Good morning friends, today is Saturday 15 June, 2019 and we’re reading together 1 Corinthians 7.
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians living in the big, bustling, in some ways barbaric city of Corinth. I use that word ‘barbaric’ because it was a city famous, in it’s day, for wild and crazy, almost a ‘no rules’ type of living, especially with openly celebrated sexual expression of every kind. I mentioned yesterday a temple in Corinth, dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. Involvement in the life of that temple promoted sexual involvement of almost every kind, and about 1000 male and female prostitutes were all around this temple area. But it was more than that in Corinth. It was almost a sexually competitive environment… who could come up with the most innovative, most outrageous, sexual behavior?
As a result honest, respectful, gender appropriate, God honoring relationships, between people, were rare in Corinth.
As people received the Gospel of Jesus, as taught by Paul and later Apollos here in Corinth, of course they learned God called His people, to a very high standard of God honoring living, especially in their sexuality. This was, for the people of Corinth, simply radical… and for many who trusted in Jesus, it was very challenging, to bring holiness into their sexuality, their relationships, their dating and their marriages.
Evidently Paul had received a letter from some of these Corinthian Christians, with many questions about what God honoring sexuality was, and how it should function in this very decadent city, Corinth. So in this 7th chapter, Paul deals primarily with that issue… how do we, men and women of all ages, single and married, live out our sexuality in God honoring ways?
I’ll try to take this by topics… the first is vs. 1-7 and deals with the importance of God honoring sexual relations within the wonderful, God-designed, marriage relationship, of one woman and one man, for a lifetime. You see Paul writes “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband….Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent, and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so Satan will not tempt you…”
We understand God has created, in all humanity, an appetite for sexual expression of love. But the only, God honoring, and mutually satisfying environment for that sexual expression, is within the covenant of marriage, right? We understand Satan hates this concept: that sexual expression is God ordained and appropriate ONLY within marriage. Satan attempts to turn everything God designed as holy, into something selfish and destructive. Rape and orgies are two examples of Satan’s total distortion of the beautiful, holy, loving, sexual intercourse between a man and his wife, which may result in God’s conception of their child.
Rape is selfish, rape is deeply, emotionally, wounding, rape is controlling and domineering and wicked and ugly. A person, male or female, who experiences forced rape, will often carry that emotional scar, the rest of their life. Often the rape victim will have great difficulty engaging in normal, God designed, loving, sexual expression, even within a God honoring marriage, and some rape victims even resist marriage out of fear.
Orgies are nearly animalistic, with no regard for love, or human dignity, honor, respect, or tenderness. They are out of control, hedonistic, sexual dysfunction. Rape and Orgies are only two examples of many, which are totally dysfunctional and contrary to God designed sexual expression in love.
Paul calls husbands and wives to recognize that God places, what we call sexual desire, within each of us, and as Christian’s, God’s Holy Spirit will lead us, if we are careful, to God honoring expression of that sexual desire, which is mutually satisfying and holy, within the sacred covenant of marriage. Is it appropriate, for husbands and wives to pray together about their sexual expression of their love with one another? Oh, absolutely yes, my friends! Do you see that in vs. 5?
Our sexuality is a spiritual battleground. The dark kingdom tries hard to draw Christian couples into using pornography or similar stimulants to enhance what God has designed as sacred and wonderful. We need to guard this aspect of our marriages my friends, and one way to do that is to pray together for God’s guidance of both of you, husband and wife, in God honoring, tender, respectful, mutually satisfying expressions of your love, sexually. I hope I haven’t embarrassed you… God designed our sexuality my friends, let’s seek to honor Him, with every aspect of it.
Now several times in chapter 7 Paul speaks of his being celibate. Paul had neither a wife nor any other sexual relationship, as far as we know. You’ll see he viewed this as a calling, and a gift from God for him. He was content without any sexual expression. Paul viewed his celibacy as enabling him to dedicate every ounce of his energy, every moment of his time, to bringing the Gospel of Jesus to people who did not know it. Of course it also meant he missed out on many wonderful aspects of marriage and family life, that those of us who are married, have enjoyed. I have met many, both men and women, especially missionaries, who have felt so strongly, the call of God on their lives, to live as single, God honoring adults, that they have also been given by God, the gift of genuine contentment without the joy of sexual expression.
You’ll also see Paul says in vs. 7-9, that since God has placed in most people a natural, burning desire for sexual love expression, they should pray for God to lead them to His choice of a spouse and enjoy that sexual expression in loving and God honoring ways, within the sacredness of their marriage.
Evidently several of these Corinthian Christians had heard the Gospel and trusted Jesus to be their Savior AFTER they had married, and thus they found themselves married to someone who did not share their spiritual passions or priorities. Some were anxious to divorce their non-Christian spouse, and seek to find a Christian person to marry instead. They wanted to know what God thought about that. Do you see Paul’s answer in vs. 10-16 & 20? Paul tells them to remain faithful to the marriage vow they had made, don’t bail out. While remaining in that marriage, the Christian has the obligation and opportunity to love and serve their spouse, in God honoring ways, and as the Holy Spirit continues to refine them more and more into Christlikeness, Paul contends it may well draw their unsaved spouse to seeing the evidence of the Spirit of God in their marriage, and draw them to trusting Jesus Christ as well.
Now perhaps you are thinking of 2 Corinthians 6:14-17. This is Paul’s follow up, second letter to these same Corinthian Christians, written some time after this first letter, and it’s purpose was to give further clarity to certain issues. Here, as we will see when we study this chapter, Paul writes “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers…” . Does that seem contradictory to you? Paul is making it clear… if you are dating and not yet married, be sure you are on the same page spiritually BEFORE you get married… don’t marry someone who is in discord with you spiritually, it will prove to become a major area of marital disagreement and conflict.
But, if you married as two unsaved people, and one turns to Jesus and is saved, then don’t bail out and quit on the marriage, stay fully engaged and watch God work, to bring you and your spouse into spiritual harmony. Often, as the Holy Spirit works, the unsaved spouse will be drawn to Jesus through the daily life and love of the saved spouse.
Now friends, sadly not all marriages work that way, and Paul in vs. 15,16 acknowledges that sometimes the unsaved spouse chooses to abandon the saved spouse. Paul basically “you can’t force them to stay…”. And in this case of abandonment, assuming the unbelieving spouse files for, and gains a divorce, and finds another person and marries them, the abandoned Christian spouse is free to marry, since their marriage covenant was broken by abandonment and their spouse marrying someone else.
There are other parts of God’s Word which speak even more to this issue of building and sustaining a God honoring marriage, such as Ephesians 5, and we’ll study them as we come to them through the summer. There are also other passages which speak, even in more detail, to the matter of sexual dysfunction, such as Romans 1, and we’ll study them as we come to them as well.
Aren’t you glad God doesn’t hide from such important topics in our human lives. He designed and made us in HIS image, and that includes our sexuality and how we live our sexuality in God honoring ways. We need not fear such conversations. As we continue our Scripture reading this summer, I’ll probably bring us back to this 7th chapter of 1st Corinthians more than once.
For the people of Corinth, can you imagine how radical this was? So let me ask you this closing question… is your sexuality holy…God honoring? If you are married, in all the ways you and your spouse look at or touch each other, is it honoring and delightful to God? If you are single, have you fully entrusted your sexuality and every aspect of it, to Holy God and found His Holy Spirit giving you contentment in this aspect of your life.
I hope we all have a great and God blessed weekend…
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).