Are you bound to a
wife?
Do not seek to be
loosed.
Are you loosed from a
wife?
Do not seek a wife.
But even if you do
marry,
you have not sinned;
and if a virgin
Marries,
she has not sinned.
Nevertheless such
will have trouble
in the flesh, but I
would spare you.
1 Corinthians 7: 27
-- 28
I take a
moment to return to these verses to demonstrate why I so often include Greek
words with their grammar and definitions.
I do this because if the grammar is not understood and kept in context
then there is a liability that what is being taught is possibly false and
misleading. Here is an example to
demonstrate this fact: the English word "seek" does not have the
power of the Greek word for "seek."
So often in the Church that are more liberal in their theological approach do not
give the emphasis to this word that the Greek fully heard and understood for
this word, although written with the same Greek letters they are two different
grammatical structures, giving different meanings. For instance,
when we want to give emphasis to a word, such as "wow" we will hear
the voice either be an louder, or in a higher pitch, or in a lower pitch, and by
this we get an understanding of what the person speaking is actually trying to
convey. In the Bible the Greek word
being used here is: ζήτει, and notice where the accent mark his place above the
ή. With the accent above this Greek
letter the voice would go up in sound when this letter is pronounced, or are if
the Greek word: ζητεϊ, that is has the circumflex over the ϊ, then the sound
of the voice would go up on the end of the word changing the meaning of the
word. ζήτει, this is second person singular present imperative and active,
therefore this is a command that needs to begin presently and not in the
future. If the word was written ζητεϊ,
that is to have the circumflex at the end of the word, then this word is third
person singular present, indicative and active; therefore it is a statement and
not a command. Paul was not giving a
statement. Paul was giving a
command. Can you see how a person who
does not understand, or has even taken time to examine the original language
will misinterpret, and may possibly give a false teaching. A person who has been "loosed" as
this is a Greek word meaning to loose and often used in reference to being
divorced and/or separated, from a person's spouse. It is clear here that if a person is "bound" and are
now "loosed" they are commanded and not to seek a spouse. Some will then point to the next verse,
verse 28, where Paul says that even if you do marry you have not sinned. To marry is not a sin. To marry for the wrong reasons is a
sin. Did not Paul command that a person
divorced should not seek a wife? Then
if one seeks a wife and marries them they have married for the wrong reasons
and subverting the command of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Paul even mentions that if one does such a
thing as marry outside of the command of God, then all that they should expect,
is trouble. Some will then point out
and say well I know people who have married this way and they seem to have a
happy life. This may be true. For them!
But what about all the other people who have been hurt? Those of us who have done the wrong thing
can testify that while there is joy in many ways with a new spouse, there is
much pain and sorrow, much trouble.
Paul is saying I'm trying to spare you. Marriage in the eyes of God is the most serene, and sovereign act
that has his acceptance and good pleasure attached to it so that when we
divorce, then we have brought sadness upon our God who has ordained
marriage. It is so important that if a
person has a child outside of marriage and as committed to morality, a sin
against their own body, and has caused that child to be in on sanctified child,
but does this mean that the child may not be saved, no! But it does mean that there will be much
hardship in trial coming from many different angles in your life. I say all of this because this is what has
happened in a church that has become culturally attached to the wisdom of this
world. We are not to abuse the freedom
that we have as Christians. Paul
writes: "... And those who use this world as not misusing
it" (1 Corinthians 7: 31 a).
Notice this, Paul is speaking to those who are using the wisdom and
culture of this world as though they are not misusing what the world is
misusing. True Christians have an
entirely different outlook on their faith.
It is a joy for them to serve the Lord.
They don't live lives of obedience out of some heartless obligation to a
punitive deity. They live joyfully in
the blessing of the life God designed.
They aren't looking for a boundary line to push the limits. They are far away, seeking to get as close
as possible to Christ. Men and women
who possess authentic faith know that this world is not their final
destiny. In a sense, they are just
passing through. They are pilgrims and
strangers who fight the forces of darkness and temptation that it encroach upon
them at every turn. They waged war
against that part of their own nature that resists the will of God. The struggle of the journey itself inspires
a desire to live in that place and time when all corruption, decay and bondage
will have passed away. Looking forward
to being with Christ forever or true Christians overcome the fear of death. They look forward to what lies beyond.
Once again
this is a purpose of the goal of these blogs; to change from the inside out, to
return to be authentic faith of the Bible.
Here is where the joy of life lies, a joy that is insurmountable,
indescribable, a joy that last for eternity.
I pray that this is what the blogs are doing in the new to increase and
mature in your faith and in the exercise of your Christian life.
In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
let me
never be put to shame.
Deliver me in Your righteousness,
incline
Your ear to me,
and save me.
Psalm
71: 1
Put your trust in the Trusty One
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