SPRINGCREEK FELLOWSHIP
Sunday, May 28, 2023

      • Psalm 30:1–12CSB

  • All My Ways
  • This I Believe (The Creed)
  • Well Done
  • Jesus Messiah
  • 1 Corinthians 7:1-11
    Up to this point in our study, Paul has been dealing with various problems that he has heard about by direct report.
    NOW he is about to answer questions that they have directed to him:
    (v.1) – “Now in response to the matters you wrote about…”
    Our passage this morning deals with marriage & singleness (v.25). The other issues include meat offered to idols (8:1), worship (11:2), spiritual gifts (12:1), offerings (16:1), and Apollos (16:12)
    THIS MORNING we will begin looking at “The Secret to Living Happily Ever After!”
    How many of us thought that different things in life—college, a new job, getting married would result in us living happily ever after?
    But then the reality is that very few find eternal bliss…the divorce rate alone is evidence that we need help!
    · What is the secret to happiness in our marriages?
    · What is the secret of happiness in remaining single?
    Those are two very good questions. To answer them; we must first deal with the issue of OUR FAITH!
    (Romans 1:16-17) – “…the righteous shall live by faith.”
    THAT means my decisions and choices are based on my faith in God!
    · Do I believe in the AUTHORITY and TRUTH of the WORD OF GOD?
    · Do I believe that GOD UNDERSTANDS my situation and that GOD’S PLAN is the RIGHT ONE?
    Let’s look together at what God says about marriage and singleness, and then let’s commit to living by the truths we find there!
    Paul deals with the issues related to marriage in a very skillful fashion—there is no doubt as to what he is talking about, and yet he is not crass, nor rude.
    The issues we are about to read about deal with real life—especially his discussion of the sexual relationship between a husband and wife.
    Due to the nature of this topic, we will attempt to be discrete, yet true to the text.
    Our pericope (or passage) includes all of (7:1-40), but we will deal with the first eleven verses:
    1 Corinthians 7:1–11 CSB
    Now in response to the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband. A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. Do not deprive one another—except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all people were as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one person has this gift, another has that. I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am. But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, since it is better to marry than to burn with desire. To the married I give this command—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave her husband. But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to divorce his wife.
    Perhaps the best way to examine this lengthy passage is to consider the different AUDIENCES to which Paul speaks:

    I. Christians Married to Christians – (7:1-11)

    (v.1) – Begins with an interesting statement: “…It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”
    NRSV – “…It is well for a man not to touch a woman.”
    NIV – “…It is good for a man not to marry.”
    NLT – “…It is good to live a celibate life.”
    There are at least two possibilities as to Paul’s meaning:
    · Paul is laying down a general principle or statement.
    In other words, “If you want to be most effective in service to the Lord, it is good not to be married.” (cf. 7:6-8, 32-35)
    · Another possibility: Paul is simply re-stating what they wrote.
    In response to the sensual culture in which they lived (which said sex is natural, therefore all sex is good), they did a pendulum swing: “All sex is bad! It is good for a man not to touch a woman!”
    In the context of (vv.3-4), I believe this is the preferred view.
    REGARDLESS of your view, Paul has several things say to believers who are married:

    A. You are to be married to only ONE PERSON – (v.2)

    His reasoning is rather PRAGMATIC – “…because sexual immorality is so common” lit. “…because of fornications (plural)”
    Paul understood that the evils of sexual immorality were in the very fabric of the Corinthian culture (much like America today)!
    He also understood a profound truth: “If I do not have sex, does that solve sexual temptation?” NO.
    Celibacy is a GIFT that very few possess (vv.7-9).
    God created us as sexual beings (Genesis 2:22-25) and it takes a gift from God to overcome those natural desires.
    NOTICE GOD says in Genesis, “…man…woman…wife…one flesh”
    NOTICE also in (1 Corinthians 7:2b) – It’s still in the SINGULAR!
    Marriage is between ONE man and ONE woman!

    B. You are to FULFILL YOUR MUTUAL CONJUGAL RIGHTS – (vv. 3-4)

    According to Paul, there are two issues in the sexual relationship between a husband and wife:

    · The first issue is one of MARITAL Duty – (v.3)

    When you stood before all those witnesses, you made a solemn vow to “…love, honor, and cherish, till death do us part,” you make a promise!
    The phrase, “…should fulfill his marital duty” translates the Greek phrase,
    τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἀποδιδότω
    tēn opheilēn apodidotō
    ‘the debt let give back’
    “fulfill” (ἀποδιδότω) – present, imperative – indicates a habitual fulfillment.
    If you are married, you need to be sensitive to, and consistently meet the physical needs of your mate.
    It is the reward/render/recompense of your marital vow of “…forsaking all others!”

    · The second issue is that of SUBMISSION OF RIGHTS– (v.4)

    The meaning of the verse is not difficult; obedience is!

    C. The EXCEPTION to the rule is for times of FASTING & PRAYER—and that has PROVISIONS – (vv.5, 9)

    Paul’s instruction carries four important provisions:

    1. Both husband and wife must be acting, “…when you agree (lit. ‘in symphony’)”

    2. This abstinence should only be “…for a time [season]”

    3. This abstinence is for the express purpose, “…to devote yourselves to prayer.”

    4. There must be a deliberate intention of resuming sexual relations: “…Then come together again.”

    For some it may be shocking to hear Paul’s uninhibited instruction to Christian couples, having had a special time devoted to prayer, to avoid Satan’s temptations by enjoying sexual intercourse again!
    Folks, that is why I love the Bible (not just because it encourages sex between a husband and wife), but because it is a REAL BOOK that addresses REAL NEEDS! It offers REAL SOLUTIONS to REAL PROBLEMS!
    Hebrews 13:4 CSB
    Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
    “Marriage is to be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”

    D. You are NOT TO DIVORCE for just any reason – (vv.10-11)

    Matthew 19:1–9 CSB
    When Jesus had finished saying these things, he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created them in the beginning made them male and female, and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” “Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers and to send her away?” He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”
    Next Week:
    II. Christians Married to Non-Christians – (7:12-24)
    III. Unmarried Christians and Widows – (7:25-40)

      • 1 Corinthians 7:1–11CSB

      • Hebrews 13:4CSB

      • Matthew 19:1–9CSB

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