The previous passage (vv. 1-3) focuses on the emptiness produced when love is absent. In verses 4-5 we find the most comprehensive biblical description of the fullness of love. Paul declines giving a technical definition of love; instead, he provides us with a description of love, one especially pertinent to the Corinthians.

The first two statements describing love in verse 4 are general. Paul then advances to things not characteristic of love. These just happen to be some of the characteristics of the Corinthian saints.

Finally, Paul concludes in verse 7 with four characteristics of love, none of which are selective or partial. The Corinthians’ conduct in these areas was partial and incomplete. And so in these four verses, we learn what love is like, and we also learn that the Corinthians are seriously lacking in love.

Paul shines love through a prism and we see 15 of its colors and hues, the spectrum of love. Each ray gives a facet, a property, of agapē love.

Unlike most English translations, which include several adjectives, the Greek forms of all those properties are verbs. They do not focus on what love is so much as on what love does and does not do.

• Agapē love is active, not abstract or passive.
• It does not simply feel patient, it practices patience.
• It does not simply have kind feelings, it does kind things.
• It does not simply recognize the truth, it rejoices in the truth. Love is fully love only when it acts (cf. 1 John 3:18).

The purpose of Paul’s prism is not to give a technical analysis of love, but to break it down into smaller parts so that we may more easily understand and apply its full, rich meaning. As with all of God’s Word, we cannot truly begin to understand love until we begin to apply it in our lives. Paul’s primary purpose here is not simply to instruct the Corinthians but to change their living habits. He wanted them carefully and honestly to measure their lives against those characteristics of love.

To change the metaphor, Paul is painting a portrait of love, and Jesus Christ is sitting for the portrait. He lived out in perfection all of these virtues of love. This beautiful picture of love is a portrait of Him

Because love is so important among the believers, Paul went on to describe that love in more detail. How does such love look when lived out in the lives of believers? First of all, love is patient. The expression “is patient” (makrothumei) is the opposite of being short-tempered. Patience (sometimes translated “long-suffering” or “slow to anger”) is an attribute of God (see Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Romans 2:4; 1 Peter 3:20). In many places, God’s people are called upon to be patient (see, for example, Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:14). Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

What does patient love among believers look like? Such love bears with certain annoyances or inconveniences without complaint. Such love does not lose its temper when provoked. Such love steadily perseveres. Without love, no matter how wonderful the gifts in the church, people will be impatient with one another, short-tempered, and irritable.^[1]

The word is common in the New Testament and is used almost exclusively of being patient with people, rather than with circumstances or events. Love’s patience is the ability to be inconvenienced or taken advantage of by a person over and over again and yet not be upset or angry. Chrysostom, the early church Father, said, “It is a word which is used of the man who is wronged and who has it easily in his power to avenge himself but will never do it.” Patience never retaliates.

Like agapē love itself, the patience spoken of in the New Testament was a virtue only among Christians. In the Greek world self-sacrificing love and nonavenging patience were considered weaknesses, unworthy of the noble man or woman. Aristotle, for example, taught that the great Greek virtue was refusal to tolerate insult or injury and to strike back in retaliation for the slightest offense. Vengeance was a virtue. The world has always tended to make heroes of those who fight back, who stand up for their welfare and rights above all else.

But love, God’s love, is the very opposite. Its primary concern is for the welfare of others, not itself, and it is much more willing to be taken advantage of than to take advantage, much less to avenge. Love does not retaliate. The Christian who acts like Christ never takes revenge for being hurt or insulted or abused. He refuses to “pay back evil for evil” (Rom. 12:17), but if he is slapped on the right cheek, he will turn the left (Matt. 5:39).

Paul said that patience was a characteristic of his own heart (2 Cor. 6:6) and should characterize every Christian (Eph. 4:2). Stephen’s last words were ones of patient forgiveness: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60). As he lay dying under the painful, crushing blows of the stones, his concern was for his murderers rather than for himself. He was long-tempered, patient to the absolute extreme.

The supreme example of patience, of course, is God Himself. It is God’s patient love that prevents the world from being destroyed. It is His patience and long-suffering that allows time for men to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9). As He was dying on the cross, rejected by those He had come to save, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Robert Ingersoll, the well-known atheist of the last century, often would stop in the middle of his lectures against God and say, “I’ll give God five minutes to strike me dead for the things I’ve said.” He then used the fact that he was not struck dead as proof that God did not exist. Theodore Parker said of Ingersoll’s claim, “And did the gentleman think he could exhaust the patience of the eternal God in five minutes?”

Since Adam and Eve first disobeyed Him, God has been continually wronged and rejected by those He made in His own image. He was rejected and scorned by His chosen people, through whom he gave the revelation of His Word, “the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2). Yet through the thousands of years, the eternal God has been eternally long-suffering. If the holy Creator is so infinitely patient with His rebellious creatures, how much more should His unholy creatures be patient with each other?

One of Abraham Lincoln’s earliest political enemies was Edwin M. Stanton. He called Lincoln a “low cunning clown” and “the original gorilla.” “It was ridiculous for people to go to Africa to see a gorilla,” he would say, “when they could find one easily in Springfield, Illinois.” Lincoln never responded to the slander, but when, as president, he needed a secretary of war, he chose Stanton. When his incredulous friends asked why, Lincoln replied, “Because he is the best man.” Years later, as the slain president’s body lay in state, Stanton looked into the coffin and said through his tears, “There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen.” His animosity was finally broken by Lincoln’s long-suffering, nonretaliatory spirit. Patient love won out.^[2]

Love “suffers long” (makrothumei): is patient with people. Love suffers a long, long time..

∙ no matter the evil and injury done by a person.

∙ no matter the neglect or ignoring by a loved one.

Love suffers a long, long time without resentment, anger, or seeking revenge. Love controls itself in order to win the person and to help him to live, work, and serve as he should.

The Greek word (makrothumein) used in the New Testament always describes patience with people and not patience with circumstances.

It is the word used of the man who is wronged and who has it easily in his power to avenge himself and who yet will not do it.  It describes the man who is slow to anger and it is used of God himself in his relationship with men.

Chrysostom said that it is the word used of the man who is wronged and who has it easily in his power to avenge himself and who yet will not do it.  It describes the man who is slow to anger and it is used of God himself in his relationship with men.  In our dealings with men, however refractory and however unkind and hurting they are, we must exercise the same patience as God exercises with us.  Such patience is not the sign of weakness but the sign of strength; it is not defeatism but rather the only way to victory.

Fosdick points out that no one treated Lincoln with more contempt than did Stanton.  He called him “a low cunning clown”, he nicknamed him “the original gorilla” and said that Du Chaillu was a fool to wander about Africa trying to capture a gorilla when he could have found one so easily at Springfield, Illinois.  Lincoln said nothing.  He made Stanton his war minister because he was the best man for the job and he treated him with every courtesy.  The years wore on.  The night came when the assassin’s bullet murdered Lincoln in the theatre.  In the little room to which the President’s body was taken stood that same Stanton, and, looking down on Lincoln’s silent face, he said through his tears, “There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen.”  The patience of love had conquered in the end.

In our dealings with men, however refractory and however unkind and hurting they are, we must exercise the same patience as God exercises with us.  Such patience is not the sign of weakness but the sign of strength; it is not defeatism but rather the only way to victory.

Impatience still imprisons the soul. For that reason, our God is quick to help us avoid it. He does more than demand patience from us; he offers it to us. Patience is a fruit of his Spirit. It hangs from the tree of Galatians 5:22 : “The Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience.”

Have you asked God to give you some fruit? Well I did once, but … But what? Did you, h’m, grow impatient? Ask him again and again and again. He won’t grow impatient with your pleading, and you will receive patience in your praying.

And while you’re praying, ask for understanding. “Patient people have great understanding” ( Prov. 14:29 ). Could it be your impatience stems from a lack of understanding? Mine has.

Sometime ago one of our members complained after services because of a distraction during the Sunday morning worship. Two people were mumbling to each other, it seemed. Because I knew the situation, I was able to offer a quick and adequate explanation: “Forgive them,” I said. “I need to explain that one of the people is a new Christian and doesn’t speak much English, so the message is being translated.”

Something similar occurred here: a young man was wearing a baseball cap during the Sunday morning class…one of the members commented on it to me after class ended. I explained calmly that the person had just concluded chemotherapy and was conscious of the fact that he’d lost most of his hair. To that person’s credit, there was quick retreat from his words and thoughts.

All of a sudden everything changed. Patience replaced impatience. Why? Because patience always hitches a ride with understanding. The wise man says, “A man of understanding holds his tongue” ( Prov. 11:12 niv ).

He also says, “A man of understanding is even-tempered” (Prov. 17:27 niv ). Don’t miss the connection between understanding and patience. Before you blow up, listen up.

Before you strike out, tune in. “It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong” (Prov. 24:3 ).

Before anything else, love is patient. May I urge you to do the sa

me?  “God is being patient with you” ( 2 Pet. 3:9 ). And if God is being patient with you, can’t you pass on some patience to others? Of course you can. Because before love is anything else: Love is patient.

Fosdick points out that no one treated Lincoln with more contempt than did Stanton.  He called him “a low cunning clown”, he nicknamed him “the original gorilla” and said that Du Chaillu was a fool to wander about Africa trying to capture a gorilla when he could have found one so easily at Springfield, Illinois.  Lincoln said nothing.  He made Stanton his war minister because he was the best man for the job and he treated him with every courtesy.  The years wore on.  The night came when the assassin’s bullet murdered Lincoln in the theatre.  In the little room to which the President’s body was taken stood that same Stanton, and, looking down on Lincoln’s silent face, he said through his tears, “There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen.”  The patience of love had conquered in the end.

We should not be surprised to find that God is described by the term “longsuffering”:

6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (Exodus 34:6).

4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? (Romans 9:22)

16 And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:16).

20 Who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water (1 Peter 3:20).

9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. … 15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you (2 Peter 3:9, 15).

Years ago a man preparing for the ministry shared with me a bit of advice someone had given him: “Brother,” he said, “if you’re going to minister in these circles, you’d better have rhinoceros hide.” He was right. We do need to be thick-skinned when it comes to the hurts others impose on us. Christians are so thin-skinned and touchy they fall apart at a raised eyebrow. Let’s get tough, so we can suffer long at the hands of others and thereby demonstrate Christian love.

The word “abuse” is one of the great “excuse” words of our day. Let me be very clear that there are certain kinds of abuse no one should put up with, such as sexual abuse. However, the categories of abuse seem to multiply daily. For example, there is verbal abuse and mental abuse. But now, Christians seem to think that whenever the “abuse” word arises, every Scriptural command is put into a different category, one which does not apply. Turning the other cheek is out because that would be tolerating physical abuse.

And yet Peter speaks of our Lord’s silent enduring of verbal abuse as a pattern for all Christians (1 Peter 2:18-25). On and on it goes, but somewhere Christians must make up their minds to suffer at least certain kinds of abuse from others. In a day when our individual rights seem to have the highest level of priority, longsuffering does not seem to be a very popular characteristic, and yet it is one of two terms Paul uses to sum up the conduct of love.

The Greek word used here for patience is a descriptive one. It figuratively means “taking a long time to boil.” Think about a pot of boiling water. What factors determine the speed at which it boils? The size of the stove? No. The pot? The utensil may have an influence, but the primary factor is the intensity of the flame. Water boils quickly when the flame is high. It boils slowly when the flame is low. Patience “keeps the burner down.”

Helpful clarification, don’t you think? Patience isn’t naive. It doesn’t ignore misbehavior. It just keeps the flame low. It waits. It listens. It’s slow to boil. This is how God treats us. And, according to Jesus, this is how we should treat others.

Paul said that patience was a characteristic of his own heart (2 Cor. 6:6) and should characterize every Christian (Eph. 4:2). Stephen’s last words were ones of patient forgiveness: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60). As he lay dying under the painful, crushing blows of the stones, his concern was for his murderers rather than for himself. He was long-tempered, patient to the absolute extreme.

The supreme example of patience, of course, is God Himself. It is God’s patient love that prevents the world from being destroyed. It is His patience and long-suffering that allows time for men to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9). As He was dying on the cross, rejected by those He had come to save, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Robert Ingersoll, the well-known atheist of the last century, often would stop in the middle of his lectures against God and say, “I’ll give God five minutes to strike me dead for the things I’ve said.” He then used the fact that he was not struck dead as proof that God did not exist. Theodore Parker said of Ingersoll’s claim, “And did the gentleman think he could exhaust the patience of the eternal God in five minutes?”

He once told a parable about a king who decides to settle his accounts with his debtors. His bookkeeper surfaces a fellow who owes not thousands or hundreds of thousands but millions of dollars. The king summarily declares that the man and his wife and kids are to be sold to pay the debt. Because of his inability to pay, the man is about to lose everything and everyone dear to him. No wonder

the man fell down before the king and begged him, “Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.” Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. ( Matt. 18:26–27 nlt, emphasis mine)

The word patience makes a surprise appearance here. The debtor does not plead for mercy or forgiveness; he pleads for patience. Equally curious is this singular appearance of the word. Jesus uses it twice in this story and never again. It appears nowhere else in the Gospels. Perhaps the scarce usage is the first-century equivalent of a highlighter. Jesus reserves the word for one occasion to make one point. Patience is more than a virtue for long lines and slow waiters.

Patience is the red carpet upon which God’s grace approaches us.

Had there been no patience, there would have been no mercy. But the king was patient, and the man with the multimillion-dollar debt was forgiven.

But then the story takes a left turn. The freshly forgiven fellow makes a beeline from the courthouse to the suburbs. There he searches out a guy who owes him some money.

But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. “Be patient and I will pay it,” he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt could be paid in full. (vv. 28–30 nlt , emphasis mine)

The king is stunned. How could the man be so impatient? How dare the man be so impatient! The ink of the CANCELED stamp is still moist on the man’s bills. Wouldn’t you expect a little Mother Teresa–ness out of him? You’d think that a person who’d been forgiven so much would love much. But he didn’t. And his lack of love led to a costly mistake.

The unforgiving servant is called back to the castle.

“You evil servant!” [the king, a.k.a. God, declares.] “I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny. ( Matt. 18:32–34 nlt )

The king’s patience made no difference in the man’s life. To the servant, throne-room mercy was nothing more than a canceled test, a dodged bullet, a get-out-of-jail-free card. He wasn’t stunned by the royal grace; he was relieved he hadn’t been punished. He was given much patience but gave none, which makes us wonder if he actually understood the gift he had received.

If you find patience hard to give, you might ask the same question. How infiltrated are you with God’s patience? You’ve heard about it. Read about it. Perhaps underlined Bible passages regarding it. But have you received it? The proof is in your patience. Patience deeply received results in patience freely offered.

But patience never received leads to an abundance of problems, not the least of which is prison. Remember where the king sent the unforgiving servant? “Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny” ( Matt. 18:34 nlt).

Whew! we sigh. Glad that story is a parable. It’s a good thing God doesn’t imprison the impatient in real life. Don’t be so sure he doesn’t. Self-absorption and ingratitude make for thick walls and lonely jails.

What is given in these four verses is not a long, dry, methodical definition of love. On the contrary, the very acts of love are given—the very behavior of a person, the very way a person is to live among and with others. In living and moving among others in the world, a person is to love, and this is what loving others means.

Maybe you didn’t know God did that for us. Maybe no one has told you about “God’s … patience and willingness to put up with you” ( Rom. 2:4 cev ). Could be you dozed off the day the minister read Psalm 103:8 : “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” ( niv ).

If so, no wonder you’ve been edgy. No wonder you’ve been impatient. Bankruptcy can put the best of us in a foul mood. You know what you need to do?

Those thousand sunsets you never thanked him for? He could have put you on beauty rations. But he didn’t. He was patient with you.

Those Sundays you strutted into church to show off the new dress? It’s a wonder he didn’t strike you naked. But he didn’t. He was patient.

And, oh my, those promises: “Get me out of this, and I’ll never tell another lie.” “Count on me to stand up for you from now on.” “I’m done with temper tantrums, Lord.” If broken promises were lumber, we could build a subdivision. Doesn’t God have ample reason to walk out on us?

But he doesn’t. Why? Because “God is being patient with you” ( 2 Pet. 3:9 ).

Paul presents patience as the premiere expression of love. Positioned at the head of the apostle’s Love Armada—a boat-length or two in front of kindness, courtesy, and forgiveness—is the flagship known as patience. “Love is patient” ( 1 Cor. 13:4 ).

The King James Version renders it “suffereth long” (“suffers long,” NKJV). W. E. Vine indicates that longsuffering is the most frequent meaning of the term in the Bible, and he distinguishes “longsuffering” from “patience” in this way:

• Longsuffering is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate or promptly punish; it is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy, and is used of God, Ex. 34:6 (Sept.); Rom. 2:4; 1 Pet. 3:20.
• Patience is the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial; it is the opposite of despondency and is associated with hope, 1 Thessalonians 1:3; it is not used of God.¹⁷⁴

Leon Morris adds this comment: “First, love is long-suffering. The word Paul uses indicates having patience with people rather than with circumstances (as William Barclay notes). In fact, Paul’s word is the opposite of ‘short-tempered,’ it means—if we may invent a word—‘long-tempered.’”¹⁷⁵

In his commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:4, Matthew Henry says of the term longsuffering:

It can endure evil, injury, and provocation, without being filled with resentment, indignation, or revenge. It makes the mind firm, gives it power over the angry passions, and furnishes it with a persevering patience, that shall rather wait and wish for the reformation of a brother than fly out in resentment of his conduct. It will put up with many slights and neglects from the person it loves, and wait long to see the kindly effects of such patience on him.¹⁷⁶

David exemplifies longsuffering. King Saul persistently seeks to kill David, once he knows he will someday replace him as king of Israel. David not only endures this persecution graciously, refusing to take the king’s life when given the chance, he actively seeks to do good to Saul. David is both longsuffering and kind.

For the Christian, longsuffering is not optional. Longsuffering is named as one of the “fruits of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). We are commanded to be “patient” or to manifest “longsuffering” toward others:

2 With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).

14 And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

The Corinthians must have cringed as they read these words since they clearly fell far short of what God required of them regarding longsuffering. The Corinthians found it unbearable to wait for those who could not arrive before they started to eat the meal at the church’s weekly gathering. Paul had to command them to wait for one another. Had love been present in Corinth, it would have prompted them to wait (see 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). And when one Corinthian Christian irritated another, the response was, “I’ll see you in court!” (see chapter 6). This is not patience!

Before we begin to feel too smug, we are not doing all that well either. Christians in our part of the world are not inclined to endure ill-treatment from anyone. How often do you hear, “I wouldn’t put up with that!” Putting up with ill treatment is what longsuffering is all about. We are to put up with one another: “Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Colossians 3:13). We should silently endure ill treatment from unbelievers and believers alike, even as our Lord did (1 Peter 2:18ff.; see also Matthew 17:17; Acts 13:18). Let us not forget all that Paul put up with from the Corinthians (see 4:6-21).

James Dobson wrote a book on the subject of “tough love,” an expression I hear often these days. Certainly there is a need for tough love in the sense that we must “get tough” with those whom we love, like our children and other family members. I would suggest we also need another kind of tough love. We personally need the kind of love which makes us tough enough to handle the grief others give us.

Love’s patience is the ability to be inconvenienced or taken advantage of by a person over and over again and yet not be upset or angry Chrysostom, the early church Father, said, “It is a word which is used of the man who is wronged and who has it easily in his power to avenge himself but will never do it.” Patience never retaliates.

Like love itself, the patience spoken of in the New Testament was a virtue only among Christians. In the Greek world self-sacrificing love and nonavenging patience were considered weaknesses, unworthy of the noble man or woman.

Aristotle, for example, taught that the great Greek virtue was refusal to tolerate insult or injury and to strike back in retaliation for the slightest offense. Vengeance was a virtue. The world has always tended to make heroes of those who fight back, who stand up for their welfare and rights above all else.

But love, God’s love, is the very opposite. Its primary concern is for the welfare of others, not itself, and it is much more willing to be taken advantage of than to take advantage, much less to avenge. Love does not retaliate. The  Christian who acts like Christ never takes revenge for being hurt or insulted or abused. He refuses to “pay back evil for evil” (Rom. 12:17), but if he is slapped on the right cheek, he will turn the left (Matt. 5:39).

Since Adam and Eve first disobeyed Him, God has been continually wronged and rejected by those He made in His own image. He was rejected and scorned by His chosen people, through whom he gave the revelation of His Word, “the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2). Yet through the thousands of years, the eternal God has been eternally long-suffering. If the holy Creator is so infinitely patient with His rebellious creatures, how much more should His unholy creatures be patient with each other?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith” (Galatians 5:22).

“Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Col. 1:11).

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2).

1) Patience is a duty

We need to make this point clear because in 1 Corinthians 13 Paul is basically descriptive versus being imperative. “Take a look,” he says, “here is what love is, this is what it looks like.” The idea of duty stems from the fact that Paul’s whole point in this chapter is to show us an excellent pathway for our footsteps. This is the narrow way that Christ spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount. The excellence of love is the way to obtaining the gifts and using them.

Description serves to map out the duties of love. Here is what love looks like; now that is what you are to look like in your conduct. There is the pathway; now walk in that way. Description is for subscription. Knowledge is for action; all Christian learning is for obedient learning and should be pursued to that end. We should always be looking for how to improve our conduct based on what we learn from Scripture.

Thus 12:31 governs every description like an overlay. If you think of each fruit of love as a separate page, the overlay of 12:31 can be placed on each page where it adds the dimension of duty to the picture. Excellence, excellent graces, Christian virtues are placed before our eyes in all their perfection to aid us and inspire us in the way of duty.

The extreme height of this duty is not a discouragement. It is helpful to have clear goals and to know that this goal and that goal are required of me by the Lord. That He requires it is all the assurance I need to know that He will be my helper and my rock of strength.

Very specifically then, it is your duty to cultivate the Christian virtue of patience toward God. We need to have a sense of duty and diligence. It is like pondering a road map very carefully so we can travel in the right direction.

2) Patience is rooted in Christ

This answers the question, “How could Abraham show such patience toward God?

It was the fact that he fixed his gaze on the Lord Jesus. Somehow, Abraham saw the day of Christ and rejoiced (Jn. 18:56). This is interesting language when we remember that Isaac means laughter and joy. Abraham saw the greater Isaac in his son Isaac. He embraced the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. He believed that He would be the promised offspring of Eve who would bring restoration from all the effects of the fall.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, cultivates patience. To be patient we must fix our gaze on Him not on the stormy waters surrounding us.

3) Patience focuses on the covenant keeping God

Abraham focused on God’s righteousness, His promise, and His ability as the Sovereign Judge of the entire earth. By imitating his example, we are enabled to wait for God’s time, place, and way of fulfillment without complaining and with a calm spirit within.

Did Abraham ever see his descendents like the sand of the sea? Did he ever possess the land? Did he ever see the blessing of the nations through his son and his greater son? No. But he did come to see God and to know Him better and better. He and all the patriarchs died not having obtained the promises (Heb. 11:13). Abraham was content to have nothing of this world for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:10).

This is the outlook toward the future that we should likewise cultivate. No doubt we all have things that we desire deeply and that we thought the Lord would have given to us by now in our lives (life time goals, the salvation of the unsaved, etc.). So we pray, work, long, wait, and wait still longer. He is righteous and He is able. He will keep His promises. To this end the Lord assures us by adding oath to promise (Heb. 6:16-20).

4) Patience is first and foremost a matter of love

This specific fruit of love, loving patience, is rooted in our love to Christ. It is how we love Him. We long for Him. “O Lord Jesus how long, how long, shall we shout the glad song, Christ is returning, Christ is returning, hallelujah, amen.” Love means that we will look to our God as the covenant keeping God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So we wait patiently. The key is waiting for Him to act; looking for Him to act. In other words, patience is a way of waiting with love for God because we wait for Him.

Love is Patient toward Sinners (1 Cor. 13:4)

Introduction

In the big picture, to be loving is the way to live a life that communicates meaning, that has music, significance, dignity, and value. Without it you are nothing and your life has no value (1 Cor. 13:1-3). Love in this chapter has to be seen as a product of redemption because of the good fruits here that come from formerly corrupt trees. The love of the triune God is being reflected in the lives of redeemed sinners. It is reflected or manifested in specific ways. The first specific cited by Paul is patience (13:4).

On one hand, patience is a virtue intimately connected to God’s dealings with man by covenant. It is a way of waiting that is associated with faith since we are called “to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Heb. 6:12). So being patient is a way of loving God.

On the other hand, patience is a love fruit that has a human to human dimension involving patience toward sinners in the church and outside the church (toward sinners and sinner-saints).

Thus there is both a vertical direction and a horizontal direction to the patience of love. Today I will discuss two things about the horizontal direction: a) patience in ministry of the word, and b) patience in life in the world.

1A. Patience in ministry of the word

As we take up our duties in relation to others, the vertical direction must always be present in the back of our minds. In relation to God, patience means to wait for the Lord to keep His promises. It means to wait calmly in obedience without complaining. We thus wait upon Him as Sovereign Lord for His way, time, and place of covenant keeping. Therefore, there is a time between; there is a now and a not yet to the coming of the kingdom.

The time between the comings of the Lord Jesus is a time of promise and waiting for the fulfillment of promise. In the middle, we are given reiteration and confirmation of His promise by means of the preaching of the word.

Here patience applies to the flock in a distinctive way and it applies to the minister in a distinctive way. It relates to how I give and how you receive correction, rebuke, and encouragement in the preaching of the word (2 Tim. 4:2). The same thing applies in different ways according to our stations in life (with nuances peculiar to each).

1) Let’s begin with loving patience on the part of the flock. Again, patience is oriented to how you receive correction, rebuke, and encouragement in the preaching of the word both publicly and privately (2 Tim. 4:2; Acts 20). So what is distinctive, at least, what is cited and stressed in this connection for our instruction? Distinctive in a patient receiving of the ministry of the word is to receive it without complaining and whining (expressing dissatisfaction in a grumpy manner). It is a Christian grace and the mark of a godly church.

A key text is Numbers 21:4-5. Impatience showed itself both against the Lord and against His servant Moses who led God’s flock by the word and prayer. Expressions of discontentment, dissatisfaction, and resentment cause distraction and lead to divisions. Thus patience is having a contentment of heart looking to the Lord of the covenant who has ordained the foolishness of preaching to confound the wise.

You need to be patient with me and I think you are. This is one of the joys that I have in serving you. I have never heard a discouraging or complaining word from any of you over the course of my labors on your behalf. This is remarkable to me because I know that I am a sinner and that I fail you in many ways. It is remarkable because you put up with me even though there are things about which we no doubt disagree. There are things I do that you would not do, that you do not like, or that you would do differently if you were in my shoes.

There has been constructive criticism. This is truly appreciated both in its fact and its manner. What I sense is that you are willing to wait. You are willing to give me time to do my work and you give time for the profit to come. You are looking for the benefit that God will give through the means He has appointed. You are waiting for the seed that is being sown to grow into a full harvest. You wait for it to grow by the blessing of the Holy Spirit.

You are waiting for the coming of the Lord with patience like a farmer who values the means as well as the ends (Jam. 5:7). Valuing the means God has ordained is a key to patient reception of the word preached.

It may be the case that at times the preaching of the word goes beyond “preachin'” to “meddlin.'” It may be painful to receive correction but you do not complain. I sense that you are taking up the word preached with a determination to understand it and to live by it. Patient receiving of the word seeks for obedience in all learning. It includes a willingness to change.

By your patient spirit, I feel loved and I am encouraged in doing my work. Biblically there is a full circle here because in the end it is to your advantage when you promote my joy as I watch over your souls (Heb. 13:17). Instead of complaining against me in your speech I sense that you are helping me by your prayers. For this I give thanks to the Lord Jesus.  You are to be commended. This is pleasing to the Lord. Just consider how He judged Israel for their impatience sending fiery serpents so that many died (Num. 21:6f) and what He tells us of His anger at Israel’s complaining (Num. 11:1, “His anger was kindled and the fire of the Lord burned among them”).

2) On the other side of the equation, what do you think would be most appropriate in the patience of the minister of the word (2 Tim. 4:2)? What is peculiar or distinctive here? What sin might commonly surface in this connection? Specifically, what element of patience is particularly called for?

One answer to this question or one way to answer it is to think through the “grow seeds grow” line in the children’s story of Frog and Toad. Toad got very impatient with the seeds he planted because they did not immediately spring up. Applied to preaching this may come out in the minister’s disappointment with the fact that things he preaches may seem to fall on deaf ears. It is difficult to see spiritual growth; it is like the pot that takes forever to boil.

I deeply desire the blessing of the Spirit and the fruits of righteousness in your lives. But I have to ask myself, “What if you don’t see my point or don’t agree if you do see it?” What if I am right and feel deeply convinced of your need on this, that or the other thing, but you do not see it? (cf. Sabbath keeping for example). What then does patience contribute to correction, rebuke, and encouragement with careful instruction? It seems to me that of the associated graces and virtues, the ones most needed and perhaps tested here are gentleness and steadfastness. When lovingly patient, the servant of the Lord will not be harsh, unreasonable, quarrelsome, and demanding (2 Tim. 2:24f). He will not give up easily but will press on toward the high mark of due diligence, carefulness, and faithfulness waiting for God to give repentance.

I think that this is most difficult for a minister if he does not fix his focus on the sovereign dealing of our covenant Lord with His church. Again, that is the true resource and strength. Over the years some of the deepest afflictions that I have experienced have been in the context of serving the Lord’s people (with my expectations, naiveté, and failings mixed in of course). I suppose it goes with having something that you deeply care about so the disappointments can be profound. Still, God is faithful and we have a worthwhile cause seeking His honor and glory above all else and amidst all the confusion.

Waiting for God (while trusting in His sovereignty, righteousness, and wisdom) is a foundation for patience in the context of ministry of the word for both pastor and flock.

Patience is fundamental in our mutual relationships in the body of Christ as we help one another by warning, comforting, and upholding the unruly, the fainthearted, and the weak (1 Thess. 5:14). Any of us may be any of these things at one time or another, so we need a “one anothering” that demonstrates great patience. This is filled out in Ephesians 4:2-3, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Patience is needed in order to bear with one another. Interestingly, we have to admit to a tendency to irritate and injure one another. In this context of the people of God, we are to exercise patience toward sinner-saints.

We have given some thought to patience in the ministry of the word and in the life of the church. Let’s now turn to patience in life in the world.

2A. Patience in life in the world

Now we need to think about how love is patient toward unbelieving sinners (with implications here for patience toward sinner-saints as well). The hard truth is that love applies in our experience with those who sin against us. Attention is placed on how we are to love those who hurt and injure us.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul puts patience in the context of hardships, sufferings, beatings, and afflictions (1-6). A trick here is to learn how to be patient with complaining, grumbling, and impatient people (Jude 1:16, the ungodly are harsh grumblers, malcontents who follow their own sinful desires; note the three elements of impatience that imply three elements of patience). And Paul relates his experience to all that seek to live godly lives (2 Tim. 3:10-11). Evil people may injure us as they either oppose the gospel or simply pursue their sinful ways. There are many ways that people may hurt us deeply as you can well imagine (just think of something that probably just happened in your life). However, a contrast applies to Christians: “But as for you” (2 Tim. 3:14). Christians follow Paul’s teaching/living and thus his patience in relation to evil people (2 Tim. 3:10f.).

Love in this context is patient. Patience is the way we show love to sinful people at the very point where they cross our path and cause us grief and pain. This can be stated negatively and positively.

1B. Negatively

Negatively speaking, the patience of love means that we bear injuries without retaliating in thought, word, or deed. Perhaps, the best passage on this point is the teaching of Jesus on nonresistance (Matt. 5:38-39). We have to interpret this passage within the flow of thought of the Sermon accenting the inner man of the heart, the use of figurative language, the contrast with Pharisaic mis-interpretation, and common sense. Jesus is not being literal. He is not saying that if someone literally knocked the teeth out of one side of your mouth you are blessed if you turn the other cheek and let him knock the teeth out of the other side as well. This goes against the principle of self-defense and the promotion of life in the sixth commandment.

The problem is that the Pharisees took the eye for an eye principle of civil justice and applied it to personal vendettas. Thus, Jesus is not denying the eye for an eye principle of civil justice but He is denying the practice of personal retaliation. And the figurative language makes the powerful point that we are to be so far removed from personal retaliation that it is as if we were to literally turn the other cheek to our physical harm. In other words, turning the other cheek is going to an extreme physically, a point farthest removed from hitting back to harm your opponent. This serves to illustrate and drive home the point of how far we are to be removed from retaliation in the spiritual man of the heart. We are not only to be removed from returning physical harm for physical harm but we are to be so far removed from retaliation that we do not return evil for evil in any way in thought, word, or deed. That is what patient love is not; it is without retaliation of any kind.

On the positive side, patient love is calm, gentle, and forgiving.

1. a) It means that the one who “owes us” is not made to pay. We are willing to give time with mercy. We are willing to forgive, which is the driving point of the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt. 18:21f.).
2. b) Furthermore, if you do not retaliate in thought then your inner spirit is not filled with ill will wishing for revenge with malice boiling in your heart. One thing that will not be present in your soul if you are gripped by malice and ill will is calmness. You will not be at rest or have peace within. Patience means that you will endure afflictions at the hands of sinners with a calm spirit.
3. c) Finally, it means that your responses to people will be gentle. Gentleness is an outward expression of an inward calm. If you do not lash out in retaliation, what do you do? You respond with deliberation and great care even when you must confront and reprove. Our Lord guides us to this way of love when He speaks of logs in our own eyes and specks of sawdust in the eyes of others. You must be gentle in the process of removing something small from someone’s eye.

In summary then we can say that stated negatively patient love responds to injury without retaliating in thought, word, or deed. Stated positively, patient love responds to injury with calmness, gentleness, and forgiveness.

Conclusion: Final Perspectives and an Objection

A. The “how” question and some perspectives

How can we have a calm spirit when injured and hurt by others? This could be frightening when we reflect on man’s cruelty. And no one likes pain though sometimes by our own folly we may appear to be gluttons for punishment. So how can we endure injury that causes us very personal pain? How can we bear it without retaliating in deed or thought? How can we bear it with a calm, gentle, and forgiving spirit? These questions raise some very important perspectives.

1) First, we need know that the Lord is with us.

This will enable us to be calm. It is by remembering what our Lord has said that grounds what we can say in the middle of it all. He has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” so that we may confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6). Ponder, meditate on, and cling to this fact, “the Lord is with me in this.”

2) Second, we need to know that the Lord is in control.

When others hurt you, remember that ultimately this has come from your Father’s hand. That is a remarkable point that does not excuse people for their wrongdoing. When others afflict us as they pursue their sinful ways, they are accountable for their actions. Nevertheless, God is working out His purposes governing all things without fail. He is working all things in accordance with His will and for your good (Eph. 1:11; Rom. 8:28).

This means in the end that how we react to the wrongs that strike us personally and painfully is first and foremost a reaction to Lord. It is not simply a reaction He sees (that is before Him). It is a reaction to Him. It is absolutely imperative in this present evil age that we fix our thoughts on this fact. No one can do anything to afflict us unless the Lord so designs it (In the words of the hymn writer God says, “I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”).

3) Third, we need to know that the Lord will right all wrongs.

Thus, the Lord is not pleased with the sins of men against us. These are sometimes difficult thoughts to keep together. Here is a rich complex of thoughts: that injury at the hands of men is from the hand of God and that it displeases the Lord who will take vengeance in His appointed time. He says that He will repay (Heb. 10:30). We are not to try to make this payment. It is His job and not ours. He will right all the wrongs!

4) Fourth, we need to know that the Lord gives us warning.

The harshness of the unforgiving servant is severely punished. The Lord tells us that we will be judged according to how we judge others; the way we measure the sins against us is how our sins will be measured (Matt. 7:2). Will it be with exactness, precision, and harshness without mercy? Then that is how God will measure our sins. If you forgive, the Father in heaven will forgive you. However, if you do not forgive sins and injuries against you, then you will not be forgiven (Matt. 6:14-15).

5) Finally, we need to know that the Lord Himself is our great example. Just think of what the Lord Jesus endured, how He endured, and for whom He endured injury at the hands of sinners. His own received Him not. He was faulted by all, opposed on every hand, challenged by the religious leaders, and hated without just cause. The Lord of glory was simply in their way. He was a rejected stone cast aside by the builders of God’s house in Israel. More than once the people tried to kill Him. Finally they succeeded by a mockery of civil justice. Even His friends forsook Him: “Friends through fear His cause disowning, foes insulting His distress. Many hands were raised to wound Him. None would interpose to save.” Nonetheless, with a calm soul and a determined heart, our Lord went as a lamb to the slaughter. On the cross He prayed that those who afflict Him may be forgiven. His patience was perfect. This excellence of His love in this regard is our example (1 Tim. 1:16) and God’s patience is our salvation (2 Pet. 3:15, “count the patience of our Lord as salvation”).

B. A common objection

We may reason in our hearts that the call to this excellence of loving patience is unrealistic. Some may say that we are talking here about evil acts of evil people on one hand and evil acts against me personally and painfully on the other hand. This is a double-barreled hurt that I cannot tolerate. J. Edwards asks some powerful questions to stop such rationalizing. I will paraphrase them somewhat (Charity, 92-95; the full text is well worth your reading).

Are these so-called “intolerable” injuries against you more than what you have offered to God by sinning against His matchless perfection? Do you not hope for patience from God for your intolerable acts against Him? When God is patient toward you, do you greatly approve of such mercy? Should you not imitate God in being patient toward others? Should God use all your objections to this grace against you? Did Christ give you a worthy example to follow? Is it a more provoking thing for men to tread on and injure you, than for you to tread on and injure Christ by disobeying Him by not pursuing the excellence of loving patience?

Thus, in the church and in the world, loving patience is an excellent way, “so walk ye in it.”

 

Control yourself! Anger is only one letter short of danger.    — Anonymous. Men of Integrity, Vol. 2, no. 3.

My seven-year-old daughter wanted to take violin lessons, so I took her to a music store to rent an instrument.  Hoping she would understand the importance of practicing, I explained that violin lessons were expensive so she would have to work hard. “There may be times when you feel like giving up,” I said, “but I want you to hang in there and keep on trying.”

She nodded and then in her most serious voice said, “It will be just like marriage, right Mommy?”    — Debra K. Johnson, Dublin Ohio, Christian Reader, May/June 1996, p. 58.

Sixteenth-century spiritual director Francois Fenelon clarifies a confusing biblical concept:

Self-denial has its place in a Christian’s life, but God doesn’t ask you to choose what is most painful to you. If you followed this path you would soon ruin your health, reputation, business, and friendship.

Self-denial consists of bearing patiently all those things that God allows to pass into your life. If you don’t refuse anything that comes in God’s order, you are tasting of the cross of Jesus Christ. — Francois Fenelon, The Seeking Heart, (Library of Spiritual Classics), p. 24, Leadership, Vol. 21, no. 3.

PATIENCE

“Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by.” Life is like that; one stitch at a time taken patiently, and the pattern will come out all right like embroidery. Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894)

A delay is better than a disaster.

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains. Dutch Proverb

All comes at the proper time to him who knows how to wait. Saint Vincent de Paul (1581–1660)

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself. Saint Francis of Sales (1567–1622)

Dear God, please grant me patience. And I want it right now.

Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly; many things lie unsolved, and the biggest test of all is that God looks as if he were totally indifferent. Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)

God engineers our circumstances as he did those of his Son; all we have to do is to follow where he places us. The majority of us are busy trying to place ourselves. God alters things while we wait for him. Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)

God often permits us to be perplexed so that we may learn patience. T. J. Bach

Have patience! All things are difficult before they become easy. Persian Proverb

He that can have patience can have what he wills. Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

Never become irritable while waiting; if you are patient, you’ll find that you can wait much faster.

Never cut what you can untie. Joseph Joubert (1754–1824)

Never think that God’s delays are God’s denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius.

Comte Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707–1788)

No one will ever know the full depth of his capacity for patience and humility as long as nothing bothers him. It is only when times are troubled and difficult that he can see how much of either is in him. Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181–1226)

One minute of patience, ten years of peace. Greek Proverb

One moment of patience may prevent disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a life. Chinese Proverb

Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. Johann Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805)

Patience achieves more than force. Edmund Burke (1729–1797)

Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains. William Penn (1644–1718)

Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it’s cowardice. George Jackson (1785–1861)

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)

Patience is the ability to put up with people you’d like to put down. Ulrike Ruffert

Patience is the companion of wisdom. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430)

Patience is the mother of expectation. Henri J. M. Nouwen

Patience means waiting without anxiety. Saint Francis of Sales (1567–1622)

Patience: accepting a difficult situation without giving God a deadline to remove it. Bill Gothard

Patient waiting is often the highest way of doing God’s will. Jeremy Collier (1650–1726)

Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.

Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work. Peter Marshall (1902–1949)

The Almighty is working on a great scale and will not be hustled by our peevish impetuosity. William Graham Scroggie (1877–1958)

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open.  Arnold Glasgow

The times we find ourselves having to wait on others may be the perfect opportunities to train ourselves to wait on the Lord. Joni Eareckson Tada

There is no such thing as preaching patience into people unless the sermon is so long they have to practice it while they hear. No man can learn patience except by going out into the hurly-burly world and taking life just as it blows. Patience is riding out the gale.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887)

To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength. But I know of something that implies a strength greater still. It is the power to work under stress, to continue under hardship, to have anguish in your spirit and still perform daily tasks. This is a Christlike thing. The hardest thing is that most of us are called to exercise patience, not in the sick bed, but in the street. George Matheson (1842–1906)

Wait on the Lord in prayer as you sit on the freeway, sharing with him the anxiety of so many jobs to be done in such a short time. Watch your frustrations melt into praise as you sing hymns and choruses for his ears alone. Joni Eareckson Tada

We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them.

Simone Weil (1909–1943)

We must wait for God, long, meekly, in the wind and wet, in the thunder and lightning, in the cold and the dark. Wait, and he will come. He never comes to those who do not wait.

Frederick William Faber (1814–1863)

 

Why are we so impatient? (Why is it difficult to cultivate patience?)
It’s difficult to be patient isn’t in an environment that is more suited to cultivating impatience than patience.

We are a culture of the quick fix rather than the long haul. We are the product of 200 years of the modern scientific age. A lot of good has come from that. But we have picked up some bad habits too. One of the most unfortunate results of the modern age is arrogance. We have assumed that we can solves any problem and along with advances in industrialization and transportation we assume that we can fix anything now. (If anything good is coming of post-modernism, it is that the consequences of our arrogance are now convicting us to be a bit more humble).

In every area of our lives we are often committed to the quick fix. Politics: “Why haven’t we rebuilt the Gulf Coast? It’s been weeks! Why haven’t we won the war on terror? It’s been years!” Health: “Do you want to lose weight instantly? Here’s the solution …” People seek out doctors to get the quick fix for what’s wrong with them, but they don’t realize that health is often the result of how they have been caring for themselves over the long haul. Faith: “I want to grow as a Christian and I want to do it now!” God saves us instantly, but salvation lasts for eternity. Some of us want to cultivate the fruit of the spirit right now, or at the end of this season. But cultivation is a lifelong process and in an impatient culture that is intimidating, but that’s the way the world really is. When we cultivate patience we learn that the best things take time. Olive tree farmers know that. An olive tree will only start to bear fruit in its 5th or 6th year, and doesn’t reach maximum yield until it is 30 or 40 years old. When the olive growers in the Middle East plant an olive tree, they say a prayer: “God protect it and make it grow so that my children’s grandchildren will benefit from its abundance.” Once I heard a story that an olive tree farmer said that he harvests the trees his father planted and he plants the trees his son will harvest. That is patience.

We are obsessed with speed and productivity. Because of that obsession, some olive trees have been forced to yield maximum harvest in 5 to 6 years. Now think, is that so we can have better olives or is it to make more profit more quickly? Our obsession with speed and productivity is rooted in greed which is the antithesis to patience.

A few weeks ago I was in Silver Dollar City watching the knifesmith. He described our culture as a throwaway culture. That’s why his trade (which is really just a hobby for him) is no more. The way he makes knives is just for collectors and hobbyists, but it used to be for everday work. The knife smith worked in an inefficient and slow way to make a knife that would last for generations. But now knives are pressed on a machine that can turn out thousands in the time it takes the knife smith to make one. That makes the knives cheaper and easily replaceable. But are they better knives? Are they items that can be passed on to your children and maybe even grandchildren?
Our obsession with speed and productivity has put even our faith on the clock. We want to attend to all of our spiritual needs in one hour a week. And God help us the church has sometimes catered to this fixation with productivity. A church in Orange County, California has a slogan “Give us 90 minutes of your time and we will change your life.” Well, that is a step better than Jesus who asks us to take up our cross and follow him for the rest of our lives. But then we are so much more advanced than Jesus was back in the first century, yes?

We regard time as a commodity rather than a gift. One of the advancements since Jesus is the clock. (The concept of the “second” wasn’t invented until the 1700’s). People have always had means for gauging time, but the mechanical clock allowed us to standardize time. And now we feel that what started as a tool has become a master. We are now a tool of the tool. This is toxic to patience because Our lives have become ordered by an unnatural rhythm instead of the rhythms of God’s created order. God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Do you see how God built patience into the natural rhythm of the created order. He gave us the lights in the heavens to order the times and seasons. But we have invented artificial light and weather so that we can order time our way! And we are more impatient and stressed out than ever. Think about it, what is the most common response you get to the question “How are you doing?” – BUSY!

This busy-ness has changed the way we view time. It is a commodity, not a gift from God. We hoard it and sell it. The language we use with time is unique to our culture. We “spend” time. We “invest” time. We “waste” time. We “steal” time and “take-up” time. We have invented the concept of quality time as an excuse to spend less time with people. We are apologetic of intruding on one’s time and we are disturbed sometimes when others want to take some of our time. Why? Because we all have the sense that there is precious little time – but more because we regard time as “my time, my day.” It is mine! Now how does that make us patient? How does that help us cultivate the spirit among us that is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

How shall we cultivate patience? If we want to cultivate patience we must actively resist the powers that make us impatient.

1. Give away time in worship, fellowship and service.– Time is a gift from God. We are destined for an eternity, so time isn’t something scarce. Spend time with God in worship. Worship with others and let’s come to the table as if we are coming to a banquet not fast-food carry out. Let’s spend time with one another for no other reason than to know one another. (What I appreciate about our Care Groups and LIFE groups is that so many in our groups, especially our new ones, have said that they want to give up their “personal time” to spend it with others. They realize that there is a power of selfishness and impatience that needs to be challenged.) If we spend time in service with others, do it just to serve others not to be more productive.
2. Appreciate the journey as much as the destination.– Our impatient culture wants to convince us that the end product or the destination is all that matters. The quicker you arrive there or produce it the better. In 2001 my family took a trip in an RV to New York, my father’s home. The journey is as much a part of that trip as the destination. In some ways even more so. How will our children remember our faith? By the destination or the journey. When we read the stories of the patriarchs, we see that the journey is even more important than the destination, because the goals weren’t always achieved in one generation.
3. Trust the future to God.– Much of our impatience is rooted in the fact that we do not trust the future to God. We have forgotten the stories. God doesn’t abandon us. He doesn’t leave us with a set of Tinkertoys and Lego’s and say build it yourself. He is working in the details to accomplish all things in his own time and his own way.
4. Forgive others.(See Matthew 18:23-35) – If we truly want to be patient, then we need to be as patient with others as God is with us. This is the point of Jesus vivid parable about the unforgiving servant. You have been forgiven of so much by a God who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. How dare you not be forgiving of others. “But you don’t understand they did …!” This isn’t about them. It’s about God. It is about cultivating patience. It’s about being like God.

[1] Bruce B. Barton and Gant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 187.

[2] Joh+++n F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 337–339.

Division was a major problem in the church at Corinth. Each group followed its chosen human leader, exercised its gifts selfishly, and cared little for the health or ministry of the whole body.

Communion was doing more harm than good. The church had received an abundance of spiritual gifts (1:4–7), but they were lacking in spiritual graces.

Spiritual gifts had become symbols of spiritual power, causing rivalries in the church because some people thought they were more “spiritual” than others because of their gifts.

This was a terrible misuse of spiritual gifts because their purpose is always to help the church function more effectively, not to divide it. We can be divisive if we insist on using our gift our own way without being sensitive to others.

 We share the same confession: Christ is Lord  (vv. 1–3).

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

A citizen of the Roman Empire was required once a year to put a pinch of incense on the altar and say, “Caesar is Lord!” This was anathema to believers. No true Christian could call anyone but Christ “Lord,” so this was a definite test of faith.

We serve the same God (vv. 4–6).

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

The church, like the human body, has diversity in unity. Our human members all differ, yet they work together for the health of the body. In the spiritual body of the church, we possess gifts from the Holy Spirit (v. 4), partake in service to the same Lord Jesus Christ (v. 5), and share in the workings of the same Father (v. 6).

Our diversity seeks to build up the same body (vv. 7–13).

Paul now lists the spiritual gifts and shows that they are given for the benefit of the whole church, and not for the private enjoyment of the individual Christians.

⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

We must distinguish between: (1) the spiritual Gift, which is the Spirit Himself, received at baptism (Eph. 1:13–14);

(2) spiritual gifts, which are ministries to the church through the Spirit, and not just natural abilities or talents

(3) spiritual offices, which are positions of trust in the local church

(4) spiritual graces, which are the fruit of the Spirit in Christian conduct.

Paul compares the body of Christ to a human body. Each part has a specific function that is necessary to the body as a whole. The parts are different for a purpose, and in their differences they must work together. Diversity can maintain unity as long as all submit to one Lord.

Christians must avoid two common errors: (1) being too proud of their abilities; and (2) thinking they have nothing to give to the body of believers.

Instead of comparing ourselves to one another, we should use our different gifts, together, to spread the Good News. We speak Christ’s “body language” when we practice our unique gifts under his sole authority.

It is clear from 1 Cor. 13:8 that some of the gifts granted to the early church were never meant to be permanent. When the church was in its infancy (13:11), before the completion of the NT Scriptures, these gifts were needed; but they are not needed today. These “sign gifts” are not necessary for the ministry of the church.

Every person is valuable! (vs. 14-20)

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The Spirit places each believer in the body as He sees fit, but each part of the body has an important ministry to perform. “Many members in one body” is the program for this present age.

2. We Need Each Other (12:21–25)

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

Paul argued for diversity of gifts and acceptance of the full range of gifts that God gives to his people. No one should feel superior about his or her gift; instead, all should use their gifts to willingly serve.

Too often the “up-front” gifts are more highly regarded than the “behind-the-scenes” gifts, like helping and serving. No one should discount the contribution of another person, no matter how insignificant it may seem.

We should not be dissatisfied with the gift God has given us but be eager to serve. Nor should we envy those who seem to have more gifts than we do. In love, treat everyone’s gift, yours included, as valuable to God.

Paul teaches that every member of the body is essential to the life, health, and growth of the church.

No Christian can say to his less-gifted brother, “I don’t need you!” In fact, those parts of our body that seem the least important can do the most good—or cause the most trouble if not functioning properly!

We are responsible to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take no credit for what God has freely given us.

Note that discussions about spiritual gifts usually create difficulties when two central points are overlooked:

(1) Properly used, spiritual gifts are not self-serving but serve the whole body of Christ;

(2) each gift becomes practically useless when used without love. As we seek to identify and utilize the gifts, let us make the love of God and the love of fellow Christians our highest motives.

We Affect Each Other (27)

²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

It is important that we realize our relationship to one another in the church. There can be unity even where there is not uniformity.

Christ never prayed for uniformity in His church, but for the same spiritual unity that exists between Him and His Father. We should likewise pray for spiritual unity and do all we can to guard it and extend it.

The idea that Christians can somehow function and flourish outside of the body of Christ sounds as ludicrous as a rebellious ear or foot. Solitary Christianity has no basis in God’s Word. We need the church, and we are needed by other Christians.

There should be no division (schism) in the body, since we all share the same life through the Spirit. But it is not enough simply to avoid division; we must also care for each other and seek to build the church and strengthen the body.

In the human body, the weakness or pain of one member affects the other members. This is also true in the spiritual body: one believer suffers, we all suffer; if one member grows in strength, we all receive help. This fact lays upon each Christian the responsibility for being the strongest member possible.

It is essential that we keep in mind God’s method for strengthening the body. He has chosen spiritual leaders, given them spiritual gifts, and placed them in the body as He chooses. There were, in the early days of the church, apostles, and prophets. There are no apostles today, since it was necessary to have seen the risen Christ to qualify for apostleship.

²⁸ And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts. 1 And I will show you a still more excellent way.

We must recognize, however, that God’s purpose in giving gifts has little to do with self-esteem. We cannot ask for gifts in order to feel more powerful, important, or significant (James 4:3). When we make it our goal to be available to God and to seek to serve others for Christ’s sake, our spiritual gifts will come to the surface. We may need the insight of others to recognize our specific gifts.

Consider these steps:  

1. Ask God to increase your usefulness.    

2.  Seek opportunities of service.

3. Observe how other believers serve.

4. Ask those you’ve served and those who serve with you to help you discern your spiritual strengths.   

5. Practice these gifts even more.

10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

Paul mentions again that these punitive actions taken by God were to serve as examples for Christian believers. In fact, Paul continues, these were recorded in Scripture to provide warnings for Corinthian saints.

While Scripture clearly has a manifold purpose for the people of God, one of those purposes is to contain warnings so that God’s people do not continue to make the same mistakes that their spiritual ancestors made at an earlier time (2 Tim 3:16–17).

The term “warnings” (νουθεσία, nouthesia and cognates) was a favorite of Paul’s. In fact Paul saw warning as a very important part of his apostolic ministry and the ministry that believers had with one another. (See use of this Greek term in Rom 15:14; 1 Cor 4:14; Col 1:28; 3:16; 1 Thess 5:12, 14; 2 Thess 3:15; and Titus 3:10). Paul ends this verse with a very important reference of eschatological significance to his readership.

The apostle’s phrase “ends of the ages” (translated by the NIV as “the fulfillment of the ages”) clearly reflects his eschatological perspective. When Paul uses the term “ages” he is reflecting the Jewish apocalyptic notion of this age and of the coming age (cf. Eph 1:21; 2:7). The apostle has already used the phrase “this age” in 1 Cor 1:20; 2:6, 8; 3:18 in a pejorative sense. Because of Christ’s resurrection and current reign at the right hand of God, Paul affirms that Christians live in the final period of human history, a period whose boundaries are set by the resurrection and ascension of Christ at one end and by Christ’s second coming at the other end.

Since all of God’s prior dealings with mankind, both through his general revelation as well as his revelation through his elect people, pointed toward the age characterized by the reign of Christ, Paul affirms all prior Scriptures have as their ultimate goal instruction and teaching for those who live in the era of the Messiah. This is why Paul so naturally embraces the concept that everything which occurred in past generations and everything recorded in sacred Scripture is meaningful for God’s people who live in the last days of God’s dispensation.

10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Because of the surrounding contextual injunctions against idolatry as well as Paul’s threats to the Corinthians about possible destruction by God, there is little doubt what Paul intends to communicate here. This verse is written to persuade idolatrous Corinthian believers that they can have too much confidence about their security with God. Within the rhetorical context of 1 Cor 10 Paul’s reference to standing firm refers to a misplaced confidence that certain believers have that they can continue to participate in immorality and idolatry and never be punished by God.

Even though these saints had Corinth had been baptized, had partaken of the Lord’s Supper and had a relationship with Christ, none of these insulated them from the need to be told “be careful that you don’t fall.” John Calvin’s interpretation which says that Paul does not want them to “be afraid that there is doubt about their salvation”  can only be maintained by removing this verse from its clear exegetical setting which is characterized by threats of destruction from God because of idolatry, immorality, the testing of God, and open rebellion.

The Christian’s assurance of blamelessness based upon the work of God in Christ (1:7–9) was not meant to negate or undermine the teaching found in ch. 10. In fact, as Paul will point out in v. 13, his acknowledgment of the possibility of destruction from God is not predicated on the issue of the faithfulness of God.^[1]

We are living in a greatly different age from that of the Hebrews in the wilderness under Moses, but we can learn a valuable lesson from their experience. Like them we can forfeit our blessing, reward, and effectiveness in the Lord’s service if, in overconfidence and presumption, we take our liberties too far and fall into disobedience and sin. We will not lose our salvation, but we can easily lose our virtue and usefulness, and become disqualified in the race of the Christian life.

Every believer, especially when he becomes self-confident in his Christian liberty and spiritual maturity, should take heed lest he fall. Paul expresses a timeless principle, articulated in Proverbs as “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (16:18). It is easy to substitute confidence in ourselves for confidence in the Lord—accepting His guidance and blessing and then taking credit for the work He does through us. It is also easy to become so enamored of our freedom in Christ that we forget we are His, bought with a price and called to obedience to His Word and to His service.^[2]

The Bible is filled with examples of the dangers of overconfidence. The book of Esther centers around the plan of a proud and overconfident man who saw his plan backfire. King Ahasuerus of Persia promoted Haman to be his second in command, with instructions for the people to bow before Haman as they would the king. Mordecai, however, would not bow to him, and when the proud and arrogant Haman was told that Mordecai was a Jew he persuaded Ahasuerus to declare an edict that would give him revenge on all Jews in the land by having them destroyed. Through the intercession of Queen Esther, also a Jew and the niece of Mordecai, the king issued a far different edict, which allowed and even encouraged the Jews to defend themselves—which they did with great success. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, who was given all of Haman’s possessions and the royal honor Haman had expected for himself.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, taunted Israel with the boast that her God could no more save her than the gods of other lands had saved them. A short time later, “the angel of the Lord went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.” A few days after the defeated king returned to Assyria, he was assassinated by two of his own sons and succeeded on the throne by a third (Isa. 37:36–38).

Peter discovered that where he thought he was strongest and most dependable he actually was the weakest. He assured Jesus, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” But, as Jesus then predicted, before dawn Peter three times denied even knowing Jesus (Luke 22:33–34, 54–62).

The church at Sardis was proud of her reputation for being spiritually alive, but the Lord warned her that she was really dead and needed to repent (Rev. 3:1–2). If she did not He would come upon her like a thief (v. 3)—just as one night enemy soldiers under Cyrus had sneaked into the seemingly impregnable acropolis at Sardis by way of an unguarded footpath. A handful of soldiers crept up the path and opened the gates to the rest of the army. Overconfidence led to carelessness, and carelessness led to defeat.

The self-confident believers at Laodicea thought they were “wealthy” and in “need of nothing,” but were told by the Lord that they were really “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (3:17).

Christians who become self-confident become less dependent on God’s Word and God’s Spirit and become careless in their living. As carelessness increases, openness to temptation increases and resistance to sin decreases. When we feel most secure in ourselves—when we think our spiritual life is the strongest, our doctrine the soundest, and our morals the purest—we should be most on our guard and most dependent on the Lord.

10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

In light of the possibility of falling and being destroyed by God, Paul wants to remind the Corinthians that they cannot justifiably excuse themselves from bearing responsibility in their own sinful behavior. In the Greco-Roman world temptations of immorality, idolatry, etc. were commonplace. This means that the Corinthians cannot excuse themselves on the basis of special pleading regarding their unique circumstances in their temptations.

Next the apostle affirms the faithfulness of God, though it is not a faithfulness which will preclude the possibility of the Corinthians sinning and falling. Rather the faithfulness of God is manifested in the fact that he will support them spiritually and prevent them from being overwhelmed by an unbearable temptation. Kistemaker rightly noted in this regard “God’s faithfulness to his people is perfect, even though man’s faithfulness to him is imperfect. Scripture proves that not God but man is a covenant breaker.”  Since the faithfulness of God is likewise a doctrinal affirmation of the Old Testament, there is no way that Paul would have assumed the affirmation of the faithfulness of God would excuse God’s covenant people from owning moral responsibility.

Nor would the faithfulness of God, as the previous Old Testament illustrations demonstrate, preclude God’s severe punishment of his covenant people. Having spoken a word about the character of God (“God is faithful”) and a word about the action of God (“he will not let you be tempted”), Paul now shifts to the second person plural and tells the Corinthians about their responsibilities. He instructs them with the words, “you can bear,” thereby jerking them out of any misconceived notions of passivity on the part of a believer in moral choices. Paul next affirms that as temptations occur in the context of temptations to immorality and idolatry, God will provide an exit. As the concluding phrase of v. 13 make evident, though, the way out which God provides is that the believer endures the temptation. C.K. Barrett’s analysis of these concluding thoughts and their connection to the following unit of thought in chapter 10 are quite helpful. The Christian

… must resist, and he must not put his trust in false securities; this would be to court and insure disaster. The way out is for those who seek it, not for those who (like the Corinthians) are, where idolatry is concerned, looking for the way in. The connection with the next paragraph makes this clear.

The basic meaning of temptation (peirasmos) is simply to test or prove, and has no negative connotation. Whether it becomes a proof of righteousness or an inducement to evil depends on our response. If we resist it in God’s power, it is a test that proves our faithfulness. If we do not resist, it becomes a solicitation to sin. The Bible uses the term in both ways, and I believe that Paul has both meanings in mind here.

When “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1) it is clear that both God and Satan participated in the testing. God intended the test to prove His Son’s righteousness, but Satan intended it to induce Jesus to misuse His divine powers and to give His allegiance to Satan. Job was tested in much the same way. God allowed Job to be afflicted in order to prove His servant was an “upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Satan’s purpose was the opposite: to prove that Job was faithful only because of the blessings and prosperity the Lord had given him and that, if those things were taken away, Job would “surely curse Thee to Thy face” (v. 11).

God’s tests are never a solicitation to evil, and James strongly corrects those who suggest such a thing. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13). “By evil” is the key to the difference between the two types of temptation. In the wilderness God tested Jesus by righteousness, whereas Satan tested Him by evil. A temptation becomes an inducement to evil only when a person “is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:14–15).

Earlier in his letter James wrote, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (1:2). The nouns trials (see also verse 12) and testing (v. 3) are from the same Greek root as the verb tempted in verses 13–14. The context indicates which sense is meant.

God often brings circumstances into our lives to test us. Like Job we usually do not at the time recognize them as tests, certainly not from God. But our response to them proves our faithfulness or unfaithfulness. How we react to financial difficulty, school problems, health trouble, or business setbacks will always test our faith, our reliance on our heavenly Father. If we do not turn to Him, however, the same circumstances can make us bitter, resentful, and angry. Rather than thanking God for the test, as James advises, we may even accuse Him. An opportunity to cheat on our income tax or take unfair advantage in a business deal will either prove our righteousness or prove our weakness. The circumstance or the opportunity is only a test, neither good nor evil in itself. Whether it results in good or evil, spiritual growth or spiritual decline, depends entirely on our response.

In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus says that we should ask God not to “lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). “Evil” is better translated “the evil one,” referring to Satan. In other words we should pray that God will not allow tests to become temptations, in the sense of inducement to evil. The idea is, “Lord, stop us before Satan can turn your test into his temptation.”

Temptations come into every believer’s life—no one is exempt. Temptation is not sinful; the sin comes when the person gives in to temptation. Believers must not be shocked or discouraged, or think that they are alone in their shortcomings. Instead, they should realize their weaknesses and turn to God to resist the temptation. Enduring temptation brings great rewards (James 1:12). Yet God does not leave his people to Satan’s whims. God is not a spectator; he does not leave his children alone to face whatever temptations Satan can throw at them. Instead, God is faithful. He will not always remove the temptation, because facing it and remaining strong can be a growing experience; however, God does promise to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. This means that there exists no temptation that a believer cannot resist. But the believer must resist and stand against it. Each temptation can be resisted because God made it possible to resist it. The secret to resisting temptation is to recognize the source of the temptation and then to recognize the source of strength in temptation. God promises to give his people the strength to resist.

Not only that, but God also promises to show you a way out so that you will not give in to the temptation and fall into sin. It will take self-discipline to look for that “way out” even in the middle of the temptation and then to take it when it is found. The way out is seldom easy and often requires support from others. One of the God-given ways of escape from temptation is common sense. If a believer knows that he will be tempted in certain situations, then he should stay away from them. Another way out of temptation is through Christian friends. Instead of trying to deal with temptation alone, a believer can explain her dilemma to a close Christian friend and ask for support. This friend can pray, hold the person accountable, and give valuable insights and advice.

The truth is that God loves his people so much that he will protect them from unbearable temptation. And he will always give a way out. Temptation need never drive a wedge between believers and God. Instead, a believer ought to be able to say, “Thank you, God, for trusting me that much. You know I can handle this temptation. Now what do you want me to do?”

BATTLE PLAN

In a culture filled with moral depravity and sin-inducing pressures, Paul gave strong encouragement to the Corinthians about temptation. He said:

• Wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone, so don’t feel as though you have been singled out.
• Others have resisted temptation and so can you.
• Any temptation can be resisted because God will help you resist it.
• God gives you a way to resist temptation by helping you
• recognize people and situations that give you trouble;
• run from anything you know is wrong;
• choose to do only what is right;
• pray for his help; and
• seek friends who love God and can support you when you are tempted.

Running from a tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory (see 2 Timothy 2:22).

The phrase the way is formed by the definite article and a singular noun. In other words, there is only one way. The way of escape from every temptation, no matter what it is, is the same: it is through. Whether we have a test by God to prove our righteousness or a test by Satan to induce to sin, there is only one way we can pass the test. We escape temptation not by getting out of it but by passing through it. God does not take us out; He sees us through by making us able to endure it.

God’s own Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. It was the Father’s will that the Son be there, and Jesus did not leave until all three temptations were over. He met the temptations head-on. He “escaped” the temptations by enduring them in His Father’s power.

God provides three ways for us to endure temptation: prayer, trust, and focusing on Jesus Christ.

“Keep watching and praying, that you may not come into temptation,” Jesus told His disciples (Mark 14:38). If we do not pray, we can be sure a test will turn into temptation. Our first defense in a test or a trial is to pray, to turn to our heavenly Father and put the matter in His hands.

Second, we must trust. When we pray we must pray believing that the Lord will answer and help us. We also trust that, whatever the origin of the trial, God has allowed it to come for our good, to prove our faithfulness. God has a purpose for everything that comes to His children, and when we are tested or tempted we should gladly endure it in His power—for the sake of His glory and of our spiritual growth.

Third, we should focus on our Lord Jesus Christ. “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (Heb. 12:3–4). Christ endured more than we could ever be called on to endure. He understands our trials and He is able to take us through them.

The punishments that came upon the disobedient Israelites not only were an example to their fellow Hebrews but also to believers in every age since. More than that they were given for our instruction, for the benefit of Christians, those upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Instruction (nouthesia) is more than ordinary teaching. It means admonition and carries the connotation of warning. It is counsel given to persuade a person to change behavior in light of judgment. The ends of the ages refers to the time of Messiah, the time of redemption, the last days of world history before the messianic kingdom comes.

We are living in a greatly different age from that of the Hebrews in the wilderness under Moses, but we can learn a valuable lesson from their experience. Like them we can forfeit our blessing, reward, and effectiveness in the Lord’s service if, in overconfidence and presumption, we take our liberties too far and fall into disobedience and sin. We will not lose our salvation, but we can easily lose our virtue and usefulness, and become disqualified in the race of the Christian life.

Every believer, especially when he becomes self-confident in his Christian liberty and spiritual maturity, should take heed lest he fall. Paul expresses a timeless principle, articulated in Proverbs as “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (16:18). It is easy to substitute confidence in ourselves for confidence in the Lord—accepting His guidance and blessing and then taking credit for the work He does through us. It is also easy to become so enamored of our freedom in Christ that we forget we are His, bought with a price and called to obedience to His Word and to His service.

When I visited Israel several years ago I was shown the place at the Golan Heights where, in 1967, the Israelis penetrated the Syrian defenses and secured that strategic area for themselves. From those heights Syrian guns overlooked most of the Galilee region of northern Israel and were a constant threat. The entire Golan area was closely guarded by the Syrians, except for one spot where the cliffs were so high and sheer that they seemed perfectly safe from attack. One night, however, Israeli bulldozers cut out the cliffs enough to push tanks up to the top. By morning a large contingent of tanks, followed by infantry and supported by fighter planes, completely overran the Syrian positions and secured an area that extended ten miles inland. The spot the Syrians thought to be the safest turned out to be the most vulnerable.

The Bible is filled with examples of the dangers of overconfidence. The book of Esther centers around the plan of a proud and overconfident man who saw his plan backfire. King Ahasuerus of Persia promoted Haman to be his second in command, with instructions for the people to bow before Haman as they would the king. Mordecai, however, would not bow to him, and when the proud and arrogant Haman was told that Mordecai was a Jew he persuaded Ahasuerus to declare an edict that would give him revenge on all Jews in the land by having them destroyed. Through the intercession of Queen Esther, also a Jew and the niece of Mordecai, the king issued a far different edict, which allowed and even encouraged the Jews to defend themselves—which they did with great success. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, who was given all of Haman’s possessions and the royal honor Haman had expected for himself.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, taunted Israel with the boast that her God could no more save her than the gods of other lands had saved them. A short time later, “the angel of the Lord went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.” A few days after the defeated king returned to Assyria, he was assassinated by two of his own sons and succeeded on the throne by a third (Isa. 37:36–38).

Peter discovered that where he thought he was strongest and most dependable he actually was the weakest. He assured Jesus, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” But, as Jesus then predicted, before dawn Peter three times denied even knowing Jesus (Luke 22:33–34, 54–62).

The church at Sardis was proud of her reputation for being spiritually alive, but the Lord warned her that she was really dead and needed to repent (Rev. 3:1–2). If she did not He would come upon her like a thief (v. 3)—just as one night enemy soldiers under Cyrus had sneaked into the seemingly impregnable acropolis at Sardis by way of an unguarded footpath. A handful of soldiers crept up the path and opened the gates to the rest of the army. Overconfidence led to carelessness, and carelessness led to defeat.

The self-confident believers at Laodicea thought they were “wealthy” and in “need of nothing,” but were told by the Lord that they were really “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (3:17).

Christians who become self-confident become less dependent on God’s Word and God’s Spirit and become careless in their living. As carelessness increases, openness to temptation increases and resistance to sin decreases. When we feel most secure in ourselves—when we think our spiritual life is the strongest, our doctrine the soundest, and our morals the purest—we should be most on our guard and most dependent on the Lord.

After the strong warning about self-confidence and pride, Paul gives a strong word of encouragement about God’s help when we are tempted (v. 13). First he assures us that none of us has temptations that are unique. Then he assures us that we can also resist and overcome every temptation if we rely on God.

By this time the Corinthians were no doubt wondering how they could possibly avoid all the pitfalls Paul had just described and illustrated. “How do we keep from craving evil things as Israel did (cf. v. 6)? How do we keep from falling into idolatry in our hearts? How can we live righteous lives when the society around us is so wicked? How can we avoid trying the Lord and how can we keep from grumbling?”

Paul’s answer is that a Christian should recognize that victory is always available, because a believer can never get into temptation that he cannot get out of. For one thing, Paul explains, No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.

The basic meaning of temptation (peirasmos) is simply to test or prove, and has no negative connotation. Whether it becomes a proof of righteousness or an inducement to evil depends on our response. If we resist it in God’s power, it is a test that proves our faithfulness. If we do not resist, it becomes a solicitation to sin. The Bible uses the term in both ways, and I believe that Paul has both meanings in mind here.

When “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1) it is clear that both God and Satan participated in the testing. God intended the test to prove His Son’s righteousness, but Satan intended it to induce Jesus to misuse His divine powers and to give His allegiance to Satan. Job was tested in much the same way. God allowed Job to be afflicted in order to prove His servant was an “upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Satan’s purpose was the opposite: to prove that Job was faithful only because of the blessings and prosperity the Lord had given him and that, if those things were taken away, Job would “surely curse Thee to Thy face” (v. 11).

God’s tests are never a solicitation to evil, and James strongly corrects those who suggest such a thing. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13). “By evil” is the key to the difference between the two types of temptation. In the wilderness God tested Jesus by righteousness, whereas Satan tested Him by evil. A temptation becomes an inducement to evil only when a person “is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:14–15).

Earlier in his letter James wrote, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (1:2). The nouns trials (see also verse 12) and testing (v. 3) are from the same Greek root as the verb tempted in verses 13–14. The context indicates which sense is meant.

God often brings circumstances into our lives to test us. Like Job we usually do not at the time recognize them as tests, certainly not from God. But our response to them proves our faithfulness or unfaithfulness. How we react to financial difficulty, school problems, health trouble, or business setbacks will always test our faith, our reliance on our heavenly Father. If we do not turn to Him, however, the same circumstances can make us bitter, resentful, and angry. Rather than thanking God for the test, as James advises, we may even accuse Him. An opportunity to cheat on our income tax or take unfair advantage in a business deal will either prove our righteousness or prove our weakness. The circumstance or the opportunity is only a test, neither good nor evil in itself. Whether it results in good or evil, spiritual growth or spiritual decline, depends entirely on our response.

In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus says that we should ask God not to “lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). “Evil” is better translated “the evil one,” referring to Satan. In other words we should pray that God will not allow tests to become temptations, in the sense of inducement to evil. The idea is, “Lord, stop us before Satan can turn your test into his temptation.”

Common to man is one word (anthrōpinos) in Greek and simply means “that which is human, characteristic of or belonging to mankind.” In other words, Paul says there is no such thing as a superhuman or supernatural temptation. Temptations are human experiences. The term also carries the idea of usual or typical, as indicated by common. Temptations are never unique experiences to us. We can never have a temptation that has not been experienced by millions of other people. Circumstances differ but basic temptations do not. Even the Son of God was “tempted in all things as we are” (Heb. 4:15), and because of that “He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (2:18). And because temptations are common to us all we are able to “confess [our] sins to one another” (James 5:16) and to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). We are all in the same boat.

Not only are temptations common to men but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. No believer can claim that he was overwhelmed by temptation or that “the devil made me do it.” No one, not even Satan, can make us sin. He cannot even make an unbeliever sin. No temptation is inherently stronger than our spiritual resources. People sin because they willingly sin.

The Christian, however, has his heavenly Father’s help in resisting temptation. God is faithful. He remains true to His own. “From six troubles He will deliver you, even in seven evil will not touch you” (Job 5:19). When our faithfulness is tested we have God’s own faithfulness as our resource. We can be absolutely certain that He will not allow [us] to be tempted beyond what [we] are able. That is God’s response when we pray, “do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). He will not let us experience any test we are not able to meet.

When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked them twice whom they had come for, who was designated on their arrest order. After they answered for the second time, “Jesus the Nazarene,” He said, “If therefore you seek Me, let these go their way” (John 18:4–9). John explains that Jesus prevented the disciples from being arrested with Him in order “that the word might be fulfilled which He spoke, ‘Of those whom Thou hast given Me I lost not one’ ” (v. 9). The disciples were not yet ready for such a test. Had they been arrested, they would have been devastated, and Jesus would not permit it. As best we know from church history, most of those eleven disciples died a martyr’s death. The other, John, was exiled for life on the island of Patmos. All of them went through persecution, imprisonment, and countless hardships for the sake of the gospel. But they did not go through those things until they were ready to handle them.

But with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. The phrase the way is formed by the definite article and a singular noun. In other words, there is only one way. The way of escape from every temptation, no matter what it is, is the same: it is through. Whether we have a test by God to prove our righteousness or a test by Satan to induce to sin, there is only one way we can pass the test. We escape temptation not by getting out of it but by passing through it. God does not take us out; He sees us through by making us able to endure it.

God’s own Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. It was the Father’s will that the Son be there, and Jesus did not leave until all three temptations were over. He met the temptations head-on. He “escaped” the temptations by enduring them in His Father’s power.

God provides three ways for us to endure temptation: prayer, trust, and focusing on Jesus Christ.

“Keep watching and praying, that you may not come into temptation,” Jesus told His disciples (Mark 14:38). If we do not pray, we can be sure a test will turn into temptation. Our first defense in a test or a trial is to pray, to turn to our heavenly Father and put the matter in His hands.

Second, we must trust. When we pray we must pray believing that the Lord will answer and help us. We also trust that, whatever the origin of the trial, God has allowed it to come for our good, to prove our faithfulness. God has a purpose for everything that comes to His children, and when we are tested or tempted we should gladly endure it in His power—for the sake of His glory and of our spiritual growth.

Third, we should focus on our Lord Jesus Christ. “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (Heb. 12:3–4). Christ endured more than we could ever be called on to endure. He understands our trials and He is able to take us through them.

In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Christian and Hopeful fall asleep in a field belonging to giant Despair. The giant finds them and takes them into Doubting Castle, where he puts them in a dark and stinking dungeon, without food or water. On his wife’s advice, the giant first beats them mercilessly and then suggests they commit suicide. After the giant leaves, the two companions discuss what they should do. Finally Christian remembers the key in his pocket. “I have a key in my bosom called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.” Sure enough, it opened all the doors in the castle and even the gate. “Then they went on, and came to the King’s highway again.”

Paul concludes this section by saying three things about temptation.

(i) He is quite sure that temptation will come. That is part of life. But the Greek word which we translate temptation means far more a test. It is something designed, not to make us fall, but to test us, so that we emerge from it stronger than ever.

(ii) Any temptation that comes to us is not unique. Others have endured it and others have come through it. A friend tells how he was once driving Lightfoot, the great Bishop of Durham, in a horse carriage along a very narrow mountain road in Norway. It got so narrow that there were only inches between the wheels of the carriage and the cliffs on one side and the precipice on the other. He suggested in the end that Lightfoot would be safer to get out and walk. Lightfoot surveyed the situation and said, “Other carriages must have taken this road. Drive on.” In the Greek Anthology there is an epigram which gives the epitaph of a shipwrecked sailor, supposedly from his own lips. “A shipwrecked mariner on this coast bids you set sail,” he says. His bark may have been lost but many more have weathered the storm. When we are going through it, we are going through what others have, in the grace of God, endured and conquered.

(iii) With the temptation there is always a way of escape. The word is vivid (ekbasis). It means a way out of a defile, a mountain pass. The idea is of an army apparently surrounded and then suddenly seeing an escape route to safety. No man need fall to any temptation, for with the temptation there is the way out, and the way out is not the way of surrender nor of retreat, but the way of conquest in the power of the grace of God.^[3]

^[1] Richard Oster, 1 Corinthians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1995), 1 Co 10:11–12.

^[2] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 226.

^[3] William Barclay, ed., The Letters to the Corinthians, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1975), 90.

QUESTIONS ABOUT MARRIAGE  1 Corinthians 7:1-16

After discussing disorder in the church, Paul moved to the list of questions that the Corinthians had sent him, including those on marriage, singleness, eating meat offered to idols, propriety in worship, orderliness in the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection. Questions that plague churches today are remarkably similar, so we can receive specific guidance in these areas from this letter. The first section (7:1-16) applies to those who are presently married or who have been married.

In the verses that follow, Paul makes his basic position very clear: Marriage involves two people, a man and a woman, working out their life for a lifetime. Even a casual reader notes the balance. What is really good for the man is really good for the woman. What is really good for the wife is really good for the husband. Marriage itself is good. In spite of sinfulness and societal attitudes that have devalued and twisted marriage, God’s original design remains the ideal. A mutual commitment to God’s ways in marriage can make even the most difficult union survive. Base your convictions on what God says, not on society’s distortions.

Christians in Corinth were surrounded by sexual temptation. The city had a reputation even among pagans for sexual immorality and religious prostitution. To this sexually saturated society, Paul was delivering these instructions on sex and marriage. The Corinthians needed special, specific instructions because of their culture’s immoral standards. Some believers were teaching total sexual abstinence within marriage because of a mistaken notion that sexual relations were sinful; some were proposing separating from or divorcing spouses in order to stay pure.

To the first question, Paul answered that it is good to live a celibate life (“It is well for a man not to touch a woman,” nrsv). At first glance this may seem to contradict God’s words in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (nlt). Paul maintained a high view of marriage (Ephesians 5:25-33). In 7:1, Paul was not stating an absolute; rather, he was simply explaining that celibacy was normal, and that it may be God’s will for some to remain single. Paul’s advice may have been directed at the “present crisis” referred to in 7:26; he thought it would be easier to face persecution as a single person. But, as Paul would explain later in this chapter, his words do not mean that married couples should divorce or that Christians ought not marry.

For those whom God calls to celibacy (such as Paul himself), the lifestyle is in accordance with God’s will for them. They should see it as a gift to be used to further God’s kingdom (7:7).7:1 Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life.^NLT The Corinthian believers had written to Paul, asking him several questions, or perhaps even taking issue with some of his principles, relating to the Christian life and problems in the church. Apparently this first question regarded whether people should stay married or if those previously married should remain celibate.

Much of what Paul wrote about marriage was based on its lifelong nature. First Corinthians serves as a “mini” marriage seminar for Christians. The Corinthian church was in turmoil because of the immorality of the culture around them. Some Greeks, in rejecting immorality, rejected sex and marriage altogether. The Corinthian Christians wondered if this was what they should do also, so they asked Paul several questions: “Because sex is perverted, shouldn’t we also abstain in marriage?” “If my spouse is unsaved, should I seek a divorce?” “Should unmarried people and widows remain unmarried?” Paul answered many of these questions by saying, “For now, stay put. Be content in the situation where God has placed you. If you’re married, don’t seek to be single. If you’re single, don’t seek to be married.”

MARRIAGE SEMINAR
Much of what Paul wrote about marriage was based on its lifelong nature. First Corinthians serves as a “mini” marriage seminar for Christians. The Corinthian church was in turmoil because of the immorality of the culture around them. Some Greeks, in rejecting immorality, rejected sex and marriage altogether. The Corinthian Christians wondered if this was what they should do also, so they asked Paul several questions: “Because sex is perverted, shouldn’t we also abstain in marriage?” “If my spouse is unsaved, should I seek a divorce?” “Should unmarried people and widows remain unmarried?” Paul answered many of these questions by saying, “For now, stay put. Be content in the situation where God has placed you. If you’re married, don’t seek to be single. If you’re single, don’t seek to be married.”
The main teaching points in Paul’s advice about marriage include the following:
• Choosing to remain unmarried can be good if the unmarried person uses the extra time to serve God.
• Married people belong to each other, and they should live that relationship out fully.
• A Christian husband and wife ought to find a way to stay together.
• A marriage partner who becomes a Christian may not use his or her faith as an excuse for divorce and may have to accept rejection by his or her non-Christian partner.
• Believers should be content in the roles God has given them.
• Marriage can either complicate or clarify a person’s commitment to Christ.
• Believers should always be available to the Lord, regardless of their status in life

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.^NLT After saying that living the celibate life is acceptable and good, Paul quickly added that he did not mean that being married was bad. God created marriage, so it cannot be bad. Those who can remain celibate should do so, but the believers in Corinth ought not deprive themselves of being married and try to enforce celibacy. That would set them up for failure because there is so much sexual immorality. As noted above, sexual immorality was pervasive in Corinth, invading even the worship of some of their gods and goddesses. Many of the believers had come out of very immoral lifestyles. Paul advised, therefore, that those men and women not given the gift of celibacy from God should go ahead and marry. Then they would be able to fulfill their sexual desires in the God-honoring institution of marriage.

7:3 The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband.^NLT In the same way that God created marriage, he also created sex with which the human race could procreate as well as find great enjoyment. Just as with anything else that God created, however, sinful humanity can find a way to dirty it. God created sex to occur only between a man and a woman, and only within the confines of the marriage commitment, but humans have used sex wrongly. The Corinthians were surrounded by sexual temptations. Such temptations can be difficult to withstand because they appeal to the normal and natural desires that God has given to human beings.

Some people in the ancient world reacted against the extreme immorality by doing just the opposite—becoming ascetics and abstaining from sex altogether. Apparently, some married people, who saw or experienced the evil of sex wrongly used, began to believe that all sex was immoral, so they should abstain even in their marriages. While celibacy should be the rule for those who choose to remain single (7:1), Paul explained that it should not have any place in the marriage relationship. Marriage provides God’s way to satisfy natural sexual desires and to strengthen the partners against temptation. Married couples have the responsibility to care for each other; therefore, husbands and wives should not deprive each other but should fulfill each other’s needs and desires. Notice that Paul did not emphasize that one partner can demand sex from the other but rather that neither should withhold it. Both partners need to listen to God in this matter and do what is best for the union. Paul’s reference to the wife’s right as a married woman as being equal to the man’s right was revolutionary in this culture of male domination. Paul stressed equality of men and women in their rights as marriage partners to give and receive from each other.

7:4 The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.^NIV A person’s body belongs to God when that person becomes a Christian because Jesus Christ bought that person by paying the price to release him or her from sin (see 6:19-20). Physically, their bodies belong to their spouses. God designed marriage so that through the union of husband and wife two become one. The sexual relationship makes two people “one flesh” (6:16; also Genesis 2:24). The sexual act causes a mystical and intimate union such that the wife’s body no longer belongs just to her but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body no longer belongs to him alone but also to his wife. The unity given to the married couple through their sexual relationship makes them no longer independent beings; they have become “one flesh.” So Paul said to these married believers that sex is not immoral because God created it; therefore, they should not deprive their spouse.

7:5-6 Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.^NRSV The only time the spouses should deprive one another of sexual intimacy would be if they mutually agree, for a set time, to abstain from sex in order to devote [themselves] to prayer. Times of devoted prayer to God are vital for all believers; some may feel that they want to do this with total focus on God and so would abstain from sex or even food if it were a time for fasting. This is laudable, but Paul also explained that it should not be a habit. Because those married are already “one flesh,” they must maintain that union and come together again. Otherwise, they would leave themselves open for Satan’s temptations with sexual immorality because of a possible lack of self-control.

This I say by way of concession, not of command.^NRSV Some scholars think that this statement most likely refers to all that Paul had said thus far concerning his answer to their marriage question (7:1). Marriage is desirable, and certainly needful in order to procreate under God’s guidelines, but marriage is not commanded by God. However, this statement could just as easily conclude his statement in 7:5-6—which he doesn’t want to them to understand as if it were a command.

7:7 I wish everyone could get along without marrying, just as I do. But we are not all the same. God gives some the gift of marriage, and to others he gives the gift of singleness.^NLT Paul made a personal note, further explaining that celibacy is acceptable, by stating that he wished everyone could get along without marrying just as he did. Paul well knew that his lifestyle—itinerant travel, difficult work, not having a permanent home, danger, often being mocked and ridiculed, sometimes being beaten and jailed, all for the sake of the gospel—was not one that he could easily adhere to with a wife and children along. He would feel the need to protect them; he would worry about them as any good husband and father would. So Paul thanked the Lord for his gift of being able to remain celibate by doing what God wanted him to do with the freedom that a married man would not have. He wished that others could serve the Lord with such complete abandon.

Paul also realized, however, that if everyone remained unmarried, there would be no Christian children and no furthering of the Christian faith to the next generation. Thus all believers are not the same. To some God gives . . . the gift of marriage, and they can serve God well in that capacity. To others he gives the gift of singleness so they can fulfill other roles in the furthering of his kingdom. Because these are gifts from God, one should not try to force either one on anyone’s life.

VALUED ROLES
Both marriage and singleness are gifts from God. One is not morally better than the other, and both are valuable for accomplishing God’s purposes. It is important for each believer, therefore, to accept his or her present situation. When Paul said he wished that all people were like him (that is, unmarried), he was expressing his desire that more people would devote themselves completely to the ministry without the added concerns of spouse and family, as he had done. He was not criticizing marriage—after all, marriage and sex are God’s created way of providing companionship and populating the earth.
Are you married? Seek to honor God with your marriage commitment by honoring your spouse. Seek to serve God in whatever situation, position in life, or surroundings that you and your spouse share. If your spouse is not a believer, pray that your life and faithfulness will lead him or her to faith in Jesus Christ.
Are you single? Seek to honor God with your singleness. Do not feel that you are less of a person, alone in a world of couples. Instead, see your singleness as a gift from God. Ask him how he would have you serve him with that gift. You may find opportunities available to you that might never have been possible if you were married.
Trust God with your life. Seek to serve him with the gifts he has given.

Paul laid down the general principles regarding marriage in the previous verses; here he began to speak to various people’s situations specifically. First, he wrote instructions to the unmarried and the widows (and widowers). Paul’s single-minded focus was always on God’s kingdom and service for it, so his advice to these believers in Corinth is couched in his concern for their ability to bear up under persecution for their faith and to serve the Lord wholeheartedly (see 7:26, 32-35). (Note that in a different place and situation, Paul counseled the younger widows to marry. See 1 Timothy 5:14.) So he suggested to those presently not bound in marriage that it would be well for them to remain unmarried as he himself was.

It is unknown whether Paul was ever married, if his wife left him (perhaps when he became a Christian), or if he was widowed. Some believe he was probably married at one time because marriage was required of Jewish men in positions of leadership among the Jews, as Paul had been before he became a Christian.

7:9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.^NIV The Corinthians seemed to have a problem with self-control—as suggested by the kind of sexual immorality so common in the city. The believers came out of that lifestyle, yet probably many still were struggling with their sinful natures in that area. Paul did not suggest enforced celibacy on such people. Instead, he told married people to give themselves to each other (7:3-4); he told single people to try to use their singleness as an opportunity to give all to the Lord (7:7-8). Yet, he also understood that those who struggled with self-control should not put themselves in the position of enforced celibacy, for Satan would use many temptations right there in the city to bring them down. Instead, Paul said these people should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. This is not a put-down of marriage as being no more than a legitimate way to release sexual pressure; instead, it is tied with the gifts of marriage and singleness that Paul had mentioned in 7:7. Those who do not have the gift of singleness, and thus have a passion that will need a proper release, ought to marry. It would be difficult to live with such a desire without having been given the grace to do so.

PREMARITAL DECISION MAKING

Sexual pressure is not the best motive for getting married, but it is better to marry the right person than to “burn with passion.” Some in Corinth taught that all sex was wrong, so engaged couples may have been deciding not to get married. In this passage, Paul was telling couples who wanted to marry that they should not frustrate their normal sexual drives by avoiding marriage. This does not mean, however, that people who have trouble controlling themselves should marry the first person who comes along. It is better to deal with the pressure of desire than to deal with an unhappy marriage.

7:10-11 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.^NIV Having spoken to the unmarried people in 7:8-9, Paul here turned his attention to the married. He explained to the Corinthian believers the Christian view of divorce, given as a command, not from Paul himself, but from the Lord, referring to Jesus Christ. Jesus had taught about divorce during his time on earth (see Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:2-12; Luke 16:18), saying that married people were not meant to be divorced. While divorce was permitted as a concession, it was not God’s plan for married people. Paul either had received this teaching by divine inspiration, or he may have heard it in one of his conversations with the disciples.

Paul explained, therefore, that a wife must not separate from her husband. Apparently it was possible in the Greco-Roman culture for a wife to leave her husband (in Jewish culture, divorce laws focused on the husband separating from his wife). If a woman has already separated from her husband, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. She does not have the option to marry another man. In the same way, the husband must not divorce his wife. Although Paul gave an exception in 7:15, the ideal remains.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT MARRIAGE

Genesis 2:18-24	Marriage is God’s idea.
Genesis 24:58-60	Commitment is essential to a successful marriage.
Genesis 29:10-11	Romance is important.
Jeremiah 7:34	Marriage holds times of great joy
Malachi 2:14-15	Marriage creates the best environment for raising children.
Matthew 5:31-32	Unfaithfulness breaks the bond of trust, the foundation of all relationships.
Matthew 19:6	Marriage is permanent.
Romans 7:2-3	Ideally, only death should dissolve marriage.
1 Corinthians 7	In marriage, the husband and wife belong to each other.
Ephesians 5:21-33	Marriage is based on the principled practice of love.
Ephesians 5:23-32	Marriage is a living symbol of Christ and the church.
Hebrews 13:4	Marriage is good and honorable.
1 Peter 3:1-7	In marriage, each partner has responsibilities in caring for the other.

7:12-13 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a Christian woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.^NLT Next, Paul turned his attention to the rest of you—the people who were married but felt “single” because their spouses were unbelievers. Undoubtedly, there were many such couples in the Corinthian church. About this particular situation, Paul said he did not have a direct command from the Lord. So he did what all believers must do when Scripture doesn’t state exactly what must be done in a particular situation—he inferred what should be done from what Scripture does say. Scripture has plenty to say about marriage. The “command” about the permanence of marriage (7:10) comes from the Old Testament (Genesis 2:24) and from Jesus (as noted above). Paul based his advice on God’s commands about marriage and applied them to the situation the Corinthians were facing.

MAY A DIVORCED PERSON REMARRY?

By forbidding divorced persons from remarrying, Paul was upholding the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:11-12; and Luke 16:18. Jesus’ main point was to teach that the divorce laws should not be used to dispose of one partner in order to get another one.

Because of their desire to serve Christ, some people in the Corinthian church thought they ought to divorce their pagan spouses and marry Christians. But Paul affirmed the marriage commitment. God’s ideal is for marriages to stay together—even when one spouse is not a believer. To leave the marriage—even for the noblest of goals in serving the Lord—would actually be to disobey God’s express command regarding marriage (Mark 10:2-9). Instead, the believing spouse should try to win the other to Christ (7:16). It would be easy to rationalize leaving; however, Paul makes a strong case for staying with the unbelieving spouse and being a positive influence on the marriage. Paul, like Jesus, believed that marriage is permanent. Paul commanded this for the believers in the church whose unbelieving spouses were willing to continue living with them. He gave other advice to those whose unbelieving spouses wanted to dissolve the marriage because the husband or wife had become a Christian (see 7:15).

7:14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.^NIV The church included individuals who had become believers but whose spouses had not. Paul had already stated that these believers must remain with their unbelieving wife or husband. He explained that the unbelieving spouse has been sanctified by the believing spouse. The word “sanctify” can mean to cleanse, make pure, regard as sacred. It is used in the Old Testament to describe the items that become holy because of their relationship to something already deemed holy by God. For example, the temple sanctified the gold connected with it, or the altar sanctified the gift laid on it (see Matthew 23:17, 19). There are two views of how “sanctified” is applied to the unbeliever. One view is that there is a moral influence on the unbeliever as the Christian spouse bears witness to Christ and lives obediently to God. The other view is that the Christian, now blessed by God, includes his or her spouse in the promised blessings of the covenant as they overflow to the unbeliever. “Sanctification” does not carry the meaning of “salvation”; that is, the unbelieving husband is not “saved” through his wife’s salvation. That would make no sense because of Paul’s words in 7:16 about the desired conversion of these pagan partners. More likely, the Corinthians had heeded Paul’s advice in 5:9-11 not to associate with unbelievers. They had interpreted Paul to mean that sex with an unbelieving marriage partner would defile them. Paul affirmed the opposite. When believers have sexual relations with their unbelieving spouse, the unbelievers are blessed in a certain way. The marriage and its sexual relations set up or lead into the possibility of the conversion of the unbeliever.

In this context, Paul pictured the unbelieving husband or wife, although remaining pagan, would assume “sanctification” in the eyes of God because of his or her intimate relationship with a believer. An unbelieving husband, as guardian and caretaker of a home and of his Christian wife, is sanctified by God due to the man’s role in the life of one of God’s chosen ones. The same is true of the wife.

The blessings that flow to believers don’t stop there but extend to others. Among those most likely to receive benefits from God’s work in believers’ lives are their spouse and children. God regards the marriage as “sanctified” (set apart for his use) by the presence of one Christian spouse. The other partner does not receive salvation automatically but is helped by this relationship. The unbeliever is in a relationship with one upon whom God has his hand and whom God will use for his service. This will have an effect because of the close relationship and love between the partners that presumably already exist.

Paul calls the children of such a marriage holy because of God’s blessing on the family. Many feel that the blessing given to the Christian parent extends to the children (though this is not expressly stated in Scripture), and they are to be regarded as Christian until they are old enough to decide for themselves. “Holy” here means dedicated to God by the believing parent. But the believing parent, called upon to raise his or her children in the faith, will hopefully have such an influence that the children will accept salvation for themselves.

7:15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.^NIV While the believing spouse must not leave the marriage if the unbeliever wants to stay married (7:12-13), the opposite may also happen. The unbeliever may decide that, because his or her spouse has become a Christian, the marriage should be dissolved. In this case, the believer’s only choices would be to deny faith in Jesus Christ in order to maintain the marriage, or maintain faith in Christ and let the marriage be dissolved. As difficult as it might be, and as much as marriage is sanctified by God, the high calling of God must not be denied for any reason. So the believer must let the unbeliever go. When a divorce happens for this reason, a believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances to God’s law regarding divorce. This may be the second exception to remarriage, along with adultery (see Matthew 5:31-32). So the Christian man or woman can allow the divorce to happen and not be disobeying God. Another reason to not block this divorce is that God has called us to live in peace—a situation that would be impossible in a home where the unbeliever felt hostile toward the believer. It would be better for such a marriage to be dissolved.

7:16 You wives must remember that your husbands might be converted because of you. And you husbands must remember that your wives might be converted because of you.^NLT Another reason for believers to try not to dissolve their marriage to an unbeliever is that they can be a good influence on their spouse. The intimacy and day-to-day-ness of marriage provide ample opportunity for the Christian to be a powerful witness to his or her spouse. So powerful can it be, Paul reminded them, that the unbelieving wife or husband might be converted because of the faithful testimony of the believing wives and husbands. For those couples who can stay together “in peace” (7:15), this would be the most joyous result of all.

BELIEVERS SHOULD BE CONTENT WHERE THEY ARE / 7:17-24

Paul had just finished explaining to the believers who were married to unbelievers that they should stay in their situation peacefully if at all possible and live for Christ in their marriage. This passage expands his thought on that topic, explaining that just because people become Christians, this does not call for wholesale changes in every part of their outward lives.

7:17-19 You must accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in, and continue on as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now.^NLT Christ makes changes from within and calls people from all walks of life. While some changes are made in behavior and attitudes, the believers ought not make some kinds of changes. For example, they ought not change marriage partners. They need not even try to change jobs (unless the job was dishonoring to God). Instead, accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in, and continue on as you were when God first called you because God can use his faithful followers in all areas of life. This was not Paul’s advice just to the church in Corinth but his rule for all the churches.

For instance, Paul wrote, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. The ceremony of circumcision was an important part of the Jews’ relationship with God. In fact, before Christ came, circumcision was commanded by God for those who claimed to follow him (Genesis 17:9-14). But after Christ’s death and resurrection, circumcision was no longer necessary (Acts 15; Romans 4:9-11; Galatians 5:2-4; Colossians 2:11). For the Jews, circumcision was the sign of their covenant with God; the Greeks, however, looked down upon it as the mark of lowly people. Some Jews, in an attempt to become more acceptable in Greek culture, could attempt to surgically reverse the marks of a circumcision. To add to the confusion, the Judaizers (a group of false teachers) were claiming that Gentiles had to be circumcised before they could become Christians. Paul pointed out that, in God’s kingdom, circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.^NKJV Jewish Christians did not need to reverse their circumcisions, and Gentile Christians did not need to be circumcised (Romans 2:25, 29; Galatians 5:6). Instead, they should stay exactly as they were when they became believers; any outward change would make no difference. The inner change is all that matters. They should focus on keeping the commandments of God, desiring to conform their heart and will in obedience to him.

Apparently the Corinthians were ready to make wholesale changes without thinking through the ramifications. Paul was writing to say that people should be Christians where they are. You can do God’s work and demonstrate your faith anywhere. If you became a Christian after marriage, and your spouse is not a believer, remember that you don’t have to be married to a Christian to live for Christ. Don’t assume that you are in the wrong place or are stuck with the wrong person. You may be just where God wants you (see 7:20).

7:20 You should continue on as you were when God called you.^NLT Paul repeated what he had said in 7:17 for emphasis and because he had said this was his rule for all the churches. The believers should continue on as they were when God called them. This refers to examples such as marriage, circumcision or uncircumcision (as noted above), job, or station in life (slave or free, 7:21-23). Obviously, it does not refer to one’s spiritual, inward life; that should be growing and changing every day as believers draw closer to and learn more about God.

STAY THERE

Often we are so concerned about what we could be doing for God somewhere else that we miss great opportunities right where we are. Paul says that when someone becomes a Christian, he or she should usually continue with the work he or she has previously been doing—provided it isn’t immoral or unethical. Every job can become Christian work when you realize that the purpose of your life is to honor, serve, and speak out for Christ. Because God has placed you where you are, look carefully for opportunities to serve him there. After all, if God found you there, God can certainly use you there!

7:21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it.^NLT From religious variations in the church (between those circumcised and those uncircumcised), Paul moved on to the varied social states of the believers. The church in Corinth also included people from every station in life—many of them slaves. Therefore, if a believer was a slave when he became a Christian, he could continue as a Christian slave, doing his work as for the Lord (Ephesians 6:5-9). The key phrase is “don’t let that worry you.” The slaves should not feel that because they became Christians they could no longer serve as slaves because they deserved freedom. Unfortunately, they might have to keep living as slaves, but they should serve Christ wholeheartedly in their position. Of course, they also were free to seek to better themselves, for Paul says, if you get a chance to be free, take it. Obedience to God, as always, is what matters most (7:19). For more on Christianity and slavery, see the following Life Application Bible Commentaries: Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:22-4:2, and Titus 2:9-10.

7:22-23 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, the Lord has now set you free from the awful power of sin. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. God purchased you at a high price. Don’t be enslaved by the world.^NLT Slavery was common throughout the Roman Empire, so many of the believers in Corinth were slaves when the Lord called [them]. Paul said that although the Christian slaves remained enslaved to other human beings, they were free from the awful power of sin in their lives (Romans 6:18, 22). These slaves had been made free. In the same way, if a person was free when the Lord called him, he was now a slave of Christ. The free people had become servants of the Savior who purchased [them] at a high price, higher than any rich person ever paid for a slave, for the Savior had paid with his blood (6:20; Romans 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Because God paid a great price to bring his people to himself, he has complete authority over their lives. Believers’ lives and service come under his control; all that they do is for his kingdom and his glory. Because believers are servants of God, they should no longer be enslaved by the world. They live in the world, but they are not of it, looking forward to a future citizenship in heaven.

SET FREE

People are slaves to sin until they commit their lives to Christ, who alone can conquer sin’s power. Sin, pride, and fear no longer have any claim over them, just as a slave owner no longer has power over slaves who have been sold. The Bible says that people become Christ’s slaves when they become Christians (Romans 6:18), but this actually means that they gain freedom, because sin no longer controls them. Don’t let the society around you dictate the rules. Make Christ your final authority.

7:24 So, dear brothers and sisters, whatever situation you were in when you became a believer, stay there in your new relationship with God.^NLT This passage repeats Paul’s statement of 7:17 and 7:20. God can use people from all areas of life, so whatever situation God found them in, they should stay there in [their] new relationship with God. Because believers have been set free from sin and are free to live for God, they ought not feel either pride or shame in their station in life. Instead, they should serve God from that position, seeking to share the gospel with those who might not otherwise hear it. For further discussion on living with unbelievers, see the LAB Cmy: 1 Peter 3:1-7.

QUESTIONS ABOUT SINGLENESS / 7:25-40

Throughout this chapter, Paul has been telling believers not to seek to change their situations but to remain where they are and to seek to serve the Lord there. A person should not make drastic changes during difficult times. Paul wanted the believers to focus on making the most of their time before Christ returns—sharing the faith so that many more can become believers. Paul’s urgency and single-minded focus on God’s kingdom come through in the advice he gives to married and single people in these verses. As always, he did not want anything to hinder their work for the advance of God’s kingdom.

7:25-26 Now, about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his kindness has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. Because of this present crisis, I think it is best to remain just as you are.^NLT The words “now, about” indicate that at this point Paul began addressing another matter about which the Corinthian church had asked. In their culture, a young woman’s parents usually would make the decision about whether or not their daughter would marry. So these parents had written wondering what decisions to make regarding their daughters—the young women who are not yet married.

Paul clearly stated that he had no specific command from the Lord for the believers on this subject; that is, he did not have a direct teaching from Jesus to draw from. This does not mean, however, that Paul’s words here should be taken as any less inspired. Paul offered them this advice because he knew that the Lord in his kindness [had] given [him] wisdom that can be trusted. Paul shared that wisdom with the believers when they asked such questions as this.

Paul advised the young women to remain as they were, unmarried. He reasoned that it would be easier on them to be single than married during this present crisis. There has been discussion among scholars regarding the nature of this “crisis.” Some have suggested that Paul expected the Lord’s return and was referring to the certain calamities that would take place prior to the Second Coming. Most likely, however, Paul foresaw the impending persecution that the Roman government would soon bring upon Christians. He gave this practical advice because being unmarried would mean less suffering and more freedom to throw one’s life into the cause of Christ (7:29), even to the point of fearlessly dying for him. Paul’s advice reveals his single-minded devotion to spreading the Good News. He wanted these unmarried believers to consider the times in which they were living and how well they could follow the will of God for them in their unmarried state as compared to being married.

7:27 Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife.^NIV Speaking to the young women not yet married, Paul had explained that “it is best to remain just as you are.” This means that it would be best for them not to put their energies into worrying about getting married. Paul expanded his advice for everyone, both men and women, married and single. A married person should not seek a divorce; an unmarried man should not look for a wife. Paul’s reasoning rested with what he had said in 7:26. It would be difficult to be a Christian in the Roman Empire in coming days. Paul was advising church members to stay focused on the Lord and on the business of sharing the gospel.

7:28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, I am trying to spare you the extra problems that come with marriage.^NLT Lest he be misunderstood, Paul explained that he was not saying that it would be sinful for these young unmarried women to get married. That would be inconsistent with all of Scripture. Instead, Paul was trying to spare [them] the extra problems that come with marriage. Life holds plenty of difficulties—and in the first-century Roman world, one of those difficulties would be persecution of Christians. Paul wanted the believers in Corinth to be able to let go of everything in their faithfulness to God—that would be much easier without the attachment of marriage. Thus, he advised the unmarried to remain that way. If they chose to marry, however, that would not be wrong.

MARITAL LIMITATIONS

Many people naively think that marriage will solve all their problems. Here are some problems marriage won’t solve:

Loneliness

Sexual temptation

Satisfaction of one’s deepest emotional needs

Elimination of life’s difficulties

Marriage alone does not hold two people together, but commitment does—commitment to Christ and to each other despite conflicts and problems. As wonderful as it is, marriage does not automatically solve every problem. Whether married or single, be content with your situation and focus on Christ, not on loved ones, to help address your problems.

7:29-30 Now let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short, so husbands should not let marriage be their major concern. Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work.^NLT As Paul had challenged the unmarried to consider their situation in light of the call of God on their lives and their brief time on earth to accomplish it, so he challenged all the brothers and sisters to look at life and realize that the time that remains is very short. Paul probably did not have the Second Coming in mind here; rather, he probably was thinking of coming persecutions and the resulting curtailment of the believers’ freedom to witness for their faith. Paul urged the believers not to regard marriage, home, or financial security as the ultimate goals of life. As much as possible, they should live unhindered by the cares of this world, not getting involved with burdensome mortgages, budgets, investments, or debts that might keep them from doing God’s work. Married men and women, as Paul pointed out (7:33-34), must take care of earthly responsibilities—but they should make every effort to keep them modest and manageable. They must live for the Lord in their marriages. If life brings them happiness or sadness or wealth, they should not be bound up in any of it; these situations must not keep [them] from doing God’s work.

Paul’s focus, as always, was that believers make the most of their time before Christ’s return. Every person in every generation should have this sense of urgency about telling the Good News to others. Life is short—there’s not much time!

7:31 Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.^NLT Believers must live detached from this world. Those who have been blessed with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them. Material blessings can be used to further God’s kingdom. Jesus commended the unbelievers in his day who used money wisely, and he encouraged the disciples to learn from them: “I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven” (Luke 16:9 nlt). All of our possessions and opportunities can be shared with those in ministry or put to good use. Our homes can be opened, our cars loaned out, and our possessions shared. Believers who have been blessed with material wealth must always remember that they have been blessed in order to bless others. Paul did not want the believers to be “attached” to anything in this life as if that were all there is—to do so would be to forget that this world and all it contains will pass away (see also 1 John 2:8, 17).

7:32-34 In everything you do, I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man can’t do that so well. He has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be more devoted to the Lord in body and in spirit, while the married woman must be concerned about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband.^NLT Marriage is a tremendous responsibility for each of the spouses involved. For a marriage to be successful, husband and wife must work at their relationship—they will both have to be concerned about earthly responsibilities and about how to please each other. This is good and important for those who are married. Paul was not saying that this was wrong in any way; he was simply pointing out that unmarried people can focus their energies elsewhere. For example, an unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him, and an unmarried woman can be more devoted to the Lord in body and in spirit. As Paul had noted in 7:28, his advice rests on his desire that these believers be free from the concerns of this life. Later, Paul would uphold the privilege of marriage (9:3-5), but this was his advice to those who had asked about their personal situations.

THE GIFT OF SINGLENESS

Some single people feel tremendous pressure to be married. They think their lives can be complete with a spouse. But Paul underlines one advantage of being single—the potential of a greater focus on Christ and his work. If you are unmarried, use your special opportunity to serve Christ wholeheartedly.

7:35 I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.^NRSV Paul gave the advice in the previous verses for their benefit, but not to put any restraint upon the believers. These were not regulations that the churches had to follow. Instead, this advice came from Paul’s heart, to help the struggling believers in Corinth to be able to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord. This would be helpful as they lived their Christianity in the midst of the gross immorality of Corinth and as they anticipated persecution for their faith.

7:36-37 If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing.^NIV The phrase “getting along in years” means past the prime age for marriage. In their culture at that time, a young woman was considered “fully developed” and ready for marriage at eighteen to twenty years old. The young man should marry if he feels he ought to marry. But if he has made up his mind not to marry, he should let the young woman go. In so doing, this young man also does the right thing. That he is under no compulsion means that he does not have outside pressure such as from parents or through a prior agreement. Such a man has control over his own will and can thus make his own decision.

7:38 So the person who marries does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.^NLT When Paul wrote that the person who doesn’t marry does even better, he was referring to the potential time available for service to God. The single person does not have the responsibility of caring for a spouse and raising a family. Singleness, however, does not ensure service to God—involvement in service depends on the commitment of the individual.

7:39 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.^NIV The Bible teaches that marriage is a lifelong contract between a man and a woman—”as long as they both shall live.” Therefore, a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. The relationship was not to be dissolved for any reason. If the woman’s husband were to die, however, the marriage contract would be void, and she is free to marry anyone she wishes, providing that this person were a Christian (he must belong to the Lord). This also applied to men whose wives had died.

There may have been some teaching in either Jewish or Greek society stating that a widowed woman could not remarry because she was bound forever to her husband, even if he had died. Paul stated clearly that this was not to be the case. But the widow or widower should still be very careful about whom he or she chooses to get married to—that part is prescribed by God, for he would not have them marry unbelievers.

7:40 But in my opinion it will be better for her if she doesn’t marry again, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.^NLT While the widow can remarry (7:39), that doesn’t necessarily mean that she should. In fact, Paul’s opinion was that it will be better for her if she doesn’t marry again for the same reasons he said that the unmarried people might think about remaining single (7:25, 28, 32-34).

When Paul stated I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this, there was nothing tentative in his meaning. At times he gave these believers commands from the Lord because he could bring words directly from Jesus or from the Old Testament; at other times, he gave them his “advice” or “counsel,” but this still carried the weight of divine inspiration. Paul’s advice came from the Holy Spirit, who gave him the words he needed to answer the Corinthian church’s questions.

WISE COUNSEL

Although Paul’s words were written almost two thousand years ago, his counsel rings true. Struggling marriages, quick divorces, and lonely singles are not a modern invention. Life in a fallen world is difficult. Paul’s responses to the Corinthian questions and mistakes are filled with wisdom, realism, truth—the evidences of inspiration by God’s Spirit. Some of his guidelines may not apply directly to us personally; others may be difficult to understand. But neither of those points relieves us from acting on what does apply and what we do understand. Take the clear steps of obedience, and much of the ambiguity will fall away.

Life Application Bible Commentary – Life Application Bible Commentary – 1 & 2 Corinthians.

Someone has said, “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for the display of saints.” That was certainly the case with the Corinthian church…there were people who had been guilty of every sin known to mankind.

When Paul looked at that audience, he was looking at people who have committed adultery and fornication, who have been guilty of wife abuse or child molestation, who have robbed or murdered others, and who have spent time in jail—not to mention those who have succumbed to lust, covetousness, hate, and pride.

The church is not made up of perfect people; it is composed of people who have been made righteous by the blood of Christ.

The difference between people in the church and people outside the church is not that those in the church are “saints” and those outside the church are “sinners”; it is simply that those inside the church are sinners saved by grace, while those outside the church have not yet made “the most important decision for their life here and into eternity.”

The list of the disinherited that Paul included in 6:10 served very much like a well-known Old Testament parable. God had sent the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1–14). Nathan’s parable about the rich man who had stolen the poor man’s only lamb and then had killed the lamb enraged the king. At that point, Nathan pointed out that the case they were discussing was David’s own behavior.

Paul used a similar tactic. He reminded the Corinthians of the behaviors that are evidence of sin. He appealed to their shared conviction that such lives, if left unchanged, would not lead to eternal life. Then, as they nodded their heads in agreement, he stated the punch line: “And that is what some of you were” (6:11).

Any time Christians downplay or forget their condition without Christ, there are two negative results:

(1) It makes them value the freedom they have in Christ less

(2) it makes them less compassionate about people who have never heard the gospel.

In no New Testament passage is the relationship between members of the church and sinners better illustrated than in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (ESV)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

This passage teaches three significant truths about the church and sinners.

THE CHURCH IS MADE UP OF SINNERS (6:9–11a)

In this context, Paul was teaching the Corinthian church to live righteously. This involved, for example, not going to law against one another (1 Corinthians 6:1–8) and not committing fornication (6:15–20).

To convince them that they ought to avoid the sins that were common in the city of Corinth, Paul said bluntly that those guilty of certain  sins  “will   not   inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.” “Inheriting the kingdom of God” is the equivalent of going to heaven.

Paul did not intend to say that these sins alone will keep people out of heaven. Rather, these ten are representative of all kinds of unrighteousness. Anyone participating in the sins common among the world will not “inherit the kingdom of God.”

What  should  we  realize  from  this  list  of sins?

1. The practices listed are all sins.They are sins because God has said that they are sins. If we believe the Bible, we must have the same view of these behaviors that God has of them.
2. 2. These sins are equal in their eternal consequences. The social, physical, and temporal consequences of some sins may be worse than others, but the ultimate consequences of all sins are the same.
3. 3. People who had been guilty of these sins comprised the membership of the church at Corinth.Paul went on to make this shocking statement: “Such were some of you” (6:11a). He did not say, “Such were all of ” Not all of the members in Corinth had been guilty of the kinds of sins he listed.

And such were some of you, Paul continues. The Corinthian church, as churches today, had ex-fornicators, ex-adulterers, ex-thieves, and so on. Though many Christians have never been guilty of the particular sins just discussed, every Christian was “a sinner in need of a Savior.” Every Christian is an ex-sinner…and even as Christians, we are still “sinning saints.”

Christ came for the purpose of saving sinners (Matt. 9:13). That is the great truth of Christianity: no person has sinned too deeply or too long to be saved.

“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). But some had ceased to be like that for a while, and were reverting to their old behavior.

It made no difference what they were before they were saved. God can save a sinner from any sin and all sin. But it makes a great deal of difference what a believer is like after salvation. He is to live a life that corresponds to his cleansing, his sanctification, and his justification. His Christian life is to be pure, holy, and righteous. The new life produces and requires a new kind of living.^[1]

He ate with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 15:1, 2). He loves the lost—all the lost, those who are despised as well as those who are “not far from the kingdom” (see Mark 12:34). Consequently, in the New Testament church, everyone was welcome—no matter what kind of sinner he had been before!

Let us consider this analogy: How does one qualify to be admitted to a hospital? He is sick! Likewise, to get into the church of our Lord, the first requirement is that the person is spiritually sick! He is a sinner! Any sinner—regardless of the sins he or she has committed—is welcome in Christ’s church, the hospital for sinners!

Paul’s Message to Us

We can rejoice that the sinners in the church Paul stressed that there is no kind of sin that cannot be forgiven.

• When the Corinthians received Jesus Christ, they were washed. This refers to a cleansing process of baptism that had washed away their sins through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:22; Revelation 7:14).
• They were sanctified, meaning that they had been set apart by God (John 17:17; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23).
• And they were justified, meaning that God had declared that these believers were righteous and just in his sight. Believers are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus took their punishment, sinners are able to come to God. With the full name as given here, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” comes the full title of the One who is God, who became a man, and who then returned to heaven to reign forever.

Sin Should Be in the Past

Notice the tense of the verb in 6:11: “Such were some of you” (emphasis mine). “Were” is past tense. In other words,  the  adulterers were no longer committing adultery; the idolaters were no longer worshiping idols; the thieves were no longer stealing; and the homosexuals had quit practicing homosexuality!

The Church Should Be A Support Group

Perhaps, rather than comparing the church to a hospital, we should also liken it to a rehabilitation center or a mutual support group. “12­step groups” like Alcoholics Anonymous offer advice, encouragement, and accountability for people who are trying to change their lives.

We all are part of this support group, trying to help

one another overcome a common problem. We all have weaknesses; we are all tempted to sin.

When we see ourselves as helping one another, none of us can feel superior to anyone else. While one Christian may struggle with covetousness or greed, another may battle immorality. Still another may be trying to overcome lying or anger. We are all trying to be more like Jesus, trying to conquer fleshly desires and take on the divine nature. We are all sinners saved by grace.

We must truly be striving to put off the old man, to quit the sin we were guilty of before we became Christians. Christ accepts sinners, but He does not tolerate sin!

Just as there is a danger of thinking that—because of God’s wrath—one can sin so much he cannot be saved, there also is a danger of thinking that—because of God’s grace—one can keep on sinning and God will always forgive. God will forgive, but you must repent! Repentance involves change. We must do our best to stop sinning and obey the will of God!

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 (ESV) Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Paul says that our bodies are the temple of God (6:19–20). In sexual sin, a person removes his or her body from God’s control to unite with someone not in his plan. Thus, those people violate God’s purpose for their bodies.

Paul says, don’t walk, but run away from sexual sin. Believers need to exercise alertness and awareness to stay away from places where temptation is strong, and they need to use strong, evasive action if they find themselves entrapped.

Paul asked for the sixth time in this chapter Do you not know? indicating that this was a fact the Corinthians should have known but apparently had missed or forgotten.

The words “your body” in this verse refer not to the corporate “body of Christ,” but to each believer’s individual, physical body.

How should the Corinthian believers think about their bodies? Paul explained that each should view his or her body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, who was living in them.

Because your body belongs to God, you must not violate his standards for living. Make it your practice to have an occasional body checkup in prayer. Reflect on how you are treating your body and ask God to point out any thoughts or behaviors that need change or improvement

This Holy Spirit had come into them when they had believed, having received him from God. The believers, therefore, ought to honor God with their bodies. Just as the temple was a place for worship, sacrifice, prayer, and communion with God, so should our bodies be used to implement these high purposes.

^[1] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 143.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NIV) Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, ²⁹  so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

You want success? Here’s your model. You want achievement? Here’s your prototype. You want bright lights, pageants, and media attention? Consider the front-page, center article of the nation’s largest daily newspaper.

It is a caricature of “Miss America.” The vital data of the fifty one participants has been compiled to present the perfect woman. She has brown hair. She has brown eyes. She knows how to sing and has a perfect figure: 35–24-35. She is Miss America.

The message trumpets off the page: “This is the standard for American women.” The implication is clear: Do what it takes to be like her. Get your body ‘in shape.’ Pamper your hair. Improve your walk.

No reference is made to her convictions … to her honesty … to her faith … or to her God. But you are told her hip size.

In a small photo, four inches to the left, is another woman. Her face is thin. Her skin is wrinkled, almost leathery. No makeup … no blush … no lipstick. There is a faint smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes. She looks pale. Perhaps it’s my imagination or perhaps it’s time. The caption read, “Mother Teresa: In serious condition.”

Mother Teresa. You know her story. When she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, she gave the two hundred thousand dollars to the poor of Calcutta. When a businessman bought her a new car, she sold it and gave the money to the underprivileged. She owns nothing. She owes nothing.

Two women: Miss America and Mother Teresa. One walks the boardwalk; the other walks the alley. Two voices. One promises crowns, flowers, and crowds. The other promises service, surrender, and joy.

Now I have nothing against beauty pageants (although I have my reservations about them). But I do have something against the lying voices that noise our world.

You’ve heard them. They tell you to swap your integrity for a new sale. To barter your convictions for an easy deal. To exchange your devotion for a quick thrill.

They whisper. They woo. They taunt. They tantalize. They flirt. They flatter. “Go ahead, it’s O.K.” “Just wait until tomorrow.” “Don’t worry, no one will know.” “How could anything that feels so right be so wrong?” …

For amidst the fleeting promises of pleasure is the timeless promise of [God’s] presence.

“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

There is no chorus so loud that the voice of God cannot be heard … if we will but listen. (From In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado)

The Corinthians had a tendency to be “puffed up” with pride (1 Cor. 4:6, 18–19; 5:2). But the Gospel of God’s grace leaves no room for personal boasting. God is not impressed with our looks, our social position, our achievements, our natural heritage, or our financial status. Note that Paul wrote many, not any. In the New Testament, we do meet some believers with “high social standing,” but there are not many of them. The description Paul gave of the converts was certainly not a flattering one (1 Cor. 6:9–11).^[1]

The world is full of ‘somebodies’ and ‘nobodies’,  and it does neither  of them any good. That’s  not the way God intended it to  be. Every human   being,  man,  woman,  child,  and  even unborn child, bears the image and  likeness of God, and  has neither more nor less dignity because some other people have heard  of them, look up to them, or think  they’re  special.

But in most parts  of the world, at most  periods  of history – and, as the story shows, often enough  in the church  itself – people feel  that  it’s better  to  be ‘somebody’. The  cult  of fame  has reached  monstrous proportions in recent days, to the absurd point  where  many  people are now famous  for being famous. We know their names, we recognize their faces, but can’t remember whether  they are footballers, film stars  or fashion models.

The Corinthian saints were status seekers. Paul wanted them to see how foolish this was in the light of divine wisdom and power and how inconsistent status-seeking is with the gospel.

Paul challenges his readers to take a good look around the church to note who was not present among them. This he did in verses 18-25. Glaringly absent in the church are those people who hold positions of status in the secular world, in accordance with secular values. The church is not made up of wise men, scribes, and debaters: ²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?^[2]

Paul reminded them of what they were (v. 26). One would be gravely mistaken to think that 1:26 contained the doctrinal seed needed to promote Christianity as a religion of the proletariat (workers or working-class people, regarded collectively). All the evidence points to the fact that Paul’s urban churches contained wealthy members.

This Corinthian church contained people of wealth who served as host not only to Paul, but to the entire congregation (Rom 16), people who owned homes in which they could eat (1 Cor 11:22), and at least one of the influential members, namely Erastus (Rom 16:23), was an administrator in the Roman colony of Corinth.

The religious perspective of this verse is one which runs throughout the Scriptures, and Paul’s choice of ideas here was influenced and inspired by the long history of God expressing his sovereign will through his choice of foolish and weak individuals to carry out his agenda. Whether one considers God’s choice of Israel, or of Moses, or of Gideon, or of David, or of Mary the mother of Jesus, the Scripture is clear in its depiction of a God whose list of friends portrays a lot of foolishness and weakness by human standards.

The following chart of the links will help make Paul’s correlation of the ideas of 1:26 with 1:27–28 clearer.

Corinthian Status	God’s Choice	God’s Purpose
Not many wise (sophos)	Foolish things	To shame the wise (sophos)
Not many influential	Weak things	To shame the strong
Not many of noble birth (eugenes)	Lowly things (agenes)	To nullify existing things[3]

Paul possibly went over the membership of the Corinthian church in his mind as he wrote verse 26. He reminded them that they had very few who were famous, wealthy, highly educated, powerful, or influential when they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is likely that, when they became Christians, they lost a great deal of the prestige, influence, and income they did have.

Consider your calling, brethren, he says. Paul always uses the term calling to refer to the saving call of God, the effectual call that results in redemption. “You know what sort of persons you were when God called you out of darkness. You know that He did not accept you as His child because you were brilliant or wealthy or intelligent or powerful. If you were any of these things,” he says, “you were saved in spite of them not because of them. If anything they were stumbling blocks that hindered you, obstacles between you and God’s grace.” He implies that they should be glad that not many were wise according to the flesh or mighty or noble. Such things often keep people from the sense of need that leads to salvation. If more of them had been wise, mighty, or noble, it is likely that fewer of them would have been saved.

God is not looking for Phi Beta Kappas to save and to do His work. Nor is He looking for millionaires or famous athletes or entertainers or statesmen. His salvation is open to them just as surely as to others, but only on the same basis of faith. The very things that put them ahead in the world may actually put them behind with God. It is the feeling of inadequacy that makes people aware that they have need, and often draws them to the gospel.

Jesus prayed on one occasion, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes” (Matt. 11:25). As the context makes clear, this prayer was spoken publicly as a part of His preaching to the crowds. He was addressing His hearers as much as His Father when He prayed these words. He wanted them to know that God wanted only their faith and nothing else. He was also warning that “the wise and intelligent” were at a disadvantage as far as spiritual life and understanding are concerned. It is not that they could not accept and believe, but that pride in and dependence on their accomplishments and abilities could keep them from the kingdom. Weakness and insufficiency are the climate in which God’s strength is made manifest.

God’s wisdom is a kind of paradox. In human thinking, strength is strength, weakness is weakness, and intelligence is intelligence. But in God’s economy some of the seemingly strongest things are the weakest, some of the seemingly weakest things are the strongest, and some of the seemingly wisest things are the most foolish. The paradox is not by accident but by God’s design.

A simple, uneducated, untalented, and clumsy believer who has trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and who faithfully and humbly follows His Lord is immeasurably wiser than the brilliant Ph.D. who scoffs at the gospel. The simple believer knows forgiveness, love, grace, life, hope, God’s Word—God Himself. He can see eternity. The unbelieving Ph.D., on the other hand, knows nothing beyond his books, his own mind, and his own experience. He sees nothing beyond this life, and he cannot be considered anything but foolish.

We are often tempted to think that it would be wonderful if such-and-such a great athlete—or brilliant scientist, popular entertainer, or world leader—would become a Christian. But Jesus did not think this way when He chose His disciples. Some were probably well known in their local circles and perhaps a few of them were well off financially. But He did not choose them for their wealth or influence, and in His training of them He did not try to capitalize on any such things. None of them had anything so great that he was not ready to leave it to follow Christ.

Paul glories in the fact that, for the most part, the Church was composed of the simplest and the humblest people. We must never think that the early Church was entirely composed of slaves. Even in the New Testament we see that people from the highest ranks of society were becoming Christians. There was Dionysius at Athens (Acts 17:34); Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Crete (Acts 13:6–12); the noble ladies at Thessalonica and Beroea (Acts 17:4, 12); Erastus, the city treasurer, probably of Corinth (Romans 16:23). In the time of Nero, Pomponia Graecina, the wife of Plautius, the conqueror of Britain, was martyred for her Christianity. In the time of Domitian, in the latter half of the first century, Flavius Clemens, the cousin of the Emperor himself, was martyred as a Christian. Towards the end of the second century Pliny, the governor of Bithynia, wrote to Trajan the Emperor, saying that the Christians came from every rank in society. But it remains true that the great mass of Christians were simple and humble folk.^[4]

In a.d. 178 the philosopher Celsus mockingly wrote of Christians: Let no cultured person draw near, none wise and none sensible, for all that kind of thing we count evil; but if any man is ignorant, if any man is wanting in sense and culture, if anybody is a fool, let him come boldly [to become a Christian].… We see them in their own houses, wool dresses, cobblers, the worst, the vulgarest, the most uneducated persons.… They are like a swarm of bats or ants creeping out of their nest, or frogs holding a symposium around a swamp, or worms convening in mud.

That is also what much of the rest of the world of his day thought of Christians. The simplicity of the gospel and the humility of faithful believers is incomprehensible to the world; it seems to be abject foolishness. The Lord planned it that way. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and … has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are. It is interesting to note that the despised means, in the root form, “to be considered as nothing.” The Greek is in the perfect tense here, indicating that what was once despised will continue to be despised. So people who were thought to be nobodies in society would continue to be thought of as nobodies. The phrase things that are not translates the most contemptible expression in the Greek language. “Being” was everything to the Greeks, and to be called a nothing was the worst insult. The phrase may have been used of slaves.

The world measures greatness by many standards. At the top are intelligence, wealth, prestige, and position—things which God has determined to put at the bottom. God reveals the greatness of His power by demonstrating that it is the world’s nobodies that are His somebodies.

According to God, the greatest man who ever lived, apart from Jesus Himself, was John the Baptist. He had no formal education, no training in a trade or profession, no money, no military rank, no political position, no social pedigree, no prestige, no impressive appearance or oratory. Yet Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matt. 11:11). This man fit none of the world’s standards but all of God’s. And what he became was all to the credit of God’s power.^[5]

Now, in verses 26-31, Paul wants the Corinthians to give thought to who is present in the church. “Look at yourselves,” Paul challenges the Corinthians. Granting the possibility of a few exceptions, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the rule. By and large, the church is not composed of the wise, the mighty, or the noble, when judged by fleshly (unbelieving) standards: 1 Cor. 1:26: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

Instead, God has chosen to save the foolish, the weak, the base and despised, the “nobodies.”

Following the principle set down in verse 19, Paul explains why God selected the undesirables of this world for salvation. God has purposed to nullify the wisdom of the wise and to humble the proud. He has chosen to do so by employing means and people that the world rejects as weak and foolish and worthless.

They were not wise, mighty, or noble. God called them, not because of what they were, but in spite of what they were! The Corinthian church was composed primarily of ordinary people who were terrible sinners. Before his conversion, Paul had been very self-righteous; he had to give up his religion in order to go to heaven! The Corinthians were at the other end of the spectrum, and yet they were not too sinful for God to reach and save them.

Paul reminded the Corinthians of why God called them (vv. 27–29).

²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,^[6]

he purpose of god’s wisdom: The first and primary purpose of the wisdom of God that produces salvation is that He be glorified.

(i) He is wisdom. It is only in following him that we walk aright and only in listening to him that we hear the truth. He is the expert in life. No man will ever have a reason to boast before God. Foolish, weak, base man can do nothing for himself; God has done everything. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship” (Eph. 2:8–10).

God also has a purpose for those who are saved. His purpose for His redeemed has many aspects, four of which are mentioned in verse 30. Because they are in Christ Jesus, they receive God’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

First, believers are given God’s wisdom. They not only are saved by God’s wisdom rather than their own but are given God’s wisdom to replace their own. The truly wise of this world are those whose wisdom is not of this world but is from the Lord. Christians can say, without pride or self-boasting, that they have become wise in Jesus Christ. They stand as a testimony for all time that God in His wisdom chose the sinful, the weak, and the unwise in order to make them righteous, strong, and wise. God grants them His wisdom that He might be glorified, that it might be clearly seen that the wisdom Christians have is not their own but is by His power and grace.

Men are saved not by their intelligence, accomplishments, or human wisdom. Those who trust in these will never receive God’s salvation and life and wisdom—because these may be had only by humbly receiving what His Son has done on our behalf on the cross. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6), and, on another occasion, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (8:31–32).

The wisdom received from God through Christ is both instant and progressive. In his next letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). The maker and giver of physical light is also the source and giver of spiritual light. The first thing a believer learns is knowledge of God’s glory.

The glory of God signifies His majesty and His greatness. But in its fullest sense it represents all that God is—all of His attributes, His whole nature, the fullness of His divine being. We come to know personally the creator of the universe and the source of all life and all goodness.

Godly wisdom also has a progressive aspect. The God whom we have come to know through Christ we come to know better as we live by His Spirit. Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers to be given “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him,” that is, of Christ (Eph. 1:17). They already had the initial gift of God’s wisdom, received when they first believed. But the apostle was concerned that they continue to grow in His wisdom and truth (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).

Wisdom from God also has a future aspect. In this same prayer Paul asks, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (v. 18). Both “hope” and “inheritance” suggest future fulfillment of wisdom and knowledge. God has given us wisdom, He is now giving us wisdom, and He will ultimately give us wisdom.

The person of the world cannot see or receive God’s wisdom, the wisdom that could show him God Himself, His plan for the world and for His people, and the future eternity that He gives through His Son. And so men live only for the moment, for the now, having no idea where they came from, where they are going, or what they are doing here in the first place. Yet the simplest, most uneducated person who humbly places his life in Christ’s hands is given the truth about all of these things. He knows what all the sages and philosophers of all time have never been able to discover or will ever be able to discover. He has God’s wisdom as one of His Savior’s precious gifts.

Second, believers receive God’s righteousness. In the writings of Paul righteousness always means a right relationship with God. Of our own efforts we can never achieve that. It is ours only by realizing through Jesus Christ that it comes not from what we can do for God, but from what he has done for us.

They are made right with God and they participate in His righteousness, His rightness.

Rightness means to be as something or someone should be—right as opposed to wrong, good as opposed to evil, sinless as opposed to sinful. God is totally righteous because He is totally as He should be. He cannot vary from His rightness. When we trust His Son, He shares His Son’s righteousness with us. “To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5). God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). When God looks on a Christian He sees His Son and His Son’s righteousness. When a person trusts in Christ, his unrighteousness is exchanged for Christ’s righteousness, “that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil. 3:9). Man has never had any righteousness of his own and can never have any righteousness of his own, that is, which originates in him. The only righteousness he can have is that which God gives him through His Son. It is the only righteousness he needs, because it is perfect righteousness.

Third, believers receive God’s sanctification. He is consecration. It is only in the presence of Christ that life can be what it ought to be. Epicurus used to tell his disciples, “Live as if Epicurus always saw you.” There is no “as if” about our relationship to Christ. The Christian walks with him and only in that company can a man keep his garments unspotted from the world.

In Christ we are set apart, made holy. We are declared righteous in Christ and are made holy in Christ. When we receive Christ’s nature we receive His incorruptible seed, the seed which is not, and cannot be, habitually corrupted by sin. With the flesh still present, we can slip into sin, but only intermittently. As we spiritually mature the frequency of sin decreases. The righteousness that is counted to us judicially also becomes ours in actuality—in holiness, in sanctification. We are given life in the Spirit and we begin to walk in the Spirit (Rom. 8:4–11). We begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) as we are being transformed into Christ’s image (2 Cor. 3:18). Our new nature is “created in Christ Jesus for good works,” for holiness (Eph. 2:10).

Fourth, believers receive God’s redemption. He is deliverance. Diogenes used to complain that men flocked to the oculist and to the dentist but never to the man (he meant the philosopher) who could cure their souls. Jesus Christ can deliver a man from past sin, from present helplessness, and from future fear. He is the emancipator from slavery to self and to sin.^[7]

To redeem means to buy back. God by Christ has purchased us from the power of sin. Christ “is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:14). Peter reminds us that we “were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold … but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18–19).^[8]

God has not done this because the weak and foolish are any better than the powerful and the proud. He has set aside the highly regarded and employed those things which are disdained so that all the glory might come to Himself and not to mere men. This is the concluding point Paul makes in verses 29-31.

²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

This verse provides the results and rationale of God’s ‘strange’ choices throughout history. The upshot of Paul’s point is that God’s intention was to remove all possibility of mankind’s boasting. The term boast is used here because it specifically represents one of the fundamental causes of the quarreling and division at Corinth. Unlike the sin of boasting that is referred to in other Scriptures and is rooted in ritual or moralistic self-righteousness, Paul here mentions a type of boasting that is rooted in party loyalty and worldly evaluation. In the presence of God and in light of the divine modus operandi highlighted in 1:27–28, every form of human boasting is precluded once for all, especially a boasting in human status (cf. 3:21).^[9]

Finally, Paul reminded the Corinthians of all they had in Jesus Christ (vv. 30–31). ³⁰ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

Paul has explicitly mentioned the term God thirteen times in the section 1:18–29 and has thereby maintained a visible theocentric focus. In verse 30 Paul gives attention to Christ, though still in the framework of a theocentric Godhead. This theocentricity is evident in the phrase “it is because of him (God) that you are in Christ.” This attention to the work of Christ, or rather God’s work (from God) in Christ is intended to prepare the way for the Scripture quotation in 1:31 which clearly points to Christ. Paul reaffirms a Christ-centered focus for God’s wisdom given to Christians. The Apostle then explains what God’s wisdom consists of for those in Christ Jesus. The three concepts of righteousness (δικαιοσύνη, dikaiosynē), holiness (ἁγιασμός, hagiasmos) and redemption (ἀπολύτρωσις, apolytrōsis) are all well known doctrinal concepts in the Pauline corpus. Fee captures Paul’s sense here in these words, “[God’s] wisdom does not have to do with ‘getting smart,’ nor with status or rhetoric. God’s wisdom—the real thing—has to do with salvation through Christ Jesus.”

This world believes the “shakers and the movers” are the ones who make things happen. Even the church seeks to evangelize and train those whom the world regards as “most likely to succeed.” But God chooses the opposite, those whom we expect to fail (or, more accurately, those we already deem to be failures), so that when His wisdom and power are evident, there are no wise and powerful men to take their bows before men. Instead, men must bow before God, giving all the glory to Him. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Corinth,  as a proud  Roman  city, was exactly  the  sort  of place where people would look up to the ‘somebodies’,  and do their best to join them. Then, as now, there were the obvious routes to fame: political power, and royal or noble birth. And, as we’ve seen (though this doesn’t hold for all cultures), Corinth paid special attention to people who could speak well, public rhetoricians, lawyers and the like. The wise, the powerful, the noble: these were the ‘somebodies’ in Corinth.

And Paul reminds  his readers  that  most  of them  were, on the  same  scale, ‘nobodies’. When  he first came  to  town  and announced the gospel of King Jesus as Lord, and they believed it, most of them weren’t among the ‘wise’ whom society looked up  to. Most  of them  didn’t have any social power  (though Erastus, the city treasurer, is mentioned as a Corinthian Christian  in Romans  16.23 . Most of them didn’t come from well-known, ‘noble’ families.

‘But God . . . ‘ Those are some of Paul’s favorite words. He often describes a human  situation or problem  and then takes delight  in showing  that  God has stepped  in and  done  something  to change  it drastically. They were ‘nobodies’,  but  God has  made  them  ‘somebodies’.   Not  the  sort  of ‘somebodies’ the  world  would  recognize  as such, but  the  only sort  that mattered.

And what is important in this paragraph is the fact that  God has taken the initiative in it all. The Christian  gospel is a matter of  grace  from  start  to  finish.  God  chose  these Corinthian  ‘nobodies’  (verses  27,  28);  God  ‘called’   them through Paul’s  announcement of the  crucified  Jesus as Lord (verse 26; the word  ‘call’ is Paul’s regular  word  for  what  we sometimes  call ‘conversion’);  God gave them  the status  in his eyes that  the  Messiah himself has  (verse 30). They are who they are, as he says in a rather shorthand way, ‘from God in the Messiah’ (verse 30). This is the same sequence  (chosen, called, justified) as Paul sketches in the famous  summary in Romans 8.29-30, though there  he extends  the sequence backwards to God’s original plan and forwards to ultimate glorification  as well.

God chose the foolish, the weak, the base (“low born”), and the despised to show the proud world their need and His grace. The lost world admires birth, social status, financial success, power, and recognition. But none of these things can guarantee eternal life.

The message and miracle of God’s grace in Jesus Christ utterly confounds (“puts to shame”) the high and mighty people of this world. The wise of this world cannot understand how God changes sinners into saints, and the mighty of this world are helpless to duplicate the miracle. God’s “foolishness” confounds the wise; God’s “weakness” confounds the mighty!

The annals of church history are filled with the accounts of great sinners whose lives were transformed by the power of the Gospel. In my own ministry, as in the ministry of most pastors and preachers, I have seen amazing things take place that the lawyers and psychologists could not understand. We have seen delinquent teenagers become successful students and useful citizens. We have seen marriages restored and homes reclaimed, much to the amazement of the courts.

And why does God reveal the foolishness and the weakness of this present world system, even with its philosophy and religion? “That no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:29). Salvation must be wholly of grace; otherwise, God cannot get the glory.

It is this truth that Paul wanted to get across to the Corinthians, because they were guilty of glorying in men (1 Cor. 3:21). If we glory in men—even godly men like Peter and Paul and Apollos—we are robbing God of the glory that He alone deserves. It was this sinful attitude of pride that was helping to cause division in the church.

 ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” ^[10]

Because the Christian stands before God in Christ Jesus and because the benefits of righteousness, holiness, and redemption come through Christ, Christ is the only one in whom the believer should boast. To a church whose fragmentation arose as a result of boasting, Paul gives the exhortation that boasting is only acceptable if it is boasting in the Lord. It is only from the immediate context that one can identify the term Lord with Jesus Christ.^[11]

Although in Christ we have received God’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, we have no grounds for pride or boasting, because we did not deserve, earn, or produce any of them. Man’s wisdom can produce none of those things. It can only produce pride, misunderstanding, strife, and division. As Jeremiah had written hundreds of years before Paul quoted him, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” “May it never be,” he wrote the Galatians, “that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).^[12]

Since every believer is “in Christ,” and he has all that he needs, why compete with each other or compare yourselves with each other? It is the Lord who has done it all! “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31, a quotation from Jer. 9:24, quoted again in 2 Cor. 10:17).

The spiritual blessings that we need are not abstractions that elude our grasp; they are all in a Person, Jesus Christ. He is our wisdom (Col. 2:3), our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), our sanctification (John 17:19), and our redemption (Rom. 3:24).

Actually, the emphasis here is that God shows His wisdom by means of the righteousness, sanctification, and redemption that we have in Christ. Each of these theological words carries a special meaning for Christians. Righteousness has to do with our standing before God. We are justified: God declares us righteous in Jesus Christ. But we are also sanctified, set apart to belong to God and to serve Him. Redemption emphasizes the fact that we are set free because Jesus Christ paid the price for us on the cross. This will lead to complete redemption when Christ returns.

So, in one sense, we have the three tenses of salvation given here: we have been saved from the penalty of sin (righteousness); we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification); and we shall be saved from the presence of sin (redemption). And every believer has all of these blessings in Jesus Christ!

Therefore, why glory in men? What does Paul have that you do not have? Does Peter have more of Jesus Christ than you do? (It was likely that Jesus Christ had more of Peter, but that is another matter!) We should glory in the Lord and not in ourselves or our spiritual leaders.

Is Christianity a Crutch for the Weak?

Is Christianity just another crutch for people who can’t make it on their own? In one sense, yes. “Those who are well have no need of a physician,” Jesus said, “but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:31, 32). Jesus bypasses those who pretend to be invincible, those who think they have it all together. Instead He reaches out to those who know that something is wrong, that their lives are “sick” with “illnesses” such as greed, lust, cruelty, and selfishness. Jesus knows that no one is spiritually healthy. No one is righteous enough to stand before a holy God. That’s why He came into this world, to restore people to God. The good news is that Christ gives us the power to overcome sin and the ways it pulls us down time after time. What happens to the “weak” who avail themselves of this “crutch”? Consider Mother Teresa, who emerged from an insignificant nunnery to love the helpless and homeless of Calcutta and became a worldwide symbol of compassion. Or consider Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a forgotten political prisoner rotting away in the gulag system of Stalinist Russia. Surrendering himself to Jesus, he gained renewed strength to challenge a totalitarian regime on behalf of human dignity and freedom. These are but two examples from the millions who have thrown away the self-styled crutches on which they used to limp along the road of life, opting instead for the seasoned wood of the cross of Christ which has transformed their weakness into strength. In one sense, Christianity is a crutch for the weak. But those who dismiss it for that reaon usually do so to deny their own inadequacies. They use that excuse as a way to evade the claims God has on their lives. They cannot accept that He takes wounded, fractured people and makes them whole.[13]

As you review this chapter, you can see the mistakes that the Corinthians were making, mistakes that helped to create problems in their church. They were not living up to their holy calling, but were instead following the standards of the world. They ignored the fact that they were called into a wonderful spiritual fellowship with the Lord and with each other. Instead, they were identifying with human leaders and creating divisions in the church. Instead of glorifying God and His grace, they were pleasing themselves and boasting about men.

They were a defiled church, a divided church, a disgraced church!

But, before we pass judgment on them, we should examine our own churches and our own lives. We have been called to be holy, called into fellowship, and called to glorify God.

Are we living up to this calling?^[14]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 571.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 1:20.

^[3] Richard Oster, 1 Corinthians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1995), 1 Co 1:27.

^[4] William Barclay, ed., The Letters to the Corinthians, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1975), 21.

^[5] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 50–52.

^[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 1:26–28.

^[7] William Barclay, ed., The Letters to the Corinthians, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1975), 22–23.

^[8] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 52–54.

^[9] Richard Oster, 1 Corinthians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1995), 1 Co 1:29.

^[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 1:29–31.

^[11] Richard Oster, 1 Corinthians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1995), 1 Co 1:31.

^[12] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 54.

^[13] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 1462.

^[14] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 571–572.