1Cor 7:26-27 | 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 7:26-27

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.