1 Corinthians 7
Martin Luther – November 30, 1524
“… there will be no marriage for me.”
Martin Luther – June 13, 1525
“I do.”
Marriage is a great gift from God, and
we do well to recognize that. It is God who gives and defines what marriage is,
even if He has given it to the state to tell us when a man and a woman are
married. But as great a gift as marriage is, we should recognize that it is not
for everyone. Paul never married, and
that was, at least in part, because of his life style as a missionary and the
danger he faced. He was solely focused
on living for Christ and proclaiming the Gospel. He recognized that when a man is married, he
has a responsibility to his bride.
Luther felt similarly in 1524. He
however was later married and extoled the blessings of marriage and the union
of husband and wife.
Much of what Paul focuses on in 1
Corinthians 7 stems from a comment the Corinthians made to him, “It is good for
a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” While Paul exhorts us to sexual purity, this
radical rejection of sex within the godly context of marriage is rejected. The sexual union of husband and wife is affirmed
as a good thing (or at least recognized as a curb against sexual sin).
We must be careful when we discuss abstaining
from sexual relations, because outside of the context of marriage the statement
at hand is absolutely true. There should
not be sexual intercourse outside of marriage.
But within marriage this statement is not true, in fact Paul seems to be
teaching that husband and wife should have sex often to resist sexual
immorality, encouraging the marriage bond, and, when it is God’s will, for the
procreation of children. But there is no
prescription for how often is often, and this remains a matter of Christian
freedom.
The important truth here is that when
husband and wife are in Christ, they live in His grace and forgiveness
together. And when a single person
chooses to not marry, that is done in Jesus’ grace and forgiveness, too. So we celebrate marriage as a good gift for
those to whom it is given, and urge all to live in purity under the cross.
Lord, thank you for the gift of
marriage. Help all people to hold it in
honor and keep the marriage bed pure. In
Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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