Lessons #215 and 216
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Maintaining ones’ status quo at salvation (1 Cor 7:17-28) {use the next topic for #215}
17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.
25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. 27 Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.
However, the point is that a believing Jewish lady may use the fact that a believing Gentile man was not circumcised to reject a marriage proposal. Thus, the subject of circumcision still has relevance to marriage. Likewise, a believing man who is a slave could possibly propose marriage to a free woman in the local church, but she could also refuse because the man is a slave although a believer. Such a proposal would be probably shocking to those outside the church and even some in the church. So, you see that the two subjects of circumcision and slavery the apostle mentioned in our passage although he did not state directly that they concern marriage do indeed concern it.
It is our assertion that the passage we are about to study conveys that the Corinthians have various concerns about their status quo after salvation. Based on this, there is a simple message the passage conveys to us. It is that there are appropriate and inappropriate concerns of one’s status quo after salvation. In other words, the message is that you should be aware of the right kind of concern you should have and ones that are inappropriate. Our study will focus on considering these various concerns beginning with the appropriate one given in the passage we are about to study.
Appropriate concern of one’s status quo at salvation (1 Cor 7:17)
This verse is concerned with ensuring that a believer lives a life that is pleasing to the Lord regardless of the status quo of the believer at time of salvation. In other words, the thing that should concern the believer most is living his/her life to reflect the Lord Jesus Christ and not being concerned with one’s status quo as determined by the world. We are saying that the passage wants to hammer in the concept that a believer should never use his/her social standing as an excuse not to live a life that is honoring the Lord. We are not to hide under social situations to keep us from living our lives to glorify the Lord Jesus. Anyway, there are at least three fundamental truths that are conveyed in our verse but before we get to these, we need to consider a problem that the verse presents as reflected in the way our English versions begin this verse. Most of our English versions begin the verse with the word “nevertheless.” The English versions such as the ESV, the NASB, and the revised edition of the NAB begin the verse with the word “only.” The NCV and the Authorized Version (KJV) began the verse with the word “but” while other English versions, such as the CEV, the NLT and the GW began the verse without any connective. Thus, by consulting various English versions one gets the idea that there is a problem in how to translate the beginning of the Greek sentence into the English.
The problem is whether we should take the verse as linked to what apostle wrote in verse 15 regarding a believer in a mixed marriage granting divorce to an unbelieving spouse that requests it or it is linked to the point implied in verse 16 which is that we do not know exactly if the Lord would use believers in a mixed marriage to help the unbelieving spouse to come to faith or that the verse begins a new subject and so not related to the preceding two verses. This problem is because the Greek of verse 17 begins with a phrase that translates into the English as “if not.” This phrase that appears several times in the Greek NT may be interpreted in different ways in the English. The phrase may be translated literally “if not” as in the Lord Jesus’ statement of what would have happened to the Jews who rejected Him if He did not come into this world, as recorded in John 15:22:
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
It is with the literal meaning of the phrase “if not” that the word is used to describe those among the Israelites that God swore would not enter His rest, as stated in Hebrews 3:18:
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
The literal phrase “if not” may be translated “but” as Apostle Paul used it in his argument that if God’s rejection of Israel leads to reconciliation of the world to God, then His acceptance of Israel would mean that they would be like those coming back from the dead, as we read in Romans 11:15:
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
The phrase but life from the dead is literally if not life out of the dead. The literal phrase “if not” may be translated “except” as in Apostle Paul’s declaration of his major interest with the Corinthians as Christ crucified in 1 Corinthians 2:2:
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The phrase except Jesus Christ and him crucified is literally if not Jesus Christ and him crucified. The phrase may be translated “only” as in answering the question Apostle John raised regarding one who overcomes the world in 1 John 5:5:
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
The clause Only he who believes is literally if not he who believes.
The various interpretation of the literal phrase “if not” leads to three possible interpretations of it in its relationship of verse 17 to what preceded it. A first interpretation of the literal phrase “if not” is that it introduces an exception or correction to the statement in 1Corinthians 7:15 that the believer is not bound in such cases of mixed marriage. This means that the literal phrase “if not” could be translated “except” or “except for this case,” although the UBS handbook suggests that verse 17 may begin with an expanded translation that reflects the phrase is related to verse 15 and so suggests the phrase should be given the full translation of “Except in the case of Christian men or women who are married to unbelievers.” A second interpretation is that the literal phrase “if not” that begins verse 17 functions as the beginning of a new subject in which case the literal phrase “if not” may be translated “however that may be” as in the NRSV. A third interpretation is that the literal phrase “if not” is used to refer to the question of verse 16 where the believing spouse is asked if such a person knows whether it is through the individual that the unbelieving spouse would be saved. Thus, the literal translation “if not” that begins verse 17 should be linked to verse 16. In effect, the apostle would be saying that since there is uncertainty about the role of the believing spouse regarding the salvation of the unbelieving spouse then what the believing spouse should do is to pay attention to what is given in verse 17 in that such an individual should not be looking a way out of a mixed marriage. Each of these interpretations makes sense in the context. However, it is probably the third interpretation that was in the mind of the apostle so that he wants the believer in a mixed marriage to pay close attention to the instruction given in verse 17. We say this because verse 16 contains a rhetorical question that the apostle did not provide an answer so that he probably was about to provide an answer as to what is expected of a believer based on the uncertainty expressed in verse 16. Of course, it is also possible to think that the apostle is focused on the generalization of what he wrote in verse 17. It is this interpretation that is suggested by the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG that suggests the literal phrase “if not” may have the meaning of “in general” in verse 17. This makes sense because of what the apostle wrote in verse 17, especially in the last sentence of the NIV This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Anyway, it is probably that both interpretations (this later interpretation and the third) are implied. In other words, the apostle is generalizing the instruction given in the verse but also had in mind of the fact that a believing spouse could not be certain of the role that individual would play regarding the salvation of the unbelieving spouse. This should cause the believer in such a situation to pay close attention to the instruction given in verse 17. With this explanation we proceed to consider the fundamental truths we indicated are conveyed in the verse we are studying.
The first fundamental truth of 1 Corinthians 7:17 that the Holy Spirit wants us to reap through the apostle is that the Lord is in control of all humans and their affairs as evident in the status He assigns each human regardless of the spiritual status of the individual. It is this truth that is conveyed in the clause in the NIV of verse 17 that the Lord assigned to him or literally from the Greek as the Lord has apportioned. The word “as” in the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (hōs) that here may be translated “as” or “according to what.” It is probably better to use the meaning “according to what” so that the literal Greek will read according to what the Lord has apportioned. We will say more later about the use of the meaning “according to what” in our literal translation. By the way, the Lord here refers to Jesus Christ. His action described in the clause indicates He is God since only God could determine a person’s status quo in life.
The word “assigned” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (merizō) that means to separate into parts, that is, “to divide” hence it is used for sharing inheritance or money as per the person that requested Jesus to help divide his inheritance with his brother reported in Luke 12:13:
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
The word can be used in dividing something that is not material such as one’s attention or interest or devotion. Thus, it is the word used to describe the difference in degree of devotion to the Lord between the married and those single in 1 Corinthians 7:34:
and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.
A married man or woman who is a believer is concerned not only with devotion to the Lord but also to the spouse, making the person to have in a sense a divided devotion. The Greek word may mean to make an allotment. Thus, it may mean “to distribute” as that is the sense of the word in Jesus’ miracle of feeding of at least five thousand persons in Mark 6:41:
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
The fish was not merely divided but it was divided and distributed to the people. The word may mean “to assign” as it is used in 2 Corinthians 10:13:
We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.
The word may mean “to apportion” as that is the sense in which the word is used to describe Abraham giving tithe to Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:2:
and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”
The NIV used the word “gave” to translate our Greek word, but the NET used the meaning “apportioned” in translating the word in Hebrews 7:2. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:17, our Greek word is used in the sense of “to apportion” or “to assign.”
The meaning “to apportion” or “to assign” raises the question of what it is that the Lord assigned or apportioned to the believer when that believer was an unbeliever. The translators of the NIV answered the question by introducing the phrase of 1 Corinthians 7:17 the place in life. But in our literal translation, we had used the phrase according to what to translate the Greek word (hōs) that may mean “as” that is used twice in our verse. This literal phrase according to what also leaves us wandering what the Lord assigned to a person. The context suggests that it is the status quo of the believer at the time of salvation that is assigned or apportioned to the believer as an unbeliever. This interpretation bolsters the first fundamental truth of 1 Corinthians 7:17 that the Holy Spirit wants us to reap through the apostle which is that the Lord is in control of all humans and their affairs as evident in the status He assigns each human regardless of the spiritual status of the individual. It should not be difficult to understand that it is the Lord that assigns us whatever status quo we have prior to salvation and thereafter. You see, the Scripture implies that the status quo of slavery is determined by the Lord. This we can infer from the fact that He informed Abraham before he had any child that his descendants would be enslaved, as we read in Genesis 15:13:
Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
The descendants of Abraham were not in existence when the Lord declared this condition of enslavement. The implication is that it is the Lord that would bring about that status quo on Abraham’s descendants so we can assert that slavery status quo is also what the Lord assigns to an individual. The Scripture is clear that the Lord assigns financial status quo of a person, as we read 1 Samuel 2:7:
The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
Likewise, no one is assigned to a status quo of authority or leadership over others unless the Lord gives it to the person, as we read, for example, in Daniel 4:17:
“‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.’
Again, it should not be difficult to accept that the Lord assigns us our status quo in life prior and after salvation. This truth may be deduced from the fact that the Lord also assigns us the places of our residence as the Holy Spirit states in Acts 17:26:
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
If the Lord determines where we live at the time we do, then it makes sense to accept that He also determines our status quo at any time in our lives on this planet. Of course, we are concerned with the status quo that people have prior to salvation and by implication after salvation. Hence, the first fundamental truth of 1 Corinthians 7:17 that the Holy Spirit wants us to reap through the apostle is that the Lord is in control of all humans and their affairs as evident in the status quo He assigns each human regardless of the spiritual status of the individual.
A second fundamental truth of 1 Corinthians 7:17 the Holy Spirit wants us to reap through the apostle is that salvation is entirely God’s work and independent of a person’s status quo in a society. This truth is derived from the clause in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 7:17 to which God has called him or literally as/according to what God has called each one.
The word “called” is translated from a Greek word (kaleō) that may mean to identify by name or attribute hence “to name, to call by name” as it is used to identify the sister of Martha that entertained the Lord Jesus and His disciples, as stated in Luke 10:39:
She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
The Greek word may mean to request the presence of someone at a social gathering, that is, “to invite” as the word is used in 1 Corinthians 10:27:
If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.
The word may be used in a legal sense of “to summon before a court” or “to call in”, as in Acts 24:2:
When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.
From the meanings “to summon” and “to invite” develops the meaning “to call” in the sense of “to choose for receipt of a special benefit or experience.” Thus, it is in this sense that it is used for the choice of persons for salvation in terms of having eternal life, as stated in 1 Timothy 6:12:
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
The clause in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 7:17 to which God has called him indicates God is the One that called the believer to eternal salvation. Because of this statement, let us review the doctrine of Effectual Calling of God. It is true that some speak of general calling of God by which they mean the preaching of the gospel to everyone regardless of whether the person is of the elect or not. Such calling may be resisted in that if one is not of the elect the person would not respond to it. Therefore, we are not concerned with that general calling of God but with what is often described by Theologians as effectual calling of God.
Doctrine of Effectual Calling
Effectual calling is the special work of the Holy Spirit that enables a sinner that is an elect of God to understand the true meaning of the gospel at its proclamation. The result, of course, is that the person will be saved. There are two expressions that we used in our definition that needs explaining: “elect of God” and “understand the true meaning of the gospel.”
The phrase “elect of God” implies that this calling of God is not extended to everyone but those who are chosen of God for eternal salvation. You see, the Bible presents the picture of universal call or invitation of God to all persons for salvation. Prophet Isaiah presents this universal call of God to salvation in Isaiah 45:22:
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
This universal invitation is also implied in Isaiah 55:1:
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Jesus also made a universal invitation in Matthew 11:28:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
But then, the Bible is also clear that there is a special class that God has called as stated in Romans 8:30:
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
The Bible presents the truth that God calls everyone but then not everyone would respond. Furthermore, the Bible is also clear that only those who are “predestined” are called. By the way the word “predestined” also means “to be decide upon beforehand,” or “to determine ahead of time” since that is another meaning of the Greek word (proorizō) used. Since not everyone is “predestined” then there is a conflict in the universal call of God and the call to limited individuals. The way to resolve this apparent conflict is to state that there must be special calling of God that is extended only to a few, the elect. It is this special calling that is describe by theologians as “effective calling of God.”
The other expression “understand the true meaning of the gospel” we used in our definition implies that not everyone understands the gospel when it is presented or preached. The truth is that according to the Bible, no natural man is capable of understanding anything spiritual, as indicated in 1 Corinthians 2:14:
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The phrase the man without the Spirit is more literally from the Greek “a natural person,” that is, that individual that is not touched by the Spirit of God. Such an individual could not possibly understand the gospel. But this description is that which is applicable to all human beings until some are regenerated. Therefore, it is then an absolute truth that no one can understand anything spiritual without the Holy Spirit touching the person. So, it is necessary that when the gospel is presented the Holy Spirit should illuminate the unbeliever so as to enable the individual to understand the gospel message.
Now, because this effectual calling is concerned with the illumination of the Holy Spirit to the unbeliever to help him or her understand the gospel message; therefore, it certainly involves the proclamation of the gospel. It is for this reason that the apostle informed the Thessalonians that it is true they were chosen by God to be saved but it was actually made possible through the call given in the gospel he preached to them, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14:
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The pronoun “this” in verse 14 is a reference to salvation. The point being that election is a first step to salvation. A person is chosen to be saved but it is only when the person answers God’s call through the gospel that the person’s election is fulfilled as the person exercises faith in Christ.
Effectual calling is of such a nature that it must certainly lead to a positive response. Another way to state this point is that it is efficacious. This implies that the effectual calling will cause the unbeliever to see the issue in the gospel so that there is no other response he would give but to accept it for what it is. You know that there is no way any human being could see what is good for him or beneficial to him and walk away from it. No one who understands the consequence of rejecting Christ would reject Him. The people who reject Him have not understood the consequence of such an action. Thus, when the gospel is preached the Holy Spirit makes the unbeliever aware of what is the issue in the gospel so that he has no other recourse but to believe the message. This is the implication given in 1 Corinthians 1:23-25:
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
When the gospel is presented, the educated non-elect of this world or the wise of this world, does not understand it whether he is a Jew or a Gentile. But those who are of the elect and on whom the Holy Spirit carries out the effectual calling understand it.
You see, because it is God’s work that would ensure positive response, this call cannot be revised or cancelled by Him. Consequently, we say that this effectual calling is irrevocable as implied in Romans 11:29:
for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
But that is not all. This effectual calling would certainly lead to the fulfillment of God’s purpose. For example, this calling would lead to fellowship with Jesus Christ as Apostle Paul indicated in 1 Corinthians 1:9:
God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Still, this calling would fulfill God’s purpose of bringing the elect to heaven. It is for this reason that the apostle speaks of being called towards heaven in Philippians 3:14:
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
So this doctrine of effectual calling implies that the Holy Spirit would work with the elect at the time of the presentation of the gospel message in such a way as to counteract the effects of sin on the mind and on the will, so, to enable a person to actually understand and respond positively to gospel message. This work of the Spirit is a prerequisite to conversion. Hence when an individual is described with the word “called’ that is a way of stating the individual is saved.
Be that as it may, the clause of 1 Corinthians 7:17 to which God has called him indicates God is the One that called the believer and His call is independent of the status quo of the believer as an unbeliever. The apostle had already conveyed to the Corinthians that their status quo had nothing to do with their salvation as he implied in 1 Corinthians 1:26:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
That aside, the phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 7:17 to which does not tell us what it is that God called the believer. The immediate context of our passage and the entire context of the Scripture enable us to determine to what we have been called. We have been called to whatever status quo we occupy in our society only that we are different from those who occupy the same status quo that are unbelievers because we have the privilege of salvation. In addition, we have been called to live differently from the unbelievers. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed this truth in 2 Timothy 1:9:
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
The same truth is conveyed differently through Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 2:9:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
This fact that believers have been called to live differently from unbelievers lead to the third fundamental truth of our passage that we will state shortly. But let me repeat, the second fundamental truth of 1 Corinthians 7:17 that the Holy Spirit wants us to reap through Apostle Paul is that salvation is entirely God’s work and independent of a person’s status quo in a society.
The third fundamental truth of 1 Corinthians 7:17 that the Holy Spirit wants us to reap through Apostle Paul is that after salvation, a believer’s status quo in a society should never affect the person’s testimony for Christ. This truth is based on the instruction given in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 7:17 each one should retain the place in life. Literally, the Greek reads so let him/her walk. This is because we have a Greek word (peripateō) that literally has to do with movement from one location to another so that the word can mean “to go about, to walk around”, as it is used in the miracle of healing of the crippled beggar in Acts 3:6:
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
But the Greek word is often used in the NT in a figurative manner to describe how a person conducts his or her life. Thus, the word means “to live” as it is used to indicate that believers are to live a new kind of life in Romans 6:4:
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
The word means “to behave” as in the instruction of how believers should conduct themselves in Romans 13:13:
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
The exhortation Let us behave decently is literally let us walk becomingly. The word may mean “to act” as it is used to describe the conduct of a believer who is not mindful of causing problem for another believer because of what the person eats in Romans 14:15:
If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
The word may mean “to do” in the sense of carrying out something as in the good works God has planned for believers to carry out, as stated in Ephesians 2:10:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The word may mean “to live a life” as the word is used by Apostle Paul in encouraging believers to live a life that is in keeping with being saved in Ephesians 4:1:
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
The translators of the NIV gives the word the meaning “to prowl around” in describing the devil’s activity in 1 Peter 5:8:
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
The instruction for Corinthian believers to conduct themselves in a way that is honoring to the Lord regardless of their status quo in their society is one the apostle gives all believers everywhere. It is this fact the apostle stated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:17 This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. Literally, the Greek reads and thus in all the churches I command. This is because the expression “lay down” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (diatassō) that has two general meanings. A first meaning is “to make arrangements” as it is used for a previous arrangement of Apostle Paul with his team members regarding how they will meet up as he traveled through land while his team traveled by sea, as Luke narrated in Acts 20:13:
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.
A second meaning is to give detailed instructions as to what must be done hence it has several nuances. The word may mean “to instruct” as it is used in Matthew 11:1:
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
The word may mean “to order” as the word is used in the expulsion of the Jews from Rome by Emperor Claudius as stated in Acts 18:2:
There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,
The word may mean “to direct” as the word is used in the instruction of Apostle Paul to Titus regarding appointment of spiritual leaders in Titus 1:5:
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:17, the word means “to instruct” or “to charge,” that is, to authoritatively give someone detailed instructions on what to do. Hence, the apostle indicates that he instructs believers in all local churches to live in a way that is honoring to the Lord. This is certainly reflected in the instruction to the Ephesians we cited. This truth is also revealed in the Apostle’s instruction to the Thessalonians, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:1:
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
In any event, the message of 1 Corinthians 7:17 is that your concern should not be so much about the status quo you have in your society but that you serve the Lord and be a witness for Him despite your status quo.