stay if you can

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

March 2016 (26)

1 Corinthians 7:10-14

1Co 7:10 But for those of you already married, I have a command (not from me, but from the Lord): a wife should not leave her husband.

1Co 7:11 But if she does leave, she should stay unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife.

1Co 7:12 To the rest of you, I advise this (I, not the Lord): if a brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.

1Co 7:13 And if any wife has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce her husband.

1Co 7:14 Since the unbelieving husband is being made holy by his wife, and the unbelieving wife is being made holy by her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now, they are being made holy.

 

stay if you can

 

There appears to be a lot of mixed marriages in Corinth, where only one in the couple is a believer.  What Paul has to say is significant because a person could argue for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences (and many have).  But Paul advises those in a less than desirable marital situation to stay and let God work it out.  There are no guarantees that this is going to happen, but it is possible.

LORD, for my friends who are struggling with difficult marriages, please show your power and grace in their circumstances.

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misapplication

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

March 2016 (25)

1 Corinthians 7:5-9

1Co 7:5 Do not be depriving one another, except in those times when you both agree to it, so that you can devote yourselves to prayer, then come back together again, so that Satan might not tempt you both because of your lack of self-control.

1Co 7:6 I am saying this as an allowance, not as a command,

1Co 7:7 because I wish all men were like I am.  But each one has his own gift from God, one going this way, but another this way.

1Co 7:8 But I am saying to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good to remain unattached like me.

1Co 7:9 But if they do not have that kind of self-control, they should marry, because marrying is better than burning with lust.

misapplication

I get the impression that Paul is responsible for that original quote (regarding it being better for a man not to touch a woman) and now he has to make an allowance to the Corinthians because they were misapplying his words.  It happens to all teachers. A stray comment is snatched out of its context and turned into the whole message.

In this case (if I am reading it right) Paul had been expressing his view that given the present circumstances, marriage is not the best choice.  Staying celibate helped Paul get the gospel message out more efficiently, so he saw it as the best choice.  But he concedes here that it is not the best choice for those already married!  He also concedes that if an unmarried person does not have the gift that he has, marriage is preferable to burning with lust.

LORD, may those who listen to our teachings understand them clearly and apply them appropriately.

 

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reciprocal rights

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

March 2016 (24)

1 Corinthians 7:1-4

1Co 7:1 Now, regarding those issues you wrote me about: Yes, “it would be good for a man not to touch a woman.”

1Co 7:2 But, because sexual sin is a reality, I say each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

1Co 7:3 The husband should give his wife what he owes her sexually, and the wife has the same obligation to her husband.

1Co 7:4 Because the wife does not have the rights to her own body, but her husband does, likewise, the husband does not have the rights to his own body, but his wife does.

reciprocal rights

 

It appears that someone in the Corinthian congregations has begun to foster the view that married Christian couples need to stop having sexual relations with each other – perhaps to be more holy, or to gain spiritual power.  Perhaps Paul had uttered the words “it would be good for a man not to touch a woman” while preaching in Corinth before he left.  Maybe it had been specifically taught by one of the new elders.  At any rate, it had become a matter of controversy.

Paul set the matter straight, by arguing that Christian couples should definitely not deprive themselves in this manner.

  • He points out that each partner in the marital union is still subject to physical desires, so each is still liable to succumb to sexual sin if they are abstaining.
  • He speaks of sexual union as a mutual obligation. It is not something that one partner can just decide about, no matter what the reason.
  • In fact, he insists that each partner owns the rights to the others’ body in a sexual sense. He is not saying that there is a hierarchy.  The rights are owned by the other partner.

Paul is teaching that those who are married cannot act independently of each other, but have a reciprocal relationship.  One partner’s individual rights – even religious rights, has to take second place to the obligation to the other partner, which was part of the vow.

LORD, forgive us our selfishness, and lack of responsibility toward each other. Show us how to demonstrate mutual love.

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singular body – plural you

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

March 2016 (23)

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

1Co 6:18 Escape from sexual sin. Every sin a person commits is outside the body, but the one committing sexual sin is actually bringing sin into his body.

1Co 6:19 Or do you not yet get it — the fact that your body is a temple housing the Holy Spirit inside you, which you all have been given from God, so you do not belong to yourselves?

1Co 6:20 You all were bought at a price, so bring glory to God with that body of yours.

singular body – plural you

I wrestled with translating this text in such a way as to not lose the significance of what Paul was saying here.  All of the pronouns in verses 19-20 are plural.  Paul is speaking to all the Corinthian Christians as if they have one body, and encouraging them to keep that one body pure.  He wants them all to escape the temptation to sexual sin (porneia).  The whole body needs to remain faithful in order to bring glory to the Holy Spirit who resides within it.

LORD, show us how to keep the whole body pure, so that our purity will give you glory.

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physical matters

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

 

1 Corinthians 6:15-17

1Co 6:15 Do you not yet get it — the fact that our bodies are parts of Christ? Should someone take the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? Absolutely not!

1Co 6:16 Do you not yet get it — the fact that someone who has sex with a prostitute becomes one body with her? The Bible says “the two turn into one flesh.”

1Co 6:17 But someone joining the Lord turns into one spirit.

physical matters

 

Some in the Corinthian churches had begun to develop a theological system which over emphasized the spiritual realities and viewed the physical consequences as not significant.  Someone with that viewpoint would agree that Christ had redeemed them spiritually, and would then see it as not a big deal that they continue visiting the local whorehouse to take care of their physical desires.

 

Paul got word that this was happening via a letter from Chloe’s house church.  His response was a reasoned, logical and theological argument, beginning from the same thesis that his opponents would begin with: once you are a believer, you are one with Christ spiritually.  But Paul does not agree with the second argument in their syllogism: that physical actions for such a person do not matter.  Paul argues that if someone is really one with Christ spiritually, he will not want to betray that unity by joining with a prostitute.

LORD, show us how to demonstrate our unity with you by staying pure for you, because physical matters as much as spiritual.

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physical matters

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

March 2016 (22)

1 Corinthians 6:15-17

1Co 6:15 Do you not yet get it — the fact that our bodies are parts of Christ? Should someone take the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? Absolutely not!

1Co 6:16 Do you not yet get it — the fact that someone who has sex with a prostitute becomes one body with her? The Bible says “the two turn into one flesh.”

1Co 6:17 But someone joining the Lord turns into one spirit.

physical matters

 Some in the Corinthian churches had begun to develop a theological system which over emphasized the spiritual realities and viewed the physical consequences as not significant.  Someone with that viewpoint would agree that Christ had redeemed them spiritually, and would then see it as not a big deal that they continue visiting the local whorehouse to take care of their physical desires.

Paul got word that this was happening via a letter from Chloe’s house church.  His response was a reasoned, logical and theological argument, beginning from the same thesis that his opponents would begin with: once you are a believer, you are one with Christ spiritually.  But Paul does not agree with the second argument in their syllogism: that physical actions for such a person do not matter.  Paul argues that if someone is really one with Christ spiritually, he will not want to betray that unity by joining with a prostitute.

LORD, show us how to demonstrate our unity with you by staying pure for you, because physical matters as much as spiritual.

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free but responsible

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

March 2016 (21)

1 Corinthians 6:12-14

1Co 6:12 “I am allowed to do anything,” but not everything is profitable. “I am allowed to do anything,” but I will not be mastered by anything.

1Co 6:13 “Food is for my stomach, and my stomach is for food” but God will destroy both this stomach and those foods. But this body is not intended for sexual sin, but for its Lord, and the Lord for this body.

1Co 6:14 And this God who raised the Lord up from the grave will also raise us by his power.

free but responsible

The members of Chloe’s house church had probably listed a number of quotes that they had heard from teachers, and wanted to know whether those quotes were solid biblical teaching. Among them were these two statements, about the believer’s freedom to do whatever he wants and eat whatever he wants.  Paul said the statements are true in principle, but can lead to sin in practice.  While we are not in bondage to law under Christ, some choices are not profitable because they can lead to addiction and slavery.  Also, the fact that our present bodies are temporary, and they are going to die does not give us permission to abuse them.  The resurrection proves that our bodies are significant, so we need to take care of them.

Both of these quotes are examples of things that are theologically true, but which can lead to sinful practices.

LORD, teach us to be responsible as well as “biblical.”

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used to be

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

DON’T DENY YOUR DELIVERANCE

March 2016 (20)

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

1Co 6:9 Or do you not yet get it — the fact that unrighteous ones will not be inheriting the kingdom coming from God? Do not be led astray! Neither those committing sexual sin, nor those worshipping images, nor those committing adultery, nor either partner in a homosexual couple,

1Co 6:10 nor thieves, nor greedy people, nor alcoholics, nor abusive people, nor swindlers — none of these will be inheriting the coming kingdom from God,

1Co 6:11 and some of you used to be these things, but you have now been washed, but you have now been made holy, but you have now been justified by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God.

used to be

Paul was addressing the fact that the church in Corinth was still acting like it had not been saved.  They were feeding on each other’s weaknesses by taking each other to court and swindling them of their property.  Paul backed up and reminded them that they used to be like that, but a fundamental change had taken place.  The sins which once defined them did not do so anymore!

Look at Paul’s list.  The world tells us that we have to identify with these sins. The faith insists that we do not.  It is our choice.  But true freedom cannot come from staying in bondage.  True faith does not deny what the blood of Christ did.

LORD, give us the courage to renounce the old sinful lifestyles that we have been redeemed out of.

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small claims – big shame

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

SETTLING WITHOUT SHAME

March 2016 (19)

1 Corinthians 6:4-8

 

1Co 6:4 If you really have such normal cases, why do you bring them before those who are despised by the church?

1Co 6:5 I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough who is able to decide in the case of his brother,

1Co 6:6 but brother goes against brother in court, and this is happening before unbelievers?

1Co 6:7 That you are having cases at all among yourselves is already a defeat for you. Why not just be wronged instead? Why not just be defrauded instead?

1Co 6:8 But you are wronging and defrauding — even your brothers! (1 Cor. 6:4-8 JDV)

 

small claims – big shame

 

One of the most exasperating and embarrassing realities of missionary work is the fact that lawsuits are filed among church organizations.  Paul expresses horror over the fact that the brothers in Corinth are bringing each other to court before unbelieving magistrates.  No victory is worth the shame that court cases bring to the church, nor the harm it does in our attempts to reach unbelievers with the gospel.

 

Paul suggests two solutions to this problem. Either have the claims settled by a someone wise within the church, or drop the suit altogether.  Fighting among brothers never advances the kingdom.

 

LORD, give us the wisdom to settle our differences without shaming you.

 

 

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competent to critique

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

YOU HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED

March 2016 (18)

JDV  1 Corinthians 6:1-3

 1 When one of you has a problem with another, does he dare ask the unrighteous ones to decide upon it instead of the holy ones?

2 Or do you not know that the holy ones will decide the fate of the world? And if the world is to be decided upon by you, are you incompetent to decide on less significant cases?

3 Do you not know that we are going to decide the fate of angels? So, why not questions of normal life? (1 Cor. 6:1-3 JDV)

competent to critique

The Lord has entrusted us with the fate of his universe.  So, why would we want to surrender that authority to have unbelievers decide on everyday practical matters between us?  Instead, we should be taking the gavel.  When the church refuses to deal with its own internal problems, it insults the Holy Spirit within us. Such was the case in Corinth, and Paul was infuriated by it.

LORD, give us wise leaders who dare to decide on practical issues in the church.

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