Ever hear of the hero’s journey? It’s a story trope where the protagonist of the story starts off in a mundane life, and then is thrusted into adventure. Stories like Bilbo from the Hobbit, Luke from Star Wars, the Pevensies’ children in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. These types of stories capture us, because it says that anyone can have live a mundane life and then be whisked away into a grand story of dwarfs and elves, of lightsabers and force users, of kings and lions. And a hero’s journey done right, changes the hero forever and turns the mundane into an adventure itself.
This idea of living in a transformed mundane life, is what brings us back to our study in 1st Corinthians, where we will be picking it up in chapter 7, verse 1. Seven weeks into our summer study and we’re keeping up with the chapter markers. But as we return to 1st Corinthians in chapter 7 verse 1, let’s catch up to where we find ourselves.
In Paul’s opening to his letter, we find out his purpose to writing. Paul desires that the Church in Corinth be united. Several issues that were causing disunity within the church had arisen, so Paul penned a letter to address those issues and to call the church back to unity.
The first of these issues was leadership. The Corinthians were trying to one up each other with who their preferred leader was, but Paul called them away from that division and back to their focus on Jesus as their ultimate leader. Human leaders are merely placed in other believers’ lives as support, but it is Jesus whom we all serve.
It was then that Paul addressed the Corinthian’s unwillingness to address rampant sin in the church. Not only did we see Paul address two specific situations that were occurring, the man sleeping with his father’s wife and the bad business dealings that were happening between believers, but also the core issue, which was the Corinthians were unwilling to take their responsibility to judge such situations. The Church is called to judge in matters of sin within the fellowship of believers, because it’s there that sin is taken seriously and unity can be sought.
With these first two issues out of the way, let’s dive into the third issue plaguing the Corinthian Church, by reading in chapter 7, starting in verse 1.
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps 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. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command.
The situation that Paul is addressing is one that was specifically asked of him by the Corinthians to speak on. This is why the there’s quotation marks around, “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” What I find interesting is that, to Paul, there were other issues that needed to be addressed before he got to the one they thought was really important. But their division over leadership, and unwillingness to take sin seriously needed to be addressed before Paul could address this topic of sexual relations.
But when he does, we see Paul break it down like this.
First, Paul addresses believers who are married to each other. Paul lets them know that they must only have sexual relations with each other. So no extramarital affairs, no side chicks, no prostitutes, no having sexual contact with anyone other than their spouse. And because we know from our last week word study of the words “sexual immorality,” we can understand that this would would include pornography or anything else that is sexual outside of the marriage agreement that is made between two people. In this way we are keeping ourselves from sexual temptation.
Paul also endorses the biblical understanding of where sexual relations not only happen, which is within marriage, but also with whom they are to happen, one man and one woman. This relationship structure is first seen in Genesis chapter 2 verse 18-24, and is confirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19 verses 4-6. But the specific topic that Paul is addressing in the Corinthian context is not only sex being in the confines of marriage between one man and one woman, but also the depriving of sexual relations within the marriage relationship itself.
If we look back at chapter 6, where Paul lists sins and then states in verse 11, “And such were some of you…” It seems like some Corinthian believers were trying to abandon sexuality altogether, so that they might be more spiritual. This idea of celibacy or not having sexual relations even in the marriage relationship is practiced throughout many cultures. The idea is that in order to reach a higher spiritual plain or experience, we must disassociate ourselves with anything that is primal, or would connect us to the natural world. Therefore, because sex is so natural, the idea is that if we get ride of it we can become more spiritual and therefore closer to God. The Church eventually adopted celibacy for priests and nuns with some of this in mind. But the fact that the opening chapters of the Bible endorse sexual relations in the marriage bond as a God ordained activity, we know that the God doesn’t endorse this idea that somehow sex is a bad thing, but rather when in it’s correct place, the marriage relationship, then its not only a good thing, but a mandatory activity.
Paul here rejects this idea as well and tells the Corinthians that there can be a time allotted for prayer where one would be sexually distance from their spouse, but it must be mutual, short, and you must come together in sexual interaction once it’s over.
Another point Paul makes about those who are married, is what he says starting in verse 10.
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.
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 it be so. The brother or the sister 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?
Paul tackles two ideas here, first divorce. The command of not getting divorced is emphasized over and over throughout the Scriptures, so Paul isn’t treading any new ground, hence the reason he writes, “not I, but the Lord”. This is a command that reflects God’s desire that people, once married with commitments to him, shouldn’t separate. Now, are their biblical grounds for such a divorce? I would like to go into more detail in this study, but for now we can see that there might be. So in brief let’s say this, Paul is first and fro most speaking to believers first. Paul tells husbands to not divorce, end of story. Because to do so, would most likely cause a woman to be destitute. But Paul tells the woman that if she does separate, then she shouldn’t get remarried; this is most likely so that she isn’t looking for a better financial spouse. In other words, what Paul is getting at, is fulfill your agreement, and if you don’t stay unmarried. But then the question because what about people who become believers while married to an unbeliever?
Paul has in mind the biblical principle of not divorcing at all, and Jesus teaching of being unequally connected with someone when he writes that believers shouldn’t divorce their non-believing spouse. And since this is not a clear biblical teaching up to this point, Paul gives makes sound biblical judgment when he gives the option to the unbelieving spouse to whether they want to disassociate or not. This is why Paul says, "I, not the Lord”. This isn’t a command by God, but rather a sound biblically bases judgment, which in an of itself gives us a glimpse as to what biblical judgment, where God hasn’t spoken, looks like.
But now that we have covered the marriage breakdown that Paul gives, let’s now look at the second part of Paul’s breakdown in verses 7-9 and 32-35, where he address being single.
7 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.
8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Now Paul does write in verse 7 that, “I wish that all of you were as I am.” Paul is unmarried and says he desires that all would be like him. Is he therefore getting rid of the marriage relationship and just be single? Of course that’s not the case, because we already went over Paul’s endorsement of biblical marriage. In stead if we drop down to verse 32, we get Paul’s reasoning on why people should be single.
Verse 32 reads, “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. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”
In other words, Paul’s desire for people to be unmarried is so they can give themselves more to the work of the Gospel, because married people have responsibilities that make them unable to do certain things for the sake of the Gospel. I can attest to this. When I was single I could spend all sorts of weird hours with people. But when I got marriage, I couldn’t do that. When Marika and I first moved to Quartzsite and we were working with the youth all the time and spent a majority of our days with them or at the church. But that all changed when we had kids. As a husband and father, I have a responsibilities to my family before my work to the Church. Paul is saying that by staying single, a person can give themselves fully to Gospel work, but Paul’s intention here is to not play into the idea that a celibate person is more spiritual than a married person, nor is it the other way around.
Rather, Paul’s singular focus is that we would be used by God. To him, marriage is an activity that doesn’t need to happen. And so he calls the unmarried to a life of celibacy so that they might serve the Lord without the added responsibilities of married life. This is important that Paul tackles this issue, because the idea of someone staying single in many cultures, including our own, is looked at with suspicion. Are they hiding something? Are they not worthy? Are they too hard to handle? Are they not following God’s will?
But the reality is, someone not being married, or being in a relationship in general, is not a sign that something is wrong with them, but rather, if their desire to give themselves more fully to God’s work, then they should be encouraged in it.
But for Paul, whether you’re married or not, two things must happen: If you’re in a marriage relationship, sexual sin must be avoided, by fulfilling your partner’s sexual need. If you are single, you must refrain from sexual relations, and if you cannot, then get married to a fellow believer and enjoy.
Now all this talk about marriage and singleness is really Paul’s way of addressing a deeper issue that manifested itself through the marriage discussion. This is found in verse 17.
17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. 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 person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
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 the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
The Corinthians were struggling with sexual sin in general. This manifested itself in what Paul address when he quoted their letter, “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But the deeper issue here is really the question, “Now that I have accepted Christ, how is my life to change?”
See we tend to think that when we accept Christ, our world is supposed to be so radically changed that up is down and down is up. We think it’s suppose to be a hero’s journey story line. We have been taken out of the mundane, out of our sin, and set on an adventure. I am Bilbo Baggins called by Gandalf to the Lonely Mountain, so I run out of Bag Inn to catch up to the dwarfs, find a ring, and meet a dragon. I am Luke Skywalker leaving Mos Eisley on the Millennium Falcon to become a Jedi and save the princess. I am Lucy Pevensies stumbling through the wardrobe, meeting Mr. Tumnus, Aslan and defeating the White Witch. I am the sinner saved by the God who came to earth and died on the cross for me. I have been resurrected by this God to new life, who now calls me his child, because I have put my trust in him. I have started this adventure, so what’s next? Where shall I go? What shall I give up from a previous life?
And Paul’s response is simply, nothing except your sin. Not your spouse, not your job, just your sin. See one of the hard lessons to learn when following God is, that God is a God of both the miraculous and the mundane. He is the God who called Moses to part a sea, and to deal with daily disputes. He is the God who called David to slay a giant, and to write poetry. He is the God, who he himself feed 5,000 plus people yet, washed his disciple’s feet.
We tend to desire the miraculous, to become the Ring Bearer, or the Jedi, or the Queen of Narnia, or the miracle worker, but what we are called to is the daily work of a believer following their God.
Paul’s words in verse 24 are the crux of the matter, “Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.”
We are to live in the life that God found us and placed in, because it’s there that miracles await. The duties of a husband, the duties of a wife, the duties of business owner, or a retiree, or a worker, or a single or the list goes on. Those are what we are to be doing as God works within us. And while we live out the lives that we are in, the adventure happens. The call to share the Gospel is heard. The miracle of a life restored is experienced.
See the miracles of God occur when the people of God embrace the life he has given us. And when we do, we experience what Jesus spoke of in John 10:10, “…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
God is calling us to a life where the miraculous meets the mundane, but that will only occur, when we embrace the life he has given us, turning away from our sin, and fully to him.
My challenge for you this week is to meditate on 1st Corinthians chapter 7 verses 17-24. Praise God for his saving work in your life, ask him to continue to work out of you any sin that arises, and thank him for this mundane life that is full of his miraculous works that he is doing.
When we turn from our own sin and seek God in where he has placed us, we will be the people that are set apart from this world, who are in it, but not of it, and it’s then that the light of Jesus will truly shine from us. Amen.
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