1 Coríntios 7
Samuel Johnson · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 7
Johnson - Some final Guidelines: A. It's Better to Remain Single Than … 1. To marry outside the Lord's choosing. A non-Christian partner will always create relational problems. 2. To marry someone who will hinder our Christian growth. 3. To marry for the wrong motive. Marrying for money, power, prestige, fear of growing old alone, or simply because it is expected will inevitable lead to disaster. 4. To marry without being willing to give ourselves to another completely. If we are unwilling to sacrifice our wants and needs for those of another every day for the rest of our lives, we shouldn't even entertain the idea of marriage. B. It's Better to Marry If … 1. Our lives would be more complete with a mate. 2. God leads us to someone we love and who loves us. 3. We are confident that our relationship will illustrate Christ's love for His church. 4. We are willing to spend the remainder of our days giving more than receiving. How can I find the right person? Before you find the right person, it is important to be the right person. Today one out of every two marriages end in divorce. The sad thing is that the number of divorces is the same for both church goers and non-church goers. In 1980 one in three marriages ended in divorce. In 1980 Harvard University revealed an amazing statistic. They found when a couple was married in a church ceremony and they were both believers and they attended church on a regular basis, read the Bible together daily and prayed together daily, there was one divorce in 1,105 marriages. If we want to experience the kind of marriage God wants us to have, we must put forth the effort and work toward making our marriage what God wants it to be. Zig Zigler said, “If you treat your wife like a thoroughbred, you'll never end up with a nag.” Two fellows were talking and one said, “My wife is an angel.” The other replied, “You are lucky, my wife is still living.” Guess which one had the best marriage. One young lady came to her pastor, asking why her prayers for a husband were not being answered. “Pastor,” she said, “I go to the altar every service and ask God to give me a husband. Why doesn't God answer my prayers?” The pastor said, “It may be that you are praying selfishly. You are asking for yourself.” The next service, the girl went to the alter and was overheard praying, “God, please give my Mother a son-in-law.” The word “touch” does not speak of the total absence of touch. Some have taught that a couple dating should never kiss or even hold hands. - The word speaks of “kindling a fire.” It is used here to speak of a touch that arouses and stimulates, as an intimate contact that heads to sexual relations. It means that single men and women are not to go too far on dates or to co-habit with each other . There is to be no immoral sin between the singles of God's church. The touching that Paul speaks of is directly connected to the word “fornication” in verse 2.- In a nutshell, Paul is saying in verse 1 that all sex outside of marriage is prohibited, forbidden, and condemned by God. - Paul knows there are human desires and passions that can be inflamed and incited. Therefore, he says it is not good (pure, wholesome) to “touch” a person to satisfy those desires outside of marriage. Any sex before marriage is not acceptable to God. God commands purity before marriage and fidelity after marriage. Robert Morgan (From this Verse) - Staying Single In 1 Corinthians 7, the Bible recommends the single life, for unmarried people have more time for the Lord and fewer burdens to distract from His work. But it isn’t an easy road, and remaining single requires special grace, as Amy Carmichael found out. Amy Wilson Carmichael (See another source with excellent bibliography including online articles) (1867–1951) was born in Northern Ireland and educated in a Wesleyan Methodist boarding school. Having a heart for missions, she spent fifteen months in Japan, but suffered there physically and emotionally. She traveled on to Ceylon, then to England, then to India where she found her niche at last, working with girls whom she rescued from slavery and prostitution, raising them in her Dohnavur Fellowship. Her life touched thousands, her books have blessed millions, and her work remains to this day. Like most young ladies, Amy, attractive and radiant, wanted to be married. But her great work would have been impossible as a married woman, and God gave her Psalm 34:22 as a special promise. Amy’s struggle with this issue was deeply personal, one she was unable to share for more than forty years, when at last she said this to one of her “children” who was facing a similar dilemma: On this day many years ago, I went away alone to a cave in the mountain called Arima. I had feelings of fear about the future. That is why I went there—to be alone with God. The devil kept on whispering, “It’s all right now, but what about afterwards? You are going to be very lonely.” And he painted pictures of loneliness—I can see them still. And I turned to my God in a kind of desperation and said, “Lord, what can I do? How can I go on to the end?” And He said, “None of them that trust in Me shall be desolate” (Psalm 34:22). That word has been with me ever since. Alan Redpath - THE SECRET OF A HAPPY MARRIAGE 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1–22 Here Paul begins to answer the questions the people at Corinth had written to him. He has devoted six chapters to dealing with the carnal conditions of the church there. He has laid down principles of actions by which to settle these things, and in every instance he has pointed them back again to the cross of Calvary. They asked him four specific questions. Certain problems of marriage are dealt with in this chapter, and the following three chapters concern the meat sacrificed to idols. Then Paul has something to say about the place of women in the church, and finally, in chapter 11, he discusses the observance of the Lord’s Supper. At the conclusion of that he says (I imagine with a sense of relief), “Now concerning spiritual things . . .” as if to deal with these matters had been a troublesome necessity. All the time he had been anxious to get to spiritual things. In this passage on marriage some things that have a local background, and apply particularly to the situation at Corinth. But there are also some principles given here which are desperately needed in days like these. There is language here which is found nowhere else in all the New Testament. For instance, Paul says, “I speak this by permission and not of commandment” (1 Cor 7:6); “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord” (1 Cor 7:10); “But to the rest speak I, not the Lord” (1 Cor 7:12); “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment” (1 Cor 7:25); “She is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 7:40). He is clearly drawing a distinction between specific instruction which he has received from the Lord by the Holy Spirit and his own judgment in cases where he has received no such instructions. In other words, he is using his own judgment supported by what he believes to be the authority of the Holy Spirit. That does not invalidate this teaching in any way. It does, however, recognize that in matters concerning marriage there is no law so inclusive as to apply to every situation. Each case will call for the careful exercise of human judgment under the direction and authority of the Holy Spirit. As a matter of act, Paul is using here the office of a scribe, who interpreted and applied the law. The Lord Jesus said concerning such men: “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man which is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52). That is exactly what Paul is doing in this chapter. Remember, please, that he is doing it in the context of the situation at Corinth. For instance, the Gentiles of that time saw no evil whatever in multiplied wives; polygamy was the practice. And the Jews saw no evil in putting away their wives in certain circumstances. After they had returned from captivity in Babylon, many of them took wives of the people of the land, and Ezra commanded that they should put away their foreign wives. Some of the Jews who were converted to the Christian faith thought perhaps they should follow the same principle. Should they put away their unbelieving partner in marriage? There is much local background, but there are also tremendous principles laid down here for the most sacred relationship in life. Let me ask you to notice, therefore, that Paul speaks first of marriage in its purity. He makes no attempt here to state the Christian doctrine of marriage in all its wonderful fullness; he does that in Ephesians and Colossians, comparing marriage to the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and His church. At first sight, you would almost think Paul is advocating celibacy and undervaluing marriage. But in the context of the Corinthian church he is saying no such thing: their question was, in essence: “In view of all the immorality, impurity and unhappiness that is rampant in these days, isn’t it safer to stay outside the marriage relationship altogether?” Paul replies that it is good for a man not to be married, but he does not say it is better. In other words, celibacy is proper and good so long as such a person who is unmarried keeps himself pure; “But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn” (7:9). For the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven and for the cause of the Christian faith, celibacy may be the high and holy calling of God to a man or to a woman. The Lord Jesus had something very wonderful to say about this: “His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it” (Matthew 19:10–12). Then in the next verse the Lord said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” How wonderfully the Lord links together the glory of men or women who, for the sake of the kingdom, have kept themselves single, and in the next moment He honors marriage and children. As to marriage itself, Paul insists on monogamy: “Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband” (1 Cor 7:2). That is basic to the Christian faith. In that relationship, Paul tells us, there are sacred responsibilities where the conjugal rights of husband and wife are to be respected and honored. Christian marriage is not to be used as an excuse for lust and license, the satisfying of the flesh. He recognizes the intimacy of such a precious partnership when it is centered in the Lord Jesus Christ. At the heart of these verses we find that in this relationship of Christian marriage there should be love, discipline, and mutual respect, the one for the other. There is a recognized admission of the rights of the wife and husband in the sexual relationship. Deep down at the bottom of it all, there are two lives united together in the Lord. This is what Paul has to say about the purity of the marriage tie. In concluding his argument, Paul says that a man should abide in the calling to which God has called him (1 Cor 7:20). If a man, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, determines that he will stand alone, and he believes that to be the calling of God, the evidence that he is not being peculiar or sanctimonious is that he will be given power from God to keep himself pure. But if he cannot do that, let him marry; let him not take a pious position and say, “For the gospel’s sake, I am remaining single” and then live in sin. But marriage is not for license or self-indulgence. It is a holy, sacred relationship between man and woman which has to be kept disciplined in love, with mutual honor and respect, in the power of Christ. Let me ask you again to consider with me, not only marriage in its purity but — oh, how important — marriage in its permanency: “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife” (1 Cor 7:10–11). In other words, Paul says there is to be no separation; or if there must be a separation, then there must be no remarriage. Now this, of course, confirms the teaching of our Lord. When the Pharisees came to Him about this, they quoted the law of Moses as the basis of their authority: Moses suffered a bill of divorcement to be written in certain cases. The Lord replied that Moses did that because of their weakness and unbelief, but in the beginning it was not so. “God made them male and female, and for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh . . . what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4–8). This relationship, which antedates both Christianity and the law of Moses, goes right back to the very beginning of creation as God’s purpose for a man and a woman. There was to be only one exception to its permanency: infidelity within the marriage itself. The Lord Himself tells us that the very act of adultery breaks the sanctity of the tie (Matthew 5:32). Therefore there is only one ground for divorce. I want to have respect for others who may think differently, but, in my judgment, the Bible teaches that the guilty party can never be remarried. Some of my brethren in the ministry (whose convictions I respect deeply, as I trust that they will respect mine) will not remarry either party. They say there is no such thing as divorce under any circumstances whatsoever. In the light of the teaching of the Lord and also of Paul, and in the light of the circumstances of each case, I am happy to grant Christian marriage to the innocent party when a marriage has broken down through the adultery of the other party — and concerning which I am satisfied that he or she is the innocent party. There may be circumstances, as 1 Cor 7:11 indicates, when the behavior of one party makes living together an impossibility. So often people come to my study and talk to me about these things, saying, for instance: “I just cannot go on any longer! My husband comes home drunk and beats me up. . . . How much longer must I live with that man?” Then I reply, “I think it would be well if you left him today.” Does that shock you? I have authority for it: “If she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife” (1 Cor 7:11). There is no reason I can see why a woman should continue to live with a man who has become a drunken sot and whose behavior is making the home a hell on earth; but that is not divorce. Let the innocent person depart, but let her remain unmarried. And let her motive in leaving (as we have already studied in 1 Corinthians 5:5) be to deliver him to the devil for the destruction of the principle of the flesh and the saving of the soul. God knows it will be with many a tear and heartache, if she has to take up her roots and leave the man who has treated her so badly. But her whole desire should be for the deliverance of her husband and for his salvation, that the home might yet be restored in the love of Christ. Just think of the confusion were such a person, having left her husband, to remarry, if perhaps years later the man is saved on skid row. He has the right to come back to the woman who has left him and ask her to take him back again. Although in certain circumstances it may be right for one party of a marriage to leave the other, that does not alter the great truth of the Word of God concerning the permanence of the marriage tie. May I point out just one more thing in the latter part of the chapter: marriage in its power. What comfort these words bring to some who are suffering the awful heartbreak of an unequal yoke! And that is the issue here. It is possible for a Christian so to forget his responsibilities to God and the commands of His Word that in a moment of excitement her or she is carried away and becomes linked to an unsaved person. That is, however, no ground for divorce. His part, rather, is to do everything he can to win his partner for the Lord Jesus, that, in spite of his sin and disobedience, God may have mercy upon him and extend that mercy to the person to whom he is married. Again, if one party to the marriage is converted after the wedding, both of them being unbelievers when they were married, what mutual understanding and love is necessary! “The woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him” (1 Cor 7:13). Perhaps you have just been saved, and you are the first one in your family to become a Christian, your partner being still unconverted. Be careful how you treat him (or her), won’t you? Don’t nag at him; don’t drive religion down his throat and give him a miserable time because you are saved and he isn’t. Be patient and tolerant, although the change in your life may make him absolutely furious with you. If you long to see your loved one converted, then be grateful to God for His mercy in your own soul, and pray with all your heart that you may so live in patient love with your husband (or wife) that the very difference in your life may attract him or her to the Lord Jesus. A colleague of mine in the ministry had just that experience. When his wife was converted, he thought that was just one more burden to an already energy-consuming business career. His wife had gone off her head religiously! Then he discovered within a matter of a few months that she had become so much more patient and gentle, kind and loving. He said to himself, “She has something that I must have,” and he found the Savior too. That’s the way! Thank God for His mercy, and pray that your life-partner may share it. Be infinitely patient and forbearing, but raise the Christian standard high, even though in so doing it makes your husband or wife angrier than ever. If since your conversion God has spoken to you about drinking, gambling, dancing, shows, or other things, and you feel that you cannot now go to these places, your unsaved mate may say in disgust, “If you don’t come with me, I’ll go out with another woman (or man).” Then you know the sword in your own soul, but the only way to see him saved is to be true to the Lord, no matter what it costs. Stay together, says Paul in 1 Cor 7:14, because by your conversion the whole family has been brought onto praying ground; “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now they are holy.” As a child of God, you are His vantage point to reach them, and it is not God’s will that one of them should perish. I believe that if one party is saved after marriage, that person has every right to claim the salvation of the whole household, even though it takes years. But if, in spite of everything, the unbeliever goes, then you must let him go. If he does depart, you have no right to be remarried, unless in his departure he himself commits adultery. But if the unbelieving partner of a marriage leaves because he or she cannot stand the testimony of the other, then let him (or her) go, even though it breaks your heart. But you have no right to be remarried; yours is the right to pray that even in his departure he might be brought to know the Lord Jesus, “For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” (7:16). If you hold on and pray and believe, you may see God answer prayer exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think! What is the principle behind the power in marriage? It is summed up in the last little phrase in verse 24, “Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” This reinforces what is said in verse 20: “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” If God calls a man or woman to remain single, he will give grace for it. If God calls to the married life, and that involves hardship, or maybe a divided home, or even suffering, He will give grace for that too. The one whose family life is an example to others is to be respected. The one who remains for the Kingdom’s sake is to be respected. The one who suffers the cruel misunderstanding of an unbelieving partner is to be respected, also. In every instance we are to abide in our calling: submitting to the will of God, depending upon the grace of God, making every effort to bring glory to God, striving to be approved by Him, always bearing in mind that one day we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (The Road to Heaven - 1 Corinthians Commentary) 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. Amplified But because of the temptation to impurity and to avoid immorality, let each [man] have his own wife and let each [woman] have her own husband. Wuest But because of the fornications, let each man be having his own wife, and let each woman be having her own husband. , and the other, on the other hand, in another way. (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) NET 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of immoralities, each man should have relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband. NLT 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. ESV 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. NIV 1 Corinthians 7:2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. GNT 1 Corinthians 7:2 διὰ δὲ τὰς πορνείας ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω καὶ ἑκάστη τὸν ἴδιον ἄνδρα ἐχέτω. KJV 1 Corinthians 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. YLT 1 Corinthians 7:2 and because of the whoredom let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her proper husband; ASV 1 Corinthians 7:2 But, because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. CSB 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. NKJ 1 Corinthians 7:2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. NRS 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. NAB 1 Corinthians 7:2 but because of cases of immorality every man should have his own wife, and every woman her own husband. NJB 1 Corinthians 7:2 yet to avoid immorality every man should have his own wife and every woman her own husband. GWN 1 Corinthians 7:2 But in order to avoid sexual sins, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. BBE 1 Corinthians 7:2 But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband. because of immoralities: 1Co 7:9 6:18 Pr 5:18,19 1Ti 4:3 let: Pr 18:22 Pr 19:14 Mal 2:14 Eph 5:28,33 1 Corinthians 7 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: 1 Timothy 4:3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. Hebrews 13:4+ Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled (amiantos); for fornicators (pornos) and adulterers (moichos) God will judge (See 1 Cor 6:9-10+, Gal 5:19-21+, 1 Th 4:6+) Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 19:14 House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD. CONJUGAL RELATIONS COMMANDED David Strain refers to these passages as Paul's teaching on "Sex as Defense."
1 Coríntios 7
Johnson - Experiencing marriage as a Spiritual Relationship 7:5 Unresponsiveness always causes problems in marriage – emotionally , psychologically, and spiritually. The word “defraud” could be translated: “Do not refuse one another … Do not cheat one another … Do not rob one another. Sex within marriage is NOT: • A right to be earned • A reward to be given • A tool to be used as a threat • A means of punishment because of some mistake or to get even or to get what you want from your mate. Sexual oneness in marriage should not be withheld because of fatigue, apathy, resentment, etc. Three guidelines are given by Paul for withholding sex: 1. By mutual consent 2. An important reason 3. For a brief period – then come together again. When we deprive our mates, Satan can use that to tempt our mates to become unfaithful. You are tempting your mate. You are also destroying a spiritual principle – that of ministering to one another. Utley on lack of self-control - “because of your lack of self-control” This is the term kratos, which means “power,” “strength,” “rule,” with the ALPHA PRIVATIVE, which negates the meaning. This lack of self-control is mentioned in 1. Matthew 23:25 in connection with the scribes and Pharisees 2. 1 Corinthians 7:5 in connection with married couples 3. 2 Timothy 3:3+ in a list of vices. The related term egkrateia has the connotation of self-control, especially related to sexual activity. 1. Acts 24:25+ in a list of virtues presented by Paul to Felix 2. 1 Corinthians 7:9 in Paul’s discussion of marriage rights 3. 1 Corinthians 9:25+ in connection with athletic training 4. Galatians 5:23+ in Paul’s list of the fruits of the Spirit 5. 2 Peter 1:6+ in a list of character traits which bring maturity. Self-control is the developed practice of controlling the natural desires. The domination of the redeemed human spirit over the flesh is possible (ED: ACTUALLY ONLY POSSIBLE!) with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Natural desires are not evil unless they are taken beyond God-given bounds. (1 Corinthians 7 Commentary) A BETTER YIELD As in all things, the spiritual must govern the physical; for our bodies are God's temples. The husband and wife may abstain from sex in order to devote their full interest to prayer and fasting (1 Cor 7:5), but they must not use this as an excuse for prolonged separation. Paul is encouraging Christian partners to be "in tune" with each other in matters both spiritual and physical. Not only did the church ask about celibacy, but they also asked Paul about divorce. If divorce does occur, the parties should remain unmarried or seek reconciliation. It has been my experience as a pastor that when a husband and wife are yielded to the Lord, and when they seek to please each other in the marriage relationship, the marriage will be so satisfying that neither partner would think of looking elsewhere for fulfillment. "There are no sex problems in marriage," a Christian counselor once told me, "only personality problems with sex as one of the symptoms." The present frightening trend of increased divorces among Christians (and even among the clergy) must break the heart of God. (Warren