Lessons #241 and 242
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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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Apostle’s reasons for singleness (1 Cor 7:29-35)
... 32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 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. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
Recall the message of this section of 1 Corinthians 7:29-35 that we have been considering is You should not allow anything of this life to affect your devotion to the Lord since the world is slowly dying. We started in our last study to consider the second reason Apostle Paul advocated singleness among the Corinthians because of the situation they faced which is that marital status of a believer affects the individual’s devotion to the Lord. Based on this reason, we stated a second responsibility that the believer has regarding the section of 1 Corinthians 7:29-35 which is, you should Remain vigilant to ensure your marital status does not affect your devotion to the Lord. We stated that the way to do this is for the believer to live a worry-free life. We also indicated that it is possible for believers to live this kind of life as indicated by the command of the Lord to us during His earthly ministry about not worrying. The thing the apostle indicates he was concerned with believers being carefree is that of satisfying another person because one is obligated to do so. To convey this point, the apostle gave illustrations using both a man and a woman that are believers. We considered the illustration of the apostle using men and we began to consider the illustration using women. Particularly, we began considering the clause of verse 34 Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit that literally reads that she be holy both in her body and her spirit. The question we were considering in our last study is how to understand what the apostle stated in the literal Greek. To interpret what the apostle meant, we indicated there are four key words in the Greek text that are important in understanding what he stated. We considered the first key word “that” translated “aim” in the NIV that we indicated had three possible interpretations in our passage that involve understanding the word to convey content, purpose, and result. So, we stated that the apostle is probably concerned with what should result from the unmarried woman that is concerned with the things of the Lord as well as providing an explanation of what it means for the unmarried woman to be concerned about the things of the Lord. The second key word we considered in the literal translation is “holy” that after considering the range of meanings of the Greek word used, we concluded that it is used in our passage in the sense of being dedicated to the Lord. The third key word used in the literal translation is the word “body.” Our examination of the range of meanings of the Greek word translated “body” led us to state that it is used in 1 Corinthians 7:34 with meaning “body” so that it has the sense of “physical” or “the outer being of a person.” It is with the third key word that we ended our last study, so we begin with the fourth.
The fourth key word in the literal clause that she be holy both in her body and her spirit is “spirit” that is translated from a Greek word (pneuma) that may mean “wind”, as in the description by our Lord of one that is born again in John 3:8:
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The word may mean “breath” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the manner of the destruction of the future lawless one by the Lord Jesus in 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
The word may mean “spirit” as that which animates or gives life to the body, as the word is used to indicate that without it the body is lifeless in James 2:26:
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
It may mean “spirit” as part of human personality with various nuances. For example, it may refer to a person’s “very self” or “ego” as it is used by Apostle Paul in describing the assurance of the Holy Spirit to a believer regarding salvation in Romans 8:16:
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
According to the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, the sentence The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit is better translated the Spirit (of God) bears witness to our very self. The word may refer to the immaterial part of a person in contrast to the material body, as Apostle Paul used it in his appeal to the Corinthians for holy living in 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Under this meaning of the immaterial part of a person, it could refer to the source and seat of insight, feeling, and will, generally as the representative part of human inner life so that it may mean “mind.” It is this meaning that is used in Apostle Paul’s description of his state when he could not find Titus, as we read in 2 Corinthians 2:13:
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The phrase peace of mind is literally rest in my spirit. Still in this meaning, it could refer to “spiritual state, state of mind, disposition”, as it is used to describe the disposition that a believing wife should have to be considered beautiful in 1 Peter 3:4:
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
As suggested in the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, the phrase quiet spirit may be translated quiet disposition. The Greek word may mean “spirit” as an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses. Consequently, it is used for created spirit-beings whether their function is good or bad. Apostle Paul used it to describe harmful spirits that will attempt to deceive people, as he presented in 1 Timothy 4:1:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
The word may mean God’s being as controlling influence, with focus on association with humans hence means “Spirit.” Accordingly, Apostle Paul used it to describe God the Holy Spirit using different phrases. For example, he described the Holy Spirt as the Spirit of God in Philippians 3:3:
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
He described the Holy Spirit as “Spirit of Jesus Christ” in Philippians 1:19:
for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:34, our Greek word means “mind” but because of the Greek syntax, there is the sense that the word means “mentally” although the meaning “spirit,” that is, the immaterial part of a person, is possible but it is too general a meaning as we have noted. Of course, when the apostle wrote her body and her spirit, he meant her entire person that we have divided into two elements of outer and inner beings or physical and mental aspects of a person.
We have examined the key words used in the literal clause that she be holy both in her body and her spirit so we are in a position to interpret what is the concern of the unmarried, believing woman. Her concern is to be dedicated to the Lord in her entire person, that is, physically and mentally. Our use of the words “physically” and “mentally” should not be strange because the apostle used the same Greek phrase, we have in 1 Corinthians 7:34 that translates literally in the body in another passage where it is given the translation that reflects the meaning “physically.” I am referring to 1 Corinthians 5:3:
Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
The sentence I am not physically present is literally I am absent in the body. The Greek phrase that literally translates in the body in 1 Corinthians 5:3 is the same Greek phrase used in 1 Corinthians 7:34. In 1 Corinthians 5:3, the word “body” is given the sense of “physically.” This being the case, it is not strange that the sense of the Greek word that means “body” should because of the Greek construction be interpreted to mean “physically.” Similarly, the Greek phrase that leads us to interpret the Greek word that means “spirit” as “mentally” is used as an adjective in Romans 12:11:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
The phrase spiritual fervor is literally in the spirit fervent. The translators of the NIV turned the literal phrase in the spirit to an adjective “spiritual” implying that they translated the phrase with one word “spiritual.” So, it is not unique to use a single word to capture the Greek phrase that literally is translated in the spirit. It is the same Greek phrase Apostle Paul used in Romans 12:11 that is used in 1 Corinthians 7:34. Thus, it is not strange that we use a single word “mentally” to describe the Greek phase. We are saying that it is not wrong then to interpret the literal phrase in the spirit in 1 Corinthians 7:34 with a single word “mentally.” Of course, we could also have used the word “spiritually” but as we indicated such usage is too general.
Be that as it may, our concern is to expound on the interpretation that we have given that indicates a single, believing woman is dedicated to the Lord in her entire person or whole being, that is, physically and mentally. So, how is a single woman dedicated to the Lord physically and mentally? It is in the sense that her entire person is dedicated to the things that concern the Lord. Her dedication to the Lord physically means that she is involved in physical activities that relate to spiritual life in such a way that it is difficult for a married woman to do. Take, for example, she may be more disposed to spend time in witnessing for Christ than a married woman. She would be willing to go any length to devote time to witnessing. She could go to places far from her home to witness without being concerned of when she returns home a given day since she does not have any one to care for. Her dedication to the Lord means that she could carve out more time to the study of the word of God that will be difficult for a married woman. To see this point, let us consider two women, one single and the other married that have the same daily schedule in that they work outside their homes. Suppose both return from work late so that whatever time they have set to study the word of God is impacted because of their time at home has been cut by returning late from work. The single woman could easily forgo cooking food because she wants to listen to the teaching of the word of God already recorded or she may want to spend time reviewing her note. As I said in the past, she could opt to eat cold cereal in order to have time to do her studies. This option is not available to a married woman that would cook for a husband or family although she could push her study later at night cutting down her time for sleep. So, you see how the dedication of the two to the word of God is impacted by their marital state. It is not only in the matter of studying the word of God that we find a single woman more dedicated to the things of the Lord than a married woman but also in doing good. Doing good may require a person to devote more time to helping others. Take for example, in the matter of caring for, say, widows or others in need that demands time. A single woman could devote physically her time and energy to help in a way that a married woman may not be able to do. This may be the reason that it is a woman probably in single status that is mentioned with doing good to help widows in Acts 9:36:
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.
It is true there is no direct statement that indicates she was single, but the context implies Dorcas was in single state. This is because if she were married, then when she died there would have been a reference to the husband, but the fact nothing was said about the husband implies she must have been single. That aside, Dorcas’ activity that was described as doing good is sewing to provide clothes for widows, as we read in Acts 9:39:
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
A married woman could do the same kind of good of sewing clothes to help others, but she could not possibly devote the same length of time to such an activity as the single woman because she has other responsibilities to the husband and or children. Hence, it is easier for a single woman to be dedicated physically to doing good or witnessing than a married woman because of the demand on her physically. Let us not forget that a married woman may be much more physically exhausted because of all she has to do to care for a husband and children if she has them than a single woman. When we put every of the physical limitation of time and energy on the part of a married woman, it is easier to see how a single woman would be more dedicated to the Lord physically.
Mentally, the single woman would be more dedicated to the Lord than the married woman in the sense that she would be more focused on the Lord in her thoughts than a married woman. She would think more about the Lord than a married woman. We have already illustrated how a single woman may be dedicated to the study of the word of God more than a married woman. If a single woman is dedicated to the study of the word of God more than a married woman, it follows that she would think more about the Lord than the married woman. Again, take the case of two women, one single and the other married that have identical daily schedules and work outside their homes. When both women return from work, the single woman would not be occupied in her thought as the married woman who must think of how to care for her family so that we can say that she would have more free time to think and reflect on the Lord than the married woman. It is probably to illustrate this truth that a single woman could be more dedicated to the Lord mentally that we have a description of a widow whose occupation was the worship of the Lord, as we read in Luke 2:36–37:
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Anna’s dedication to the Lord as described in this passage would not be possible if she were not single. Worshipping in terms of praying is an activity that requires mental focus. This means that the prophetess focused mentally on the Lord than other women. Furthermore, she was also physically dedicated to the Lord as evident in her being in the temple daily and for long hours. So, it should be clear that mentally a single woman has the potential of being more dedicated to the Lord than a married woman.
That a single woman is much more dedicated both physically and mentally to the Lord than a married woman is introduced with the conjunction but that begins the next clause of 1 Corinthians 7:34. The conjunction “but” is translated from a Greek conjunction (de) that may be translated “and” either as a marker connecting a series of closely related lines of narrative or linking narrative segments. However, in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 7:34, it is properly translated “but” since it is used to express the contrast between the concern of the married woman to the unmarried.
The concern of the married woman is given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:34 But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world. The phrase the affairs of this world is literally the things of this world. We have considered this phrase previously as it relates to a married man, but we need to consider it as it pertains to a married woman. Recall we indicated that the literal phrase in verse 33 the things of the world may be translated “material things” or “physical things” implying that we treated the Greek word translated “world” as an adjective since the Greek syntax permits such interpretation. Thus, the concern of a married woman in the clause we are considering is with material things or physical things of this life and not the spiritual things.
What are the things of this world or in the words of the NIV the affairs of this world that a married woman concerns herself? The answer to this question depends in part in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:34 how she can please her husband. This is the second time we encounter the concept of a spouse pleasing the other in this section of 1 Corinthians 7:29-35. Our first encounter of the concept concerns a married man in verse 33 how he can please his wife. Because of this second encounter it is necessary for us to examine the matter of a spouse pleasing the other in a little more detail. Before we focus on spouses as it relates to the concept of pleasing each other, let me make four general statements about the concept of pleasing.
First, pleasing someone is concerned with the action of the one who pleases that meets the expectation of the one to be pleased. Thus, to please God requires the believer to live in accordance with His word. It is for this reason Apostle Paul reminded the Thessalonians that he communicated God’s word to them to help them live in a manner that will please Him 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.
It is the fact that pleasing someone requires meeting the expectation of the one to be pleased that the apostle used the concept in military metaphor in 2 Timothy 2:4:
No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.
A soldier pleases his commanding officer if he always obeys his command. For sure, there are many activities that a soldier gets involved with during his active duty in the military but none of these activities is possible without obedience. Hence, we could say that the way a soldier pleases his commanding officer is by obeying his commands. The implication is that to please someone requires one doing something another demands or expects.
Second, for the believer, pleasing someone does not mean that a believer should do anything that is contrary to God’s word. This is because the greatest concern of the believer is to please the Lord. Therefore, if pleasing the Lord leads to displeasing a human being, so be it. Apostle Paul implied this truth when he indicated that if he tried to please men by watering down the preaching of the gospel of Christ, he would not be His slave, as we read in Galatians 1:10:
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
So, we should be clear that to please anyone we must not displease God.
Third, believers are required to please their fellow believers, as stated in Romans 15:1–2:
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
The word “neighbor” here refers to a fellow believer and not humans in general because of the verbal phrase to build him up could not apply to any human being but a believer.
Fourth, pleasing others requires that a person forgets self. In other words, we must disregard self to please others. It is difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to please another if the individual is pre-occupied with self. If we are going to please others, we must look to the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not come to planet to please Himself or for His benefit. If He did, He would not have died on the cross for us. He accepted to suffer for us instead of pleasing Himself, as the Holy Spirit states through Apostle Paul in Romans 15:3:
For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
With these four statements, let us return to our concern of spouses pleasing each other because of the clause in 1 Corinthians 7:33 how he can please his wife and the clause in 1 Corinthians 7:34 how she can please her husband.
In considering the concept of spouses pleasing each other, let me state that one of the reasons many spouses are not fully enjoying each other as the Lord intended is the failure to be concerned about pleasing each other. I mean that it is difficult for husbands and wives to have the kind of relationship that first honors the Lord and then blesses each other without understanding and applying the concept of pleasing each other. You may say that you have a good marriage, and you may be right but my question to you is this: Are you enjoying to the fullest your spouse as God intended between Adam and Eve before the onset of sin? If your answer is “yes” then I retort by asking, “are you really?” If your answer is “no” then it is first because you are not pleasing the Lord which is evident in the fact that you are not pleasing your spouse as the Lord expects of you. You see, it is God’s design for spouses to please each other. For if that were not the case the Holy Spirit would not have drawn attention to the concept of spouses pleasing each other in the passage of 1 Corinthians 7 we are expounding.
What does it mean for a spouse to please each other? A simplistic answer is to do what the other wants so long as the action does not involve sin or disobedience to God’s word. However, I need to explore this simplistic answer so every spouse would have a better understanding of what it means to please a spouse. Our exploration of the concept centers around the Greek word used in our passage. We have previously noted in verse 33 that the word “please” used in our passage is translated from a Greek word (areskō) that we are told is “a favored term in the reciprocity-conscious Mediterranean world, and frequently used in honorary documents to express interest in accommodating others by meeting their needs or carrying out important obligations.” In our previous consideration of the word in 1 Corinthians 7:33, we indicated the word means “to please” in the sense of “to delight” or “to give pleasure to.” The implication then is that a spouse should be concerned about how to delight or give pleasure to the other not to self. That aside, a further understanding of what it means for a spouse to please the other is obtained by the fact that our Greek word is used in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word that has a range of meanings. As we stated, our Greek word is used to translate in the Septuagint a Hebrew word (yāṭǎḇ) that means “to satisfy” as the word is used in Leviticus 10:20:
When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
The Hebrew word may mean “to treat well” as it is used in Moses’ offer to his brother-in-law regarding how the Israelites would deal with him if he followed them as stated in Numbers 10:29:
Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”
Another meaning of the Hebrew word is “to show kindness” as it is used to describe what the wicked does not do in Job 24:21:
They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow show no kindness.
Still another meaning of the Hebrew word is “to do good” in describing what the wicked does not do in Psalm 36:3:
The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.
The range of the meanings of the Hebrew word translated with the Greek word that means “to please” enables us to have a further understanding of what it means for one spouse to please the other. You please your spouse if you satisfy their needs within reason, that is, within your ability and resources. When I say satisfying within a spouse’s ability and resources, I mean that a woman, for example, should not expect the husband to buy things for her that he does not have the financial means to do or a husband should not expect his wife to do something she could not do probably because of physical limitation. Spouses please each other if they treat one another with kindness or treat each other well. Spouses please each other when they do good to one another. Thus, if you understand these further explanations on the concept of pleasing each other and apply them, I guarantee you on the authority of the word of God that you would come close to the enjoyment of your spouse as God intended in Eden.
Our understanding of what it means for a spouse to please the other helps us to answer the question we started with, that is: What are the things of this world or in the words of the NIV the affairs of this world that a married woman concerns herself? A married woman who wants to please her husband in the way we have stated would be concerned with at least three things that are covered in the phrase the affairs of this world. A first thing is food. A woman who is concerned with pleasing the husband is one that ensures that she feeds the husband and family properly. This means that regardless of whether she works outside the home or not, she concerns herself with ensuring that she has food on the table for the husband. I know that there are those who resist this kind of teaching by saying that we have so far advanced that such a thing is archaic and demeans a woman. The problem with this kind of thinking is that people ignore the fact that despite the so-called advancement, men and women are more miserable in their marriages probably more than those we consider having lived in the past where the wife was not yet liberated. Could it not be that we have tried to ignore that men and women are not the same and so do not have the same functions in marriage. Thus, when husbands and wives try to play each other’s role, the result is misery and tension in the marriage. That aside, I am concerned with a believing wife that wants to please her husband. Such a wife must be concerned with the issue of feeding the husband as that is part of the description of the capable wife in Proverbs 31:14–15:
14She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
So, if you are a believing lady that does not care whether your husband has appropriate meal every day or not then you are not one that pleases your husband and certainly you are not pleasing the Lord, regardless of what you may claim.
A second thing that concerns a married woman that wants to please the husband is keeping of the house. Most women are concerned with ensuring that their houses are well kept but that does not mean that every woman does that. However, when a woman keeps her house clean that will be pleasing to the husband. This kind of woman is that capable wife described as taking care of the affairs of her home in Proverbs 31:22, 27:
22She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
27She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
A third thing a woman that pleases the husband concerns herself is to meet the sexual needs of the husband. We have already considered this in detail as part of marriage responsibility, but it is still something that a married woman should concern herself if she wants to please the husband. An offshoot of this concern is that of beautifying herself. A woman who is normal wants to beautify herself hence we have instructions in the Scripture that require a believing woman to do so within proper perspective as we read, for example, in 1 Timothy 2:9:
I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
Of course, when a woman is no longer concerned with meeting her husband’s sexual needs, she often neglects herself, probably because she sees no need for beautifying herself. Anyway, the point is that a normal woman would be concerned with meeting the sexual needs of her husband and so would do things that would keep her appealing to the husband. In any event, we have considered illustrations of how married men and women could be distracted from their devotion to the Lord because of wanting to please each other in marriage so the apostle ends the section we are considering in verse 35 by stipulating the purpose for his advice for singleness in certain situations or the reasons for advocating worry-free life.
Apostle Paul returns to his declaration that requires believers to live a worry-free life in the sense of not being burdened by things of this life that married people are concerned with that he introduced in verse 32. The reason we assert that the apostle returned to his declaration in verse 32 is because of a Greek conjunction that the translators of the NIV and nearly all of our English versions omitted in verse 35, probably based on the interpretation that the apostle was continuing what he said in the preceding verses or that he had moved to another topic. The LEB and the AMP translated it with the meaning “now.” That notwithstanding, it seems the apostle used the Greek conjunction (de) in verse 35 to return to what he stated in verse 32 I would like you to be free from concern that introduced his concern for the Corinthians not to be distracted from their devotion to the Lord. This being the case, the Greek conjunction may be translated “now” or left untranslated if it is understood to be used to resume what the apostle stated at the beginning of verse 32. We are arguing then that everything the apostle wrote from the second sentence of verse 32 to verse 34 is a digression that illustrates the apostle’s concern so after dealing with that he returns to provide the reasons for the desire he stated at the beginning of verse 32 or the purpose of what he wrote beginning in verses 26-34.
The interpretation we have given implies that the demonstrative pronoun this in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 7:35 I am saying this refers to the sentence of verse 32 I would like you to be free from concern or everything the apostle wrote in verses 26-34 The apostle although stated his desire that we indicated it is the Holy Spirit’s desire for believers to live a worry-free life especially from the things of this life that affect married people’s devotion to the Lord but he in effect was still concerned with reasons for his overall teaching of the effect marriage could have on a believer especially in time of crisis. So, the apostle gives three reasons stated positively and negatively that in effect are part of his justification for the advice he gave.
A first reason or purpose for the apostle’s desire or advice on singleness in time of crisis is that he wants to be helpful to the Corinthians regarding their spiritual life as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 7:35 I am saying this for your own good. The word “good” is translated from a Greek word (symphoron) that appears only twice in the Greek NT; it means “advantage, benefit” as that is the sense the word is used in the other occurrence of the word in the NT although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “good” to translate it in 1 Corinthians 10:33:
even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
The verbal phrase not seeking my own good is translated not seeking my own benefit in the LEB. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:35, it means “advantage” necessary to achieve a particular end. In the context, the end the apostle had in mind would be the spiritual progress of the Corinthians. Hence, the apostle wants to be helpful to the Corinthians so that they would progress spiritually and be devoted to the Lord as he mentioned in the third reason.
A second reason or purpose the apostle gave for his desire of a worry-free life or for singleness in time of crisis for the Corinthians is that his advice or desire is not intended to curtail their spiritual freedom. This reason or purpose is given negatively in the verbal phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 7:35 not to restrict you. Literally the Greek reads not in order to throw a noose over you. This is because we have a noun and a verb used in the Greek. The expression “throw over” in the literal translation is translated from a Greek verb (epiballō) that may mean “to throw over” as it is used of the disciples preparing the colt that the Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem as we read in Mark 11:7:
When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.
The word may mean “to put” as it is used in describing the Lord Jesus’ teaching on the cost of discipleship in Luke 9:62:
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
The word may mean “to arrest” as it is used for the arrest of the Lord Jesus as recorded in Luke 20:19:
The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:35, it means “to throw over” but it is used with the Greek noun (brochos) that means “noose” to give the meaning of “to impose restrictions.” Thus, the apostle’s second reason or purpose is not to curtail their freedom in Christ, bearing in mind that he was careful to ensure that the spiritual freedom of believers should not be tempered with as implied in his teaching to the Galatians against being enslaved by requirements of ceremonial law such as circumcision in Galatians 5:1:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Thus, the apostle would not do anything that will affect the believers’ spiritual freedom. However, what he instructs here to the Corinthians was to help them spiritually deal with crisis and not a long-standing rule for Christian practice.
A third reason or purpose for the apostle’s desire or advice on singleness in time of crisis is to ensure the Corinthians maintain their devotion to the Lord without being distracted by anything. It is this reason that is given positively in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:35 but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. The expression “right way” is translated from a Greek word (euschēmōn) that may mean “prominent” or “of high standing” as it is used to describe Arimathea in Mark 15:43:
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
The word may mean “presentable” or “proper” as it is used in 1 Corinthians 12:24:
while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,
It is in the sense of “respected” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:35. The word “undivided” is translated from a Greek word (aperispastōs) that appears only here in 1 Corinthians 7:35 and means “without distraction.” The word “devotion” is translated from a Greek word (euparedron) that appears only 1 Corinthians 7:35 in the Greek NT; it pertains to being in constant attendance hence means “devoted service” to God or simply “consistent.” Thus, this third reason or purpose is really at the heart of the apostle’s concern or advice. He does not want the Corinthians to be distracted spiritually so that they do not maintain full devotion to the Lord because they are bogged down with cares of things of this life, especially in marriage condition or in time of crisis. His reason tells us that even those who are married should be careful that their devotion to the Lord is not affected as they try to please their spouses by providing them what are needed physically in their relationship with each other. It is this concern that is reflected in our overall message of this section which is You should not allow anything of this life to affect your devotion to the Lord since the world is slowly dying. Therefore, you should remember the second responsibility we considered which is, you should Remain vigilant to ensure your marital status does not affect your devotion to the Lord.
07/24/20