Lessons #219 and 220
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 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. +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concern about social standing (1 Cor 7:20-23)
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.
Recall that the overall message of 1 Corinthians 7:17-28 is there are appropriate and inappropriate concerns of one’s status quo after salvation. In our last study, we considered the first inappropriate concern that the believer should not have which we stated is associated with ethnicity. This is because the apostle conveyed in verses 18 and 19 that believers should not be concerned with their status quo as it relates to the practice of circumcision. In contemporizing the message of these two verses, we indicated that such concern is one that represents concern today with the subject of ethnicity. Subsequently, we spent time dealing with appropriate way believers should respond to such a matter. We considered the fact that a believer should be more concerned with living in obedience to God’s word than focusing on advantages or disadvantages of a believer’s ethnicity since it is obedience to God’s word and not focus on ethnicity that is beneficial in the spiritual life. For example, we indicated that a focus on obedience to God’s word ensures one’s prayer will be answered by the Lord and not the person’s ethnicity. So, we continue with the second concern that is inappropriate for believers to be involved.
A second concern the believer in Christ should avoid is that associated with social standing. Many in the West may not recognize the problem of social standing because it is often not so pronounced, or it is not overtly made an issue. This would be different in some other cultures, such as believers in India, for example, with its caste system that clearly defines social standing. In India, the caste system is the basis of educational and job reservations. Even among the Christians, the social standing is quite evident in that in some cases those who describe themselves as Christians do not cross the line of the caste system to marry or in some situations not to sit together in church. The Christians in such a system would recognize the importance of what the Holy Spirit states in the passage we are about to consider. Those in the West may not seem to pay too much attention to social standing because there is for the most part no clear-cut lines of demarcation of social standing. This does not mean that there are no different social standings, for there are. There is, for example, in this country those considered the elite which defines a social standing. In many western societies, social standing is often tied to the concept of ethnicity so that it is difficult to differentiate the problems of social standings from those that are due to ethnicity. That aside, the concern of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul in the passage we are about to consider is that believers should avoid being concerned with their social standing at the time of salvation. The concept of social standing when the apostle wrote this passage was expressed in terms of being a slave or a free person. In effect, a believer’s social standing in Corinth at the time the apostle wrote this epistle was determined by whether the person is a slave or free. It is this social standing that is described in verse 21 where the words “slave” and “freedom” are used in the NIV. We will deal with the two words at the appropriate time but our concern at this point is simply to convey that the two words are indicators of social standing of a believer in Christ at the time of the writing of the passage we are about to consider.
The passage we are about to consider is concerned first with a general command given to the believer in verse 20. This is followed by a specific command that concerns specific situation mentioned in verse 21. The apostle then provided reasons for the specific command given in verse 21. These reasons are provided in verse 22 and in the first part of verse 23. The apostle then ends the instruction of the passage with a responsibility given to believers in the last part of verse 23. With this overview, we begin our analysis of the passage before us.
The general command the Holy Spirit gave through Apostle Paul is for believers to continue in the position in life they found themselves at the time of salvation. It is this instruction that is given in verse 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. To understand what the apostle stated in this verse, we need to consider the key words used.
A first key word is the word “remain” that is translated from a Greek verb (menō) that may mean “to remain” as it is used to describe the veil that exists on those who read the OT Scripture without being saved, as we read in 2 Corinthians 3:14:
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.
The word may mean “to continue” in the sense of someone who does not leave a certain realm or sphere as the word is used in the encouragement of Apostle Paul to Timothy to remain faithful to the doctrines he learned from him, as we read in 2 Timothy 3:14:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
The word may mean “to stay” in a place as Apostle Paul used it to provide information Timothy concerning the whereabouts of one of his team members, Erastus, as recorded in 2 Timothy 4:20:
Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.
The word may mean “to endure” as it is used in describing God’s word in 1 Peter 1:23:
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
The word may mean “to live” as it is used for residing in Christ in 1 John 3:6:
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
A second key word in our passage in the NIV is the word “situation” which is the way the translators of the NIV rendered a Greek word (klēsis) that may refer to the invitation to experience special privilege and responsibility hence means “call, calling, invitation.” It is in the sense of “call” that the word is used to indicate God does not change His mind about those He chose in election or those that He has invited to salvation in Romans 11:29:
for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
It is in the sense of “calling” that the word is used in Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians, as recorded in 2 Thessalonians 1:11:
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
However, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:20, the word has the meaning of “a position one holds” or “station in life” at the time of salvation. We say at the point of salvation because of the third key word used in verse 20.
A third key word used in verse 20 is “called” in the NIV that is translated from a Greek word (kaleō) that may mean to identify by name or attribute, hence it may mean “to name” as in the naming of Jesus eight days after His birth, as recorded in Luke 2:21:
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
The word may mean “to call” as in quotation by Apostle Paul from Prophet Hosea regarding God’s action towards Gentiles in Romans 9:25:
As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”
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 it is used for bringing Paul before Governor Felix to answer charges against him 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 this sense that the word 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.
It is with this special meaning of choosing someone for salvation that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:20. Thus, being called in our verse implies being saved.
We have considered the three key words used in 1 Corinthians 7:20, so our concern is to understand what the apostle meant in the sentence Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. The apostle meant that each believer should continue in the position one holds in life or the role one carries out before salvation. In effect, the apostle indicates that a believer should not immediately change the function the individual carries out in the society because the person is now saved. We should understand that the apostle did not mean that if a person was involved in activity that is sinful that such a person should continue. You see, a person could be involved in the trade of prostitution prior to salvation and so a person may say that the apostle said not to abandon such an activity. No! The apostle meant a position or role that does not involve sin. Hence, the point of the instruction is that a believer should continue with the individual’s role or profession but now the believer should carry out that role or profession by being guided by the word of God as a Christian should. This instruction to continue in one’s profession is similar to the series of instructions the Holy Spirit gave through John the Baptist to various groups of professionals that came to him wanting to know what to do after repentance, as we read in Luke 3:10–14:
10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
Two different professions are mentioned in this passage of Luke, tax collectors and soldiers. John did not say to tax collectors to stop carrying out that function despite the hatred of the Jews towards such men. No! John told them how to conduct their business in order to reflect their repentance. In the same fashion, he did not tell soldiers to quit the military. Instead, he instructed them what to do as they carried out their duty in order to reflect their repentance. So, the instruction of John is similar to what Apostle Paul conveyed to the Corinthians. It is conceivable that there might have been some believers in Corinth that were involved in governmental function that probably wondered if it is right for them to continue to operate in that capacity and so the apostle’s instruction would enable them to make the right decision. The apostle would not have encouraged any believer in such a position to quit but to carry out such function in a way that reflects life in Christ. We are sure that the Holy Spirit did not intend for a person in such a position to leave it. If it was wrong to carry out a governmental function, then the apostle would have said so. Of course, the apostle recognized a believer who was involved in governmental function, as we may gather from Romans 16:23:
Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.
In any event, the apostle meant to convey to all believers that being saved does not mean that a person should immediately leave an honorable position or role in the society that a person fulfills. Instead, a believer should carry out that function in such a way to reflect their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or to indicate that such a person is now being guided by the word of God. I am saying that if you are in a profession in a workplace before you got saved those who work with you should see clearly the difference in you prior and after salvation regarding your attitude to your work.
The instruction of the apostle regarding a person continuing in the role or position the person held before salvation would certainly raise a question in the mind of some in the church in Corinth. The question would concern the issue of slavery. Those who were slaves would be concerned with the instruction since slavery puts a believer in an awkward position of doing what the master says which could possibly be contrary to the life in Christ. These individuals would then wonder if the apostle, in effect, endorsed slavery by what he instructed. To deal with such concern, the apostle goes on to indicate that his instruction applies to the social standing of a person as a slave but with a qualification that he stated.
The apostle recognized that there were believers who were slaves as in the question stated in 1 Corinthians 7:21 Were you a slave when you were called? The word “slave” is translated from a Greek word (doulos) that the Greek English lexicons give the meaning of “slave.” The word may not mean much to those of us who live at the present time; therefore, it is important to explore what the word means so that we will understand its use by the apostle in the epistle we are considering. The word “slave” refers to a legal status where someone is owned by another as a property. Hence, to be a slave is to be attached to a master, as the word is used by Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:1:
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.
The implication of the fact that a slave is attached to a master is that a person is a slave to whatever dominates the individual, as Apostle Paul states in Romans 6:16:
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
A slave is considered the master’s property because such a person is purchased by the master by paying a specified price. Consequently, it is stated that slavery is an institution which has as its essential goal to make available to one person the activities/services of another person under compulsion. This being the case, a slave is a “worker” or “a living tool” whose important role is carrying out his task to profit his master or to carry out his master’s will. It is because of this meaning of slave that the Virgin Mary considered herself the Lord’s slave, as we read in Luke 1:38:
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
The phrase the Lord’s servant is better translated the Lord’s female slave. It is also because of this nuance of a slave being a living tool or worker that the prophets are described as slaves of God in Revelation 10:7:
But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
The phrase his servants the prophets, is better translated his own slaves the prophets. Because a slave is his master’s worker, he does not expect any kind of reward. It is probably this concept that was in the mind of Apostle Paul when he indicated that he was not expecting a reward for preaching the gospel in 1 Corinthians 9:16–18:
16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
The fact that a slave is his master’s tool to do what he wants implies that a slave is totally submissive to his master’s will so that a slave is one that is totally dependent on his master in every way. Another interesting fact about a slave that would be understood by those who lived in the first century of the Christian era is the designation of name with respect to a slave. Freemen and freed men have three names but a slave bears only the surname (i.e. the third of usually three names borne by a male citizen of ancient Rome) which is specified using the genitive of his owner’s name to which is often joined a title designating the job that he does for his master. Consequently, a slave does not have any identity outside that of his master. In addition, being a slave, as we have indicated, implies that a believer who is a slave is in an awkward position in that such a person is subjected to the will of his master that may be contrary to the word of God. These two situations would certainly be troubling to a believer but before we get to the apostle’s instruction to believer in slavery status quo, we should apply what it meant then to be a slave to what believers face today. The two situations we have stated would be equivalent to Christians living in a totalitarian regime. In effect, a Christian could live in a nation where everything such person does is controlled and directed by the government so that the believer does not have the freedom to serve the Lord as the person may desire. Another situation that is similar to being a slave at the time of writing this epistle is being assigned the lowest social standing in a nation. This happens to many Christians in countries dominated by Islam or Hinduism, where Christians are assigned the lowest social standing that affects job and other benefits that accrue a citizen. To such Christians, what the apostle instructed to the Corinthians in the passage we are studying is applicable.
The instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to believers in social status quo of slavery is that that should not be a source of concern for them as we read in the next exhortation of 1 Corinthians 7:21 Don’t let it trouble you. The word “trouble” is translated from a Greek word (melei) that means “it is a concern” as the question of Apostle Paul in quoting the law in support of the fact that those who preach the gospel should live by it in 1 Corinthians 9:9:
For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
The word may mean “it is a care” as in the assurance of God’s care for the believer in 1 Peter 5:7:
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:21, the word means “to be a source of concern.”
The apostle used a negative Greek word (mē) that mean “not” in a subjective sense instead of an objective sense that implies absolute rejection of what is prohibited in verse 21 but its use here is to stop an action that was already in progress. Apparently, the slaves in Corinth were allowing their social standing to affect their spiritual life so that the apostle’s instruction is for them to stop being overwhelmed by the thought of being slaves. The apostle did not indicate the reason the believing slaves in Corinth were concerned or consumed with their status quo. The context enables us to provide possible reasons for their concern. They have heard the apostle teach believers should not have intimate association with sexually immoral unbelievers, as we read in 1 Corinthians 5:9:
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
It is possible that some of the slaves had masters who were sexually immoral and so such slaves might have been wondering how being slaves to such individuals affected their standing with God. Some of the slaves might have been in situations where they are forced into sexual relationships with their masters since it was a common practice that slaves were used as objects of sexual outlets. If that is the case, such believers would wonder if they were not guilty of sexual immorality although they had no choice in the matter. Others in the congregation who are free or freed persons would wonder the same thing especially those who are of Jewish origin. They would wonder if the situation of such slaves was similar to the case where a girl raped in a helpless situation was not considered of being guilty of a sexual sin that deserves the death penalty, as recorded in Deuteronomy 22:25–27:
25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, 27 for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.
Or, if the situation of the slave is similar to that described in Leviticus 19:20:
“ ‘If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.
So, we can understand that believing slaves would be concerned if their masters were forcing them into sexual relationship that although accepted as a norm in their society but poses a problem with their relationship with Christ. Furthermore, the context of 1 Corinthians 7:23 would suggest that it is possible that these believers who were slaves might be concerned whether they were really free in Christ since they are slaves to humans. The believing slaves might have a difficult time participating with gathering of believers in Corinth since their attendance may be restricted by their masters who are unbelievers. This would be different from those who are believers that would take their slaves to the assembly of believers. The situation of not being able to assemble freely with fellow believers might cause the believing slaves to wonder if they were truly serving the Lord as those who are free to assemble or free to do other things that believers should do, such as witnessing. So, we can understand that these believing slaves would have legitimate concern in their minds as to what their status would be before the Lord. Anyhow, the apostle’s instruction is to ensure that the believing slaves are not pre-occupied with the thought of being slaves rather that they should live their lives to glorify the Lord Jesus despite being slaves. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul instructs slaves to obey their masters and serve them as if they were serving the Lord Jesus, as we read in Ephesians 6:5–8:
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
The instruction for slaves to obey their masters raises the question that many Christians seem to ignore or do not take seriously in the time we live. It is the issue of whether to obey a master who instructs a slave to do what is contrary to the Scripture. The answer to such a situation is always to obey God and not people as implied in the statement of Apostles Peter and John in Acts 4:19:
But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
The declaration of the two apostles imply that believers obey God and not human authorities, but they should be willing to suffer for such disobedience to human authorities. The suffering that is associated with obeying God but not human authorities when there is a conflict between the instruction of human authorities and that of God may also be in the thought of Apostle Peter when he instructed slaves to obey their masters regardless of how they mistreat them, as we may gather from 1 Peter 2:18–21:
18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
The implication of the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter is that when a slave master gives instruction that is contrary to God’s word that the believing slave should not obey it but should be ready to suffer for such disobedience. That aside, the instruction of Apostle Paul to believing slaves in Corinth is that they should not be perturbed by their social standing so to affect their spiritual life.
We indicated that the exhortation to believing slaves to stop being concerned about their social standing is given using a negative Greek word that is subjective, implying that there is a room to wiggle around, only that one has to be careful not to be consumed with the thought of being a slave. The reason we stated that the apostle allowed a room for such believers to wiggle around is the next advice given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:21 although if you can gain your freedom, do so. This clause of the NIV is one of the ways to translate the Greek text. There is a disagreement on how to translate the Greek text since literally, the Greek reads but if and you are able to become free, rather use. The literal translation indicates that what is to be used is not supplied and that is the primary reason for the disagreement in how to translate the Greek text. But before we consider the problem, let me consider some of the words used in the Greek text as they would enable us to deal with the problem of the Greek text.
The word “can” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (dynamai) that means “to possess capability (whether because of personal or external factors) for experiencing or doing something” hence means “can, be capable.” The apostle did not say what this capability that a slave may possess is. It is possible that the capability is that of being able to pay the master the price of the purchase of the slave or of finding someone that is capable of purchasing an individual’s freedom.
The word “freedom” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (eleutheros) that may mean “free” in the sense of being released or not bound by obligation, as it is used to indicate a widow is released from marriage obligation of the deceased husband in Apostle Paul’s statement in Romans 7:3:
So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
The sentence she is released from that law is literally she is free from the law. The word may mean “free” in the sense of being free socially and politically so not to be a slave as the word is used in contrast between being a slave or a free person in Ephesians 6:8:
because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:21, it is used with the meaning “free,” that is, not under the servitude of another or not under the ownership of another.
The word “rather” we used in the literal translation but not directly in the NIV is translated from Greek adverb (mallon) that can mean “more” in the sense of being concerned with a greater or higher degree of something. Thus, Apostle Paul used it in that sense to encourage believers to live more and more a life that pleases the Lord 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.
This living in such a way to please the Lord involves display of love more and more to fellow believers, as the apostle also indicated in 1 Thessalonians 4:10:
And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.
To love more and more is simply a way of stating that love should be demonstrated more and more since love is a facet of the fruit of the Spirit that cannot be improved upon. Instead, its demonstration can be shown more and more to others. Anyway, a second meaning of the Greek word we translated “rather” in our literal translation is indeed “rather” but that has two senses. It could mean rather in the sense of “for a better reason” or “all the more”. It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it to encourage slaves to render better service to their masters who are also believers as stated in 1 Timothy 6:2:
Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
It is in the sense of “more” that could refer to emphasis “surely or certainly” that the word is used by the apostle to describe what would be applicable to those who are believers in Romans 5:17:
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Another sense of the word “rather” is as a marker of alternative to something in the sense of “instead of something.” It is this sense the apostle used the word upon instructing Roman believers not to pass judgment on each other based on such matters as food that one eats or does not eat in Romans 14:13:
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
In this passage, the alternative to passing judgment on one another is not to do anything that will cause someone else to sin by compromising the person’s own principles or by doing what the individual’s conscience tells the person is wrong. It is in the sense of “for a better reason” that implies “all the more” that the Greek word is used in 1 Corinthians 7:21. This meaning becomes important in dealing with the problem of our verse.
The word “use” we used in the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (chraomai) that may mean “to act” as Apostle Paul used the word to encourage the Corinthians not to put him in a situation he would act in a harsh manner as we read in 2 Corinthians 13:10:
This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
The sentence I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up is literally I may not have to act severely according to the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing. The word may mean “to make use of” or “to employ” as in the instruction given to Timothy to use wine for his health situation in 1 Timothy 5:23:
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:21, it means “to use to one’s advantage,” that is, “to avail” or “to make use of” or “to employ.”
We have considered the words used in the Greek text of the clause we are considering, so let us return to consider the problem of the literal translation but if and you are able to become free, rather use. The apostle did not clearly specify what it is that the slave would use or avail himself of and that is the problem. So, the question is: What is it that the slave is to make use of or avail himself of? Two general answers have been supplied by scholars based on the context. A first answer is “the opportunity to become free.” It is this interpretation that is reflected in the last clause in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 7:21 although if you can gain your freedom, do so. A second answer is “the present state of slavery.” This interpretation is reflected in the alternative reading given in the footnote of the TEV or in the NJB that reads but even if you have a chance to become free, choose rather to make the best of your condition as a slave. Although we have stated two general answers to the question of what the slave should make use of or avail himself of but there is a third answer that is accepted by a handful of scholars. This third answer is that it is “the calling as a Christian in a free state.” In effect, this answer is that slaves are to make a better use of their vocation when they have the opportunity to become free. This seems to be the interpretation reflected in the NCV that translated the clause as But if you can be free, then make good use of your freedom. The NET could also be understood as reflecting partially this interpretation because of their translation of the clause as But if indeed you are able to be free, make the most of the opportunity.
Which of these interpretations that was in the mind of the apostle as he wrote the literal Greek text? It is the first interpretation of “the opportunity to become free” reflected in the translation of the NIV and others that reflect the same translation that is intended. Scholars have advanced several arguments in support of this position. Let me mention some of these. First, in an elliptical expression, as we have in the literal expression rather use, there is a general “rule of thumb” to supply a word from the immediate context. The first part of the clause we are considering in 1 Corinthians 7:21 literally reads but if and you are able to become free so the concept of freedom or the word “free” used in it is most likely what was in the mind of the apostle when he wrote the expression rather use. Second, the Greek word (chraomai) the apostle used that we indicated has the meaning “to make use of” or “to employ” makes better sense if it is used in a positive sense of “to take advantage of” or “to make use of ” opportunity to be free than in a negative sense. You see, the apostle used the Greek word six other times in his epistles with the meaning “to make use of” but in none of these did he use it to describe a negative object. For example, he used it to describe his rights in 1 Corinthians 9:15:
But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast.
In his second epistle to the Corinthians, he used it to describe his authority that he did not wish to make use of in harsh manner regarding the Corinthians in the passage we cited previously, that is, in 2 Corinthians 13:10:
This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
When he used the Greek word in verse 21 that means “to make use of” outside his epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle used it regarding wine that he instructed Timothy to make use of in a passage we cited previously, that is, 1 Timothy 5:23:
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
Hence, it not likely that the apostle would have used the word in 1 Corinthians 7:21 to refer to making use of slavery condition. Third, the clause we are considering in 1 Corinthians 7:21 begins with a Greek conjunction that we translated “but” in the literal translation. The use of the conjunction “but” is here intended to convey that what the apostle stated in the clause was to be an exception to the command to continue in whatever status quo that a person was in when the individual was saved. It belies the belief of the apostle that slavery is evil if he was advocating that a person who is a slave should continue in that state even if he has an opportunity to be free. We know that the apostle considers slavery to be evil because he included those who are involved in slave trade as law breakers in 1 Timothy 1:10:
for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.
Anyway, if a Christian slave had the capability to become free then the instruction is not to pass that opportunity but to use it. We will say more about the implication of this instruction as it relates to freedom in our next study.
05/08/20