In 1 Corinthians 7:1-6, Paul talks about misconceptions about sex in a married relationship. The Corinthian church thought that sex as a whole was bad because it caused sexual immorality. Although there are many cases where it does result in immorality, God approves of and even encourages sex in a married relationship. Paul says that the husband should give the wife her conjugal rights and the wife should give the husband his conjugal rights. According to the dictionary, conjugal rights are the legal, emotional, and sexual privileges and obligations inherent in a marriage, meaning that there should be an obligation for affection and sexual relations in marriage. The husband and wife are joined in the marriage. Paul allows the marriages to limit relations for a limited time, but only if it is under specific conditions of spiritual time because he says that the couples actually lack self control when they abstain for too long. He calls it deprivation when they don’t have sex for a long time. This is weird and distant to hear as a teen because marriage seems so far away, but I think this is a good taste of what a marriage relationship will look like. Verse 3 says that the husband should give the wife her conjugal rights and vice versa. This means that the husband is obligated to give the wife companionship, affection, and sexual relations. The relationship is mainly giving and not receiving. As a teen, I think the most important thing we can take away from this passage is that we need to be selfless in our marriages and relationships in general. Seek to give and not to receive.
Verses 7-8 mentions singleness and celibacy. Paul was unmarried at the time of writing this letter. One thing that has probably stayed the same in society back then and society now is that some people who are called to be single desire to be married, and some people who are married want to be single. However, Paul says that God has given each group its own gift. He then explains how if single people cannot practice self control, they should get married rather than burn with sexual desire and temptations. Being tempted by sexual immorality and lust does not give an excuse to get married though because marriage may not just magically solve the problems. In verses 10-11, Paul addresses the couples where both members are believers. Paul makes it clear that God is the one saying that there should be no divorce in this marriage. Even if they are legally divorced by human means, the couple is still one flesh in God’s eyes, which makes any remarriage adultery. Finally, in verses 12-16, Paul discusses marriages between a believer and an unbeliever. Although these are not God’s words directly, we believe that Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these things. He says that the believer should not separate from the unbeliever, but if the unbeliever is the one who leaves the marriage, then the believer is not enslaved to the unbelieving partner. This is because there is hope that the unbelieving partner will eventually come to belief. 1 Peter 3 says that the unbelieving partner may be swayed by the righteous conduct of the believing one. Also, Paul gives good news when he says that the holiness of the believer extends to both the spouse and to the children. In my denomination (PCA) and many others, we believe that the babies of Christians who die in infancy are still brought up to heaven by God’s grace. Again, this stuff isn’t as applicable to us as teens, but it is important because it is in the Bible. To summarize, God does not want us believers to divorce our spouses, no matter who they are. We should lead by our righteous and pure conduct in marriage and in singleness.
Lastly, in verses 17-24, Paul calls us Christians to turn to God wherever we are in life. There is a famous phrase that says “Come as you are.” Although it isn’t explicitly stated in the Bible, the message of this phrase is that God wants us to come to Him and walk with Him no matter what we are going through in life. If life is happy, if life is sad, we need to come to God. In marriage or in singleness, in circumcision or in uncircumcision, in slavery or in freedom, we need to come and walk with the Lord. Maybe life would be better if we just had this thing or if we were this thing, but God wants us here and now.
What does this mean today? As teens, I encourage all of us to prepare for marriage. For example, being humble and trying to give rather than receive. I have found that especially in relationships, the more you give, the more you do receive in joy and appreciation for people and God. I’m assuming that most of us, if not all of us, are not married at this point in our lives. This is the perfect time to come to God and walk with Him and strengthen in faith. When marriage comes, things will get hectic, but right now is the best time to grow in faith with God.
Thankfulness:
• Last night convo
• Lesson this morning
• Shopping with my mom
• God teaching me things
• Gym + small group coming up later today