Category: 1 Corinthians

I say this as a concession, not as a command  (1 Corinthians 7:6).

So there’s a little controversy over this verse.

Specifically, what is the “this”that Paul is referring to?

Is he talking about his last statement, in which he tells couples that they can be apart for a time, but then must come back together? Or is he referring to the whole getting married part? There’s a big difference.  You see, his next words (spoiler alert) will be that Paul wishes everyone were single, so that they could focus on serving God. 

The clear and obvious answer to the question is…I don’t know. The residents of Bible Commentary Land are divided on this one. But this seems to be a moment in which Paul is acknowledging that sometimes times are tough, and the world is crazy, and it’s difficult to know what God wants you to do. In such a time you pray, you employ what wisdom and common sense you have, and you make the decisions that you think will best honor God and advance your own life.

I’m so glad this verse is here. I’m so glad that God understands that we will not always know what is best, that sometimes we fumble around trying to get it right.

Trust God, Beloved. If your heart is for him, his grace will be for you.

Happy Thursday 

Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourself to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self control  (1 Corinthians 7:5).

I mean, the verse is pretty clear.

Here’s something interesting: most of the translations I looked at use the word deprive, as I have here. The King James translates that same word defraud.

As in, you’re committing fraud when you withhold something that was part of the original agreement.

Cheating can come in many forms.

Beloved, if you are married, I hope you and your spouse have a great sex life. I don’t need to hear about it in the comment section, but I hope it’s true. If you don’t, I advise you to figure out why, and do what it takes to fix it. Otherwise, you leave yourself–and your spouse–open to temptation.

So is Paul saying that you should be forced into intimacy, even if you don’t want it? Or that, if your spouse strays, it’s your fault?

No and no

It’s kinda like giving of your income. It is clear that we are to give of our finances to the Kingdom, but no one is going to come and force you to give. You could choose not to, but that will leave you open to the sin of greed. Giving reminds us that nothing in this world is truly ours. All the physical world is a gift from God.

Including our bodies.

See the connection? Of course you do–you’re so smart.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to herself 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 (1 Corinthians 7:3-4). 

Well, this verse is pretty clear, isn’t it?

Beloved, our society makes a big deal of our rights.

It is rather quiet when it comes to our duties.

If you are married, you have a duty to your spouse. I hope it is a duty that you perform joyfully and with great delight. 

But it is a duty, nonetheless.

Remember a few verses ago, when Paul said that “you are not your own; you have been bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body”?

This is one of the ways to do that.

You know how, in Ephesians, Paul tells husbands and wives to submit to one another?

This would be one way we do that.

There is, of course, the caveat that no one should ever feel forced or pressured into physical intimacy. 

But if you do, perhaps there are other issues in your marriage that you need to address.

Go forth, Beloved, and…honor God.

Happy Tuesday

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, back in 1 Corinthians…

Now for the matters you wrote about: it is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2).

As we settle back into 1 Corinthians for a bit, let me remind you that in this chapter Paul is shifting from dealing with sin in the Corinthian church to answering questions that they had posed to him. It seems that, while some in the church were falling into sexual craziness, others were going the opposite direction. They were wondering if it wouldn’t be better to remain unmarried. Paul has noted that there are advantages to being unmarried, and we’ll talk about those later. However, given the immorality that was prevalent in Corinth, it was more important for each person to have a safe and godly outlet for their sexuality.

This is one of the great things about God, Beloved. He knows that you are a physical being as well as a spiritual being. He made you, after all. Unlike the ascetics, who tried to deny their bodies any pleasure so that they could enhance their spiritual life, we are called to enjoy physical pleasure–within its proper bounds. Food, entertainment, sport, sleep, sex–all are desires that God has built into us. He has also given us healthy ways to engage in them. 

If you are married, rejoice. God has given you a partner, and you get to enjoy your partner.  If you are not married, and want to be, and are praying for your partner, I pray that God will fulfill the desire of your heart. Things work differently in our culture than they did in Paul’s, and the process of finding a spouse is not always so simple. I know, and more importantly, God knows. As you wait, hold fast to God and live in a way that you know will please him. It is no easy thing to do, but your Father will honor it. 

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Now for the matters you wrote about: it is good for a man not to marry. (1 Corinthians 7:1).

Huh?

Not marry?

But God designed marriage, did he not? I mean, the whole rib thing in Genesis, the “It’s not good for man to be alone…the two shall become one flesh” part.

Is Paul trying to change the fundamental nature of humanity?

Nope

This, Beloved, is why it is dangerous to overemphasize any one passage of Scripture. Doing so is confusing and can lead you astray and make you annoying. Yes, the Bible is clear that marriage is a gift from God to be treasured and respected. Paul himself extolled the importance of marriage, even using it as an analogy for Christ’s relationship with his Church.

Yes, it’s OK to be married, or get married, or want to get married.

So, what about this verse?

Context, Beloved

Paul starts the verse by referencing, “The matters you wrote about.” So in this chapter he is answering questions that the Corinthians had previously asked him. As we will see later in the chapter, the Corinthian Church was dealing with a lot of garbage, and people were having a rough time of it. Since their world was in so much turmoil, they had apparently asked Paul if he thought it was wise for people to be making lifelong commitments…and Paul gave his answer.

He was talking to the Corinthians.

No offense, Beloved…but it’s not always about you.

Happy Friday

You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20). 

“But it’s my body!”

Not really, no

You belong to God.

That’s what redemption means, Beloved–you had sold yourself as a slave to sin, and God bought you back–redeemed you–with the blood of Jesus Christ. 

A very high price was paid for you.

So that meat sack you live in is not your meat sack. It is God’s meat sack. You are merely the tenant.

No, you are not a robot. God is not remote-controlling you through your day. You make a gajillion choices, moment by moment, about what you are going to do in and with and for that body. He gives you these choices, because he loves you.

So choose wisely today. 

Choose to bring him honor..

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Remember how we were in 1 Corinthians? Well, we’re back!

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  (1 Corinthians 6:18-19a).

Your body is not just your body.

It is the temple of God.

If you are a Christian, your body  is home to the Holy One, Lord God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth. If you are not a Christian, then your body is a slave to sin.

Either way, you’ve got a roommate.

Sexual sins are perhaps the most private, the most deeply personal of sins. And they very much involve your body.

People use the Bodily Autonomy argument to justify a number of evil things.

It doesn’t really work for any of them.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands (Psalm 63:4).

It’s a lifetime achievement.

You get to praise the One who loved you and called you and picked you up and dusted you off and gave you a purpose and a hope and a future and a promise.

And you get to do it with every breath.

Till you drop…and after.

So

shall we 

commence?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you (Psalm 63:3).

Better than life…

That means

Better than chocolate cake

Better than fuzzy socks

Better than an extra hour of sleep

Better than a hug when you need it most

Better than puppies

Better than new snow

Better than old movies

Better than getting your braces removed

Better than hitting a home run

Better than getting picked first

Better than hot chocolate on a cold morning

Better than holding a baby

Better than pinning the corsage

Better than starting a hike

Better than finishing a hike

Better than a smile aimed right at you

Better than laughing till your face hurts

Better than coming home

Actually, it’s exactly like coming home.

To stay

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you,  my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).

Have you ever been thirsty?

I mean, really thirsty?

Not, “I could sure go for a tasty caffeine-free diet soda right about now” thirsty.

More like, “I sure wish lizards could sweat, because I would lick the sweat off a lizard” thirsty.

That’s what David is describing here.

Only…you know…for God.

Beloved, I gotta tell you, I don’t feel that longing, that soul thirst, nearly as often or as intensely as I ought to.

Most of the time, I’m content with far too little of God.  Read a little Bible, post my little blog, say a little prayer on my way to work…

I want more.

No, if I’m honest I should say

I want to want more.

If this is ever going to work, if I am ever going to be the man he has called me to be, I need him to do more than grant the desire of my heart.

I need him to plant the desire in my heart in the first place.

Beloved, I’m glad you’ve got it all together, because some days I’m just a mess.

But, at least I’m His mess.

Happy Monday, Beloved.