WWUTT 1531 It is Good for a Person to Remain As Is (1 Corinthians 7:25-31)

Now Paul says here in this next section of 1st Corinthians, I have no command of the Lord but I give an opinion. That does not mean that what we're reading is not the Word of God because it's still filled with the Holy Spirit when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Visit our website at www .utt .com.

Paul’s Opinion on Virgins in 1 Corinthians 7

Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you Becky. We're back to our study of the book of 1st Corinthians still in chapter 7. We're gonna pick up where we left off last week. So I'm gonna start reading in verse 25 and go to the end of the chapter out of the Legacy Standard Bible the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.

Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good because of the present distress that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 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'm trying to spare you.

But this I say brothers the time has been shortened so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none. And those who cry as though they did not cry 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 but I want you to be free from concern one who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord how he may please the Lord but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world how he may please his wife and his interests have been divided the woman who is unmarried and the virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord that she may be holy both in body and spirit but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world how she may please her husband.

Now this I say for your own benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote propriety and undistracted devotion to the Lord. But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she has passed her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes.

He does not sin, let her marry. But he who stands firm in his heart, being under no compulsion, but has authority over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well.

So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better. A wife is bound as long as her husband lives, but if her husband has fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

But in my opinion, she is happier if she remains as she is, and I think that I also have the Spirit of God. So there you go, there's the rest of chapter 7, and I think reading the whole thing like that you can recognize the context into which Paul is speaking.

This section of 1 Corinthians is often used to say that it's better for you to not get married, it's better to remain single, but it's obvious here that Paul is speaking into a certain situation, a looming scenario that is coming.

He's not saying that for the rest of the time that the church is going to be here on this earth, it's better for a man to be single rather than to get married. There's something that's coming up. Consider again what he says in verse 26.

I think then that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. So he's talking about some things that are about to take place, and he wants to be able to spare people the distress of what they would have to go through, the coming distress that's about to afflict the church.

If you have a wife and kids, or wife if you have children and a husband, this is going to be a lot harder for you to endure these things and worry about your family at the same time. It's going to be easier to go through this if you're single and you devote yourself to the Lord and you're committed to the ministry of God, to be able to go out and preach the gospel or to flee from persecution that comes upon you.

It's easier to respond quickly when you're not bound to a spouse, when you don't have to be concerned for your kids. With famine, that was happening in the world. That was a current distress that was happening at that particular time.

Remember there was a famine that was afflicting the entire Roman Empire, but especially Judah had hit Judah and Jerusalem particularly hard. With things like that, that were going on with, there were earthquakes and major natural disasters, a real serious earthquake that had afflicted Colossae and Laodicea.

But Laodicea had enough money to survive it, Colossae did not, and they were largely forgotten by the Roman Empire. Anyway, these are just examples of some of the things that were going on at that particular time.

So because of that distress that was happening in those days, because of the persecution that was to come upon the church, that would happen even after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, but especially around that event.

Because of those things, Paul wanted to spare the church, to spare Christians of some of the things that they would have to deal with if they were bound to a spouse. And so it's better to remain single.

Look again at verse 25. Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. Paul begins and ends this section that same way.

So he starts in verse 25 by saying, I'm sharing my opinion. This is not a command of God, but it is a trustworthy word because I'm an apostle of Christ and I am filled with the Spirit with a certain measure of grace.

Thinking of the words that Paul used with the Romans in particular. So he says in Romans 1 and in Romans 12 that he has been called by God with a certain measure of grace upon him as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

In this section of 1st Corinthians 70, he starts and ends calling attention to that very thing. Verse 25, this is my opinion, but it's a trustworthy opinion because of who I am in Christ. Verse 40, in my opinion, and I also have the Spirit of God.

That's what's stated there in verse 40. So this section is bookended with that. This is an opinion I'm sharing, but it's a trustworthy opinion because of who I am, because of what I've been through, and what I am called to.

So he says in verse 25, concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. Now as he says virgins here, he's talking about those who have never been married.

We've made some, we've distinguished earlier, let me say it that way, when we've been here in 1st Corinthians 7. As Paul has mentioned the unmarrieds, those aren't those who have never been married. They're those who have previously been married.

Okay, so the unmarrieds are widows and widowers. The virgins are those who have never been married. They have never consummated a union with someone else. They've never taken vows or an oath of marriage.

So they're virgins in this sense. And so concerning virgins, this is a category of marriage that Paul has not yet addressed in 1st Corinthians 7. So this is the first time we're talking about those who have not been experienced in marriage at all.

Concerning virgins, I don't have a command of the Lord. This is not a command that comes from God. It is the opinion of one who has been commissioned by Christ to speak so wisely to the church. Paul is extending wisdom here, but a spirit-filled wisdom.

As I said earlier, because Paul has made this qualification before of sharing something that comes from him and not from Christ. As I said earlier, that doesn't mean this is something that we clip from the Bible.

Well, this isn't actually the Word of God, so we can cut this out. No, this is the Word of God, but it's just being said as sharing the wisdom of God rather than a command of God. And there is a difference.

A lot of what we've been reading through the Proverbs have been wisdom. We're not hearing exact commands being given. This is wisdom from a father to his son. In some places there are commands, but we qualify those commands with other statements that have been said in Scripture.

Not necessarily that those things stand on their own. Wisdom that's given is general purpose. There are times when those things apply, and there are times when there may be other wisdom that needs to apply to that situation.

And we just glean all the wisdom that we can so that we may have discerning hearts and know how to speak into each and every circumstance. So Paul is speaking into a particular circumstance here and giving his wisdom as one who is filled with the Spirit of God.

I would trust Paul's wisdom over my own. So we consider again here the wisdom of one who has been appointed by Christ to teach the churches, the Apostle Paul. He says here in verse 26, I think then that it is good because of the present distress.

That it is good for a man to remain as he is. Now he's going to share statements about women, about virgin women here in a moment, but here in verse 26 it seems to be explicitly about men. So he says a man, a virgin man, should remain as he is and not get married.

Are you bound to a wife, he says in verse 27, do not seek to be released. And that's something that I've said over and over again as we've been going through this wisdom that has been given to us here in 1st Corinthians 7.

Paul is plainly stating, now this would be a command of the Lord, if you are bound to a spouse, don't seek to be released from your spouse. If you have been released from a spouse, Paul is saying here, now this is a matter of wisdom.

If you're released from a spouse, don't seek a spouse. In this case, in these verses, a man should not seek a wife. So are you bound to a wife, do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife, do not seek a wife.

Now released from a wife could be read two ways. Since we're talking about virgins here and we've previously mentioned the unmarried, it could mean that you've never been bound to a wife, therefore you're released from any kind of covenant of marriage.

You have the gift of singleness, so don't seek to be bound to a spouse. Whether you're talking about an unmarried or a virgin, it could apply either way. The unmarried, well that's an easy application.

You were previously bound to a spouse, now you're not bound to a spouse, so don't seek to be bound to a spouse. But I think that it could apply either way here, whether we're talking about unmarrieds, widows, widowers, or we're talking about virgins.

Are you bound? Then remain that way. Are you going to be bound? Are you going to seek a spouse? Well, seek your spouse. Just be bound to that spouse. Don't seek to get out of your marriage. Verse 28, but if you marry, you have not sinned.

Again, because this is not a command. Now, as we were reading these things earlier, especially concerning the unmarried, the widows and the widowers, earlier in chapter 7, I had mentioned that Catholic priests are not to get married.

Now, this is part of the scriptures that they will use, it's among the scriptures, probably the major scriptures, that the Catholic Church would use to say to their priests, you cannot be married because your bride is supposed to be the church.

You're not to be concerned by the things of this world, but as the Apostle Paul said to remain single, so you also are to remain single. It's a demonic teaching, according to what Paul says to Timothy in 1st Timothy chapter 4, that commands to not get married are demonic.

This is not a command to not get married. This is Paul sharing wisdom. So if somebody takes 1st Corinthians 7 and twists it in that way, they are making what should be wisdom into a demonic teaching. 1st Timothy 4, 1, but the Spirit explicitly says that in later times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars who have been seared by their own conscience, who forbid marriage.

So forbidding marriage in any context is demonic. To forbid a person to get married is the teaching of demons. Paul is not doing that here. He is not forbidding someone to get married. He's just saying, as a matter of wisdom, it would be better for you to remain single, and then he explains why.

So again, verse 26, I think then this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Don't seek to be released. That would be a command.

Are you released from a wife? Well, do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned. Okay, so he qualifies that later statement in that way. If you get married, you've not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned.

Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. Because of the present distress, because of the things that are soon to come upon the church, the great persecution that would happen to the church for about the first 300 years of the church.

These were some serious times. So Paul, attempting to spare those who would have to go through those things with a family by not getting married, and therefore not having children, and not having to be concerned about those things in the present distress.

Instead, if God says go, if a person feels so compelled by God to go in the name of the Lord, preaching the gospel, that they're able to go and respond quickly. Or if persecution comes upon them, they're able to respond to that quickly, because they are not bound to a spouse or to children.

Living for Eternal Things While Married or Single

Verse 29,. But this I say, brothers, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none. Now this does not mean leave your spouse. Clearly it can't mean that, because Paul has forbidden that.

Nor does it mean to deprive your spouse of intimacy, because of what Paul had directed at the beginning of this chapter. It also doesn't mean that you can neglect your spouse or treat them poorly, because of instructions that we have in places like Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.

Wives are to submit to their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. That he may wash her with the water of the word, sanctifying her. So a husband should also be with his wife.

So we know because of those instructions that this is not Paul calling for spouses to neglect one another. So what is meant here then, by saying that those who have wives, those who have wives, okay so that's a present tense, those who have wives should be as though they had none.

What does that mean? Well it simply means that we need to be focused on eternal things first and foremost. It is so very important that you love your spouse. Those instructions are given over and over again.

It is the closest human relationship that we have been gifted with this side of heaven. As I said earlier, as we talked about marriage in previous sections of 1st Corinthians, and we will still talk about these things as they come up.

It is so very important to be committed to your marriage, and to die to yourself and love your spouse. Consider your spouse's needs ahead of your own. But we need to have eternity in mind first and foremost.

You love God more than you love your spouse. In fact, your spouse is more assured of your love for them, if you love Christ more than you love your spouse. My wife is at peace, is comforted in knowing that I love Jesus more than I love her.

Because we can't always be together, but she knows if I have the fear of the Lord that she can trust me. And she's not always going to please me. The source of my joy and my happiness is not always going to be her.

No human being can do that for one another. But she knows that I'm fully devoted for her, even in tough and difficult circumstances, because I'm fully devoted to Christ. So the marriage has to be built on something more than each other, since you're both sinful human beings.

You have to have a marriage that is built upon Christ. And we must live even in these days. Now Paul is talking about a present distress, a form of this world that is passing away. I'll get to that here in just a moment.

He's talking about that in that context with the Corinthians. But even in these present days, we must devote ourselves to the things of God over and above the love that we have for our spouse or the love that we have for our children.

Now it's because of our devotion to God we're going to love our spouse and our children, because God has said to do such things. But we need to be devoted to heavenly things more than earthly things. And marriage, as beautiful as it is, is just an earthly union.

Because remember Jesus said there is not marriage and being given in marriage in heaven. That's something that we experience only now. In heaven we are the bride of Christ, and our consummation is to Christ and not to other human beings.

So this is a relationship that exists only in this time. It's a picture of the relationship that Christ has with his church. But we have marriage only in this age, not in the next. Therefore we need to live for heavenly things.

We need to be fully devoted to the righteousness of Christ, the kingdom of God, and those things that he has called us to. Matthew 6 33. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the things you need will be added to you.

So that needs to be our devotion. That needs to be our hearts pursuit. It's for those heavenly things. It's for Christ first and foremost. So from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none.

Verse 30. And those who cry as though they did not cry. We're not mourning for the things of this world. We're longing for the things of heaven. Those who rejoice. Rejoicing in things, in joys that we experience in this world, as though they did not rejoice.

And those who buy as though they did not possess. Because what do we buy? We buy earthly things. We buy things that we possess in this life only. Do not be committed to those things. Because all of that will be gone.

Whether you die or Christ returns, whichever event comes first, you don't get to take that stuff with you. Verse 31. And those who use the world. So you profit off of the world. You make a living off of the world.

As though they did not make full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away. Now that statement I don't think necessarily refers to the context that Paul was talking about. The present distress.

Okay when he mentions the present distress, back in verse 26, the form of this world that is passing away is not necessarily in reference to that. This world is passing away. All the things that we experience and enjoy in this world are futile.

They're coming into destruction. They're decaying before our very eyes. We don't get to take those things with us. So the form of this world is passing away. Therefore we should not be devoted to the things of this world as though they were our greatest love or our greatest pursuit.

Our greatest pursuit should be Christ. So that even when it comes to our marriages, even when it comes to our families, our greatest love, our greatest priority is first Christ. And may we pray that it would be the same for our spouse and for our children as well.

All the rest of this world is passing away. Christ is forever. Love Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Heavenly Father thank you for these good words today. May we consider the wisdom that is bound up in them and the truth that is being given to us according to the Word of God.

That we may be fully devoted to Christ and we encourage one another in that devotion. We don't neglect each other but because we are servants of Christ, we serve each other. As Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

In light of the sacrifice of Christ for us, may we sacrifice for each other in these days always pointing to Jesus. Come quickly Lord. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Ministry Sign-Off

Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry visit our website www .wutt .com and click on the give tab in the top right corner of the page.

Join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study when we understand the text.