Now concerning
virgins:
I have no commandment
from the Lord;
yet I give judgment
as one whom the Lord
in His mercy has made
me trustworthy.
I suppose therefore
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 be seek to be
loosed.
Are you loosed from a
wife?
Do not seek a wife.
1 Corinthians 7: 25
-- 27
Paul is
very clear that what he has to say and this letter never intended to supersede
Jesus Christ’s commandments in regards to marriage, adultery, and
fornication. Therefore, Paul is clear
about the fact that what he is saying is not from some command by Jesus Christ
rather as one who has judgment that is trustworthy. Furthermore, Paul is addressing the present-day situation whereby
much persecution upon Christians made things more favorable for a person to
remain single. It would be better for a
person who is "loosed" from their spouse to not seek a spouse, for it
is better for a person to hold as top priority, Jesus Christ. The question then arises, what if a person
who is single, either as a virgin, or a person who is loosed marries: "But even if you do marry you have not
send; and if a virgin marries, she has not said. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I
would spare you. But this I say,
brethren, but time is short, so that from now on even those who have why should
be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those
who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did
not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing. For the form of this world is passing
away" (1 Corinthians 7: 28 -- 31).
Is Paul giving an excuse or a reason for a person who has become
"loosed" from their spouse that they can marry? No!
Paul never superseded that a person who has committed adultery, or
fornication, or has not maintained their relationship with their spouse and has
caused that spouse to be outside of biblical principles does not have the right
to marry. If the unbelieving spouse
leaves, as Scripture says they must do if that is their decision and not to
waver in that decision, and if they remarry they have not sinned for they are the
innocent party. But Paul makes this a
very clear that if a person doesn't marry they should expect that there will be
trouble in their flesh. How could this
be? Ask almost anyone who has ever gone
through a divorce and remarriage of their life and been free of trouble,
trouble from their ex--- spouse, their children, and even by the children of
the new spouse, trouble from family, on both sides, and either a loss or
trouble from friends. Let us take a
moment and examine the words of Jesus, for He had drawn near to Jerusalem and
even wept over that city: "saying,
"If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that
make for your peace! But now they are
hidden from your eyes." (Luke
19:42). Did they not know about the
coming of the Messiah? Did not Jesus
performed miracles to reveal Himself as the Messiah? Should not the Jews have known the times, for they had good
records and were even expecting in the days of Jesus for the Messiah to
appear? But they did not know even after
all they had seen and heard from Jesus Christ and the days were coming in which
they would also suffer great troubles and that occur in 70 A.D. Now let us
apply this in our lives, do you not know, have you not read God's Word? Are the things of Jesus and those things
that were written by the apostles and others under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit hid from your eyes? Is it like
the Jews who had as their god the pride of Pharisaism? What is it that buying you end your day, and
what is the strange god that may be ruling you? This strange god is not necessarily some disgusting entity,
rather it is a disposition that rules.
God through the words of Paul is bringing us face to face with the
reality of life and what it means to follow Him rather than to follow our own
disposition. Are we allowing the Holy
Spirit of God to have a place unhindered in our life? The words of Jesus" If
thou had known" are so direct and imply that we have cupable
responsibility even holding those responsible for what we do not see. Why are they hid from our eyes? Because the disposition has never been
yielded to the Holy Spirit and our Savior Jesus Christ. Paul shows great empathy in love for the
Corinthian Christian: "but I want
you to be without care. He who is
unmarried cares for the things of the Lord -- how he may please the Lord. But he who is married carries about the
things of the world -- how he may please his wife" (1 Corinthians 7: 32 --
33). Paul here is speaking in
regards to that which holds priority in our lives. Is it our own desires, lusts, remember last means that we must
have what we want and we want it now, I'm not here speaking of licentiousness,
rather than doing that which is appalling or we put in place of the Spirit of
God those things that hinder us an increase our combination in the sight of
God. Yes, God is love, and this He has
demonstrated by sending to die for us Jesus Christ and to make for us and
eternal home, therefore never be afraid though they may be hard.
Yet you say, "For what reason?"
Because the
LORD has been witness
between you and the wife of your youth,
with whom
you have dealt treacherously;
yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
But did he
not make them one, having a remnant
of the Spirit? And
why one? He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore
take key to your spirit, and let none deal
treacherously with the wife of his youth.
Malachi
2: -- 15
May your soul joyful in God
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