Join us as we reflect on 1 Corinthians Chapter 7, guided by Dr. Michael Elliott’s reading. In this episode, Alan J. Huth shares insights from his personal Bible journals, exploring Paul’s teachings on the union of marriage and the opportunities for singles. We discuss the importance of keeping sexual relations within marriage and how journaling Bible readings can transform and enhance personal scripture study. Learn how both single and married individuals can stand united in their dedication to furthering God’s kingdom.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today we are in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Our guest reader, Dr. Michael Elliott, my pastor in Denver for over 15 years and the first chairman of the board of the Ezra Project, will read the 40 verses of chapter 7. Dr. Elliott is pastor at Regency Christian Center in Parker, Colorado. He also started and leads Touching Africa Ministries, training pastors, planning churches, offering medical care and community development in one of the poorest nations on earth, Ethiopia. Let’s listen to Dr. Elliott.
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1 Corinthians 7. Now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman, but because of the temptation of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time that you may devote yourselves to prayer.” but then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. Now as a concession, not a command, I say this, I wish that all were as I myself am, but each has his own gift from God, not of one kind and one of another.” To the unmarried and the widows, I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. To the married, I give this charge. Not I, but the Lord. The wife should not separate from her husband. But if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say, I, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean. But as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases, the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time in his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision. But keeping the commandments of God, each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who has called in the Lord as a bondservant is a free man in the Lord. Likewise, he who was free when called as a bondservant of Christ. You were brought with a price, but do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, let him remain with God. Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who the Lord has mercy with trustworthiness. I think that in view of present distress, it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I spare that with you. This is what I mean, brothers. The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.” I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord. How to please the Lord? But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife. And his interests are divided. And the unmarried and the betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” If anyone thinks he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong and it has to be, let him do as he wishes. Let them marry. It is no sin. Amen. Amen. Amen. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, but only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
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Paul begins chapter 7 with the phrase, Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. So the Corinthians had asked Paul to comment on certain issues, and this is one of them. Remember, though, that the beginning of chapter 7 follows the end of chapter 6, where Paul had already been saying, The body is not meant for sexual immorality. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. And then he said, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. And now, as a continuation, really not a chapter break, he says it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. So the beginning of chapter 7 really continues chapter 6, but it also inserts that phrase again in verse 1, now concerning the matters about which you wrote. So this was an issue the Corinthians were concerned about. So Paul clarifies it in verse 2. In 2015, in my journal, I wrote about this paragraph. when I wrote, Unpopular today, but biblical truth. Sex outside of marriage is prohibited, according to verses 1 and 2. Then I also wrote, Married or single, both can be blessed by God. We’ll talk about that in a moment. Going back to my journal in 1994 on the first few verses of chapter 7, I wrote, Husband and wife should satisfy each other sexually, so there is no reason to look outside the marriage. Then I wrote again, being single is okay. And then I quoted verses 20 and 24. Let each man remain in that condition in which he was called. And then verse 17. The Lord has assigned each of us different roles in the manner we are called. Let us walk. So going back to these first few verses of chapter 7, verses 1 through 5, I think Paul makes it pretty clear that sexual relations belong inside the marriage. Anything outside the marriage is basically prohibited by God. Then Paul goes on to say, I wish that all were as I myself am, meaning single. Then he says, however, if you can’t remain single because you burn with passion, then it’s better to be married so that the sexual activity remains in a marital relationship. How many single people want to be married? And how many married people, after they got married, maybe liked being single better? Paul tells us in verse 32, I want you to be free from anxieties. So if you have anxieties about getting married, maybe you shouldn’t get married. If you have anxieties as a married couple, maybe you shouldn’t have got married. But he says the unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I continue to write in my journal back in 1994 about this passage. I wrote, “…unmarried Paul alerts us that marriage brings on certain trouble in this life.” He argues that singles are better able to focus on the things of God. I put maybe in my journal. Singles may also be distracted with sex, finding a mate, etc. God ordained marriage. I happen to like it. Does it constrain ministry? At times. Would I be doing more single? Maybe. So let’s go back to Paul’s advice. He says in verse 27, Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. Then going back up to verse 24, he says, So in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. Yeah, that has to do with being slaves or free, but I think it also has to do with being called to be married or to be single. Those who are single can serve the Lord, and those who are married can also serve the Lord. So what’s the application of chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians? Well, I think going back to the very beginning is keep the sexual relationship within the marriage. That is what is biblical. Sex outside of marriage is unrighteousness. And secondly, whether you’re single or you’re married, either way, serve the Lord. If you’re single and you can serve the Lord without a passion for being married, amen. And if you’re married, don’t let the distractions of the world keep you from serving the Lord. Father, we thank you for those who are single and serve you wholeheartedly. Bless them, Lord. Keep them faithful to you. And Lord, we thank you for those who are married that serve their families and serve you. Keep them faithful as well. Thank you for using both single people and married people to build your kingdom here on earth. We give you thanks and praise in Jesus’ name. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You have probably noticed I refer to my personal Bible reading journals in AdBible. I took an honors English class in high school and learned about journaling. I kept a journal in high school probably related to that class, and then I quit. For some reason, I started journaling my Bible reading about 10 years later. I don’t know why I decided to journal my Bible reading, but my first journal is dated 1983. Back then, I bought spiral-bound notebooks from a retail store. Nothing fancy. But when I started the Ezra Project, I decided to publish Bible reading journals. You can find two of them on our website at ezraproject.net. Why journal? It will change the way you read the Bible. If you struggle with your daily quiet time, try it. If you know you’re going to write something down after you read, you will pay more attention to what you’re reading. It can be as simple as your favorite verse in the passage or the major point you got out of the passage. You decide. It’s your journal. And it’s not a personal journal. It’s a Bible reading journal. So you shouldn’t have to worry about someone finding it and reading it. I wanted to print a bumper sticker once called Real Men Journal. I figured it would look good on the back of the pickup trucks. Well, you know, I never printed it because I knew it wouldn’t sell. But get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal at EzraProject.net. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
