Traveling Lightly
09/27/09
1 Corinthians 7:29-35
Pastor Greg Smith
Our family is so excited about Garrett’s wedding! It’s next Sunday afternoon in southern California. We are renting a mini-van and driving down on Friday. I wish you could all be there! I get to conduct the ceremony— father of the groom and the pastor! I bought a new suit, new dress shirt and tie. Marie reminded me that one of the few times she has seen me cry in public is when I baptized Garrett— I’ll have to watch out or I may lose it again.
I have been thinking about the pastoral message I will share during the ceremony. What will be my text? I got out my trusty mac-Bible program and put in the words “married, marriage” and did a search. This was one of the texts:
From now on those who are married should live as if they were not.
Or as the Today’s English Version puts it:
From now on married people should live as though they were not married.
What would you think of using that for a wedding sermon? OK, maybe not the best choice. But what do you think about the message of that text for anyone, here and now? We had better read that text in context— with the text that goes with it.
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul begins to address concerns raised by the Corinthians themselves. And in this chapter it’s mostly about marriage, singleness, and sex. Look at verse 1. Paul quotes a statement from the Corinthians to get the discussion started.
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”
In this chapter you see Paul respond to very practical problems. Paul gives us an example of how to deal with problems when all is not clear. For example, I’m looking for a job and something that is really amazing happens: I get two job offers. How do I decide between the two? Unless one of the two jobs is clearly off limits (the job description says, “Must be willing to falsify government reports”), how do you decide?
So in 1 Corinthians 7 Paul clearly mixes direction given on God’s authority with advice that is Paul’s.
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
But before we get into it too far, we need to understand the context. The best place to start is maybe not with Paul but with Jesus. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is arriving. Mark’s gospel is a good example, 1:15.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark follows this up with examples of the Kingdom of God becoming present.
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
It wasn't just nets and boats: "they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him." It wasn’t just their livelihoods that they left behind. They left people that were near and dear to them. These were grown men with businesses and family responsibilities leaving everything behind to follow Jesus.
Some like Peter were married. We know that later in Mark 1, Peter’s mother-in-law was healed by Jesus. And in 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul mentions that Peter was accompanied by his wife on his missionary journeys. So when Jesus called the disciples, some apparently left spouses behind for most of the 2 or three years it took to reach Jerusalem.
A scene from Luke’s gospel shows what kinds of demands Jesus was making on would-be followers.
9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good–by to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
In Matthew 10:37-39, what Jesus asks is summed up.
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
How could Jesus ask this of people? Because Jesus must be first in our lives and everything else second. And when I say the Kingdom of God, I mean Jesus: Jesus is the reigning king! The Kingdom of God is near. It’s time to get on board with God’s purposes in Jesus.
In that context, Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7 begins to make sense. Look at verses 29-31 again.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who are married should live as if they were not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Let’s look more closely at what Paul says. First, just as Jesus says, “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” Paul says “the time is short” and (verse 31) “For this world in its present form is passing away.” All of history is in a great transition. If the Kingdom of God was at hand in Jesus’ ministry, by Paul’s time something even more stupendous had taken place: yes, Jesus had died, but three days later he was raised from the dead. The final battle against death had begun. The great sign of the last times had taken place in the present: the resurrection of the dead had begun with Jesus. “The present form of this world” had begun to pass away. Already the victory has been won. But we have not yet experienced the full fruits of that victory.
2 Corinthians 5:17 is the classic statement of this.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
The new is here!
• Jesus is resurrected from the dead. The new is here!
• We really are forgiven of our sins. The new is here!
• We will be resurrected from the dead when Jesus returns. The new is here!
• We have received the Holy Spirit, a gift from Jesus the Messiah. The new is here!
• We are a community where the old barriers have fallen down. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The new is here!
• We have been made witnesses of all this. We have a story to share. The new is here!
But we also know that we still live in the old world with its sin, distractions and cares. We are “new” and “old” at the same time. We live between the comings of Christ. This causes a lot of tension. We know the new has come! But we still have to go to the grocery store. We have received the Holy Spirit! But someone stull has to do the dishes, make money to pay the rent, and make sure the car is in good repair. The time is short before Jesus returns! But it seems hard to find the time to do something about it. That is what Paul is writing about in these verses in 1 Corinthians 7. How do we apply the fact that “the time is short before Jesus returns” and “this world in its present form is passing away” to marriage and other facts of daily life?
What Paul says is a lot like what Jesus says— and just as challenging. They both say, “Our priorities need to change in the light of what God is doing. Our relationships have to be seen in the light of God's unfolding purposes.” If time really is short, if resurrection, not just death, really is in our future, then it will make a difference in our relationships now.
So what does Paul say about marriage and family in light of God’s unfolding purposes and the coming of God’s kingdom?
First, whether a person gets married is not key to a valuable life. It's serving the Lord, living the "new creation" that counts. As an example, look at 1 Corinthians 7 beginning at verse 32.
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.
Notice how Paul gives very balanced direction to both men and women. Throughout this chapter Paul shows that when it came to marriage, he was an egalitarian in a way that was very radical for the first century.
Second, notice that for Paul the married person is in no way superior to the single person. There have been times when the Christians have given the impression that the unmarried person is somehow lacking. In fact, in some churches they wouldn’t even consider hiring Paul, let alone Jesus, as their pastor— they were not married.
Should a person get married or not? Paul’s approach would have matched Jesus’. The first question is how will this effect your service to God?
Read the verses again.
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.
Of course, this is not an excuse to get a divorce: “He never did support my ministry!”
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Marriage itself can be a means of ministry. Paul is not making rules or laws. He is giving us principles to apply under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In fact, what better way to strengthen your ministry than to strengthen your marriage!
— marriage is good
— you are to be faithful to your marriage
— but make a decision about getting married with your service to God in mind. The time is short!
Our relationships have to be seen in the light of God's ultimate purpose.
Paul applied these points of view to other concerns besides marriage. Look at verses 29-31 again.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who are married should live as if they were not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Paul says, “Travel lightly!” Keep things, relationships, everything in perspective— the big perspective that Jesus is coming soon.
Should I buy a new car or not? No rule. But how does a new car affect your usefulness to the Lord? More reliable— good. Friends: Mercedes Benz station wagon: all the reasons why they were spending twice the amount of other cars. But 15 years later, it was still running strong and look brand new.
Verse 31 says,
“Those who use the things of the world” should live “as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.”
My house is God’s house. My car is God’s car. My family is God’s family.
Jesus is first! In the long run, the best marriages and the strongest families come out of that firm foundation.
Pastor Greg Smith
Our family is so excited about Garrett’s wedding! It’s next Sunday afternoon in southern California. We are renting a mini-van and driving down on Friday. I wish you could all be there! I get to conduct the ceremony— father of the groom and the pastor! I bought a new suit, new dress shirt and tie. Marie reminded me that one of the few times she has seen me cry in public is when I baptized Garrett— I’ll have to watch out or I may lose it again.
I have been thinking about the pastoral message I will share during the ceremony. What will be my text? I got out my trusty mac-Bible program and put in the words “married, marriage” and did a search. This was one of the texts:
From now on those who are married should live as if they were not.
Or as the Today’s English Version puts it:
From now on married people should live as though they were not married.
What would you think of using that for a wedding sermon? OK, maybe not the best choice. But what do you think about the message of that text for anyone, here and now? We had better read that text in context— with the text that goes with it.
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul begins to address concerns raised by the Corinthians themselves. And in this chapter it’s mostly about marriage, singleness, and sex. Look at verse 1. Paul quotes a statement from the Corinthians to get the discussion started.
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”
In this chapter you see Paul respond to very practical problems. Paul gives us an example of how to deal with problems when all is not clear. For example, I’m looking for a job and something that is really amazing happens: I get two job offers. How do I decide between the two? Unless one of the two jobs is clearly off limits (the job description says, “Must be willing to falsify government reports”), how do you decide?
So in 1 Corinthians 7 Paul clearly mixes direction given on God’s authority with advice that is Paul’s.
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
But before we get into it too far, we need to understand the context. The best place to start is maybe not with Paul but with Jesus. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is arriving. Mark’s gospel is a good example, 1:15.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark follows this up with examples of the Kingdom of God becoming present.
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
It wasn't just nets and boats: "they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him." It wasn’t just their livelihoods that they left behind. They left people that were near and dear to them. These were grown men with businesses and family responsibilities leaving everything behind to follow Jesus.
Some like Peter were married. We know that later in Mark 1, Peter’s mother-in-law was healed by Jesus. And in 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul mentions that Peter was accompanied by his wife on his missionary journeys. So when Jesus called the disciples, some apparently left spouses behind for most of the 2 or three years it took to reach Jerusalem.
A scene from Luke’s gospel shows what kinds of demands Jesus was making on would-be followers.
9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good–by to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
In Matthew 10:37-39, what Jesus asks is summed up.
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
How could Jesus ask this of people? Because Jesus must be first in our lives and everything else second. And when I say the Kingdom of God, I mean Jesus: Jesus is the reigning king! The Kingdom of God is near. It’s time to get on board with God’s purposes in Jesus.
In that context, Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7 begins to make sense. Look at verses 29-31 again.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who are married should live as if they were not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Let’s look more closely at what Paul says. First, just as Jesus says, “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” Paul says “the time is short” and (verse 31) “For this world in its present form is passing away.” All of history is in a great transition. If the Kingdom of God was at hand in Jesus’ ministry, by Paul’s time something even more stupendous had taken place: yes, Jesus had died, but three days later he was raised from the dead. The final battle against death had begun. The great sign of the last times had taken place in the present: the resurrection of the dead had begun with Jesus. “The present form of this world” had begun to pass away. Already the victory has been won. But we have not yet experienced the full fruits of that victory.
2 Corinthians 5:17 is the classic statement of this.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
The new is here!
• Jesus is resurrected from the dead. The new is here!
• We really are forgiven of our sins. The new is here!
• We will be resurrected from the dead when Jesus returns. The new is here!
• We have received the Holy Spirit, a gift from Jesus the Messiah. The new is here!
• We are a community where the old barriers have fallen down. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The new is here!
• We have been made witnesses of all this. We have a story to share. The new is here!
But we also know that we still live in the old world with its sin, distractions and cares. We are “new” and “old” at the same time. We live between the comings of Christ. This causes a lot of tension. We know the new has come! But we still have to go to the grocery store. We have received the Holy Spirit! But someone stull has to do the dishes, make money to pay the rent, and make sure the car is in good repair. The time is short before Jesus returns! But it seems hard to find the time to do something about it. That is what Paul is writing about in these verses in 1 Corinthians 7. How do we apply the fact that “the time is short before Jesus returns” and “this world in its present form is passing away” to marriage and other facts of daily life?
What Paul says is a lot like what Jesus says— and just as challenging. They both say, “Our priorities need to change in the light of what God is doing. Our relationships have to be seen in the light of God's unfolding purposes.” If time really is short, if resurrection, not just death, really is in our future, then it will make a difference in our relationships now.
So what does Paul say about marriage and family in light of God’s unfolding purposes and the coming of God’s kingdom?
First, whether a person gets married is not key to a valuable life. It's serving the Lord, living the "new creation" that counts. As an example, look at 1 Corinthians 7 beginning at verse 32.
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.
Notice how Paul gives very balanced direction to both men and women. Throughout this chapter Paul shows that when it came to marriage, he was an egalitarian in a way that was very radical for the first century.
Second, notice that for Paul the married person is in no way superior to the single person. There have been times when the Christians have given the impression that the unmarried person is somehow lacking. In fact, in some churches they wouldn’t even consider hiring Paul, let alone Jesus, as their pastor— they were not married.
Should a person get married or not? Paul’s approach would have matched Jesus’. The first question is how will this effect your service to God?
Read the verses again.
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.
Of course, this is not an excuse to get a divorce: “He never did support my ministry!”
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Marriage itself can be a means of ministry. Paul is not making rules or laws. He is giving us principles to apply under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In fact, what better way to strengthen your ministry than to strengthen your marriage!
— marriage is good
— you are to be faithful to your marriage
— but make a decision about getting married with your service to God in mind. The time is short!
Our relationships have to be seen in the light of God's ultimate purpose.
Paul applied these points of view to other concerns besides marriage. Look at verses 29-31 again.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who are married should live as if they were not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Paul says, “Travel lightly!” Keep things, relationships, everything in perspective— the big perspective that Jesus is coming soon.
Should I buy a new car or not? No rule. But how does a new car affect your usefulness to the Lord? More reliable— good. Friends: Mercedes Benz station wagon: all the reasons why they were spending twice the amount of other cars. But 15 years later, it was still running strong and look brand new.
Verse 31 says,
“Those who use the things of the world” should live “as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.”
My house is God’s house. My car is God’s car. My family is God’s family.
Jesus is first! In the long run, the best marriages and the strongest families come out of that firm foundation.