of the Lord in all things.

For the practice of faith it is essential that you join the gatherings of believers. For the growth of your faith it is essential as well that you have fellowship with believers who live and gather according to the Bible. If in this respect you and your spouse have separate ways, you ask for troubles. Still, it is no unequal yoke if you would marry someone from another denomination than yours, but yet, it is a poignant yoke. When you’re sure that where you are, is the place that God assures you to be and where the gatherings are according to His Word, as you have discovered (that means, where the members are willing to do so), that will play an important role in choosing of your marital partner.

You might think, by making agreements with each other that separate denominations might work out well for both of you. But when you both are really involved with your own congregation, you will notice that you both live in two different ‘worlds’. This difficulty will become stronger when children are born. It will not be an easy thing to explain clearly to the children that both convictions are right. You will not be able to talk about the unity of believers, for example, will not really be proven by your own marriage. Children especially, are very sensitive for a life that is in line with the conviction of their parents.

However, reality shows that, in almost all cases of such situations, not much comes of the children spiritually. You see that the question about visiting a local church is not a side issue, but it should be an important issue. It is important that you heartily agree with each other about this.

1Cor 7:40. In the closing verse of this chapter Paul gives his opinion once more. He doesn’t do so from on high, appealing to his authority as an apostle. He does that as someone who knows himself to be guided by the Spirit of God at clarifying this particular issue. He speaks like someone who has had his own exercises in this respect.

It is not just a theoretical explanation, without any feelings of his own. His aim is the happiness of the widow. In his view she is happier when she remains unmarried than when she would remarry. She has experienced the support and care of the Lord when she lost her husband.

With this experience she can also be of consolation in her turn, to others who also suffer losses. In that way she can find a meaningful way to compensate the loss of her husband.

Now read 1 Corinthians 7:36-40 again.

Reflection: How important is it for you to share the same idea with your (future) partner, regarding going together to a church where people gather according to the Bible?