Through the Bible - 1 Corinthians - Part 2 — Zac Poonen

Fleeing Sexual Immorality and the Purpose of Marriage

Let's turn now to God's Word. We'll turn to 1 Corinthians and chapter 7. This continues from the previous chapter. There is only one way to overcome the temptation to immorality. And that is what is mentioned in chapter 6, verse 18.

Run away. When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife, he ran away. If we don't flee and stand around exposing ourselves to temptation, you can be pretty sure that one day you'll fall. But if you have the attitude of running away from anything that is even a temptation to immorality, if you find that a conversation or a friendship or a relationship is moving in dangerous directions, there's only one thing you must do.

Please remember that all your life. If you don't want to destroy your life and your ministry, turn around and run. Get away from there. Very, very important. There are people who have not taken that advice and have destroyed their whole life and ministry.

Can you imagine the regret they will have in eternity because they didn't run? And in that context, he goes on to say in chapter 7 about marriage. He says, yeah, it's good not to be married if you can be more useful in terms of time, having more time for the Lord's work.

But because there's such a lot of immorality in the world, verse two, and it's even more true today. Let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. And that's that says that marriage is a protection from immorality.

Now, some people think, oh, that's a very unspiritual reason for marriage. Call it whatever you like. The Holy Spirit puts it there in the Bible as a very good reason for getting married. That is to overcome immorality.

There's such a lot of immorality in the world. Don't be so super spiritual as to think that this is a very low reason for getting married. If the Holy Spirit has put it there, it's a very good reason for getting married.

And that's why later on he says in verse nine, if you don't have self-control, it is better to marry than to burn. A person can burn with sexual desire and passion, and he does not have the self-control to limit himself, then it's far better to get married and avoid that burning and avoid unnecessary temptation.

The Bible is very down to earth and practical. It doesn't teach some hermit type of life where you're away from the world in some type of monastery or forest. You live in the middle of the world just like Jesus lived an ordinary life with husband and wife.

It says about Enoch, he walked with God and he had sons and daughters. You can walk with God and live a married life and have sons and daughters, and he walked with God for 300 years. And so marriage can be a protection for you in this world, particularly in the ministry.

Marital Responsibility and Sexual Faithfulness

Then it says when you do get married, husband and wife must remember that they lose their authority over their bodies the moment they are married. I find in the Indian culture, it's very, very important, especially for women who get married to understand this.

Very often there's not enough teaching on this in the churches. People are embarrassed to speak about what scripture speaks so plainly. 1 Corinthians 7, verse 3 and 4, that when a husband gets married, the husband must fulfill his duty to his wife.

The wife must fulfill her duty to her husband. It's called a duty. That sexual relationship is called a duty. Nothing to be ashamed of. Just like duty of cooking the food, taking care of the house, the sexual relationship is also a duty in a married relationship.

Verse 4, once a woman gets married, she does not have authority over her body. Her body, from the day she gets married, belongs to her husband. And before she gets married, she has authority over her body.

After she gets married, from that day, she has to give her body to her husband anytime. The husband also, you see, this is the part which sometimes husbands are very eager to let their wives know their responsibilities, but don't recognize their own responsibilities as husbands.

The same verse says, the husband also does not have authority over his body, but his wife does. Now, what does this mean for the husband? I don't believe it's referring primarily to the sexual relationship, the physical relationship in marriage, because husbands may be very eager for that.

But it's talking about the fact that your body, if you're married, belongs now to your wife. What does that mean? That means, if you're traveling in a bus, you're a married man and you see a pretty girl, please remember that your eyes belong to your wife.

That's in practical terms, that's what it means. You're already married, why are you looking at this pretty girl? No, you're not considering a second wife, are you? Your eyes belong to your wife. If you don't want your eyes to belong to your wife, don't get married.

Then you look at the different girls and see which one you want to marry. But after you're married, why are your eyes still roaming here and there? It's a very important verse. Your body belongs to your wife.

You have to be careful with your eyes. You have to be careful with your tongue and the way you converse with other girls. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I believe it's normal to converse with girls and women, but it's a question of how you do it.

You can do it in a flirtatious, loose type of way. And there's a lot of that. You know the amount of immorality there is among Christian workers in all denominations? It's a scandal. Where does it begin?

It begins in the heart with thoughts. It begins with a not a healthy relationship with one's wife. It begins with eyes that aren't wandering. And it begins with not running away from close encounters.

So if you steer clear of these things, you will not add to the scandals that already are there in Christendom. Apart from the scandals, it completely ruins your ministry for God thereafter. Your effectiveness for God.

So it's very, very important. As a married person, be faithful to your wife. And when you find the passion strong, the answer is get married. And keep a very close, healthy, happy relationship as husband and wife, because that's a great protection in an evil world.

Singleness and Undistracted Devotion to the Lord

And he goes on to mention here that it's possible that God may call some people to a single life. See, for example, verse seven, I wish that all men were like me. Paul was single, but each man has his own gift from God.

So he realized, he says, I realize that some people don't have this calling. See, particularly in a ministry like the apostles in a time in those days when you couldn't travel too much so quickly. Today, you can travel from one end of the world to the other in less than 24 hours.

Whereas Paul, if he wanted to travel even 50 miles, it would take a whole day. It's very different today. And so in those days, an apostle traveled. He would hardly ever be at home if he were married.

That's why it says some of the apostles took their wives with them. And so in such situations, he says that it's good for an apostle to be single. And there may be certain situations today where it's good for people to be single, but I think it's perhaps less than 1 of cases because of the change situation.

And also the other factor there was persecution. There was a lot of persecution at that time. And therefore, he also encourages people to be like that. And I want to show you this verse in verse 35. He says, the reason why I want to encourage you to consider single life is basically this.

To secure your, last part of verse 35, to secure your undistracted devotion to the Lord. He earlier says, he says, if you live in this world, you can't afford to be taken up with everything that happens in the world.

Okay, there may be certain times and things happen and you have to weep, but don't keep weeping forever. Finish with it. And those who rejoice, you don't get so taken up with the joy of earthly things.

Maybe you built a new house and get so excited about it. It's okay, but put it in, get over it and get on with serving the Lord. And if you buy something and you're so taken up with what you bought, don't get taken up with anything in this world.

That's what he's basically saying. And he says, even if you're married, verse 29, don't let your wife and your home life be everything to you. There is work to be done for the Lord. And remember, your devotion to the Lord, verse 35, must be undistracted.

The Lord must be first in your life. And I want you to notice one other thing that Paul says here. More than once, he says words like this, verse 25, concerning virgins. I don't have any command from the Lord, but I give my opinion.

In another place, he says, I say, in verse 8, it's good for unmarried people and to the others. Not I, verse 12, I say, but not the Lord. And somewhere else, he says, but this is what the Lord is saying, not me.

Distinguishing God's Commands from Personal Opinion

So Paul distinguishes here in this passage, in this whole chapter, he says certain things. I'm giving you, verse 25, my opinion. Now, it's very healthy for God's servants to distinguish, like Paul did here in verse 25, between the commands of the Lord and their opinions when they preach.

There's nothing wrong in giving your opinion, but make sure you don't confuse your opinion with God's commands. Make it clear to the people, this is God's command and this is my opinion. This is not what God has commanded.

I'm giving you my opinion. At the end of the chapter, verse 40, he says, in my opinion. And he says, I think I have the spirit of God. See the humility of this man. His opinion is such a godly opinion, but he doesn't have this arrogance that some people have today who say, thus says the Lord.

He says, I think I have the spirit of God. And I'll tell you this, after being a believer for so many years, I would rather listen to a man who says, I think I have the spirit of God than to somebody who says, thus said the Lord.

Because I've discovered that almost all these people who say, thus said the Lord, the Lord is not speaking at all. It's just they themselves. Whereas when a man is humble enough to say, well, brother, I think I have the spirit when I say this.

Most of the time, God speaks through such humble people. And I would rather listen to such a man than a man who arrogantly imagines that he's the mouthpiece of God. Okay. Chapter eight. He's speaking about using our liberty to do what we like in a way that hinders other people.

Christian Liberty and Responsibility Toward the Weak

You see, those days, all the meat that was sold in the market was hung in front of the idols in the idols temple and then only sold. So you could not be a non-vegetarian those days without eating meat offered to idols.

There was no other meat. You had to be a vegetarian. In Romans 14 also, it speaks about that. And so some believers said this meat offered to idols. I'm never going to eat it. Fine. So they were vegetarians all through their life.

There were others who said, what is an idol? Somebody takes a piece of wood and carve something and puts it up there. And then you hang some meat in front of it. It doesn't make any difference to me. Whether it's hung in front of that wooden block or anything, there's no idol.

I believe in only one God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I give thanks over this meat and I eat it. He was also right. And here Paul is saying, yeah, there are both views possible. He said in Romans 14, and let each respect the other person's view.

That he mentions in Romans 14. Don't force the other person to conform to your view. See, we face this here in India sometimes. When people give you some Diwali sweets. And have they offered it to idols or not?

You don't know. Well, Paul says later on in chapter 10, if some unbeliever invites you. Where it's 1 Corinthians 10, 27, eat what is set before you and don't ask any questions. Otherwise, you may not be able to enjoy that food.

But if someone says to you, these sweets were offered to idols. Then you have to say, sorry, I'm sorry, then I won't take it. Not because you're afraid of that idol. That's only a block of wood. But for his conscience to show him that you don't believe in idol worship.

It's for his sake. That's what it says there in verse 28. So in 1 Corinthians 8, he says the most important thing is not these issues. The most important thing is, do you have love? 1 Corinthians 8, 1.

Knowledge makes you arrogant. You know, the people who said, what is an idol? Huh, it's nothing, a block of wood. You fellas don't have knowledge. You're all scared. Okay, you got a lot of knowledge. You say that's a block of wood.

Correct, you're right. But you don't have any love. You don't have any concern that your attitude and the way you're doing something. Is causing that person to stumble. And so he says, it's true. Even if there are so many gods and all that.

Verse 5, there is for us only one God. And verse 4, we know there's no such thing as an idol. Because there is only one God. So he says, all that is true. I agree with you. What you're saying is right.

But verse 7, some people are being accustomed to the idol. I mean, they came out of idolatry. And they were used to recognizing that block of wood as a God. And their conscience is defiled. He says, you don't have that.

You didn't have that background. Now he says, take care. Verse 9, that your liberty does not cause another person to stumble. Because if someone sees you sitting in the idol's temple. This is the problem.

You're sitting in an idol's temple. Verse 10, and eating. Because you say, what is the idol? It's just a block of wood. And this man, his conscience is weak. And he also does what you do. And he has a problem.

When he does it. See, the way it applies to us today could be in things like this. Now, the Bible does not say that if you drink a glass of beer, it's a sin. There's no verse in the Bible that says that.

The Bible only says you shouldn't get drunk. You take a peg of whiskey, that's not a sin. But that's not the end of the story. Supposing another person sees you drinking a little bit of toddy. Or a little bit of beer.

And you stop with half a glass of what that's finished. You've got control. That person sees you as a leader or a godly brother. Oh, he can drink it. Then it must be all right. He also starts drinking it.

And he does not have the self-control that you have. He begins to take more and more and more and becomes a drunkard. Who led him along the pathway of drunkenness? You. So, your liberty to take one glass and stop at that has led to another person falling into sin.

So, what should you do? You say, a true Christian will deny himself. He doesn't say, is it right or wrong? He says, is it profitable? All things are lawful. One glass of beer may be lawful. But is it profitable?

Will it cause another person to stumble? If it is going to cause one person to stumble, I will not drink one glass of toddy or beer or whiskey in my whole life. What do I lose by that? There are a lot of other things I can drink.

Because I'm concerned about that person. That is love. He says, don't live by your knowledge. Because knowledge will only make you arrogant. Verse one, love is what builds up. Please remember this rule.

By your knowledge, verse 11, don't ruin that weak brother for whom Christ has died. See, this applies also to many, many things. We have to be very careful. If you're a pastor or an elder of a church and you go to visit a home and the man of the house is not at home, don't go in.

I've never done it. Not because I'm tempted, not because that sister living there is tempted, but because of my testimony. I don't want other people to be stumbled. I may be able to sit there and have a very pure conversation with that sister and go away.

But another younger brother would see me and say, oh brothers, I can go and visit a home when there's only ladies there, only a lady there. And he also does it and maybe he falls into sin. And I was the one who led him astray.

These are little practical examples. Or he may see your scooter parked outside that house. He may not even come inside. And he knows that the man of the house is not there. And you become a bad example.

These are little, little things. If you have love, you'll be concerned about that other person. If you only glory in your knowledge and say, no, I'm keeping myself pure inside the house, that is a selfish, heathen, non-Christian way to live.

Okay, and then you sin and you wound your brother, their conscience, and then you sin against Christ. So he says, anything that causes my brother to stumble like that, I'll never do it. It's so important when handling money.

I always tell people in our churches, even if you're the most honest brother in the world, when you open the offering box, please have another brother with you. So that two brothers together can count the offering.

And that there's a proper record of it. And don't let the full-time worker who's receiving that money count that money. That's dangerous. Let somebody else do it who's not getting any money from that offering box.

And let him do it for the sake of a testimony that nobody should say he's pocketed part of it. So these are little, little things. It's got many applications. Chapter 8. Chapter 9 speaks about, goes on in the subject of liberty.

Apostolic Freedom, Marriage, and Secular Work

He says, am I not an apostle? Why do I have to work like others? First of all, why do I have to remain single? Verse 5 teaches us that all the apostles were married except Paul. He says all the other apostles are married and they carry their wife, take their wife with them wherever they go.

Some people think the apostles were not married. This verse teaches us all the apostles were married. So if there's a church today which says that you have to be unmarried, like some churches do, to be a full-time worker, then Peter and James and all could never have joined those churches.

That itself shows you that those churches are wrong. If the apostles could not join those churches, what type of churches are they? And the second thing people say today is that if you want to serve the Lord, you must give up all your secular jobs.

And then Paul and Barnabas could not have joined those churches because, verse 6, Paul and Barnabas were working with their hands. They were supporting themselves and serving the Lord. Some people like Peter, James and John, Peter and John and others, were not working.

They were supported by others. But people like Paul and Barnabas were working. And they also were apostles. So you can be an apostle doing a secular job, or you can be an apostle who's supported by other believers.

You can be an apostle who's unmarried, or you can be an apostle who's married. Marriage and job are no factors in serving the Lord. Okay, then he goes on to speak about supporting the Lord's servants.

Supporting Gospel Workers Without Exploitation

He says, God has said, verse 9, that you shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn while he's threshing. Is he only talking about oxen, he says? That was an Old Testament law that, you know, they thresh the grain there with oxen going around.

And some selfish, hard-hearted farmers would shut the mouth of the ox so that the ox doesn't eat some of that. He said, no, keep its mouth, God said, keep it open. So they let the ox eat something. After all, it's doing some work.

And Paul says, do you think God was only concerned about oxen? No, he, that is written for our sake. Verse 10, that those who serve the Lord, you must provide for them to feed themselves and their families because they are working so hard like the oxen, you know, doing the Lord's work.

And so Paul says, we have sowed spiritual things to you. Is it anything great if we reap some material things from you? That means we have served you so much spiritually. Is there anything wrong if you folks give us some material help to take care of our needs?

He's not talking about collecting money to build houses and lands and buy property in my family's name. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about survival. He's talking about getting enough money to just eat and drink and buy clothes and travel from one place to other for preaching the gospel and rent a simple house.

He's talking about things like that, which has been exploited today by a lot of people to say, you must support me and I just spend it lavishly to live in grand style. It's not that. And he goes on to say, even in the Old Testament, the priest could take from the offerings from the sacrifices in the temple.

So also, here's the word, verse 14, the Lord has directed that those who proclaim the gospel must get their living from the gospel. So that teaches that those who preach the good news here and there have got every right to receive gifts from those who get the benefit of their ministry.

In fact, it says in Galatians chapter 6, that those who are taught should bless those who teach with material things. Now, I find in Christendom two extremes on this. One extreme is those who exploit this teaching to make a lot of money for themselves on the basis of this teaching.

And the other extreme are people who don't do enough or anything for those who minister the word of God to them. They are also at one extreme. They think they are better than the others, but they've just fallen over the cliff the other side.

Both are out of the will of God. Those who obey God's word are honored by God. But this must not be used by us to make a lot of money for ourselves. And Paul says, I'm writing all this. But he says, now let me give you my example.

I'm not writing that you should do this for me. Because he says, I don't need your money. I've never taken money from you Corinthians. And I'm not writing now to saying that you should give me money. Because I don't need it.

I work with my own hands. Paul was very careful. He received money from the church in Philippi. We read that in 2 Corinthians 11, Philippians 4. That's Macedonia. He did not receive money from the Corinthians.

We read that 1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians 11. He did not receive money from the church in Ephesus. You read that in Acts 20. He did not receive money from the Thessalonian church. You read that in 2 Thessalonians 3.

Most churches, Paul did not receive any money. In fact, as far as we know, he received it only from the church in Philippi. So Paul was discerning. He knew where to take and where not to take. He didn't have a standard rule saying thou shall take or thou shall not take.

In each case, he sensed by the Holy Spirit. Do I feel free to receive this from this group of churches or this church or this man? So a true servant of God will be like that. And he says here, why do I do it like this?

This is a very, very important verse. I do it. Verse 18. Why am I serving you without taking any money from you? I do it because I want to make the gospel free of charge. Verse 18. The gospel must be free of charge.

People who hear the gospel must know they don't have to pay one paisa to hear the gospel. And that is why throughout my life, in any public meetings that I've ever had, where I've had the opportunity to have a say in the organizing of it, I've always said we will not take a collection because there could be unbelievers here.

And the unbelievers should not feel that they have to pay even one paisa to hear the gospel. And I have never regretted that decision in any place that I've gone. Only believers have the right to support God's work.

Unbelievers have no right to support God's work because they should not one day stand before the Lord and say, Lord, how can you send me to hell? I gave 100 rupees to Brother Zach for ministering God's word.

Don't you remember that day he took a collection in one meeting and I dropped 100 rupees in the bag and he lived on that. Nobody will be able to say that about me in the day of judgment. But there are many, many unbelievers who will be able to say about many organizations and many preachers, Lord, we supported that man.

We gave money to that man and he took it. And now you're sending me to hell. What will you say in that day when the Lord asks you, why did you take it when you knew this man was an unbeliever? So be very careful here.

Paul was very, very careful. He knew whom to take from and whom not to take from. And he says the gospel must be free. And he says, though I am free from all men, I've made myself a servant of all so that I can serve them.

Self-Control, Perseverance, and God's Faithfulness in Temptation

And then in chapter 24 to 27, he speaks about keeping his body under control so that verse 27, he does not end up preaching to others and being disqualified himself. Do you know it's possible for a servant of God to preach so many wonderful truths like Solomon, who wrote three books of scripture and go to hell?

If Paul says here in verse 27, if I don't keep my bodily desires under control, I can preach wonderful messages about all types of things to everybody and finally go to hell myself, disqualified by the Lord in the final day.

The apostle Paul, the man who established churches, the man who wrote scripture, the man who raised the dead, the man who healed the sick, the man who preached so many wonderful sermons. He says, I can be disqualified in the final day if I don't keep my bodily passions under control.

And I think, oh, God has used me so much, so he'll definitely take me into his kingdom. Not necessarily so. It's your life that God looks at primarily, not your ministry. In chapter 10, he gives an example.

He's speaking about those who preach and are disqualified. And he says, I'll give you an example. The Israelites who came out of Egypt, did they all get into Canaan? No, they perished in the wilderness.

He said, the same thing can happen to you. He says, these things have happened. Verse 6 is an example for us. Verse 11, chapter 10. These things are an example for us. So be careful. Then we have this wonderful promise in verse 13.

God will never allow you to be tempted beyond your ability. Praise God for that. No temptation will ever come into your life, which is more than you can handle. Remember that you can overcome every temptation.

Don't ever say, this is becoming too much for me. If you say that, you're saying God is a liar in 1 Corinthians 10, 13. It can never be too much for you. What you need is more grace. Ask God for grace.

That temptation is not too much for you. You can overcome. God will make a way, it says there, to help you to overcome. And then it speaks here about this verse 31. Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.

Whenever you're in doubt about God's will in some matter, always come back to 1 Corinthians 10, 31. You've tried every other method of finding God's will, and you can't find out what is God's will here.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 10, 31 and ask yourself, can I do this for the glory of God? If you feel in your spirit you can't do it for the glory of God, don't do it. Whatever we do, even eating and drinking, must be for the glory of God.

Head Coverings and the Lord's Supper

Chapter 11 speaks about two things. Women covering their heads in the church and the Lord's Supper, the breaking of bread. Now remember, I told you right at the beginning in chapter 1, this is the church of God in Corinth.

He's not talking about how a woman should behave at home. Everything is related to the church, chapter 5, chapter 6 and all these, chapter 11 also. And he's explaining here the reason for a woman's head covering.

There are three reasons why a woman should cover her head in the church. Number one, verse 7, a man should not have his head covered because he is the image and glory of God. A woman should have her head covered because she is the glory of man.

Earlier it says in verse 3, Christ is the head of man and man is the head of woman. So it is a symbol. A woman is saying, a man is my head and the glory of man, should it be covered or uncovered in the church?

Covered. The glory of man should be covered in the church. And since verse 7, woman is the glory of man, a woman should be covered in the church. Very simple. Because only the glory of Christ should be seen in the church.

The glory of man must be covered in the church. And since a woman is the glory of man, a woman must be covered in the church. But a man should not, his head should not be covered because he is the glory of God.

The glory of God should not be covered in the church. That's why a man keeps his head uncovered. So I believe a priest who wears a cap on his head is just as wrong as a sister who doesn't cover her head.

Just the same. OK. And another reason is in verse 15. Now all sisters will agree that their long hair is a glory. No sister likes to have a shaven head. Long hair, every woman will agree, is a glory. Should the glory of woman be covered in the church?

Yes. Therefore, a woman's long hair should be covered. The glory of man should be covered, the glory of woman should be covered. A woman's glory is her long hair. So that should be covered in the church.

That's the second reason. And the third reason is in verse 10. It's a symbol of submission to authority. She's saying, I've got a man whose head over me, my husband or my father. Or if you're an orphan or a widow, the elder in the church, I've got a man who is over me, I'm not a law unto myself.

So those are the three reasons why a woman should cover her head in the church. Now, this is an area where western influence has come into India and corrupted this teaching in India. Unfortunately, you'll always find wherever western influence has come into India, this practice is thrown away.

But where you go to churches where western influence does not come in the villages, they all practice it. And then he finally says, he says, now, if you're going to have a lot of arguments about this verse 16, I just want to conclude by saying every church of God practices this.

You can do what you like, but I'm not going to get in an argument with you about it. OK, we go on to the Lord's table in verse 23 to 34. It says, if anyone is when we come to the Lord's table, we are remembering the Lord's death.