November 9, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Numbers and 1 Corinthians? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Corinthians 7 (NIV)
Concerning Married Life
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.……Continue Reading
1Corinthians 7
1 Corinthians 7
Obviously God’s expectations of sexual purity are clear. Sexual relationships should be between husbands and wives as He has ordained. Sex outside the marriage is a clear and almost only biblical reason for divorce, however, there are many other cases divorce happens. Perhaps it is happening far too often and for almost any reason nowadays but it does sound like Paul is saying that even after divorce or “departing” the marriage people are to live like they are still married and not move on to another relationship.
“10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.”
I realize that we are to find joy in the struggle and God can and will use us in any and all situations both good and bad, but is the expectation that even if you leave a legitamately bad marriage (ie: physical or emotional abuse, physical or spiritual adandonment) is God saying you don’t move on to find happiness elsewhere?
1 Corinthians 7
First time I’ve read out loud to my wife. Verse 4 Obviously the Corinthians had a bunch of questions regarding sex for Paul. Pretty sure Paul covers all concerns
Sexual desire is a powerful dynamic in the human soul and body, intended by God for great pleasure but wrought with opportunity for temptation and sin. Marriage was/is given by God as the only appropriate place for that desire to be expressed because it was meant to reenforce that covenant relationship and will only lead to brokenness when delved into outside of it. The Bible actually says when we sin sexually we actually sin against ourselves. So Paul has a lot to say in this chapter about how marriage addresses this desire and how a couple should function together in it, as well as how it is ok to get married to address that desire. (Not that that should be the only reason to marry, but when considering whether to marry or not, one’s ability to control that desire should be considered.) Because another thing Paul addresses in the chapter is the value of remaining single. There is a dedication that a single person can have towards the service of Christ that Paul affirms and elevates in the passage. It may in fact be a way to understand 1 Corinthians 7:11. In other words, don’t divorce because you think that celibacy is a higher call and more holy lifestyle. And if you do that and then to decide to get married again, the only person that is right for you to marry is your former spouse. Now that is not to say that Paul doesn’t also reenforce the value of the marriage covenant in this passage in the same way Jesus did. And in our modern world it is important to recognize that God hates divorce and sees marriage as a covenant that is not to be easily broken. It is also fair to say that the Bible is “easier” on people divorcing than it is on people getting remarried. But Jesus does give an allowance to divorce because of sexual immorality (the best way to understand marital unfaithfulness, although you can imagine other conditions that raise to that bar). And if we understand 1 Corinthians 7:11 in the way of don’t divorce and marry someone else because you thought celibacy was what God wanted, it would not preclude remarriage if unfaithfulness was the cause of the divorce. That is also where the thought of remain where you are and live to your highest Christ potential comes into play as well. But the bottom line is we need to consider marriage very soberly and don’t enter divorce or remarriage like it is somehow a right. It is a covenant that is meant to be a picture of Christ and the church and is a very special thing to God. Let’s honor it in the way we conduct ourselves in it, what consideration we give to when and if we enter it, and look for God’s provision and never seek to leave it.
I think it is interesting that Paul distinguishes what “the Lord” says from what he says. He makes recommendations for the circumstances and social norms of that time, but they easily applicable to now. In our culture our sons and daughters seek their own marriages, but the Lords commands and Paul’s advice still apply to individuals making these decisions for themselves