Summary 1 Corinthians 7:
Paul says it’s good for a man not to marry. But if you do each man should have one wife and each wife one husband. The husband should fulfills his marital duties to his wife and the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to just herself but to her husband as well and vice versa. Therefore, do not deprive each other except by mutual consent so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of control. He wishes all to be unmarried but each has a different gift from God.
The unmarried and widows should stay unmarried but it’s better to marry than to burn with passion.
A wife must not separate from her husband but if she does she must not marry again or she must reconcile. A husband must not divorce his wife.
Any one in a marriage with an unbeliever should stay married if the other is willing for you may be the one to save the other. However, if the unbeliever leaves let them for they are not bound like believers are. Also, the unbeliever is sanctified through the other and their children will be holy as well.
Every one should stay in the role God has called them. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.
Paul wishes virgins would remain so and not marry for in marriage you will face many troubles in life. Time is short and marriage divides a person’s attention from the Lord for you must please your spouse. An unmarried person is only concerned with the Lord and can be devoted to Him in every way, undivided.
Paul clarifies that marriage is not a sin it’s just better to be single.
If a spouse dies, one can marry again but Paul advises against it so he or she can be devoted solely to the Lord.
BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 22, Day 5: 1 Corinthians 7
12) Each man should have one wife and each wife one husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife and the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband and vice versa. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent so Satan will not tempt you.
A wife must not separate from her husband but if she does she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. A husband must not divorce his wife (Jesus says in Matthew 19:9 that any man who divorces his wife except for marital unfaithfulness and marries another commits adultery). The same is true of the wife (Mark 10:12).
For celibacy, Paul was for it because you are freer from concern and thus therefore can be more concerned about God’s affairs rather than man’s. He also says this is a calling by God.
13) God calls each of us to a purpose, and each is good.
14) Personal Question. My answer: Just to be devoted to your spouse. To be happy where God has put you in your life.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 22, Day 5: 1 Corinthians 7
I love the part about live where you are at and where you are called. So many of us waste precious hours wishing we were somewhere else or doing something else. If we give it to God, He will answer. In the meantime, we are to live where He has put us.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Acts Lesson 22, Day 5: 1 Corinthians 7
The Corinthian Christians are asking for clarification on marriage and sex so Paul addresses those concerns. He says sex is ok within a marriage.
For more on a complete theology of marriage, see Ephesians 5:21-33 and Colossians 3:18-19.
Every wife is owed affection and should be shown this. Every wife owes her husband affection and sex. You only need one person to meet your sexual needs.
The word for deprive is the same as defraud in 1 Corinthians 6:8. When we deny physical affection and sexual intimacy to our spouse, we cheat them. Depriving each other of sex opens the door for Satan to enter.
God wants every Christian marriage to enjoy a sexual relationship that is a genuine blessing.
The Benefits of Being Single
Though Paul was unmarried when he wrote this letter, he probably had been married at one time. We can say this because we know Paul was an extremely observant Jew and an example among his people (Philippians 3:4-6). In Paul’s day, Jews considered marriage a duty, to the extent that a man reaching 20 years of age without marrying was considered to be in sin. Unmarried men were often considered excluded from heaven and not real men at all.
It is likely that Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin. In Acts 26:10, Paul says I cast my vote against them, speaking of the early Christians, and the logical place he would cast a vote is as a member of that great congress of the Jewish people. An unmarried man could not be a member of the Sanhedrin, so Paul was probably married at one time.
So what happened to Paul’s wife? The Scriptures are silent. Perhaps she left him when he became a Christian, or perhaps she died some time before or after he became a Christian. But we know that it was likely he was married before, and we know he was not married when writing this letter, and the Book of Acts never shows Paul’s wife.
Being single and married are both gifts from God. When Paul writes his own gift, he uses the same word for spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12
Paul told Timothy that forbidding to marry was a doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1-3).
You should not get divorced to seek more spiritual lives.
Only Reasons God Recognizes Divorce
- When there is sexual immorality (Matthew 19:3-9)
- When a believing partner is deserted by an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7:15).
Jesus said the one who divorces for invalid reasons, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery (Matthew 19:9). When Jesus’ disciples understood how binding the marriage covenant was, and how it could not be broken (in the sight of God) for just any reason, they responded If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry (Matthew 19:10)
Jesus never commands divorce in the case of sexual immorality. It is only permitted, and that the permission was given because of the hardness of your hearts (Matthew 19:8).
Why should a Christian try to keep their marriage to a non-Christian together? Because God can be glorified in such a marriage, and He may do a work through the believing spouse to draw the unbelieving spouse to Jesus Christ.
The children of a Christian parent are saved, at least until they come to an age of personal accountability (which may differ for each child). However, we have no similar assurance for the children of parents who are not Christians.
If the unbelieving spouse should depart, the Christian is not under bondage to the marriage covenant. This means they are, in fact, free to remarry because God has recognized their divorce as a valid divorce.
Peter says in 1 Peter 3:1-6: that your unbelieving spouse will probably not be led to Jesus by your words, but by your godly and loving conduct.
Live Where You Are Called
Walk for God where you are at right now; quit wishing to be somewhere else or do something else. A slave can please God right where he is.
Paul calls unmarried people virgins. Each is where God puts us and where we can live for Him.
Paul simply recognizes that when a person doesn’t have family responsibilities, they are more “free” to serve God.
In this ancient culture, a young person’s parents had the primary responsibility for arranging their marriage. So based on what Paul has already taught, should a Christian father recommend celibacy to his child? It’s the better choice in Paul’s opinion.
The choice between married and single was not the choice between good and bad, but between better and best.
Overall theme: Paul will affirm celibacy, but not because sex itself is evil (as some of the Corinthian Christians thought). Instead, the unmarried state can be superior because it offers a person (if they are so gifted) more opportunity to serve God.
David takes a census of Israel and Judah moved by Satan. After 9 months and 20 days, the number of men numbered 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah. David confesses his sin (for not having faith in the Lord for fighting purposes), and Gad the prophet gives him 3 choices for consequences:
These are not the very last words of David, just his final thoughts at the end of his life.
Commentary 2 Samuel 21:
The many titles of God