Here is a teaching on part 1 of chapter 7 of the book of 1 Corinthians. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters from now on, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and see all the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
I did want to say a quick prayer... LORD, I pray that You lift up every person reading this right now. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we are reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Please lead, guide, and direct us and help us through every aspect of our lives. LORD, Holy Spirit please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. I love You with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.
1 Corinthians Chapter 7 Part 1:
1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. 2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 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. 5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
Alright, so I am going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So in verse 1, Paul is addressing a question here that was given to him in a letter written by the Corinthian Christians. Paul's view on this is that it's good for a man not to marry but as he says in verses 2-5, he says that with all the sexual immorality going on it's good for a man to have his own wife and a woman her own husband. So like I said in our previous Bible study in chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians that it's not good to just have casual sex because we give part of ourselves to the person that we are having that with them. That's why it is good to save it for the person that we are going to be married to and the person that God intends for us. Whenever you are married your body doesn't belong to you alone but it also belongs to your husband or wife. In verse 5 Paul says "Don't deprive each other except for by mutual consent and for a time to devote yourselves to prayer," so, especially with the way that the world is today and we can also see that it was the same way back in these times, there's so much temptation and different things that you want to make sure that you are being fully submitted to your wife or husband, not depriving each other, putting God first no matter what, and devoting yourselves to prayer, but also knowing that your body is not your own. Your body belongs to God and it also belongs to your husband or wife once you are married. You want to always keep that good strong foundation with your husband or wife and always put God first but make sure you have that good healthy relationship because satan will try to tempt you. You can turn on the tv or walk down the street and there will be so many temptations and ways that you could lust after other people and different things like that, so you just want to make sure that you're not depriving yourself or your husband or wife, keeping God first, and just staying fully submitted to the will of God and to your husband or wife. Just like we read in our Bible study in chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians from the verse in Genesis 2:24 it says that "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh." So in marriage, the husband and wife become one flesh and you no longer just worry about yourself but you also worry about your husband or wife and want to love and support them, be submitted to them, and all of that so that's very important to always remember.
What Paul is saying in verse 7, Paul committed his life to spreading the gospel of Jesus, working for God, and being fully submitted to His will. Paul never married and he was perfectly content to just live his life for Jesus, preaching the gospel, going to different places, and telling people about Jesus and all of that, but some people are made for marriage. Everyone is different, and we all have different gifts and paths in our lives. So you really want to make sure that through every decision that you make in life you are getting clarity from the Holy Spirit, asking God for guidance, and whatever God has for you, as long as you are letting the Holy Spirit guide you, you will never be steered in the wrong direction. You will be able to have clarity through each decision that you make as long as you are leaning on God. That is why it is so important for us to do these Bible studies, pray, and just keep that close relationship with Christ to make sure that we are staying fully submitted to His will and that we are doing what He has planned for us. Some people are intended for marriage and some people aren't. You just have to decide with God what His purpose for you is and what He intends for your life.
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8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
Alright, those are all of the verses that I'm going to read in part 1 of chapter 7 of the book of 1 Corinthians, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 8-9, if someone is married or a widow then it's good for them to stay unmarried. Just like Paul and other apostles that we see in the Bible, some of them were not married and they just devoted their lives to preaching the gospel and letting people know about Jesus. Jesus was not married, He walked on this earth, lived a sinless life, fulfilled all the things that He needed to fulfill, and He never got married. If you are not married you don't have to go find a husband or wife, that is not something that you are required to do, but if you can't control yourself or you have that urge to want to get married or to have sexual relations, then you can get married. It's not forbidden to get married but it's also not a bad thing to not be married. It all just depends on what God has planned for you and that's why I said it's so important to pray and to have clarity on what God intends for you and He will give you everything that you need to grow through life. He will give you contentment through every situation as long as you are leaning on Him and you're letting the Holy Spirit guide you.
In verses 10-11, marriage is something to not take lightly. Even though in this world today I feel so many people think that it's completely fine to get divorced and if you have some problems or if you just decide that one day you want to be alone, then you can just simply get a divorce. We see right here in these verses that a wife shouldn't separate from her husband and if she does then she needs to remain unmarried and a husband must not divorce his wife. So when picking a husband or wife you have to be very careful and make sure that it is the person that God intends for you to have and really get clarity from God before you make the decision to marry that person because it is a lifetime commitment. You are going to face hardships, you are going to have struggles, and there are going to be so many obstacles that yall are going to have to face together, but divorce should never be the answer. God will give you the strength to get through everything but it's so important to make sure whenever you are deciding who you are going to marry that that person is a godly person, they always put God first in their life, and that together God remains number one in your relationship and you lean on God through every situation that you face together.
1 Corinthians Ch 7 Part 1 Study Guide
Does your body belong to yourself? Why or why not?
When you are married, who does your body belong to?
What should we be doing through every decision that we make in life?
Is marriage something to be taken lightly? Why or why not?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on part 1 of chapter 7 of the Book of 1 Corinthians. Next time we're going to go into part 2 so make sure that you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights