哥林多前书

Meditative Reflection
Christian Marriages in Crisis

“Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer… as a concession.” (1 Co. 7:5, 6)

I do not have to tell you or quote any statistics to prove to you that Christian marriages are in trouble.

I do not think it is a result of a lack of teachings in the church. Every couple who has gone through Christian pre-marital counseling understands that love in Christ is a commitment, especially when it comes to our marriage. Feelings come and go, but love in marriage is solidly grounded in commitment which the Apostle Paul captures so clearly in 1 Corinthians 13:7: “It (love) always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres”. This Christ has demonstrated so powerfully as He “loved the church and gave Himself up for her…” (Eph. 5:25). Christ Jesus also makes the issue so black and white when He declares, “Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matt. 19:6), and thus “man” includes both the husband and the wife!

As a pastor, I have witnessed the continued disintegration of marriage within the church, especially among the middle-age and senior couples. Yes, many husbands are addicted to pornography especially through the internet, and some have succumbed to temptations that are so readily available through contacts within and without the church of younger women who are often broken and needy emotionally. The relentless attacks and warnings against sexual immorality in the Scriptures appear to have little effect on them. I believe pastors and male leaders of the church should take the lead in setting a godly example in this respect and commit ourselves to walk alongside other men in the church. And I am glad to see the rapid growth of men’s ministry in many churches in the last two decades.

However, there is a growing number of Christian wives, many of whom truly love the Lord, who have grown to resent their husbands of many years. Not that their husbands have changed for the worse, but they themselves, perhaps because of the empty-nest syndrome, have increasingly magnified the short-comings of their spouses—their insensitivity, their chauvinism, their stubbornness or their hypocrisy. I really cannot come up with any defense for some of these husbands, but the truth of the matter is that they have really been like this throughout their marriage, but somehow, the wives have resolved not to bear with them anymore and seek to divorce them. The wives have bought into the lie of the world (and in fact it is Satan’s) that they would be happier without their husbands. As Christians, we all know that one cannot be happy, let alone be happier, if we act outside of the will of God. What’s more, happiness is not the goal of a Christian, loving and honoring the Lord is.

Paul is obviously speaking to Christians spouses whose marriage is in trouble in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7, and in his “concession”, he allows them to have a “time out” for a time, but emphasizes that the purpose is purely so that “you may devote yourselves to prayer” (7:5). I do hope what I have said so far has not been a burden to you, but if you find it hard for you to take, my only advice to you is that of Paul: Devote yourself to prayer, so that you may sort out your true motives and gather strength to do what is pleasing and honoring to the Lord.

Meditative Reflection
Salvation by Marriage?

“For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife.” (1 Co. 7:14)

I do admit that the language used by the Apostle Paul in urging the believing spouses not to leave their unbelieving (or the more correct term should be yet-to-believe) spouses is a bit confusing. Are unbelieving spouses really saved simply by virtue of the faith of their spouses? Do children born out of their wedlock automatically become saved?

These particular instructions by the Apostle Paul have been manipulated to support some cults in advocating polygamy in that in order to save more women to Christ, Christian men should marry as many women as possible. Of course, any right-minded persons would understand how twisted the minds of these cults are. However, these same arguments have also been used to justify infant baptism.

This highlights the importance that the context of each instruction in the Scriptures has to its proper understanding.

The instructions from 7:12-24 deal specifically with unequally yoked marriages in which one of the spouse became a believer while the other has not (yet) and it appears that some of the believers have seen the continued physical union as sinful (not unlike the argument Paul uses in 6:15). As a result, some perhaps out of sincerity and others out of evil motives seek to divorce their unbelieving spouses. It is under such a context that Paul says that the unbelieving spouse has been sanctified through his or her believing spouse (7:14).

But “sanctification” here definitely does not mean that the unbelieving spouse is saved, because if he or she would thus be saved, then Paul does not have to ask in v.16, “How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”.  Paul is saying that by remaining in the marriage, we have a much better chance of saving our unbelieving spouse (see 1 Pet. 3:1).

And, in referring to the children born within such a marriage, Paul says that they are not unclean, but holy (7:14). The contrast here is clearly between “unclean” and “holy”. The use of the word, unclean, clearly shows that Paul’s discussion in this respect concerned the ceremonial cleanliness under the Jewish traditions. The Jewish traditions see ceremonial uncleanliness as passed on through contact or association, and thus if one is in contact with things that are touched by an unclean person, one becomes unclean, and if one has physical union with an unclean woman (during her periods), one becomes automatically unclean. This is the reasoning or fear that the believing spouses would have in Corinth—by staying married and having continued physical union with their spouses, not only would they themselves be unclean, but also the children born as a result.

Paul’s reply is clear to the believing spouse: If you become a believer, even your marriage is sanctified, and that includes you and your spouse, because now even your marriage is a marriage in the Lord (meant to reflect God’s love through its continuing union); and thus the children so born would not be unclean, but holy in the sense that the physical union is not an act of adultery, but a union sanctified by the Lord.

Therefore, it is a reversal of the Old Testament’s notion of uncleanliness, in that by contact and association, the unbelieving spouse and the children would not be ceremonially unclean. There is no need for divorce, and there is an even greater chance that the unbelieving spouse and the children would come to be saved.

Meditative Reflection
Divine Inspiration

“I think that I too have the Spirit of God.” (1 Co. 7:40)

The entire chapter 7 in I Corinthians appears to be Paul’s response to a letter written to him by the church asking matters pertaining to marriage which undoubtedly was heavily influenced by and under pressure from the secular culture of Corinth—a city whose name was synonymous with immorality at the time.

The Apostle Paul also appears to be address different situations concerning marriage. He first addresses marriages (which are in trouble) between two believers (vv. 1-11); he then addresses unequally yoked marriages in which one of the spouses became a believer while the other did not (vv. 12-24); and then he turns to the issues of singleness (vv. 25-38), and ends with a short conclusion (vv. 39-40).

In addressing the different situations of marriage, it is also interesting to note that the Apostle Paul employs some rather puzzling language in that he refers to the command of the Lord in v. 10 (addressing marriages of believers), but clarifies that it is his own words, not that of the Lord in v. 12 (addressing marriages of the rest which, according to the context, refers to unequally yoked marriages); and then admits that he does not have any command from the Lord concerning the singles in v. 25. Finally, as he concludes addressing these different situations in marriages, he thinks that he, too, has the Spirit of God in v. 40.

Because of the above, many have raised concern if these words of Paul are divine inspirations. First, we need to understand that all scriptures are God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16) and we believe it refers to the entire canon of the Old and New Testaments, not just the words of the Lord Jesus (which many translated versions have printed them in red), and that extends to the editing of the Scriptures. Now, as Paul addresses the different issues of Christian marriage, he is distinguishing between what is directly handed down by the Lord Jesus (in v. 10) from other instructions he gives which is not mentioned by the Lord Jesus while He was on earth. That does not make any of his advice void of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In fact, he does conclude with sensing the Spirit guiding him in his replies (v. 40).

We know from the second letter to the Corinthians that some did continue to dispute Paul’s apostleship and thus the authority of the instructions he gave (see 2 Co. 11 and 12). In Paul's defense, the Apostle Peter had this to say, “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16—italics mine). With these words from the Apostle Peter, any doubts concerning the divine nature of the preserved writings of the Apostle Paul should be put to rest.

Meditative Reflection
Freedom to Love

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Co. 8:1)

Reading chapter 8 of I Corinthians reminds me of the testimony I heard from another pastor on the radio (and I am sure I have shared this often with some of you), and that concerned how his use of knowledge had served to destroy rather than to build up others.

It was during a dinner celebration of a couple of newly baptized believers that the pastor ordered some wine to the horror of this couple. They thought Christians should not touch alcohol. This learned pastor explained very biblically that the Bible only prohibits getting drunk, and not the consumption of alcohol itself. What he did not know was that the couple were former alcoholics. Now with the clear teaching of the Scriptures as expounded so convincingly by their pastor, they resumed drinking. The result was tragic—they fell back into their addiction, not only did their marriage end in divorce, but presumably with one of them in a psychiatric institution.

Indeed, “everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial” (1 Co. 10:23). How true is this saying!

Meditative Reflection
Be Kind to Your Ministers

“In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” (1 Co. 9:14)

As the head of a para-church organization, I have had the opportunity to travel around the world to minister to churches of different denominations. One of the common denominators that I have come across is how poorly many of the pastors are treated. There is a growing disrespect toward the pastors these days in the church of Jesus Christ.

I have to admit that some of the pastors that I have met act really like dictators and do not deserve our respect. But they are in the minority. Most pastors are truly called by God and are humbly serving their flocks sacrificially, but many do not receive the respect the servants of the Lord deserve.

Many of those not respected by their flocks do not have the gift of eloquent preaching, but may have more than made it up with their sacrificial love and care for their people.

Some, by nature, are not sociable people. They are shy and some lack inter-personal skills. To one complaining leader who took exception to their pastor’s lack of confidence in visitation, I encouraged her by saying, “Why don’t you accompany the pastor to do visitation?”. You see, God often uses lay people to complement and empower their pastors. A successful church is always a result of teamwork.

I have found that there are two kinds of churches: One that understands the sacred calling of their pastor and accepts that he or she is no superman, but a person with flaws, and so they are determined to “make the pastor successful”; the other kind of church looks upon the pastor as an employee (nothing is worse than such a concept in the church of God), and adopt the attitude that “we’ll respect and support you if you prove yourself to be worthy, or else…”.

Meditative Reflection
Fight the Good Fight

“Run in such a way as to get the prize…a crown that will last forever.” (1 Cor. 9:24, 25)

As you were reading Paul’s words of resolve to run, to fight and to beat, and in fact “to do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (I Corinthians 9:23), I am sure that you were greatly touched by his zeal for the gospel and his love for the Lord. It reminds me both of Eric Liddell (whose life’s story was made into the movie, Chariots of Fire) and of one of the hymns sung in the movie, Fight the Good Fight.

I invite you to meditate on the lyrics of this wonderful hymn as an opportunity to renew your commitment before the Lord.

Fight the good fight with all thy might;
Christ is thy Strength, and Christ thy Right;
Lay hold on life, and it shall be
Thy joy and crown eternally.

Run the straight race through God’s good grace,
Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the Path, and Christ the Prize.

Cast care aside, upon thy Guide,
Lean, and His mercy will provide;
Lean, and the trusting soul shall prove
Christ is its Life, and Christ its Love.

Faint not nor fear, His arms are near,
He changeth not, and thou art dear.
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee.

John S.B. Monsell (1811-1875)

Meditative Reflection
We Can Only Blame Ourselves

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.” (1 Co. 10:13)

We like to think of the above verse as a promise by God because He is faithful, so He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted He will also provide a way out so that we can stand up under it. According to our experience, it is certainly true.

I can still remember the time before I was called into full-time gospel ministry that I was facing a near-bankruptcy crisis in my life. The easy way out was for me to declare bankruptcy and I would not have to repay any of my creditors a dime. But God graciously provided me with a banker who had complete confidence in me and my integrity and he did everything within his power to help me get out of debt; and eventually, after many years, I got back on my feet, financially speaking. In fact, I can recall many other critical incidents in my spiritual life as well where God provided a way out so that I would not end up in spiritual bankruptcy.

However, this verse is also a warning to us in that since God is faithful, therefore if we end up failing, like the Israelites, we have no one but ourselves to blame. The numerous miraculous deeds of the Lord preceding their arrival at Mount Sinai did nothing to prevent the Israelites from making a golden calf to worship. It was their deliberate choice and if not for the passionate intercession of Moses, they would have been consumed by the anger of God. That, too, was another way out, another chance that God gave them. The history of Israel could be said to be a history of numerous second chances, and so when the glory of the Lord eventually departed from them, they really had no one but themselves to blame; and so the Apostle Paul said that their history was written down in the Bible “as a warning for us.” (1 Co. 10:11).