Sexual Ignorance

"From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none" (1 Corinthians 7:29). What in the world does this mean? Were husbands to ignore their wives? To walk out of their marriages? Not at all, that's not what Paul meant. But there's a sense in which Paul was recommending that husbands sexually ignore their wives. Paul was trying to say as delicately as possible that the next few years or decades would not be a good time to have children. So, if you are married, if you have a wife, behave in this regard as if you do not.

Paul continued, "and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it" (1 Corinthians 7:30-31). Here Paul went on to say that newly converted Christians needed to make a small public footprint. They needed to avoid public events wherein they would be identified as Christians -- funerals (avoid mourning), parties (avoid rejoicing) and other public gatherings or meetings.

The MKJB better translates Paul's advice about buying, "And they who buy are as though they did not possess" (1 Corinthians 7:30). Persecuted Christians should not try to preserve their possessions when it came time to run. They should not worry about the things they owned, because at a certain point they would be lucky to escape with their lives. And the same perspective must be applied to all of their dealings with the world; "and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it" (1 Corinthians 7:31).

Why was Paul so concerned? "For the present form of this world is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). What did he mean by "the present form of this world?" While the KJV translated the word as "fashion," it would be a mistake to think that Paul was now talking about clothing styles or popular trends. He was talking about the scheme, the cultural order of the then current period of Jewish history, the temple administration. It was the same thing that he was talking about in Hebrews -- the closing of the Hebrew era and the opening of the Christian era. He was talking about the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He was talking about the reason that the calendar would start over (at zero) at the birth of Jesus. Everything they knew would change in the light of Jesus Christ. The social and political system of temple sacrifices would soon be gone, swept from the stage of history through the hammer of the Roman army by the hand of God. That was the present form of the world that was passing away. And it was passing away in the midst of turmoil and persecution. He was telling young Jewish families that if they clung to the past, to their traditions, to their property, their stuff, they would be swept away too. He essentially said, "when the time comes, drop everything and leave Jerusalem."

And yet, in spite of the impending turmoil and persecution, Paul wanted them "to be free from anxieties" (1 Corinthians 7:32). Jesus taught the same thing, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25). "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27).

Paul went on to talk about how married people tend to be concerned about pleasing one another, and that unmarried people should be concerned about how to please the Lord, about holiness. Clearly, that period of history has passed away. His argument is a bit labored because he was trying to make a recommendation against worldly entanglements during the period of huge historical changes and persecution. But at the same time he wanted to make it clear that entering into such entanglements was not to be considered sinful. No one argued more clearly or vociferously than Paul that God would finish what he had begun with their callings and conversions to Christianity, and that God would provide for and protect His people in the midst of this fallen and sinful world.

His message in this section is actually pretty simple: avoid worldly entanglements regarding marriage, children and business as much as you can. This will help to prepare you for the impending changes and persecution. But don't go overboard by jumping into some hyper-survivalist way of life. Don't hoard weapons and food. Don't go off into the desert to live. Don't be afraid to marry and have children and do business. Just be aware that at some point in the near future, God may well separate you from everything you currently know and have. So, be ready to go with the flow, the Spirit.

In verse 35 Paul said that his purpose for having this little talk was not "to lay any restraint" upon them. He was not binding their freedom in Christ. Rather, his purpose was to "to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord." He urged them all to be like unmarried couples in their devotion to God and to holiness, to purity of life and thought. They were not to abandon the ordinary practices of marriage and family life. But neither were they to abandon the practice of holiness, faithfulness and devotion. They were to bring the practice of holiness into their marriages, and not get distracted from God by their service to one another.

At the same time, Paul said in verse 36, if you get caught up in passion (sex) with your wife, don't worry. Don't be anxious about it. It's not a sin. Paul goes back and forth between these two perspectives in these verses.

In verse 37 he comes back to the theme of continence in marriage. The idea of being "firmly established in his heart" means to be steady and well-grounded, not to be dominated by one's feelings, but to demonstrate equanimity in the face of temptation. He counseled them not to act under "necessity," not to to be driven by perceived needs, not to be emotionally needy, but to have their "desire under control," not to be driven by desire. To have "determined this in his heart" means to have made a commitment to do or not to do a particular thing, to have the matter settled in one's own mind, and to be firm about it.

To have decided what? To be firm about what? "To keep her as his betrothed" (1 Corinthians 7:37). To behave as if they were not yet married. To abstain from sexual contact. According to Paul, anyone who could do this, who could make this commitment and stick with it would "do well." It was a preferable course of action in the face of the impending persecution that was being released upon the Christian community.

So, Paul concludes in verse 38, those who heed what I have said will do well to marry. So, don't be afraid to marry. And don't worry if you have children. God will look after you.

But the better course of action is not to give your daughters to be married at all. Paul was hearkening back to Luke 21:20-24. Paul was simply being faithful to the teaching of his Lord. So, if you take anything away with you from this chapter, see the context of these verses and understand that Paul was not arguing for perpetual Christian celibacy. He was not arguing that the single lifestyle was preferable to marriage -- not at all. He was simply telling the gathered fathers that when God's hammer fell on Jerusalem in the coming years, pregnant and nursing mothers would fare poorly. It was not a new teaching, but simply reflected the teaching of Jesus about the end of Jerusalem.

Paul wrapped up this talk to fathers of young women with two comments. First, he said that he believed that the young women would be happier, that they would have a better life, if they remained single, at least until the winds of change settled down. Second, he told them that he believed that this advice was given by the authority of the Spirit of God. That is, he believed himself to have been inspired.

There are two elements of his inspiration. One pertained to the instructions he gave to young families. The other pertained to the impending destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus had predicted it, and Paul said that it was imminent, that it would be upon them within that particular generation. And it was. Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians while he was in Ephesus during his third missionary journey, about 55 a.d. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 a.d.