November 30, 2017
November 30, 2017
1 CORINTHIANS 5-8
Focus Verse: But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
First Corinthians 7! Pauls famous dis of the institution of marriage. If you’re unfamiliar with this chapter, take a slow stroll through the verses of this masterpiece. Leafing through the verses you will find such gems as, “it is good for a man not to touch a woman.”, “Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am” (which would be unmarried), “But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.”, and the list goes on.
So what woman burned Paul so badly? This has every indication of a man scorned by a former lover…the stuff of daytime television legend! “Not so fast!” As College Football’s Lee Corso would say. I think if we really dig into what Paul is saying here, instead of attempting to put a cynical spin on it, we’ll see something quite remarkably different.
I don’t believe that 1 Corinthians 7 is meant to be disrespectful toward marriage at all. I DO think that 1 Corinthians 7 is doing something that might serve some of us well to do as well, and that is put marriage in it’s proper place in our culture.
You have to understand how absolutely culturally revolting this message would have been in Paul’s day. In a culture where family was quite literally everything, this would have been an absolute shock to their culture. To claim that someone who was unmarried should stay that way! Unthinkable! And on top of that, to claim that someone who remained unmarried could potentially be happy! Unheard of!
But that’s exactly what Paul is saying. I think that the focus verse for today unlocks a lot of doors when considering Paul’s stance on marriage. Let’s ask the question: does Paul legitimately expect Christians to not weep? Does he expect them to not rejoice? Is Paul teaching here that Christians should not make any purchases before Jesus comes back? Can you sense the ridiculousness in all of this?
But that’s where these verses unlock the entirety of chapter 7. Paul is not saying that marriage is an awful institution. God made marriage. For Paul to call it awful and not worth would be to insult the creation of God…something that Paul knew full well would get him in hot water with Jews and Christians alike. Paul knew better than that. So he isn’t telling us that marriage is for suckers, he’s warning us not to put our treasure in institutions that will pass away when Jesus comes back.
Paul is telling a culture that said, “If you don’t get married and have a family, you aren’t worth anything.” that they have an intrinsic value that cannot be taken away from them. Paul is telling people who are convinced that this season of mourning is never going to end that there is a hope that will never die. Paul is telling people who rejoice in the victories and pleasures of life that they “ain’t seen nothin’ yet”. Paul is telling those who would attempt to buy their way to happiness that there is a happiness that has already been purchased for you and is freely given from a Savior who loves you.
Paul isn’t saying that any of these things are wrong, in and of themselves, what Paul is doing is setting our priorities. He’s not saying that we should love any of these things less – he’s just saying that we should love God more. That we should find our contentment in what God has called us to; the way He has called us to live.
Feel free to replace marriage with whatever it is that you are hanging your hat on to give you value in this life. Fact of the matter is, you already have value – with or without that thing. You have value because the Son of God said, that even though you were lost in sin, you were worth Him giving up His life. He paid the ultimate price for you.
The question now becomes, will you let Him ascribe that value to you? Or do you want to keep trying to make your own?
Where I Stand 
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