Gary Gleans

                                                                             1 Corinthians 7:36-40 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin.   But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well.   So then he who marries his betrothed   does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.   A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only   in the Lord.   Yet   in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think   that I too have the Spirit of God. In these final paragraphs of the chapter, Paul summarizes the main points he has been making.  The fact that he repeats it so many times demonstrates the importance of

                                                                                  1 Corinthians 7:32-35 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.   But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife,   and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.   I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.   There are advantages and disadvantages to being married.  Additional anxiety is one of the disadvantages of marriage that has Paul concerned about those who are married.  The Lord and His kingdom are what should be of utmost importance to all believers whether they are married or not.  From Paul’s perspective, the adv

                                                                                  1 Corinthians 7:25-31   Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.   But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that.   This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods,   and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of

                                                                        1 Corinthians 7:17-24 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.   Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision.   For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.   Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.   Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)   For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.   You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.   So, brothers, in whatever condition each was calle

                                                                             1 Corinthians 7:12-16 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.   If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.   For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.   But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.   For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?   Believers should only marry other believers.  However, as the Gospel expand around the world, family members will be divided by salvation.  Usually, one spouse will become

                                                                             1 Corinthians 7:6-11 Now as a concession,   not a command, I say this. I wish that all were   as I myself am. But   each has his own gift from God,   one of one kind and one of another.   To the unmarried and the widows I say that   it is good for them to remain single,   as I am.   But if they cannot exercise self-control,   they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.   To the married   I give this charge (not I, but the Lord):   the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does,   she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and   the husband should not divorce his wife. Marriage is important to God, and He inspired Paul to write much in this chapter about both marriage and singleness.  However, Paul starts out by establishing two basic principles that should be considered when discussing marriage.  Both principles come from a place of contentmen

                                                                                     1 Corinthians 7:1-5 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”   But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.   The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.   For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.   Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.   Sexual relations have become one of the primary focal points of our culture today.  Unfortunately, this gift of God has been both neglected and abused.  Often, the subject of se

                                                                             1 Corinthians 6:12-20 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.   “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.   Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”   But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.   Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.   Or do you no

                                                                   1 Corinthians 6:9-11 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, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.   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.   Hope is one of the greatest blessings of the Gospel.  Without Christ, there is no hope.  The promises of God in the Gospel fill our hearts with hope for the future and help in the present.  Paul wants to make sure that we all understand our position without Christ, so we can fully appreciate the wonderful provision of Christ.  This passage is a source of hope for all of mankind.  No matter how sinful a person is; the power of the Gospel is astounding

                                                                                  1 Corinthians 6:1-8 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?   Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?   Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!   So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?   I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,   but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?   To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?   But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!   In a fallen world while living amongst fallen peo

                                                                             1 Corinthians 5:9-13 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—   not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.   But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?   God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”   The purity of the church must be the priority of believers.  We cannot expect unbelievers to act like believers.  However, we must expect believers to act like believers.  When a brother or sister in Christ is living in a sinful manner, there must be consequences.  We live in a fallen