Talk 10. Questions about Marriage (7:1-40)
One of Paul’s purposes in writing 1 Corinthians was to answer certain questions about which they had written to him.
The first of these was on the subject of marriage and Paul devotes the whole of Chapter 7 in giving his answer.
It’s too lengthy for verse by verse exposition and I shall not be reading it all in this podcast.
So I suggest that before listening any further you hit the pause button and take time to read through it and then have it open as you continue to listen.
The chapter presents certain difficulties because in some verses (e.g. v.1) Paul appears to be teaching that Christians should not marry.
However, the slogan It is good for a man not to marry possibly came from a group of ascetics in the Corinthian church rather than from Paul himself.
Today I shall be highlighting ten major lessons that are to be found in the chapter.
- Marriage is a gift from God (7)
7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
So it would be quite wrong to suggest that Christians should not marry.
Marriage is a divine institution given:
- for companionship
- as a channel for our sexual desires
- that children might be brought up in the ways of the Lord.
The Christian view of marriage is the answer to many of the social problems of our generation.
- The married have privileges and duties that the unmarried do not have (3-5)
3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
4 The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Each partner in the marriage has sexual privileges from and duties to the other.
It is the will of the God that husbands and wives fulfil their sexual responsibilities to each other except for times of prayer and fasting by common consent (5).
- The unmarried can devote themselves more fully to the Lord’s work (32-34)
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs – how he can please the Lord.
33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world – how he can please his wife –
34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world – how she can please her husband.
In pastoral life there are considerable advantages in being single.
There are also serious disadvantages.
- To remain single requires a definite gift (charisma) from God (7)
7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
No Christian is ever left ‘on the shelf’. God is able to find us a partner, if he will, or to give us the charisma to go through life unmarried.
- Those who do not have this gift ought to marry (9)
9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
They should marry is a command. With passion (NIV) is not in the Greek. Nevertheless, this is clearly the sense here.
- In time of difficulty for the church it may be better not to marry (26)
26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.
What Paul means by the present crisis is unclear.
Barrett and Fee both take it to refer to the eschatological woes that are to precede the second coming.
More generally we could take it to refer to times of persecution.
But even in these circumstances it is not sinful to marry (25-28, 35-40).
As we have already seen, it is better to marry than to burn with passion (9)
Cf. v.36 if he feels he ought to marry (NIV)
If his passions are strong (EV)
However, in times of persecution there are greater problems and heartaches for married people, especially for those with children
- A Christian should never marry an unbeliever (39).
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
She marries anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
This is the only restriction placed on marriage other than the OT prohibitions placed on marrying close relations. The Christian may choose their partner provided they’re also a Christian.
(‘Marriage’ to someone of the same sex would of course have been unthinkable.)
- If your partner is not a Christian, let them go if they want to! (12-16)
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Since Christians may not marry non-Christians, this must refer to the situation where one partner becomes a Christian after marriage.
The suggestion is that the Christian life is so incompatible with that of the non-Christian that the marriage may well break up.
There is no guarantee that the partner will get converted. There is no Scriptural basis for ‘claiming’ one’s loved ones for the Lord. This practice rests on a false interpretation of verse 14 and a misunderstanding of Acts 16:31.
The word sanctified (14) simply means that the marriage is sanctified in the sight of God and the children are not illegitimate.
Some of the benefits of salvation extend beyond the saved person. Christians act as salt in any community, even their own family, but this does not bring eternal life to the members of that community.
Whichever way it is interpreted, v 16 makes it clear that the conversion of the family is not certain.
- Christian couples may separate, but not remarry (10-11)
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
It is possible that Matthew 19:9 modifies this slightly, but opinions vary as to the correct interpretation of marital unfaithfulness.
However, the general principle is undoubtedly that marriage is for life.
Paul’s teaching does not contradict that of Jesus.
He is answering specific questions in this passage, not giving an entire analysis of the Christian view of marriage.
- As a general principle, don’t change course unless clearly led to do so (17-24)
17 Nevertheless, 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.
18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.
20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.
21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you–although if you can gain your freedom, do so.
22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.
23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.
These verses do not just apply to marriage. The general principle is repeated in 20 and 24. Your outward circumstances are relatively unimportant compared with what you are in Christ (22).