Skip to content Marriage and Celibacy as Taught in 1 Corinthians 7-8 Sep 29 · 12 min ...more
Marriage and Celibacy as Taught in 1 Corinthians 7-8
September 29, 2025 · 12 min
Learn from Paul's guidance on marriage and celibacy as relevant lessons for modern believers.
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Guidance on Marriage, Celibacy, and Christian Liberty 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, we're looking at first Corinthians chapter 7 and 8. Verse 12 of chapter 8. But when you thus sin against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you0:21 sin against Christ. In these 2 chapters, Paul responds to questions from the Corinthians that they had asked in a letter. Look at verse 1. Now concerning the things which you0:33 wrote to me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Now we don't have this letter, but we have Paul's response. Alright? As we noted before, there were other letters that Paul wrote, which we do not have0:45 as they were lost to history or they were not preserved by God for, inclusion in the canon of scripture. So this is what we have. In chapter 5, which we read over the weekend, Paul0:57 discussed the blatant immorality that was in the church and how it was to be dealt with by the church and the church leadership and by the, the fellowship as a whole. In1:09 chapter 6, Paul answers questions regarding celibacy, marriage, and divorce. Now this is not a full teaching on marriage. He is answering questions that were sent to him. As these new believers, they1:20 were looking for direction on how to follow Christ in a in a pagan world. Right? So this all has relevance to us. Now Paul teaches more on marriage and the roles of husbands and wives over in1:32 Ephesians chapter 5, which we're actually gonna cover in the first part of, November. Verse 2. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the1:44 husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. Celibacy is good, but as he points out in verse 7, not everyone has that gift. For I wish1:56 that all men were even as I myself, but each 1 has his own gift from God, 1 in this manner and another in that. Notice different gifts. People are2:08 created differently and can, and are given gifts to do different things. So that means we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to 1 another as we've seen before. But I say to the unmarried2:20 and to the widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they cannot exercise self control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Notice what he wrote in2:32 verse 6. But I say this is a concession, not as a commandment. Now to the married, I command yet not I, but the lord. A wife2:44 is not to depart from her husband. Now he's moving on to what the Lord taught. Okay? Verse 11, but even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband, and a husband2:56 is not to divorce his wife. Right? And, and and Jesus talks about this more in, Matthew chapter 19. So let me just read what what Jesus had to say as3:08 he was teaching about marriage. The Pharisees came to him, testing him, saying to him, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason? And he answered and said to them, have you not read that he who made3:19 them from the beginning made them male and female? Talking about gender there. And said, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the 2 shall become 1 flesh. So then3:30 they are no longer 2, but 1 flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to him, why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to put her away?3:42 He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning, it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual3:54 immorality and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. His disciples said to him, if such is the case of the man with4:05 his wife, it is better not to marry. And he said to them, all cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. Now this is what Paul is teaching, that celibacy is a gift.4:17 Not everyone has it, but those who do can walk confidently in that calling. Alright. In verse 23, chapter 7, you were bought at a price. Do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let4:29 each 1 remain with God in that state in which he was called. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, yet I give judgment as 1 whom the Lord in his mercy has made4:41 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 seek to be4:52 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 would5:04 spare you. So he's saying, look. Things are happening. You'd be better if you were single, but don't change your situation. And he just says, you know, if you listen to me and you don't get married, I'll spare you some5:16 trouble. Verse 29. But this I say, brethren, the time is short so that from now on, even those who have wives should be as though they had none. Those who weep as though they did not weep.5:28 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 it for the form of the world is passing away. So Paul continues5:40 on with further guidance and direction, but there are 2 main concerns that Paul is communicating in this instruction that should guide the decisions that the Corinthians and, frankly, we make. Number 1, time is5:51 short. We should live with a sense of urgency and expectation and and expectancy regarding the kingdom of God. I mean, think about it. Paul was living with a sense of urgency6:04 1970 years ago or so. How should we be living today with urgency and expectancy? And then secondly is holiness to the lord,6:16 that we are not to be given over to sexual immorality. I mean, recall what Paul wrote in chapter 6. Let me read it. It. Verse 18. Flee sexual immorality. Every6:28 sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual sin sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and6:39 you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. So he there is a distinction. Yes. All sin is sin. Alright?6:51 But there is a distinct a distinction here as he talks about sexual sin because it is not just against the body. It is not he said every sin that a man does is outside the body, but the sexual sexual7:03 immorality sins against one's own body. And as we read before and we're gonna see more. He's gonna talk a lot more about this. So let me move on. Chapter 8 is a short response to questions about7:15 eating the meat that has been offered to idols. Verse 1, now concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. Right? We have the knowledge7:27 that these idols mean nothing. Alright? So, you know, that that but that creates arrogance when we know that, yeah, it's nothing, not a problem. But love edifies. What's he getting at? And if anyone thinks that he knows7:39 anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this 1 is known by him. Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that that an idol is nothing in the7:50 world and that there is no other god but 1. For even if there are so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, for, yet for us, there is8:02 1 god, the father, of whom are all things, and we for him and and 1 Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we live. However, there is not in8:14 everyone that knowledge. For some with conscience the consciousness of the idol until now eating it as a thing offered to an idol and their conscience being weak is defiled. Now8:26 this is what we have here in this chapter, you we might be quick to dismiss it saying, well, we don't have idols. This is an excellent example of applying biblical principles to our8:38 lives. Now most of us, you know, never face the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols. And I've traveled around the the world, never had to deal with this. But the principle does8:50 apply. It applies directly to how we as Christians use our Christian liberty. And Paul is gonna expand on this much more in chapter 10. Let me just read 1 verse from chapter 10.9:02 All things this is verse 23 of chapter 10. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. You know, as we9:13 grow in our knowledge and understanding, we understand we have liberty in Christ, but how we exercise this liberty matters. Just because we can do something doesn't mean that we9:25 should. If our actions cause a fellow believer to stumble, what does it say? Paul actually says we're sinning against Christ himself. This is especially critical for for leaders9:37 whose examples carry even greater weight. Now look at how Paul concludes here in chapter 8 verse 11. And because of your knowledge, shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died? But when you9:49 thus sin against the brother and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother10:01 stumble. The principle here is very clear. Knowledge must lead to wisdom and wisdom must be guided by laying them down for10:13 the sake of others, for other believers that we're trying to strengthen and build up and edify. If love does not govern our actions, our knowledge becomes destructive rather than edifying.10:27 Some good stuff. And so, I encourage you to consider inviting someone else to join us on this journey. And by the way, just putting this out there, beginning in January will be10:39 another journey through the Bible. We'll start again with Genesis. So be thinking even now. Pray about who you might invite to, to be a part of this journey through the scripture. Father, we thank you for10:51 your word, and we thank you for this teaching, how practical it is as Paul was writing to the Corinthians as they were just asking how to live in a in a way that honors you, builds up others11:03 in a culture, lord, that's rejected truth, a a pagan culture. Lord, increasingly, we see that around us. But, lord, may we may we not use the liberty that you've given us11:14 in such a way that it causes others to stumble. But, lord, through love, may we build up others and strengthen them in their walk with you. Thank you, lord, for the Holy Spirit as11:26 he guides us on this journey, for we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.11:39 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you11:51 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Guidance on Marriage, Celibacy, and Christian Liberty
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