1Corinthians 7: 1 – 17

March 9, 2023

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.

7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

Good advice for people who may find themselves ‘unequally yoked’ in their marriage.

2Cor 6:14 tells us, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”

The two, 1Cor 7 and 2Cor 6, are not at odds with each other – it’s good to know both but if you’re in the ‘talking about getting married’ phase of a relationship, 2Cor 6 is an admonishment to look beyond the ‘oh, gosh, he’s got beautiful eyes and he makes me laugh” and look at how the two will worship together or will they worship together and how will the children be raised? 1Cor 7 is when the marriage has already happened and what are folks supposed to do when they suddenly realize they come from different ends of the spectrum? 16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? I love the fact that this verse uses the word ‘saves’ – we can save our spouses; we can bring them along to where they can become believers, become hearers and doers of the Word. The husband and/or wife can save the other. How beautiful is that?

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1Corinthians 7: 1 – 17

March 17, 2022

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.

7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

Belonging. First and foremost, we belong to God; we are His – He made us. After that, if you are married, you belong to your spouse, who also belongs to you. Equal but different. In a Christian household, the man is the head of the family; but, as we like to joke (sort of joke, lol) the wife is the neck of the head and can turn it this way and that so it’s an important role to help the head stay the course, help the husband lead the family (and if there’s only two of you, you are still a family) in the right directions for a happy, secure, and God-loving life. One supports the other to maintain balance. It’s easier to walk a straight path together than one that is uneven and full of potholes.