III. QUESTIONS ASKED OF PAUL 7:1—16:12
2. Basic principles 7:17-24
remarry.230 The Greek text does not solve this problem. I think Paul was not addressing the idea of remarrying here.
I would counsel a Christian whose unsaved spouse has divorced him or her to remain unmarried as long as there is a possibility that the unsaved person may return. However if the unsaved spouse who has departed remarries, I believe the Christian would be free to remarry since, by remarrying, the unsaved partner has closed the door on reconciliation.231 7:16 It is possible that Paul meant Christians should not separate from their
unbelieving spouses because by staying together the unbeliever may eventually become a Christian (cf. 1 Pet. 3:1).232 He may have meant the believer should not oppose the unbeliever's departing because he may become a Christian through channels other than the witness of the believing spouse. Both possibilities are realistic so even though we cannot tell exactly what the apostle meant here, what we should do is clear. The Christian can have hope that God may bring the unsaved spouse to salvation while the believer does the Lord's will.
Verse 16 is a positive note on which to close instructions to Christians who have unsaved spouses.
of describing Christian conversion (cf. 1:2, 9). He or she should concentrate on serving the Lord in that condition rather than spending most of one's time and energy on trying to change it. Paul taught the priority of serving Christ, over trying to change one's circumstances, in all the churches.
"Paul's intent is not to lay down a rule that one may not change; rather, by thus hallowing one's situation in life, he is trying to help the Corinthians see that their social status is ultimately irrelevant as such (i.e., they can live out their Christian life in any of the various options) and therefore their desire to change is equally irrelevant—because it has nothing to do with genuine spirituality as their slogan would infer (v. 1b)."234
This is the second of four instances where Paul appealed to what was customary in all the churches (cf. 4:17; 11:16; 14:33). He never did this in any of his other letters. He was reminding this church that its theology was off track, not his.
7:18-19 This principle of remaining in one's present condition applies to being circumcised as well as to being married. Both conditions were secondary to following the Lord obediently. God did not command celibacy or marriage, circumcision or uncircumcision (under the New Covenant).
These are matters of personal choice in the church. One's ministry might be one factor in his or her decision (e.g., Acts 16:3; cf. Gal. 5:6; 6:15).
The idea of becoming uncircumcised after one has been circumcised seems strange, but some Jews did this to avoid being known as Jews when they participated in activities at the public gymnasiums.235 They underwent an operation that reversed their circumcision.
7:20 The "condition" (NASB) or "situation" (NIV; Gr. klesis) is the calling (v.
17) in life in which a person was when God called him or her into His family (cf. 1:2; Eph. 4:1). Our calling as Christians, to bear witness to Jesus Christ, is more important than our calling in life, namely, the place we occupy in the social, economic, and geographical scheme of things.
7:21 Paul did not mean that a Christian should take a fatalistic view of life and regard his or her condition as something he or she should definitely remain in forever. If we have the opportunity to improve ourselves for the glory of God, we should do so. If we do not, we should not fret about our state but bloom where God has planted us. We should regard our call to Christ as sanctifying our present situation. In the context, of course, Paul was appealing to those who felt compelled to dissolve their marriages.
234Ibid., p. 311. Cf. Robertson and Plummer, p. 144.
235Ibid., p. 146. See also Keener, p. 66.
Another example of this principle would be if a person became a Christian while uneducated, he can serve Christ effectively without a formal education in a variety of ways. Many outstanding servants of the Lord have done so. If he has the opportunity to get an education and so serve God more effectively, he should feel free to take advantage of that opportunity. Unfortunately some Christians put more emphasis on getting an education than they do on serving the Lord. This is putting the cart before the horse and is the very thing Paul warned against here.
7:22 Paul's emphasis on the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God comes back into view in this section of verses (cf. 1:10—4:21). Priorities are in view. Does the Corinthian slave view himself primarily as a slave or as a freedman?A freedman was a person who had formerly been a slave but had received manumission, been set free. He was both, a slave of men but the freedman of God. Does the freedman view himself primarily as a freedman or as a slave? He was both, a freedman socially but the Lord's slave spiritually.
"This imagery, of course, must be understood in light of Greco-Roman slavery, not that of recent American history.
Slavery was in fact the bottom rung on the social order, but for the most part it provided generally well for up to one-third of the population in a city like Corinth or Rome. The slave had considerable freedom and very often experienced mutual benefit along with the master. The owner received the benefit of the slave's services; and the slave had steady 'employment,' including having all his or her basic needs met—indeed, for many to be a slave was preferable to being a freedman, whose securities were often tenuous at best. But the one thing that marked the slave was that in the final analysis, he did not belong to himself but to another.
That is Paul's point with this imagery."236
It is unfortunate that many Christians today choose to focus on their limitations rather than on their possibilities as representatives of Jesus Christ. We should use the abilities and opportunities that God gives us rather than feeling sorry for ourselves because we do not have other abilities or opportunities.
7:23 Paul's thought returned to the Cross again (cf. 6:20). God has set us free from the worst kind of slavery having purchased us with the precious blood of His Son. How foolish then it would be for us to give up any of the liberties we enjoy that enable us to serve Jesus Christ. How ridiculous it would be to place ourselves back into a slave relationship to anyone or anything but Him. This applies to physical and spiritual bondage.
236Fee, The First . . ., p. 319.
7:24 For the third time in this pericope (vv. 17, 20, 24) Paul stated the basic principle that he advocated. Evidently there was much need for this exhortation in the Corinthian church.
In our day upward mobility has become a god to many Christians, and its worship has polluted the church. We need to be content to serve the Lord, to live out our calling, whether in a mixed marriage, singleness, a white collar or blue collar job, or whatever socioeconomic condition we may occupy.
In this section Paul chose his examples from circumcision and uncircumcision, slavery and freedom. However the larger context of the chapter is singleness and marriage. His point was that those who were single when God called them to follow Him should be content to remain single, and those who were married should stay married. Faithfulness to God or effectiveness for God do not require a change. Yet if opportunity for more effective service of Christ presents itself, one should feel free to take advantage of it.