Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God.
Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy. Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, that it’s good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Don’t seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don’t seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you. But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they didn’t weep; and those who rejoice, as though they didn’t rejoice; and those who buy, as though they didn’t possess; and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away. But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife. There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. This I say for your own profit; not that I may ensnare you, but for that which is appropriate, and that you may attend to the Lord without distraction. But if any man thinks that he is behaving inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of her age, and if need so requires, let him do what he desires. He doesn’t sin. Let them marry. But he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no urgency, but has power over his own will, and has determined in his own heart to keep his own virgin, does well. So then both he who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and he who doesn’t give her in marriage does better.
A wife is bound by law for as long as her husband lives; but if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whomever she desires, only in the Lord. But she is happier if she stays as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I also have God’s Spirit.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 24. Let him abide with God. I have already…
24. Let him abide with God. I have already noticed above, that men are not here bound by a perpetual necessity, so as never to have it in their power to change their condition, if at any time there should be a fit occasion for it; but that he simply represses those thoughtless humors, which hurry men hither and thither, so that they are harassed by a continual restlessness. Hence Paul says, that it is all one in the sight of God what a person’s manner of life is in this world, inasmuch as this diversity does not hinder agreement in piety.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 So purely and from the heart, that your doings…
So purely and from the heart, that your doings may be approved before God.
A repetition of the general doctrine.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–40 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called,…
24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
Ver. 24. Let every man wherein, &c.] This is the same with 1Co 7:20. The apostle inculcateth it, as we not only anoint our benumbed limbs with ointments, but also rub and chafe them in.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24–40 In whatsoever state or condition, whether he be married…
In whatsoever state or condition, whether he be married or unmarried, whether he be a master or a servant, whether he were before circumcised or uncircumcised, let him not think Christianity obligeth him to alter it; he may abide in it, only he must
abide in it with God, as one who remembereth God’s eye is upon him, and seeth him, and that he is bound to approve himself in it unto God, and to keep a good conscience towards him, as one that is a member of the church of God, and under the laws of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 32, 36, 39 The next case, which our apostle comes to resolve,…
The next case, which our apostle comes to resolve, is concerning virgins; whether they, being at their own disposal, should marry or keep themselves single? He tells them, first, that he had no special command whereby the state of virginity was either enjoined or prohibited, but he would faithfully give his advice according to the best of his judgment. And this he doth in two particulars:
First, That by reason of the present distress, and danger of persecution, which threatened the church, it was most convenient, that such as were single should continue so, if it might lawfully be done.
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Yet, secondly, He declares, that if they marry, they do not sin; only they will be exposed to more troubles as the church’s troubles do increase.
Here note, 1. That the apostle pronounces marriage lawful in all persons of both sexes, and not sinful at any time, or in any state or condition whatsoever.
Note, 2. That he signifies to all persons, That the troubles of a married life are more than those which attend a single state: Such shall have trouble in the flesh.
Marriage plunges men into an excess of worldly cares; it multiplies their business, and usually their wants; and their wants are far hardlier borne than in a single life.
Note, 3. That besides the ordinary inconveniences of a married life, which all persons are to expect, such as enter the married condition, when the church is under persecution must prepare to meet with more than ordinary troubles.
Such, that is, in those times of persection, shall have trouble, that is, more trouble in the flesh. But I spare you; that is, "I forbear to speak any more of that matter, lest I should seem to dissuade you from marriage, which is the ordinance of God, more than is fit, and be thought by any to lay the yoke of celibacy, or a single life, upon you. I only tell you, that when Christians are under persecution and distress, it is much more for their ease and quiet to be single, than to have a wife and children to care for in poverty or flight."
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv25, 36, 39 The apostle here resumes his discourse, and gives directions…
The apostle here resumes his discourse, and gives directions to virgins how to act, concerning which we may take notice,
I. Of the manner wherein he introduces them: "Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, Co1 7:25. I have no express and universal law delivered by the Lord himself concerning celibacy; but I give my judgment, as one who hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful," namely, in the apostleship. He acted faithfully, and therefore his direction was to be regarded as a rule of Christ: for he gave judgment as one who was a faithful apostle of Christ. Though Christ had before delivered no universal law about that matter, he now gives direction by an inspired apostle, one who had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. Note, Faithfulness in the ministry is owing to the grace and mercy of Christ. It is what Paul was ready to acknowledge upon all occasions: I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me, Co1 15:10. And it is a great mercy which those obtain from God who prove faithful in the ministry of his word, either ordinary or extraordinary.
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II. The determination he gives, which, considering the present distress, was that a state of celibacy was preferable: It is good for a man so to be, that is, to be single. I suppose, says the apostle, or it is my opinion. It is worded with modesty, but delivered, notwithstanding, with apostolic authority. It is not the mere opinion of a private man, but the very determination of the Spirit of God in an apostle, though it be thus spoken. And it was thus delivered to give it the more weight. Those that were prejudiced against the apostle might have rejected this advice had it been given with a mere authoritative air. Note, Ministers do not lose their authority by prudent condescensions. They must become all things to all men, that they may do them the more good. This is good, says he, for the present distress. Christians, at the first planting of their religion, were grievously persecuted. Their enemies were very bitter against them, and treated them very cruelly. They were continually liable to be tossed and hurried by persecution. This being the then state of things, he did not think it so advisable for Christians that were single to change conditions. The married state would bring more care and cumber along with it (Co1 15:33, Co1 15:34), and would therefore make persecution more terrible, and render them less able to bear it. Note, Christians, in regulating their conduct, should not barely consider what is lawful in itself, but what may be expedient for them.
III. Notwithstanding he thus determines, he is very careful to satisfy them that he does not condemn marriage in the gross, nor declare it unlawful. And therefore, though he says, "If thou art loosed from a wife (in a single state, whether bachelor or widower, virgin or widow) do not seek a wife, do not hastily change conditions;" yet he adds, "If thou art bound to a wife, do not seek to be loosed. It is thy duty to continue in the married relation, and do the duties of it." And though such, if they were called to suffer persecution, would find peculiar difficulties in it; yet, to avoid these difficulties, they must not cast off nor break through the bonds of duty. Duty must be done, and God trusted with events. But to neglect duty is the way to put ourselves out of the divine protection. He adds therefore, I thou marry thou hast not sinned; or if a virgin marry she hath not sinned: but such shall have trouble in the flesh. Marrying is not in itself a sin, but marrying at that time was likely to bring inconvenience upon them, and add to the calamities of the times; and therefore he thought it advisable and expedient that such as could contain should refrain from it; but adds that he would not lay celibacy on them as a yoke, nor, by seeming to urge it too far, draw them into any snare; and therefore says, But I spare you. Note, How opposite in this are the papist casuists to the apostle Paul! They forbid many to marry, and entangle them with vows of celibacy, whether they can bear the yoke or no.
IV. He takes this occasion to give general rules to all Christians to carry themselves with a holy indifferency towards the world, and every thing in it. 1. As to relations: Those that had wives must be as though they had none; that is, they must not set their hearts too much on the comforts of the relation; they must be as though they had none. They know not how soon they shall have none. This advice must be carried into every other relation. Those that have children should be as though they had none. Those that are their comfort now may prove their greatest cross. And soon may the flower of all comforts be cut down. 2. As to afflictions: Those that weep must be as though they wept not; that is, we must not be dejected too much with any of our afflictions, nor indulge ourselves in the sorrow of the world, but keep up a holy joy in God in the midst of all our troubles, so that even in sorrow the heart may be joyful, and the end of our grief may be gladness. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning. If we can but get to heaven at last, all tears shall be wiped from our eyes; and the prospect of it now should make us moderate our sorrows and refrain our tears. 3. As to worldly enjoyments: Those that rejoice should be as though they rejoiced not; that is, they should not take too great a complacency in any of their comforts. They must be moderate in their mirth, and sit loose to the enjoyments they most value. Here is not their rest, nor are these things their portion; and therefore their hearts should not be set on them, nor should they place their solace or satisfaction in them. 4. As to worldly traffic and employment: Those that buy must be as though they possessed not. Those that prosper in trade, increase in wealth, and purchase estates, should hold these possessions as though they held them not. It is but setting their hearts on that which is not (Pro 23:5) to do otherwise. Buying and possessing should not too much engage our minds. They hinder many people altogether from minding the better part. Purchasing land and trying oxen kept the guests invited from the wedding-supper, Luk 14:18, Luk 14:19. And, when they do not altogether hinder men from minding their chief business, they do very much divert them from a close pursuit. Those are most likely to run so as to obtain the prize who ease their minds of all foreign cares and cumbrances. 5. As to all worldly concerns: Those that use this world as not abusing it, Co1 7:31. The world may be used, but must not be abused. It is abused when it is not used to those purposes for which it is given, to honour God and do good to men - when, instead of being oil to the wheels of our obedience, it is made fuel to lust - when, instead of being a servant, it is made our master, our idol, and has that room in our affections which should be reserved for God. And there is great danger of abusing it in all these respects, if our hearts are too much set upon it. We must keep the world as much as may be out of our hearts, that we may not abuse it when we have it in our hands.
V. He enforces these advices with two reasons: - 1. The time is short, Co1 7:29. We have but little time to continue in this world; but a short season for possessing and enjoying worldly things; kairos sunestalmenos. It is contracted, reduced to a narrow compass. It will soon be gone. It is just ready to be wrapped up in eternity. Therefore do not set your hearts on worldly enjoyments. Do not be overwhelmed with worldly cares and troubles. Possess what you must shortly leave without suffering yourselves to be possessed by it. Why should your hearts be much set on what you must quickly resign? 2. The fashion of this world passeth away (Co1 7:31), schēma - the habit, figure, appearance, of the world, passeth away. It is daily changing countenance. It is in a continual flux. It is not so much a world as the appearance of one. All is show, nothing solid in it; and it is transient show too, and will quickly be gone. How proper and powerful an argument is this to enforce the former advice! How irrational is it to be affected with the images, the fading and transient images, of a dream! Surely man walketh in a vain show (Psa 39:6), in an image, amidst the faint and vanishing appearances of things. And should he be deeply affected, or grievously afflicted, with such a scene?
VI. He presses his general advice by warning them against the embarrassment of worldly cares: But I would have you without carefulness, Co1 7:32. Indeed to be careless is a fault; a wise concern about worldly interests is a duty; but to be careful, full of care, to have an anxious and perplexing care about them, is a sin. All that care which disquiets the mind, and distracts it in the worship of God, is evil; for God must be attended upon without distraction, Co1 7:35. The whole mind should be engaged when God is worshipped. The work ceases while it diverts to any thing else, or is hurried and drawn hither and thither by foreign affairs and concerns. Those who are engaged in divine worship should attend to this very thing, should make it their whole business. But how is this possible when the mind is swallowed up of the cares of this life? Note, It is the wisdom of a Christian so to order his outward affairs, and choose such a condition in life, as to be without distracting cares, that he may attend upon the Lord with a mind at leisure and disengaged. This is the general maxim by which the apostle would have Christians govern themselves. In the application of it Christian prudence must direct. That condition of life is best for every man which is best for his soul, and keeps him most clear of the cares and snares of the world. By this maxim the apostle solves the case put to him by the Corinthians, whether it were advisable to marry? To this he says, That, by reason of the present distress, and it may be in general, at that time, when Christians were married to infidels, and perhaps under a necessity of being so, if married at all: I say, in these circumstances, to continue unmarried would be the way to free themselves from any cares and incumbrances, and allow them more vacation for the service of God. Ordinarily, the less care we have about the world the more freedom we have for the service of God. Now the married state at that time (if not at all times) did bring most worldly care along with it. He that is married careth for the things of the world, that he may please his wife, Co1 7:33. And she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. But the unmarried man and woman mind the things of the Lord, that they may please the Lord, and be holy both in body and spirit, Co1 7:32, Co1 7:34. Not but the married person may be holy both in body and spirit too. Celibacy is not in itself a state of greater purity and sanctity than marriage; but the unmarried would be able to make religion more their business at that juncture, because they would have less distraction from worldly cares. Marriage is that condition of life that brings care along with it, though sometimes it brings more than at others. It is the constant care of those in that relation to please each other; though this is more difficult to do at some reasons, and in some cases, than in others. At that season, therefore, the apostle advises that those who were single should abstain from marriage, if they were under no necessity to change conditions. And, where the same reason is plain at other times, the rule is as fit to be observed. And the very same rule must determine persons for marriage where there is the same reason, that is, if in the unmarried state persons are likely to be more distracted in the service of God than if they were married, which is a case supposable in many respects. This is the general rule, which every one's discretion must apply to his own particular case; and by it should he endeavour to determine, whether it be for marriage or against. That condition of life should be chosen by the Christian in which it is most likely he will have the best helps, and the fewest hindrances, in the service of God and the affairs of his own salvation.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–40 Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, The…
Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, The apostle repeats the advice given in Co1 7:20 and prefaces it with that tender and affectionate appellation, "brethren", the more to engage them to attend to it; showing also that whatever difference there was in their civil state and condition, there was none in their religious one; they were all brethren, one of another, they were his brethren, yea, even the brethren of Christ:
therein abide with God; that is, abide in his civil calling and station of life, be it what it will, as knowing he is in that state it is the will of God he should be in; and as in the sight of God, who knows all men, and what is best for them, and who sees and observes all their actions and conduct of life; and with whom there is no respect of persons, of bond or free, of masters or servants; they are admitted equally to enjoy the same favours and privileges in the house of God; have the same access to the throne of grace, and enjoy the same communion with God; and therefore should be content in their present situation, discharging the several duties of their station aright, and exercise a good conscience both towards God and man.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 Therein abide with God - Doing all things as…
Therein abide with God - Doing all things as unto God, and as in his immediate presence. They who thus abide with God preserve an holy indifference with regard to outward things.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40 Verse 24. Let every man - abide with God.]…
Verse 24. Let every man - abide with God.] Let him live to God in whatsoever station he is placed by Providence. If he be a slave, God will be with him even in his slavery, if he be faithful to the grace which he has received. It is very likely that some of the slaves at Corinth, who had been converted to Christianity, had been led to think that their Christian privileges absolved them from the necessity of continuing slaves; or, at least, brought them on a level with their Christian masters. A spirit of this kind might have soon led to confusion and insubordination, and brought scandals into the Church. It was therefore a very proper subject for the apostle to interfere in; and to his authority, the persons concerned would doubtless respectfully bow.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 29, 32, 36, 39 1Co 7:25-26. Now concerning virgins — The word παρθενων,…
1Co 7:25-26. Now concerning virgins — The word παρθενων, translated virgins, denotes persons of either sex, who never were married. For Elsner, after Suidas, tells us, that men were called παρθενοι, virgins, as well as women; of which Rev 14:4 is an undoubted example; these are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. The apostle seems here to speak of such single persons as were in their fathers’ families. I have no commandment of the Lord — Namely, delivered during his ministry, or communicated by any particular revelation. Nor was it necessary he should; for the apostles wrote nothing which was not divinely inspired, but with this difference, sometimes they delivered what Christ had expressly declared or enjoined during his personal ministry, or what was made known to them by a particular revelation, and a special commandment; at other times they wrote from the divine light, which abode with them, the standing treasure of the Spirit of God. And this also was not their own private opinion, but a divine rule of faith and practice to the Christians, or a directory to them in cases of difficulty. See note on 1Co 7:6. Yet I give my judgment — Guided by the Holy Spirit, not only to deliver sound doctrine, but faithful and wholesome advice, 1Co 7:40; 1Th 4:8. As one that hath obtained mercy to be faithful — As one whom God hath in mercy made faithful in my apostolic office, who therefore faithfully deliver what I receive from him. The apostle, in other passages, ascribes his inspiration and supernatural gifts to divine mercy, (2Co 4:1,) and grace; (Gal 2:9:) wherefore, as by this mercy and grace he was enabled to be a faithful apostle and steward of the mysteries of God, his judgment, in all cases, must be considered as being dictated by inspiration. I suppose therefore — The word νομιζω, thus rendered, might, with propriety, have been translated I determine, or I establish by law; (see Park. Dict.;) for the apostle does not give a simple opinion, such as any wise man might give, but an inspired decision: that this is good — Is right and proper, and ought to be observed; for the present distress — Or exigency; that is, while any church is under persecution. The same word, αναγκη, is used for affliction arising from outward circumstances, Luk 21:23. By mentioning the present distress as the chief, or only thing which rendered a single state proper, the apostle hath prevented us from fancying that celibacy is a more holy or perfect state than matrimony. The one or the other, as Macknight justly observes, is proper, according to the circumstances in which persons are placed. I say that it is good for a man so to be — “Though the English word man, like its corresponding word in Greek and Latin, denotes both sexes, the Greek word here might have been translated a person, better to agree with the signification of the word virgin, which, as we have just observed, denotes an unmarried person of either sex.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24–40 Brethren ... - ; see the note at 1Co…
Brethren ... - ; see the note at 1Co 7:20.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 30, 33, 36, 38 Now concerning virgins, &c. He turns his discourse again…
Now concerning virgins, &c. He turns his discourse again to the unmarried, who (if they have made no vow) may lawfully marry, though he is far from commanding every one to marry, as when he says, seek not a wife. And such shall have tribulation of the flesh, cares, troubles, vexations in the state of marriage, but I spare you, I leave you to your liberty of marrying, or not marrying, and will not discourage you be setting forth the crosses of a married life. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v25 C.—Apostolic counsel in reference to remaining single; a. for…
C.—Apostolic counsel in reference to remaining single; a. for the unmarried generally, b. for maidens and their fathers, c. for widows
1Co_7:25-40
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25Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. 26I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man [person, ἀνθρωπῳ,] so to be. 27Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 28But and if thou marry, [But if also thou mayest have married]24 thou best not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Neverthe less such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. 29But this I say, brethren, the time [henceforth] is short [narrowed down]: it remaineth,25 [omit, it remaineth, insert, in order] that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 30And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; 31and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world,26 as not abusing [overusing] it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, and how he may please27 the Lord: 33But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, and how he may please4 his wife. 34There is difference also between a wife and a virgin.28 The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35And this I speak for your own profit;29 not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.30 36But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry. 37Nevertheless he that standeth steadfast in his31 heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep32 [in order to keep] his virgin, doeth33 well. 38So then he that giveth her in marriage34 doeth well; but35 he that giveth her not in marriage doeth10 better. 39The wife is bound by the law36 [omit, the law] as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, [sleep, κοιμηθῇ] she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. 40But she is happier [more blessed] if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also [om. also] hat I [also] have the Spirit of God.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1Co_7:25-28. But now concerning virgins.—In what follows Paul speaks indeed of unmarried men also, but it by no means follows from this that the word παρθένος, virgin, should be extended to both sexes.37 This would not suit with New Testament usage, for in Rev_14:4, it stands only as a predicate, and describes a state; [Hodge, on the contrary.].—Virgins, properly so-called, are the ones to whom his counsel here applies. Yet a reference to other unmarried persons is also involved. Schott (in his studies upon the Epistles to the Corinthians, Luth. Zeit. 1861–4) supposes him to denote such single persons of both sexes as had chosen the celibate state to serve the Lord in, whether as Deacons or Deaconesses, or in the free exercise of their gifts; [similarly Bengel, Olsh. But Meyer, et al., limit the designation to the female sex.] The δέ indicates an advance in the discussion, which now returns from its digression to its proper theme, and contemplates the same in a new aspect.—I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give my judgment.—Ἐπιταγή, commandment, just as in 1Co_7:10. “We see here how important it was, in the view of the Apostle, to distinguish the positive commands of the Lord, from all others. This care of his presupposes with great probability the existence at that time of not merely an oral, but also a written tradition of the discourses of our Lord. Hero we have a sure fixed point against the theory of the mythical origin of the Gospels.” Neander. [“This passage has furnished the two words γνώμη and επιταγη, which the Vulgate translates “consilium” and “præceptum,” advice and command—the origin of the famous distinction of later times, between ‘counsels of perfection’ and ‘precepts.’ In this passage the distinction lies only in the fact that one was a command of Christ, and the other his own opinion, although pronounced with Apostolical authority.” Stanley.] Respecting γνώμη consult on 1Co_1:10. Here it means, best judgment, advice, counsel, (as in 1Co_7:6, συχγνώμη). But this advice he presents as something important and worthy of consideration, by adding—as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.—In this he, on the one hand, brings to view his Apostolic authority, showing that he is worthy of reliance, and that what he advised was something which ought to be accepted as agreeable to the mind of the Lord, even though it may not have been credibly handed down in any express precept of His, according to the saying of Christ, “Whosoever heareth you heareth me.” But, on the other hand, he speaks as in 2Co_4:1, in all humility giving honor to the grace of Christ, who had lifted him out of the depths of misery into this Apostolic office, and had given him the Spirit of truth, and had so revealed to him his own mind, that the advice he gave should merit perfect confidence (comp. 1Co_7:40).—Πιστός, as in 1Ti_1:12; 1Ti_1:15, Rev_1:5, not exactly in the sense of believing. (Olst., Meyer, de Wette), nor yet precisely as true (Billr. and Rückert), but, faithful [as a steward, and dispenser of the hidden things of God. Winer, sec. 1Co_4:2; and so Stanley. Bloom field says: “as one worthy of credit,” referring to 1Th_2:4. “Faith makes a true casuist.” Bengel].—In 1Co_7:26 ff., he gives his advice, first, in reference to the unmarried in general, and comes to speak of virgins in particular, not until 1Co_7:36. The judgment is then introduced with a modest νομίζω [“which seldom, if ever, denotes in Scripture an absolute authority or decree, but a matter of opinion or private judgment, Mat_5:17; Mat_10:34; Mat_20:10; Luk_2:44; 1Ti_6:5, etc.” Bloomfield].—I suppose, therefore, this to be good on account of the present distress, that it is good for a person so to be.—i.e., unmarried. [Perhaps better, οὕτως, so i.e., as he is, married or single. This better suits the context; and the other is too far-fetched]. From the infinitive construction, he passes over into that, with ὁίυ, to which he might have been prompted by the subject of the clause, τὸ οὕτως εῖναι, so that we need not assume, with Meyer and others, an anacoluthon here. [Yet it is very like one, and is so regarded by Alford and Stanley]. De Wette renders ὅτι, because, and τοῦτο, as referring to the being unmarried; and makes the sense: ‘because it is, in general, good for men to be unmarried;’ but here, he inserts the words: ‘in general,’ and his explanation by no means tallies with the clause: ‘on account of the present distress:’—Κάλλον here designates that which is fitting, or advantageous, as may be seen in the ground alleged. [Ανθῤώπῳ—general term, including females, and might be rendered person]. By “the present distress,” he means either some then urgent necessity,—according to some, the famine under Claudius, according to others, marital cares and sufferings (?), and, according to others, the oppressions and persecutions of Christians, according to Mœhler, the eradication of the sexual impulse in marriage; or it were better to understand by it some impending catastrophe just on the point of occurring,—it may be the fearful crisis and bitter conflicts just preceding the coming, of Christ (dolores Messiæ) which was anticipated as near. [So Alford and Stanley (comp. Mat_24:8; Mat_24:19; Mat_24:21). At all events, the reference must be to something extraordinary. This is implied in the epithet ‘present.’ And it is nothing more than “a Popish perversion,” as Bloomfield says, “to change this from a special to a general admonition”]. This ground avails naturally also for the explanatory clause,—Hast thou been bound to a wife? do not seek a separation. Hast thou been loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.—In the latter clause, his advice to single persons already introduced by ἀνθρώπω, in a general way, is more plainly brought out. This appears in the form of a contrast, as repeating the injunction of 1Co_7:11, evidently for the sake of avoiding a misconstruction by opposers, of what had been previously said. [So Meyer and de Wette; but Alford more plausibly questions this, and takes the conjunction to be simply explanatory of his ‘so to be’]. Here also, as in 1Co_7:18; 1Co_7:21, various grammatical constructions are possible. It is best to regard the introductory clauses as either hypothetical or declarative: “If thou art bound, then,” etc.; or: “Thou art bound, seek not,” etc., the sense is the same. The γυναικί stands as in Rom_7:2, ἀνδρί: Dative of communion.—Δέλυσαί, ‘hast thou been loosed?’ implies primarily the dissolution of a connection before existing, whether by death, or otherwise. [If this be insisted on, the subsequent injunction of the Apostle must then be interpreted of a second marriage]. But in this connection the simple fact of being free or unmarried, in general is meant; and the expression is introduced simply for the sake of harmonizing with δέδεσαι, hast thou been bound? [so Alford; and Bengel, who says “that the latent participle here has the force of a noun.” ‘It is also remarked by Grotius and others, that passives in Heb. and Gr. are often used as neuters’]. That the injunction: “do not seek a wife,” is to be taken merely as advice, is plain from what follows.—but even if thou shouldest have married, thou hast not sinned.—Not so, however, would it be in the other case. There would be sin in a married person seeking to be loosed. Hence it was only the last clause that was advice. [‘From these words it has been rightly inferred that there were among the Corinthians persons, like those spoken of (1Ti_4:3) forbidding marriage, as if it were sinful.’ Bloomfield]. Γαμήσῃς lit.: ‘If thou shouldest have married.’ In like manner γήμῃ. The word γαμείν can be predicated also of the woman, if no accusative is appended. Otherwise the phrase is γαμεῖσθαί τινι, to be married to some one.—After quieting all doubts of conscience in the matter, he points to another consideration which was closely connected with the present distress.—Tribulation in the flesh, however, will such people have.—If with Calvin and others we here conceive an allusion to domestic troubles, these must be understood as intensified by the ‘distress,’ since the relations entered into by the married people (their cares for husband, wife and children, and bodily needs) involve peculiar perplexity in times of persecution and of other troubles (comp. Luk_23:28; Mat_24:19). The words: ‘in the flesh,’ are to be connected either with ‘tribulation,’ or with ‘shall have;’ the sense is the same. Σάρξ, flesh, denotes the lower sensuous life, with all its interests; here it refers to the domestic life, with its manifold solicitudes about food, and clothing, and the preservation of things appertaining to it from all injury, etc. Οἱ τοιοῦτοι, such people, i.e., such as marry—But I spare you.—Paul here expresses his paternal benevolence; q. d., ‘in giving you such advice, I would fain obviate all your troubles.’ Φέιδομαι stands here for φειδοίμην ἅν, I desire to spare you. Paul is not here ascribing to the unmarried any greater moral excellence than to the married, as Romanists imagine; but is only contrasting the comparative outward ease of the one, with the burdens which will press on the other by reason of approaching troubles. [Another interpretation given by Augustine and the Latin Fathers, and preferred by Estius, Newemacher, and Bloomfield, is: ‘I spare you the pain of dilating on those evils’—parallel to 2Co_12:6]. This seems to be confirmed by the following, τοῦτο δὲ φημι: ‘but this I do say’].
1Co_7:29-31. He now proceeds to confirm the advice above given, and to render his readers more inclined to follow it.—But this I say, brethren.—Τοῦτο, this, might refer to what precedes, provided only the ὅτι, because, were genuine. But now it can serve only to introduce what follows, and that, too, in such a way as to exhibit the
importance of this opening—the time henceforth is shortened, in order that.—Here the punctuation and reading are contested. The reading best accredited is ἐστὶν τὸ λοιπόν. In this case, as in the reading το λοιπόν ἐστὶν, τὸ λοιπόν may be connected with what precedes, as well as with what follows. On the contrary, were ἐστίν repeated, it could only be joined with the latter; hence, we might suppose that this reading originated in the idea that τὸ λοιπόν must be connected with what follows. Then it would mean: ‘it remains that,’ etc. [as in the E. version]. This would be opposed neither by the article, nor by the ἵνα. For even in Plato the article is found in such a mode of speaking: τὸ σὲ λοιπὸν ἥδη ἡμῖν ἐστι σκἑψαοθαι (Passow 2:1, 81). But the ἵνα shows that he is treating here about the solution of a moral problem: ‘what remains is, that they may be,’ etc. But if we connect it with the foregoing, then it must be taken as a more exact qualification of the clause, q. d., ‘henceforth, for the future.’ The decision in regard to this case depends upon which connection yields better sense. [Most commentators decide for the latter view. Among these Meyer, Alford, Bloomfield, Hodge. It certainly yields the best sense.] But what are we to understand by the declaration: ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν. Some [Rosen., Rückert, Olshausen] explain it: ‘the time is full of straits—grievous.’ But in those passages from which this signification is attempted to be proved (Macc. 1Co_3:6; 1Co_10:3), the word is used only of persons, and then means humbled, cast down, which terms cannot be predicated of time. There remains, therefore, only the other interpretation, contracted, limited, shortened. [“Συστέλλεσθαι and συστόλη are the regular grammatical words used for the shortening of a syllable in prosody”]. In any case, however, ὁ καιρὸς is not to be taken for the earthly life-time of individuals, [as Calvin and Estius]. The context rather points to the period of time from thence onward, until the second advent. But does it here denote the simple period of time in itself, or does it mean favorable time (opportunity)? i.e., the time in which one can yet ensure his salvation, or prepare himself for that great change concurrent with Christ’s second coming, which is to wind up the entire present condition of the world—the καιρὸς δεκτός: “the time accepted,” (2Co_6:2; comp. also Gal_6:10). In this case the predicate would suit still better, and also the adjunct τὸ λοιπόν: and we should render: ‘the time (the opportune period) is compressed, or shortened henceforth.’ The final clause—in order that those having wives, etc.—may be either referred to: ‘this I say,’ as if by declaring the time short, he arrived at the thing here stated; or, which is better, it may be taken as assigning the reason why the time is shortened, so that it indicated the Divine purpose in this curtailment. [So Hodge, Alford]. And this is confirmed by the subsequent declaration brought in as proof: ‘for the fashion of this world passeth away,’ 1Co_7:31. In this way a good meaning is obtained. But the other mode of punctuating yields also good sense: ‘it remains,’ i.e., no other choice is left, but that those having wives, etc. This, however, is somewhat harsh, and the other merits the preference. But, perhaps, a still better one is afforded by the connection of τὸ λοιπόν with what follows, maintained by Meyer (3 ed.) in the sense of: henceforth, implying that “henceforth the relations should be regarded differently, from what they had been hitherto.” Ἵνα is postscribed as in Gal_2:10, and elsewhere.—may be as those not having them, and those weeping as though they wept not, and those rejoicing as though they rejoiced not, and those buying as those that possessed not, and those using the world as not using it.—These clauses denote an internal loosing of the spirit from all bonds (even the closest), and from all circumstances, and from the possession and use of all earthly goods; in short, they enforce the maintenance of a personal independence of all external worldly relations (Meyer), the refusal to be fettered by these things in our communion with God and Christ, so that the sacrifice of all of them could be readily made when called for (comp. Luk_14:20). Accordingly, we are taught that no conjugal love, no sorrows over disasters and losses, no exultation over good fortune, should be allowed to possess the spirit, so as to impair that divine communion. And as Christians must ever be inwardly free from what is transient, in order to maintain that eternal blessing, so it becomes them to hold lightly by the earthly inheritance. They must ever remember that it is no abiding possession, and are not to cleave to it fondly; and finally, in reference to the use of the world, they should use “as using not.” The word ‘buying’ comported well with the circumstances of the Corinthians. Corinth being a great emporium, the people were given to traffic, especially to buying. In regard to καταχρώμενοι, expositors are divided; some take it as equivalent to χρώμενοι, κατά being only intensive; others translate it, abuse; but the latter meaning does not sustain the analogy with the foregoing clauses. [Alford renders it: “ ‘using it in full,’ implying an extreme and greedy use, which turns a legitimate use into a fault”]. The κατά was, perhaps, suggested by that in κατέχοντες just preceding. Χρῆσδαι, to use, takes its object here in the accusative [the only instance of the kind in the New Testament], (comp. Passow No. 1Co_2:2, p. 2496). The Rec. τῶ κοσμῷ is a change made in accordance with the more common construction. By ‘the world,’ we are to understand the totality of the visible creation, of all objects, goods, relations, belonging to the present age. It comprises in one, all the objects expressed or implied in the previous clauses. Hence, the following sentence, also, extends to these,—for the fashion of this world passeth away.—(παράγει–τὸ σχῆμα.)—By this we are not to understand a mere change of scene (an image drawn from the theatre)—a daily shifting of events belonging to the present; nor yet the transientness of earthly things in general; but the mighty revolution attendant upon the advent of Christ—the entire vanishing or destruction of the form of this world, its outward appearance and mode of existence, of which mention is made in 1Jn_2:17; Rev_21:1. This great change presents itself to him as one close at hand, and, therefore, he speaks of it in the present. (Meyer: ‘is on the point of passing away’). “The disposition which Paul here inculcates in view of the expected palingenesis of the world, is one demanded at all times. All earthly things are vanishing and in perpetual flux; we are ever approaching a new order of things. The woes which Paul saw, have often repeated themselves, and will often be repeated, until the final catastrophe breaks in.” Neander. Since this sentence does not assign the reason for an exhortation, but is brought in to substantiate that which has been previously set forth as a Divine purpose, we cannot directly annex to it the following verse, putting a comma after τούτου. But we are to regard this (1Co_7:32) as a new thought introduced—a still further reason assigned for recommending the single state. It is, however, directly joined to what precedes, in so far as Paul’s will and wishes aim at having them free from the care which belongs to the things of this world, which is so fast hastening to its end.
1Co_7:32-34. But I would that you were without care.—By ἀμέριμνοι, he means, freedom from care about the things of this world, as set forth in the 33d verse; for the care which he first speaks of,—he that is unmarried careth for the things of the Lord—can only be something which must command approval. It is perfectly right for a person (with undivided heart) to be solicitous for that which belongs to his Lord. And in what way, he explains further by the expression,—how he may please the Lord.—To the unmarried, i.e., to him who has the gift of continence, and who remains single, in order to devote himself to the interests of God’s kingdom, untrammelled by earthly bonds (comp. Mat_19:12), it belongs to occupy himself in the concerns of his Lord, and that with the simple desire of pleasing Him.—While the Apostle here has in his mind, those who, like himself, were in the true sense ἄγαμοι, unmarried, in what follows, on the other hand, he exhibits to view the ordinary experience of mankind, [and explains the nature of the care from which he would have them relieved].—But he that is married careth for the things of this world, etc.—Here he shows that on entering the married life, they have at once a divided heart, become entangled in the occupations of the earthly life, and exhibit a tendency to consider how one party may please the other, how the one (even in these worldly interests), may do right by the other, etc.—Yet in this Paul does not intend to set forth the evils which are necessarily involved in the very nature of marriage, but only to state what is usually found to be the case in actual experience. He does not mean to disparage the divine ordinance, as though it was necessarily calculated to promote estrangement from God, (Burger.)—In carrying out of this thought in reference to the wife (1Co_7:34) Paul continues:—Divided also is the woman and the virgin.—Μεμέρισται καὶ ἡ χυνὴ καὶ ἡ παρθένος.—We encounter, first, a great diversity of readings and punctuation. The first consists in the following variations:—1. On good authorities Lachmann reads καὶ μεμέρισται καὶ,—and after this, although on fewer authorities, ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἅγαμος. 2. Tischendorf, with Griesbach and Scholz: μεμ. καὶ ἡ γυνὴ καί—supported by authorities, in part equally weighty, and in part more preponderant. 3. The received text drops the καί after μεμ., but without sufficient authority.—The punctuation, apart from the various untenable experiments of Griesb. and Scholz, may be twofold. Lachmann and Rückert attach the καί μεμ. to what precedes, making ὁ γαμήσας the subject of it; and read, ‘he that is married is divided, i.e., distracted with cares.’ Καὶ ἡ γῦνὴ then begins a new sentence, translated thus: ‘both the unmarried wife (=widow) and the unmarried virgin cares,’ etc. On the contrary, Tisch. and Meyer begin a new sentence with μεμ. ‘And there is a difference between the wife and the virgin; the unmarried careth,’ etc. [In his edition of the Codex Sinaiticus, Tisch. follows the punctuation of Lach. and Rückert, given above, putting a period after καὶ μεμ.]. The difference, according to De Wette and Meyer, is to be explained from the fact that μεμ. was not understood (and therefore entirely left out), or was misunderstood (as meaning: ‘distracted with cares,’) and therefore was attached by καί to the foregoing; consequently, γυνή was necessarily taken to denote, a widow (Esth. vidua), and as the result, ἡ ἅγαμος, the unmarried, was either put before (Vulgate), or inserted after (comp. Reiche. Comm. Crit. Spec. III. Gött. 1839). But μεμέρισται, is divided, indicates the diversity between the woman and the virgin, in respect of care (μεριμνᾷν). They are divided, separated, in their interests. (Comp. μερίζεσθαι, Mat_12:25.) Theoph.: μεμερισμέναι εἰσὶ ταῖς σπουδαῖς. “The man is divided between the Lord and his wife.” Neander. Luther’s translation: ‘there is a difference,’ is not sufficiently definite. The use of the singular is to be explained from the position of the verb, and because the whole female sex is here embraced as one idea (Meyer.)—The unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in both body and spirit.—For ‘virgin,’ he now says the ‘unmarried;’ and instead of ‘how she may please the Lord,’ he now puts, that which leads to this, ‘that she may be holy,’ i.e., entirely devoted to the Lord, to serve Him with her whole person, and all her powers. First, he specifies ‘in body,’ because the marriage state primarily obligates the body in an earthly or worldly relation, and involves power of the man over the body of his wife (1Co_7:4), and easily occasions a defilement of the physical life. But the sanctity of the body, if it is of the right sort, is rooted in the sanctity of the spirit (comp. Osiander). The καὶ before σώματι has the predominance of authorities in its favor; a few support Lachmann in reading τῷ σῴματι καὶ τῶ πνεύματι. [“The word holy has the sense that it has in 1Co_7:14, and so often elsewhere. It is not in purity and spirituality that the virgin is said to have advantage of the wife; but in freedom from distracting cares. In 1Co_7:14, even the unbelieving husband or wife is said to be sanctified, or made holy. And it is in the same general sense of consecration, that holiness is here predicated of virgins, as distinguished from wives. It would be to impugn a divine ordinance, and to contradict all experience, to say that married women, because married, are less holy than the unmarried. Paul advances no such idea.” Hodge.]—But she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.—[This is not charged upon her as sin, but it is a part of her obligation of marriage, and is therefore expected of her. And if she has ‘married in the Lord,’ then even this very effort to please her husband may be a part of the service she renders unto the Lord. Yet while this is so, the obligation to the husband, it must be confessed, not unfrequently presents a temptation to a divided service, and in her endeavors to gratify his wishes, especially if he is of a worldly, or even partially sanctified spirit, is often betrayed into acts which militate against her piety, and interfere with her higher obligations. This is how it happens that many a Christian woman comes to be found absenting herself from the place of prayer, frequenting the ball-room and theatre, giving parties on the Sabbath, and in other ways compromising her conscience to her own spiritual injury and the discredit of her profession. And it is to the danger of such evils, incurred by marriage, that the Apostle points.]
1Co_7:35. And this I speak for your own profit.—Here he obviates misapprehension, and assures them that his commendation of the single state, did not flow from any selfish motives—out of a desire to rule their conscience, or to obtain honor by enforcing upon them his own celibate condition; but only out of regard to their own advantage, whether it be to spare them trouble (1Co_7:28), or, as the following context would indicate, to render the maintenance of their Christian profession at that particular crisis a little easier. This is the profit which he now develops antithetically:—not that I may cast a snare over you—(βρόχον ἐπι βάλω) [a figure borrowed from hunting, and means lit., to fling a noose]. Here he applies it to mean the ensnaring of their conscience, and binding them to his opinion. In like manner we have the expressions “to put a yoke,” “to lay a burden,” in Act_15:10; Mat_23:4. Less plausible is the explanation: ‘to awaken scruples of conscience,’ or, ‘to endanger your purity by withholding you from marriage.’ And just as little may we connect either of these interpretations with the first. The ‘profit’ above spoken of is more fully explained by the phrase—but with a view to seemliness,—ἀλλὰ πρὸς το εὔσχημον. Προς here denotes the final end, as in 1Co_10:11, etc.,=‘for the furtherance of what is comely; that is, honestum, the worthier, more independent position—the one free from worldly cares (comp. Rom_13:13; 1Th_4:12).—As a further definition of this, he proceeds,—and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.—By this he means a perpetual engagedness with him, without being diverted hither and thither by another’s influence. This is “the caring for the things of the Lord,” mentioned above, a life entirely devoted to the Lord and His cause—the opposite of being “troubled about many things” (Luk_10:41)—the practice of holiness (1Co_7:34). The whole is=εὐσχημονεῖν καὶ εὐπάρεδρον εἶναι (Meyer, Ed. 3. The exhibition of the inner life in its entire outward manifestation in a mode corresponding to this devotion to the Lord; the whole moral consecration and self-discipline, so far as it expresses itself in demeanor, in speech, posture, behavior, as the true outward type of the Christian life). [“The image here conveyed is exactly expressed by the story in Luke, of Mary “sitting by the side of Jesus’ feet” (παρακαθίσασα, comp. εὐπάρεδρον), and Martha, “who was cumbered (Περιεσπᾶτο) with much serving,” and “careful (μεριμνᾷς) about many things.” Stanley].
1Co_7:36. But if any man think that he behaveth himself unseemly towards his virgin,—He now comes to speak particularly of virgins [and addresses himself especially to fathers, since, according to the custom of Jews and Greeks, and most oriental nations at this day, the disposal of daughters in marriage rested with them]. The δέ introduces in contrast with the ‘seemliness’ above spoken of, an unseemliness (ἀσχημονεῖν). This word means to act unsuitably, unbecomingly (1Co_13:5). It may also mean [see Wetstein], ‘to suffer something unbecoming, to be disgraced.’ [And so most of the Gr. fathers, and Grotius interpret the word here. ‘The disgrace, which, according to the opinions of the East, female celibacy involved, extended from the virgin to the father (comp. Sir_13:9).’ Hence their desire to marry their daughters as speedily as possible (Bloomfield)]. But only the former meaning suits with ἐπὶ, which indicates the direction of an action [so Hodge, Robinson], towards, or in respect to [Jelf’s Gr. Gram., § 635, 3, 6, comp. § 905, 3, 6]. If it had the latter signification, we would rather expect ἀσχημονήσειν, that he will suffer disgrace, etc. Both significations, however, lead to the same thing; for he does not here allude to the disgrace of living unmarried, and so becoming an old maid, which would be brought upon the virgin, but to the disgrace of the temptation which would be occasioned by refusing her marriage; [so Alford, Hodge]. ‘His virgin’=his daughter,—if she be of full age.—Παρθένος ὑπέρακμος means one who has passed the years of her youth (according to Plato, the ακμή of a woman was at twenty years of age), an age when, by the refusal of marriage on the part of the father, a surrender to her lover on her part was more to be feared than in earlier years.—and it must needs so be,—και οὕτως ὀφείλει γίνεσθαι. These words cannot be made dependent (Rückert) on the ἐάν preceding, on account of the indicative; neither can γένεσθαι ever be=μένειν, q. d., ‘so she should remain single.’ They depend rather on εἱ [understood]; and by οὕτωςγέν. he means that which is expressed in the following clause, viz., the marriage of the daughter. The ὀφεἰλει (=oportet, Passow 1Co_2:2, p. 1029) implies that the temperament of the daughter, [or some other equally cogent circumstance for the phrase, may include those of every kind, whether existing in the father or in the daughter] makes marriage necessary. It introduces a further objective element, in addition to the subjective one, expressed in νομίζει.—let him do what he wishes—Ὅ θέλει denotes not mere caprice, the arbitrary wish of the father, but a purpose grounded upon his best judgment (νομίζει) [and here it will be seen that the whole authority in the premises rested with the father].—let them marry.—The subject of γαμείτωσαν is easily understood, viz., the virgin and her lover. “It can also be the plurality implied in the single subject ‘virgin,’ παρθένος, q. d., ‘let the virgins marry.’ ” Neander. [Freedom of opinion and action is wisely allowed in matters morally indifferent. As to what is the specific duty each person must decide for himself].
1Co_7:37. But he who—Here he introduces a case directly the opposite, and with unmistakable approval, as is shown by the last clause. In contrast with the previous one, who has the negative virtue of sinning not, this one ‘doeth well.’ The same may be inferred from the imperatives, which are to be construed as permissive. First, he brings prominently to view the steadfastness and independence of conviction and resolve shown,—hath stood steadfast in his heart,—in contrast with the weakness and dependence of the other, in 1Co_7:36 (ἑδραῖος, fast grounded, found also in 1Co_15:58 and in Col_1:24). [“This allusion here is to a statue standing firm on its pedestal.” Bloomfield]. The points in which this firmness is shown are more fully defined in the two following clauses, which are to be considered as the positive and negative explanation of the first.—having no necessity,—in contrast with the necessity occasioned by the temperament of the daughter, [or any other constraining circumstances] (1Co_7:26)—but has power.—There is an anacoluthon here ἔχει (instead of ἔχων)—over his own will—i.e., to do as he chooses. [“Often the will is one thing, and the power is another.” Bengel]. And what this will is he next states,—and has resolved this in his heart.—By ‘this’ (τοὐτο) he means, but doesn’t say: ‘to keep her unmarried.’—in order to preserve his virgin.—τοῦ τηρεῖν τὴν ἐαυτοῦ παρθένον. If it read, τηρεῖν, or, τὸ τηρεῖν, then we would simply have here the explanation of what goes before; but since the correct reading, τοῦ τηρεῖν is to be regarded as a final clause, this, according to all well established usage, cannot be. We are therefore to take τηρεῖν τὴν παρθένον not as a periphrasis for: ‘to keep her unmarried;’ but it means: ‘to preserve her in her virgin state, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit.’ [Hence we might render it: ‘in order to keep her as a virgin’]. Not, however, for the sake of his own paternal interests, as Meyer assumes. This by no means follows from the ἑαυτοῦ, and it must be regarded as a selfish motive, altogether inconsistent with the spirit of the Apostle’s exposition. The whole matter rests upon the paternal authority acknowledged not simply among Jews and Greeks, but also in the sphere of Christian life. And to this also the words τὴν παρθένον εαυτοῦ. refer. But the very manner in which the Apostle treats the affair, indicates that it is not a despotic, reckless rule, but the exercise of an authority which is considerate of the nature, the circumstances and the well being of the daughter, so that the resolve expressed in κέκρικεν is to be regarded as a well considered one. The exclusive action of the father in this case, however, indicates a distinction between the customs of antiquity and those of our modern times (comp. Grot. in hoc loco.)—doeth well.—[An approval which went right in the face of Jewish and Gentile opinions and prejudices—a commendation of a course of conduct, which in view of the exigencies of the times, and probabilities of good it involved, might seem desirable; but yet might not be adopted, because of the prevailing views of marriage; and which therefore required the special sanction of the Apostle to strengthen persons in the adoption of it.]
1Co_7:38. So then both he that giveth her in marriage doeth well, and he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.—Here he reaches the result of his discussion. The καί—καί, both—and, suit properly only to a repetition of the words, ‘doeth well,’ (hence the var. δέ, in which case the first καί might be translated, also). It appears as if Paul intended originally to repeat the words, ‘doeth well;’ but then found it more suitable to the relation previously expressed (‘he sinneth not’—‘he doeth well’), to put the second clause in the comparative. The former is well done, as being in accordance with the circumstances, and avoiding disgrace; [indeed, the man would have done wrong, had he acted otherwise]; the latter is better, according to what is said in 1Co_7:34,—[better, not in moral worth, as the Romanists pretend, but in point of advantage, considering the times, and the duties to be performed.]
1Co_7:39-40. The wife is bound by the law so long as her husband liveth.—That which he has said in reference to the marriage of virgins, he now applies to the remarrying of widows. [“There seems to be no doubt entertained respecting the second marriage of the man, probably because in the case of widowers a new marriage was generally of pressing importance, on account of the motherless children; therefore the question here is only touching the woman. The limitation, ‘only in the Lord,’ moreover, must be regarded as referring also to the man (2Co_6:14-15.) Olshausen]. After that he has expressed the woman’s release from obligation to her husband in case of his death, and her liberty to marry again according to her pleasure, on the sole condition that it be a Christian union, he points to the higher satisfaction of remaining in widowhood. But he sets this forth as his own view; which, however, is to be regarded as the view of one who has the spirit of the Lord. The word δέδεται, is bound, as in 1Co_7:29, Rom_7:2, excludes the idea of divorce and marriage with another.—but if her husband ‘sleep,’ i.e., is dead. Rom_7:3. The καί before κοιμηθῇ, which Tischendorf has accepted, is not sufficiently well attested. In that case it would necessarily be translated: “but in case the man should even die.’—only in the Lord.—These words do not simply mean: ‘in a Christian spirit,’ but they teach that the marriage should be in fellowship with the Lord,—hence a marriage with a Christian (1Co_7:12 ff. refer to marriage before conversion). This only gives to this limitation its proper significance; μονον, as in Gal_2:10.—But she is more blessed.—He presupposes the possibility of an undisturbed devotion to the Lord and His cause, such as shall insure to a Christian woman higher contentment (comp. 1Co_7:34); not simply freedom from tribulation, nor yet higher blessedness in heaven.—if she so remain, i.e., unmarried (comp. 1Co_7:26); “it being supposed that she can preserve herself pure.” Bloomfield.—according to my judgment.—[Is this a modest way of uttering what should be deemed by us authoritative, as coming from one who was inspired by the Spirit; or is it simply the expression of an opinion, which, though coming from an inspired Apostle, was not intended to bind the conscience? In short, is this advice which we are at liberty to set aside, or is it obligatory precept? This question, one would suppose, ought to be decided by the consideration of the source whence it comes. If it proceeds from a person who, however sound in judgment, is still fallible, and has no authority over us, then there would be in us the liberty to differ. But if it comes from the all-wise God, advice at once partakes of the character of a command; for not to follow the best light, not to do the best thing, is certainly sin. Who, then, is the author of the advice—Paul, as a counsellor or friend? or Paul, as an inspired Apostle? This depends on how we interpret the next clause.]—I think also, etc.—There is here a polemic side-glance cast at his opponents, who disparaged him, and refused to recognize him as an Apostle endowed with the Spirit of God equally with the others. Δοκῶ, an ironical Litotes. “The κᾀγω, and I, presents an antagonism against those who ascribed to themselves alone the possession of the Spirit; we detect in these words a side-glance at the Judaizers who refused to acknowledge the authority of the Apostle, and especially contemned the single life so much esteemed by him.” Neander.—[If this construction be correct, then the expression: “I think I have,” is not to be taken as implying any distrust on the Apostle’s part as to his actual possession of the Spirit. On the contrary, there is here, as most commentators concede, “an emphatic meiosis expressive of full persuasion and certainty.” The inference then is, that the “judgment” issuing from this high source, is entitled not only to deference, but to obedience. When it is God that advises, who will venture, or has the liberty to say, Nay?]
[Obs.:—“The arguments by which the Apostle here recommended celibacy to the Corinthians, have been urged by the Papists in support of the rulers of their Church, who oblige the clergy and the monastic orders to live unmarried. And it must be acknowledged, that at first sight, these arguments seem to be properly applied by them. Nevertheless, when it is considered, that the Apostle’s advices were suited to Christians in the then persecuted state of the Church, and were addressed only to such as could live chastely unmarried, it may fairly be presumed, that the Papists have stretched his advices farther than the Apostle intended, when they represent them as binding in all ages and countries, on those who wish to live piously.” Macknight.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Duties of parents towards their children in the matter of marriage. Among the most delicate problems of human life, calling for the exercise of firmness no less than of consideration, of wisdom no less than love, is the right conduct of parents in reference to the marriage of their children—especially of daughters. To insist upon their settlement unconditionally, is, without doubt, unworthy of a Christian, and must be looked upon as the token of a worldly, unbelieving, or, at least, little-believing temper. At all events, regard should be had to this, that a Christian should marry one like-minded. Here, that which is inculcated upon widows in v. 40, holds good absolutely—‘only in the Lord.’ Matrimonial connections between believers and children of this world, entered into out of mere carnal complacency, or with an eye to property and brilliant position in society, and in the hope that some saving influence may at the same time be exerted, are, to say the least, exceedingly hazardous; and they more commonly result in a way directly the opposite of the one counted on—the secularization of the believing party (comp. Genesis 6). All such connections Christian parents should aim to hinder, rather than help; yea, they should endeavor, by all the means in their power, to restrain and hold back their children from them, even though it be at the cost of much pain and bitter struggle. Cases may indeed occur, when yielding will be unavoidable; but, at all events, consent should not be granted without giving earnest warning of the sad mistake committed, and of the great responsibility and danger incurred.—Again, if it be seen that a daughter has little or no inclination to marry, and that she is endowed with special gifts for the service of the Lord in her virgin state, and that she takes delight in such service, then does it become the parent to stand fast against all solicitation on the part of suitors and relatives, and to sustain their child in her endeavors to devote herself to the Divine calling. But the deliberation in the case must be a comprehensive one, weighing well all circumstances, and attended with earnest prayer for that Divine wisdom, which will enable the parents to examine the inward and outward condition of their daughter, and to distinguish clearly between caprice and prudery and carnal desire to consult her own convenience on the one hand, and a true spiritual firmness and proper regard for the service of the Lord on the other; and also for that simplicity of heart which shall exclude all selfish interests, and leave no room for after regrets to come up and harass when it is too late.
2. [Marriage being a Divine institution, and designed to subserve the highest moral and spiritual interests of mankind, and being then most truly blessed when occurring “in the Lord,” it is eminently fitting that the solemnization should be a religious act, performed by a minister, and under the sanction of the Church. “The custom of thus making it an ecclesiastical ceremonial,” says Besser, “is as certainly in harmony with its character as a union in the Lord, as the popular cry for civil marriage accords with the declaration: ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ ”]
3. [“The practice of the highest duties of Christianity is compatible with every station and condition of life that is not in itself unlawful. If even the degraded state of slavery be consistent with the cultivation of the true spirit of Christian liberty, if even the great religious divisions of Jew and Gentile may be regarded as alike compatible with the service of God, then in all other states in life equally the spirit of the Apostolic injunctions may be observed where, in the letter, they seem most disregarded. Freedom from worldly cares may be maintained in the married as well as in the single state; indifference to worldly gain may exist in riches, no less than in poverty. Our nearness to God depends not on our desertion of one religious community for another, but on our keeping His commandments in whatever religious community His providence has placed us.” Stanley].
4. [Right and wrong, though absolute in their essential principles, yet, as determinable in the forms of human conduct, can seldom be defined and enforced by specific rules. Much here depends on the peculiarities of personal condition and circumstance. What may be proper and beneficial for one, may prove equally unseemly and hurtful for another. Yea, the particular duty of a person in reference to the same thing, is often modified or even reversed by changes of time and place. Hence, in relation to the details of conduct, the best course to be pursued, is simply to state the general principles which should govern, to prescribe the ultimate ends to be sought, and then leave it for each one to ascertain and decide for himself upon the proper methods to be adopted by him in the discharge of his own specific obligations. To aid in discovering what the specific duty is, the advice of judicious friends and of Gospel ministers may, and ought to be, both sought and given. But when, instead of advice, there are imposed the prescripts of unwarranted authority, then the inevitable result is injury and ruin to the very cause these were unwisely intended to further. Either the morality secured is that of a legal, slavish obedience that crushes out the joy of a true divine service, or the natures thus put under bondage rebel in secret, and thus fall into grosser sins, and incur the greater guilt. An instructive illustration of these disastrous consequences is seen in the history of Romish monasticism. And similar mistakes are constantly made in the measures resorted to for the promotion of temperance, and the maintenance of the Sabbath, and the suppression of many sorts of public amusements, and the regulation of other departments of morals. Too great reliance is placed on law, and too little upon moral religious instruction and advice. Sound morality can only be established and furthered by the enlightenment of the conscience, and the instruction of the understanding as to the best means by which behests of conscience can be fulfilled; and it can coexist only with a degree of liberty of judgment and action in things indifferent. What are the proper functions, bearings, and limitations of law in this direction, is a question too broad to be discussed here].
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Starke:
1Co_7:25. In all matters and questions which are not expressly decided by the written word, it is the part of a true and well-qualified teacher to understand how to counsel the conscience according to those fundamental principles which are found in the Scriptures. Hence, he must be able to comprehend and apply these principles in a divine light.
1Co_7:26. Even now, in consequence of the corrupt state of the Church, the domestic peace of Christians is often embittered by the influences of an evil world. Hence, we may infer that Paul would still give many the same advice which he gave of old, provided they were endowed with the gift of continence, and could preserve a virgin modesty by prayer and self-restraint (1Co_7:7 ff.) (Hed). The constraints arising from persecution are one thing, and the constraints of a cloister entered into by an inconsiderate vow are another thing.
1Co_7:27 (Spener). He who has received the gift of chastity, may abide by it or not, according as he may judge it serviceable to the greater honor of God and the better performance of that to which he has been called by God.
1Co_7:28. Marriage is, in itself, a sacred ordinance, and no one must accuse himself of sin in having married, unless he did so from impure motives. Many a person neither learns nor surmises the burden of the married life; experience makes them rue it when too late. Let those who will be married, make up their mind for all chances. But if the married parties are united in love and in fear of God, they will be able to lighten each other’s burdens.
1Co_7:29. Husbands should, indeed, love their wives with peculiar affection, but this affection should be tempered with self-denial, and not allowed to grow inordinate. Yea, they must hold themselves prepared for, and resigned to, a separation when God calls.
1Co_7:30. Creature enjoyments should be received as from God. In this way, they may be assimilated to our spiritual enjoyments. The fear of God, and regard for His will, loosens our hold on the earthly, moderates our temporal pleasures, makes us submissive amid losses (Job_1:21), consoles us in trouble, comforts us in our tears, and causes us to cleave lightly to all our possessions.
1Co_7:31. Believers here are as upon a journey; one is at liberty to use every thing at the inn; but further than this he takes no interest in it, and he is content if he has some good to expect at the end of the journey. Augustine: Boni ad hoc utuntur mundo, ut fruantur Deo; mali contra, ut fruantur mundo, uti volunt Deo.38
1Co_7:32 (Hed.). The statement here must be taken generally. Marriage is not absolutely, and without exception, a hinderance to Christianity, nor is a single life equally a help to it. Many a one finds more hinderance to good in a single than in married life; and marriage is, in itself, a God-service, for it is God’s holy ordinance, and the duties therein are commanded by Him, and, therefore, are a holy work, just as much as prayer. Let him who would please God acceptably in a single state, refrain from all self-complacency, and especially from the false notion that he is the more acceptable to God on this account.—Spener:—Marriage furnishes numerous occasions for other exercises of godliness, for the acknowledgment of the Divine goodness, etc. And God often blesses more effectually the few quarters of an hour devoted to Him amid its cares, than whole hours of monastic vigils. Ah! how many persons remain single only that they may serve the world better, and indulge more freely in personal luxuries!
1Co_7:33. Things of this world, in themselves allowable (1Ti_3:4-5; 1Ti_3:8), such as nourishment, clothing, habitation, and the like, often so absorb the entire regard, as to keep a person from diligent attention to spiritual things. In this respect the unmarried have less of a hinderance, provided they have the gifts and calling requisite for celibacy. Between the two extremes of excessive severity towards the wife in imposing on her the whole burden of domestic cares, and of excessive indulgence in allowing her to rule, there runs the middle course, that of controlling one’s wife wisely, by a manifestation of affection and the exercise of patience.
1Co_7:34. Spener:—Even the love which the wife cherishes towards her husband, and the obedience she owes to him, often constrain her, for the sake of avoiding displeasure, and creating disturbance, to interfere in some way, either by commission or omission, with the engagements in which she would otherwise seek to please the Lord.
1Co_7:35. No preacher is lord over the conscience; but lie should be indulgent and not make a point of conscience where there is none to be made. In single life a person can often devote himself systematically to the study of God’s Word, for his own personal edification, while in married life there is much to prevent this. A mother, for example, having a child either on her bosom or perpetually around her, cannot concentrate her mind in devotion. Yet, what she does is none the less acceptable to God.
1Co_7:36. Hedinger:—The authority of parents over their children is, indeed, great; but woe to those who would constrain them to an unwilling marriage, only for the sake of money or honor. And woe to those, also, who allow them in all manner of foolery for the sake of catching husbands. But what does watching avail, if the fear of God in the child does not guard the door.
1Co_7:37. If the child’s desire to remain unmarried agrees with the will of the parents, such a child is blessed in its release from many cares in the life she has chosen.
1Co_7:39. He who would do or suffer anything for the Lord, must first be in the Lord, and hold communion with Him by faith.
1Co_7:40. It is not mere solitude that makes the widow blessed; she is so, provided only that she places her hope in God, and continues day and night in prayer and supplication (1Ti_5:5).
Berlenb. Bibel:
1Co_7:27. Men would often gladly part from that they have, and seek that they have not. Let each one take heed to his own spirit.
1Co_7:28. Great confusions arise from affirming that to be sin which is not. Married people may have more troubles in the flesh; but single people also have their own temptations, which may easily choke the Word. Watchfulness is the best safeguard. A pious man is cautious and self-distrustful.
1Co_7:29. With Christians of the present day, time often hangs heavy; hence pastimes and amusements are sought for. Let us rather work while the day lasts, ore the night comes, for time is short. Therefore hasten, O Soul! See to it that thou lovest God! We have no hundred years leisure for keeping vigils with God.—Even in marriage we have opportunities for self-denial, and, when occasion calls, we can let all its good things go in obedience to the Divine will. But such self-denial can neither be undertaken arbitrarily, nor for the parade of holiness, nor in self-wrought labor, but only in dependence on the mercy of God, into whose hands alone those should yield themselves, who have long become ashamed, despairing of their own strength, and feel their need of higher aid. And this aid comes with earnest prayer, and strenuous struggles against sin, and with fervent desires for the love of God in Jesus Christ. His urgent entreaties, and winning attractions draw the heart away and beyond itself, to live in the light and under the sight of God, so that all it does, however trivial, shall be done in God. So should it be with all things in this world; we should learn to lay them all down for God, and so restrain ourselves that the heart may be freely lifted heavenward. Even whatsoever is most seemly and innocent, should be held and used as if we had it not. Our aim should be to strengthen the weak senses by becoming earnestness, and in sorrow to be always rejoicing (2Co_6:10); not to carry out our enjoyments into the flesh, but to rejoice with trembling; and to cleave to nothing which may be taken from us at any hour. In this we can succeed only through prayer. Prayer, while it knits us to God, severs us from self. He who cleaves to himself easily clings to things which may yet enhance his suffering. But he who is free cleaves only to God, and whatever is not in God, appears foreign to him. Ah, then, cast aside everything which hinders communion with Christ.
1Co_7:31. What is transient is the fashion and the quality, the show and the glitter, the outward form, or, as it now appears, the present quiet peaceful state, of this world which is spared unto Christians. How all this will pass away we need not care to know; but only that we pass not away with it.
1Co_7:32. God forbids only the care which distracts and torments. It is not His intention that we should be entirely free from all cares. Cares will come; only we must take heed and not be absorbed in them.—The celibacy of such pure souls only as are indifferent, and unconcerned about all events, who have nothing which pleases them aside from Jesus, who entirely renounce the friendships of the world, and everything which is sweet, and dear, and pleasant to the flesh, is properly sanctified; they alone are fit to walk confidingly with God.
1Co_7:33. A married man often finds himself constrained, or is of himself inclined to consider how he may please his wife, who is frequently exacting even when she has enough. But so is the progress heavenward hindered, if the man becomes ensnared in earthly occupations. Yet God can aid such in other ways; and so also believers when married, can and should attend to Divine things as well even in the midst of their work.
1Co_7:34. She only is the true virgin who cares solely for the work of the Lord, and does the will of her bridegroom.—A married woman often sticks fast under the burden of worldly things, and is obliged to endeavor to suit her husband. In such a relation what chances may not befall!—Think on this, how thou art pleasing Christ—that husband who has delivered thee from the service of sin; and take heed that thou wanderest not from Him with a roving heart. This heart must be wholly devoted to thy true bridegroom, who would fain possess thee wholly.
1Co_7:35. Even the best doctrines closely resemble fetters upon the conscience. Conscience is a very tender thing. If a man is to return to God and become one with Him in highest blessedness, he must cleave to God without reserve, and learn to abide in Him with all his powers. Can we enjoy perfect communion if one-half of us clings to the creature? The best and nearest way to perfect blessedness, is to free ourselves, more and more from the stains of our shameful apostacy; and it is a part of this work to withdraw the body also from the filth of the world, that it may be presented as an offering to the eternal Creator, in all holy service. If a person is bound in spirit to a creature, much energy of will, and much precious time is withdrawn from God. Yet the Good Spirit would not hereby intimate either that the marriage state was damnable, nor the single state alone beatific. But this is the meaning: that God wishes to have the entire man unto Himself, for His possession and enjoyment, and that we must wholly offer up, and surrender ourselves to Him, body, soul, and spirit, to be by Him sanctified and preserved. And then he tells us how well such persons should live, and how such an inward independence of all outward things, is yet possible, so that those who are married should be, and remain, as if they were not; and finally, what great happiness would arise among married people, who in their earnest conflict with the flesh, with mutual accord learn to refrain from all things in order to please the Lord and His pure Spirit.
1Co_7:36. Everything must, at all events, turn upon the person’s will, that nothing be done in a legal spirit. Christ wants our will for a bride, not for a slave. Our nature furnishes material for good, and for evil, but grace must prepare it.—Reason is not to be deified, and neither also is it to be contemned.
1Co_7:37. If the will of man is armed with the Gospel, it can accomplish more than the severest vows made under the law. An indescribably kingly power lies in the will of man—in his will disenthralled and endowed with the energies of the Gospel, when he comes to exercise confidence and courage in God, so that he is able resolutely to determine on anything he deems to be for the glory of God and the good of others.
1Co_7:38. Marriage stands between a better state in the spirit, and a worse one in the flesh.
1Co_7:39-40. If both parties are related in the Lord, then is their marriage sanctified.
Besser:
1Co_7:29-31. This is the true virginity common to all Christians, that what they have during their short lives here does not sunder them from their heavenly possessions, or detain them on their journey.
1Co_7:35. God’s prohibitions are not snares for the Christian, but gentle bridlings of the Spirit, who expresses himself in the spiritual law (Rom_7:14); but man’s interdicts which forbid what God allows (1Ti_4:1-3), are snares by which the consciences of men are bound away from God and to other things in superstitious thraldom.
Footnotes:
[12]1Co_7:12.—The Rec. has ἐγὼ λὲγω [with D. F. K. L.]. The oldest authorities [A. B. C. Cod. Sin.] read λὲγω ἐγώ.
[13]1Co_7:12-13.—Αὕτη—οὖτος, [according to A. B. C. D.1 F. Cod. Sin.]. The Rec. has αὐτή—αὐτὸς.
[14]1Co_7:13.—Rec. has αὐτόν, to conform with 1Co_7:11. The great preponderance of authorities is in favor of τὸν ἄνδρα.
[15]1Co_7:14.—̓Αδελφῷ, according to the best and oldest authorities [and, as Alford says, has peculiar force here]. The Rec. has ἄνδρι, which is a gloss.
[16]1Co_7:15.—The Rec. has ἡμᾶς, according to weighty authorities; and so, Lachmann [and Alf., Stanley, et al.]. ὕμᾶς is internally the more probable, [and is found in A. C. K. Cod. Sin.1].
[17]1Co_7:17.—The Rec. has transposed the proper order of ὁ κνρίος and θέος on very feeble authority. [A. B. C. D. F. Cod. Sin. Syr. read as above].
[18]1Co_7:18.—The Rec. has τὶς ἐκλἡθη, in conformity with the previous one. But the best authorities have the perfect: κἑκληται τις, and this is adopted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Meyer, Alf., and Stanley].
[19]1Co_7:22.—The Rec. has και after ὁμοίως with K. L. It is omitted in A. B. Cod. Sin. Syr., and by Alf., Stanley].
[20]Here it will be seen that Neander does not find in the expression, “is not bound,” all that Kling does, i.e., an absolute release from marital obligation. And in this he coincides with Hammond, Whitby, Bloomtield and others, who suppose that nothing more than a separation from each other’s society is here allowed. Yet the use of the word δέδεται, is bound, in 1Co_7:39, where it evidently implies the marriage bond, seems to sustain Kling’s view. The desertion of the unbelieving party leaves the believing free. If any restriction upon this freedom was intended, we find it only in the context (see 1Co_7:10-11; 1Co_7:30). “This passage,” says Hodge, “is of great importance, because it is the foundation of the Protestant doctrine, that wilful desertion is a legitimate ground of divorce.” President Wolsey, however, in his Article on Divorce, in the New Englander, April, 1867, pp. 228–233, argues with great plausibility and force against the legitimacy of the inference. The whole controversy turns upon the meaning given to the words οὐ δεδούλωται, “is not bound.” Does this phrase imply absolute release from the marriage obligation, and permission to marry again? or does it simply give permission to the deserted party to live apart without feeling constrained to enforce cohabitation? Persons interpret variously, according to their predilections. In fault of any deciding element in the text, it will perhaps be best to abide by the injunctions of Christ, in Mat_5:31-32; Mat_19:3-9.]
[21][Winer says that ἐν is used for εἰς after verbs of motion, for the purpose of briefly expressing at once the motion itself, and the result of it, viz.. rest. An instance of this breviloquence he finds here. The peace is the abiding condition in, which those who have been called unto it are to rest. Nor must the use of the perfect here be overlooked.]
[22][Stanley’s comment is too important not to be given entire. “The question here is, whether to understand ἐλευθερίᾳ or δουλείᾳ after χρἤσαι: whether the sense is, ‘Take advantage of the offer of freedom;’ or ‘Remain in slavery, though the offer is made.’ It is one of the most evenly balanced questions in the interpretation of the New Testament. 1. χρῆσαι may either be ‘choose,’ or ‘make use of,’ although it leans rather to the former, and thus favors the first interpretation. 2. εἰ καί may either be, ‘If, besides, thou hast the offer; or ‘Even if thou hast the offer,’ although it leans rather to the latter, and thus favors the second interpretation. The sense of this particular verse favors the first: for, unless the Apostle meant to make an exception to the rule which he was laying down, why should he introduce this clause at all? The sense of the general context is in favor of the second; for why should the Apostle needlessly point out an exception to the principle of acquiescence in existing conditions of life, which he is so strongly recommending? The language and practice of the Apostle himself, as described in the Acts, favor the first interpretation; e. g.. his answer at Philippi, ‘they have beaten us without a trial, and imprisoned us, being Roman citizens;....nay, let them come themselves and take us out,’ (Act_16:37); and to the tribune at Jerusalem, ‘but I was free born’ (Act_22:28). The general feeling of the Church, as implied in the Epistles and in this passage, favors the second interpretation: it would hardly have seemed worth while to grasp at freedom in the presence of the approaching dissolution of all things; and the apparent preference thus given to slavery may be explained on the same grounds (see 1Co_7:29-30) as the apparent preference given to celibacy. The commentators before the Reformation have chiefly been in favor of the second; since, in favor of the first; but Chrysostom observes that, in his time, there were some who adopted the view favorable to liberty; as, there have been some Protestant divines (e. g., Luther) who have adopted the view favorable to slavery. On the whole, the probability seems slightly to incline to the second; and the whole passage is then expressive of comfort to the slave under his hard lot, with which the Apostle sympathizes, and which he tenderly alleviates (as in Phm_1:16-17), though not wishing him to leave it. And if, as is possible, the prospect of liberty, to which the Apostle alludes, arose from the fact of the master being a Christian, this sense of the passage would be still further illustrated and confirmed by 1Ti_6:2 : ‘Let not [the slaves] that have believing masters despise them, because they are brethren, but rather serve them’ (ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον δουλευέτωσαν).” Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Hammond, Hodge, Barnes, and most English commentators, declare decidedly for the first view; but the best modern German Exeretes, de Wette, Meyer and others, follow the early Greek Fathers in adopting the second].
[23][“The practice of selling one’s self was frequent in great slave markets, such as must have been at Corinth.” Stanley. But this plainly could not be the thing referred to here. Though Hammond, A. Clarke and others so construe the passage.]
[24]1Co_7:28.—Γαμήσης, the Rec. has γῄμης in conformity with what follows; the former is better attested [and preferred by Alf., Stanley]. Others [D. E. F. G.] read λάβῃς γυναῖκα—a gloss [found in D. E. F. G.].
[25]1Co_7:29.—The various readings are ἐστίν before, or after τὸ λοιπόν; some repeat ἐστὶν λοιπόν with and without τό. The older authorities have το λοιπόν ἐστιν (see Exeget. and Crit.).
[26]1Co_7:31.—Tire Rec. τῷ κόσμῳa correction. The right text is τὸν κοσμόν (without τουτον, which originated in what follows). [So A. B. D. F. G. followed by all good editions].
[27]1Co_7:32-33.—Ἀρέσει; Lachmann ἀρἑσῃ: less probable, because more common. [Yet it is found in A. B. D. E. F. G., and is preferred by Stanley. Alford reads ἀρἔσει.]
[28]1Co_7:34.—Many readings and punctuations. See Exeget. and Crit.
[29]1Co_7:35.—Συμφορον. The Rec. συμφέρον. The former is supported by the older authorities [A. B. D.1]
[30]1Co_7:35.—Εὐπάρεδρον is better supported than the Rec. εὐπρόσεδρον, being found in [A. B. D. E. F. G.].
[31]1Co_7:37.—Αὑτοῦ is strongly supported, and is indeed original.
[32]1Co_7:37.—The τοῦ before τηρεῖν is indeed omitted by good authorities, but is nevertheless strongly supported [A. B. D. E. F. G.], and besides is the more difficult reading [Meyer, de Wette, Alf., have it; Stanley rejects it].
[33]1Co_7:37-38.—Lachmann reads ποιήσει with good, but not sufficiently adequate authorities.
[34]1Co_7:38.—Ὁ ἐκγαμίζων. So Tisch., Meyer, Lachmann [Alford] and others [after A. B. D. E.]. The reading γαμίζων τὴν παρθένων ἑαυτοῦ, though indeed sustained by important authorities, is nevertheless perhaps a Gloss.
[35]1Co_7:38.—Καὶ ὁ. The Rec. ὁ δὲ. The former is the original [found in A. B. D. E. F. G.], the latter was substituted by reason of the contrast implied.
[36]1Co_7:39.—The Rec. has νόμῳ taken from Rom_8:2 [omitted in A. B. D. F.], and by Alford, Stanley, and other critics.
[37]Bloomfield says, Crit. Dig.: “The most eminent modern commentators are agreed that it must refer to both sexes, and thus be equivalent to our single persons; a sense not only recognized by the ancient Lexicographers, but occurring also in the Classical writers. So Krause, Lampe, Schleusner.”
[38][Good men use the world that they may enjoy God; the bad, on the contrary, wish to use God that they may enjoy the world].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 abide with God--being chiefly careful of the footing on…
abide with God--being chiefly careful of the footing on which he stands towards God rather than that towards men. This clause, "with God," limits the similar precept in Co1 7:20. A man may cease to "abide in the calling wherein he was called," and yet not violate the precept here. If a man's calling be not favorable to his "abiding with God" (retaining holy fellowship with Him), he may use lawful means to change from it (compare Note, see on Co1 7:21).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25–40 4. Response on marriage under pressure, especially of maiden…
4. Response on marriage under pressure, especially of maiden daughters, 25-40.
The response of Paul concerning marriage thus far is applicable to the proper cases in all ages. Through the remainder of the chapter his advice is given in view of the present pressure; namely, the impending persecution, apparently apprehended from the increasingly cruel character of the Emperor Nero. To that persecution Paul himself fell a victim; but whether it really reached Corinth, so as to fulfil the gloomy anticipation, is not historically certain.
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25. Virgins—Unmarried females. Yet the advice given would, by analogy, be in some degree applicable to males.
No commandment of the Lord— That is, no recorded or traditional words of Christ. Note 1Co_7:10.
My judgment—Note 1Co_7:40.
Faithful—Not only persevering, as a believer, but trusty, as God’s dispenser of inspired truth.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40 24. with God] Literally, before God. A repetition of…
24. with God] Literally, before God. A repetition of the precept of 1Co_7:20, under a more solemn sanction. The believer is reminded Who it is that hath ordained his condition, as a sufficient reason that he should be contented with it.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 (24) Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called.—Better,…
(24) Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called.—Better, was called. Here we have an earnest reiteration of the principle underlying the previous instruction, Let the converted man abide, as regards his social or political state, as he was; in doing so, he will be with God. They were brought near to God by their conversion, whether free or slave; let them so remain.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv24–40 Therein abide with God. The verse is a summary…
Therein abide with God. The verse is a summary and reiteration of the advice contained in the whole paragraph. "With God;" literally, by the side of God; " as in God"s sight;" "doing service as to the Lord;" "for conscience towards God." The words sum up the essence of all apostolic counsels to Christian slaves in Eph_6:5-8; 1Ti_6:1, 1Ti_6:2; Tit_2:9, Tit_2:10; 1Pe_2:18, 1Pe_2:19, etc.
HOMILIES BY D. FRASER Ver. 24.
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Quietness of spirit.
St. Paul knew how to hold the balance between the stirring forces of Christianity, and. its calming, soothing power. He exemplified the combination in his own character; for he was ever moving yet never restless, ever aspiring yet always content, ever fighting, and that not as one that beats the air, and yet always breathing and making peace. The application of Christianity to actual conditions of society in ancient Greece raised many questions on which the Corinthian Church needed apostolic guidance. Such were the continual obligation of marriage after husband or wife had become a Christian; the question whether Judaism should yield to Gentilism, or vice versa, in the new community; and the problem of domestic slavery. St. Paul had no express command from the Lord Jesus on such matters, but guided, as he firmly believed, by the Spirit of God, he handled these three points with rare wisdom and foresight.
I THE LESSON FOR THE FIRST CENTURY. The introduction of the Christian faith into such cities as Corinth could not but operate as a disturbing, unsettling force. It was therefore the duty of the Christians to avoid as far as possible giving alarm to rulers, by abruptly or violently assailing the forms of life and the established institutions round about them. If their religion should present itself to the eye of observers as mainly an agitation or social revolution, it would be put on a false issue, and would give to its adversaries a strong argument for its suppression. Therefore, though the apostle hated all social injustice, he perceived and taught that precipitate action, even with the best intentions, would be a serious mistake; and that the only sound policy was to work on men"s consciences and subdue their hearts, and gradually lift them up into a condition of moral feeling and a love of righteousness which could, no longer brook such institutions as Greek and Roman slaveholding. On this topic, therefore, he checked impatience. The first thing needful was to bring Jesus Christ into every station and walk of human life. When Christ should dwell among and in men, society would take to new moulds by an inward necessity, not from any outward dictation. This was the best course to be taken even with regard to slavery. The endurance of it was hard; for St. Paul wrote at a period when the rich in Greece and Italy were cruel and contemptuous to their slaves, and it was possible for a Roman emperor to give their flesh to feed his pet fishes. But the institution was so familiar to the public mind that it was regarded as indispensable; and so Christianity was not to assail it directly, but to teach masters to give to their slaves what was just and equal, and slaves to be faithful and. honest in service. If a slave could get his liberty, he was to take it joyfully it rather." If not, he was to abide with God in that calling. His spirit was with God in a far loftier sphere than could be conceived of by the heathen master, who probably treated him with scorn. The Christian slave was the Lord"s freeman.
II THE LESSON FOR THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
1. Negatively.
(1) This text must not be quoted to require or justify adherence to a questionable calling or occupation. A Christian may find himself in a trade or business which offends his now enlightened conscience and is hurtful to his fellow men: he may be in a place or appointment which requires him to practise deceit or minister to vice. Then be must leave it, because in such a place it is not possible to "abide with God." At the same time, such abandonment of one"s situation or means of livelihood must be only under real stress of conscience, and not merely because the work is hard or troublesome.
(2) This text must not be quoted to retain Christians in ecclesiastical positions which they see to be at variance with the Divine Word. The presumptive evidence always is in favour of one"s continuing in that Church in which he obtained mercy from the Lord, and it is foolish and ungrateful to leave it so soon as he sees a flaw or fault in it. lie who cannot live in a Church that has faults will have an unhappy Christian career, and end probably in a small clique of impracticable persons like himself. At the same time, one must avoid the other extreme of refusing to consider what is or is not in harmony with the Law of Christ, and sheltering or defending abuses which ought to be confessed and corrected. Such a mode of acting puts a stop to all Church reformation. Of small faults we do not speak; but serious errors and abuses we should try to remove. If we fail, we must change our position in order to "abide with God.
(3) This text must not be quoted to check human aspirations. It is not to be implied that, because a man was poor at the time of his conversion, he must always be poor; or if he was a servant, must continue a servant to his dying day. Christianity gives no countenance to the idea that the ranks of society should be stereotyped, and no one allowed to rise above the station in which he was born. There is a wriggling anxiety to gain personal importance which is not worthy of a Christian; but if, by honest industry or conspicuous ability, one should rise in position and influence, the thing commends itself to good feeling and to reason. Therefore it cannot be condemned by Christianity, which is pervaded by good feeling and is supremely reasonable.
2. Positively. The text sets a wholesome check on self regarding ambition. The great problem of life is not bow to step up from one calling or station to another, but how, in this calling or that station, to abide in communion with God and advance his glory. No doubt, one position appears to great advantage over another, for happiness and for usefulness; but the difference is seldom so great as appears. That which has outward facilities has special risks and anxieties, and that which has disadvantage in one respect has compensation in another. But to "abide with God," not when apart from our worldly calling, gathered into a church on a holy day, but in our calling, this is the problem. To have him with us and in us by the Holy Spirit; to walk up and down in his Name; to work and to rest as in his sight; to have his light shining on our path; to have his grace working in us both to will and to do; to have our labour lightened, our care relieved, our leisure sweetened, by his love! This, indeed, is life high life. Oh, to abide in our calling calmly with God our minds and hearts open to his impulse and direction our wills submissive to his! This is what will baffle the tempter and silence the gainsayer, by proving that our religion is no mere selfish hope of future enjoyment, but a power deep seated in the soul, which can conquer passion and covetousness, and diffuse over the life a sweet serenity. To quote an English poet of the sixteenth century, now little known
He most of all doth bathe in bliss That hath a quiet mind. F
Abiding as called.
Observe the peril of Christianity, as it spread among the nations, disturbing the social conditions, customs, and relations. Yet Christianity never directly attacks social evils, war, slavery, etc. There was also a constant danger of men"s conceiving Christianity as a ceremonial and outward, and not as a spiritual and inward, religion. Our Lord had constantly to resist the expectation that he would prove a new Maccabeus, a national Messiah. And so the apostles had to assert constantly that Christianity is not, first of all, an ordering of conduct, but a life, an inward spiritual thing, that can gain expression in all circumstances and through all relations. A man may "abide" in whatever state he is when "called," seeing that he can there live out the Christian spirit and the Christian life.
I THE LORD"S CALL. Notice:
1. Its form. It comes through human agency.
2. Its effectuality. It is accompanied by the witness and the sealing of the Holy Ghost.
II THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH THE LORD"S CALL MAY FIND US. Illustrate:
1. The personal conditions, as suggested by the distinction of circumcised and uncircumcised.
2. The relative conditions. We may be bond slave or freeman, master or servant.
III THE CHRISTIAN"S DUTY IN RELATION TO THE CONDITIONS HE IS IN WHEN CALLED. As a rule, he had better remain in them. The new life in Christ should not make men restless concerning their circumstances. It is always a far nobler thing to conquer circumstances of disability by the power of Christian principle and Christian life, than merely to change our circumstances, and shake ourselves free from the disability.
Press, in conclusion, that God"s presence is not conditioned by any outward positions in which we may be placed. He dwells with contrite hearts everywhere, and pays no heed to the presence or absence of the brand marks of the slave. R.T.
Religion and business.
The apostle, in this and the connected chapters, is giving to the Corinthian Christians a variety of counsels respecting the various relationships of life which they were called to sustain. The gospel of Jesus Christ, which brings its influence first to bear on the individual, next exerts its power on the family and social relations; and we can well understand how, in those early days, a number of serious practical questions would arise and demand consideration. One of these questions concerned the condition of servitude, serfdom, in which many of the early converts were placed. The apostle points out that personal religion is independent of calling or of social position. Whatever our earthly lot may be, we can be truly godly as we fulfil it; and St. Paul recommends that every one should continue in the business which he happened to be pursuing when the grace of God came to him, provided it was an honest and honourable business. His one counsel is that, whatever may be their place or their work, they should therein abide with God, in fellowship with God, in obedience to the will of God, in openness to the leadings of the Spirit of God, and in reliance upon the daily strength of God. Regarding the text in this light, it may direct us to consider the practical influence of Christianity on a man"s business. We dwell on three points.
1. Religion is above business.
2. Religion comes into business.
3. Religion must not be lost in business.
I RELIGION IS ABOVE BUSINESS. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
1. Religion is above business in its character. Its interests are different; its aims are different; its prevailing spirit is different and nobler. It is the heavenly occupation and the heavenly spirit.
1. Religion is above business in its demands. Business calls for the exercise of mind and skill; it asks the culture of our bodily powers it develops skill of hand, promptness of judgment, keenness of insight, and perseverance in effort. It goes even further than this, and calls out certain moral qualities, the more simple and natural qualities, such as honesty, integrity, diligence, and truthfulness. But religion demands more, even purity, unselfishness, a fine consideration for the well being of others,
2. rightness of motive, and the inspiration of a supreme purpose to glorify God. Business does not touch the affections. Yet we are only cold, grasping, self seeking creatures, if life and conduct are not toned by affections; and the religion which purifies and nourishes our affections must be above business.
3. Religion is above business in its issues. Business results are a certain measure of worldly comfort in our home, a share of the pleasures which the world can afford, and a position of respect and influence among our fellow men. What more than this can the most successful business bring? It wins nothing that can go through the "great gates" with us. Its issues have rather to do with quantity than with quality; they are bounded by life, and have no out teachings into eternity. Religion is above it, since "godliness hath both the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." Religion shines down on common life all the golden rays that make the beauty of the present prospect, and it assures us that all it can shed now are but a few scattered rays of an "exceeding and eternal weight of glory," which will shine forever on the "good and faithful servants.
II RELIGION COMES DOWN INTO BUSINESS. Because it is higher than business, it claims to take it up into its grasp and glorify it, breathing its own noble spirit into all business relations. Some men do not hesitate to say that religion and business occupy separate spheres. Ward Beecher says, "How hateful is that religion which says, "Business is business, and politics are politics, and religion is religion"! Religion is using everything for God. But many men dedicate business to the devil, and shove religion into the cracks and crevices of time, and make it the hypocritical outcrawling of their leisure and laziness.
1. Religion comes into business as a new force, nourishing diligence. William Jay used to say that Christian tradesmen ought to be the best tradesmen, and Christian servants should be the best servants, and he would sometimes quaintly add, "There"s many a good woman who is not a good washer woman.
2. Religion comes as a Divine help in bearing disappointment and loss. Many by the troubles of business life are made reckless and bard. It is a great tiring that religion, in a world where "man is born to trouble," should help us to suffer well.
1. Religion comes into business to elevate our standards of honesty and uprightness. We need not affirm that integrity is only connected with
2. religion; but we may fully admit that the high standards are maintained by religion, and that it stands foremost among the forces that preserve business morality.
3. And religion comes into business as a spirit attempering business relations. It makes men more gentle, considerate, and gracious towards others; and elevates the tone of masterhood and servanthood, establishing mutual helpfulness as the ruling feature in all relationships.
III RELIGION MUST NOT BE LOST IN BUSINESS. This it may be in two ways.
1. By excess of ambition and exertion preventing due attention to religious duties and personal culture. (see 2Ti_2:4)
2. By the wealth getting spirit spoiling the Christian spirit. Illustrate by our Lord"s saying, "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven! R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 29, 31, 32, 39 Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, therein…
1Co_7:24
Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
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The Christian calling
1. The word calling in a Christian sense is a condensed confession of faith. It means that our life is governed by a will above it, and is capable of receiving influences of attraction from the Spirit of God.
2. In its secular use, as a mans common employment, it discovers the same origin. It must have sprung up in days when it was believed that each mans business was sacred, and that he himself was on a Divine errand.
3. The expression stirs some feeling of mystery; yet a life without the sense of God calling it is far more perplexing than with that key to its changes. For severed from a Father it is not only a mystery but a contradiction, an enigma which neither genius nor sensuality nor stoicism, nor suicide can solve: Earnest minds, however, find rational comfort in it, and only triflers will ignore it altogether. So true is this that the worlds great men have represented themselves as led on by a power beyond themselves--a genius, a destiny, or a deity. But the apostle refers to something higher and holier than this dreamy sentiment. It is God who calls. Christ has lived, and He asks living followers. He has died, and asks the spirit of sacrifice.
4. It is remarkable how perseveringly the New Testament clings to this conception (see Concordance on called and calling). Note its prominent teachings.
I. The business of a Christian life is something special and distinctive.
1. It is a calling by itself. It is to be distinguished from all other occupations, systems, &c. It springs from its own root, grows by its own laws, bears its own peculiar fruit.
2. It is a Divine calling. Paul speaks as if no pursuit were to he thought of in comparison with it.
II. This idea of a calling individualises the Christian person. Paul had no conception of a social Christianity apart from the personal righteousness of the men who make up society, and therefore he uses personal language. It is quite vain for us to congratulate ourselves on a state of general integrity and order, if we tolerate depravity in ourselves, or excuse it in the usages of the class to which we belong. If we have a community of a thousand people, in which we want to see the Christian graces flourishing, our only way is to go to work and turn one and another into a Christian person, each beginning with himself. How weary God must be at hearing these Pharisaic praises of a Christian country, legislation, &c., from those who allow Christianity to conquer no one of their propensities.
III. Notwithstanding all this, the calling is of universal application. It is not meant for a class here and there. Whosoever will; and its speciality is the very ground of its universality. For it addresses men--
1. Of all kinds of mental equipment.
2. Of all varieties of outward fortune.
3. In every time.
Conclusion: The text appeals to--
1. Families.
2. Parents.
3. Men of action. (Bp. Huntington.)
Abiding in our calling
The Christian must appear in the man of business. He is to abide with God.
I. By the moderation of his desires and exertions; not entangling himself in the affairs of this life; diligent in business, but not, by multiplication and complexity, injuring the health of his body and the peace of his mind, and compelling himself, if not to omit, to curtail his religious duties.
II. By unvariable conscientiousness; not content to keep himself within the precincts of legal obligation, but shunning everything that is mean and over-reaching; and exemplifying everything that is fair and honourable.
III. By a devout temper and habit that will remind him of the presence of God; that will keep him from planning any enterprise without dependence upon Heaven; practically owning the agency of Providence in all the contingencies of his affairs; ascribing all to the blessing of the Lord. Conclusion: This secular life is Christianised, and the bounds of religion enlarged far beyond the district of what we commonly mean by devotion. In all situations, the cares of life demand the vaster part of his time and attention; but he must always walk before the Lord in the land of the living; and whether he eats or drinks, or whatever he does, he may do all to the glory of God. The spirit of devotion actuates him in the absence of its forms; and this principle, as is reported of the philosophers stone, turns all it touches into gold. Thus his natural actions become moral; his civil duties become religious; the field or the warehouse is holy ground; and the man of business is the man of God. (Weekly Pulpit.)
How to walk with God in our calling
I. A good calling is a great mercy, whether you take the word calling for the calling of condition, or for the calling of employment. For--
1. A man is thereby kept--
(1) From idleness, which is the nurse of all wickedness.
(2) From busy-bodiedness. The more idle a man is the more apt he is to be meddling with others matters (2Th_3:11).
2. A lawful calling is Gods ground, inasmuch as no calling or an unlawful one is the devils ground.
II. A man having a good calling is to abide therein,
1. Therefore there is an aptness in us to change or lay down our callings, or why should the apostle three times call upon us to abide in them?
2. But it is not absolutely unlawful for a man to leave or to change his calling. For possibly a man--
(1) May be qualified for higher employments. In this case, David left his calling of a shepherd and became a king; the apostles left the calling of their fishing and became apostles.
(2) May see the same hand of God leading him out of his calling which did bring him into it. So when Noah had the same command to go out of the ark that he had to go in, then he went out.
(3) May be forced through want to change his calling. Paul, though a preacher and apostle, was sometimes forced to work with his hands.
3. Though it he lawful in some cases to do so, yet ordinarily a man is to abide in his calling, for a good calling is the Lords gift.
(1) It is God that calls a man to it, and is it likely that God will bless him who deserts it?
(2) There is no calling but God may be served and enjoyed therein (1Co_7:22).
4. But, says one, that is the reason why I would lay down my calling, because I cannot serve God so well therein. Are you sure of that? Luther tells us of a certain man that was given to anger, and who to avoid provocation would go live alone as an hermit; and going to the well with his pitcher something displeased him, and he threw clown his pitcher, and he broke it in anger; which when he had done, he said, Well, now I see it is not in my condition, but in my heart, that doth cause provocation; therefore I will return to my calling again.
III. It is the duty of every man to walk with God in his calling, and not barely to abide therein.
1. It was so from the beginning. Adam had a calling in the state of innocency, and therein he was to walk with God.
2. And if a man do not walk with God in his calling, how can he walk with God at all? A man is not said to walk with God because he prays in the morning or evening; walking is a constant thing.
3. Thereby a man is distinguished from men of the world. A man is not of another world because he deserts his calling that he may give himself unto his devotions. Christ Himself was in the world, but not of the world.
4. This is that which will sweeten and elevate your callings: everything is raised or depressed as God is present with it or absent from it.
5. Every man is as he is in his calling; a man hath no more grace than he may or can use in his calling; and though I have all parts and gifts, yet if I be not gracious in my calling, they are but sounding brass and as tinkling cymbal.
IV. What should a man do that he may walk with God in his calling?
1. Negatively.
(1) You must not be ignorant of the way of your calling; for if you take up a calling, and are ignorant of it, you may tempt God therein. Every man should be the master of his art.
(2) You must not be negligent. Diligence in our callings is commanded, commended, and rewarded in Scripture.
(3) You must not deal unjustly with men (Mic_6:8).
(4) You must not be too fond of your calling, or you will forget the God of your calling. You will go with an apron into your shop that you may keep your clothes clean, and hath not your soul as much need of an apron in your calling? If the ivy clings too close unto the oak it hindereth its growth; so if your callings cling too close to you, and you to your callings, it will hinder your spiritual growth.
2. Affirmatively.
(1) You must observe what those temptations are that are incident to your calling, and take heed thereof (1Co_7:23; 1Co_7:35).
(2) You must live by faith in your callings. Thereby you shall be kept from covetousness and love of the world. This is our victory, &c.
(3) Whatever you do therein, do all to the glory of God.
(4) Be sure that you so manage your calling that your general calling may not be a hindrance, but a help to your particular; and thus your particular calling may be no hindrance, but a help to your general calling.
(5) Be sure that you turn as God turns, sweetly complying with His dispensations in the way of your calling.
(6) You must judge of things in your calling as God judges.
(7) You must spiritualise your particular calling with heavenly things; not put all upon a morning and an evening prayer. Conclusion: If you walk with God in your particular calling, God will walk with you in your general calling.
1. Then shall your calling be a blessing to you indeed, and you shall have a greater reward than the wealth of your calling.
2. Thereby the knots and difficulties of your callings shall be taken off, and your way made easy.
3. Thereby you shall be kept from the sins and temptations of your calling.
4. Thereby shall your way of godliness be convincing and winning. (W. Bridge, M. A.)
The dignity of the secular calling
1. It is unfortunate that this chapter is mainly occupied with subjects the public discussion of which is in these days hardly possible. Few portions of his Epistles more largely reveal the far-sighted wisdom of St. Paul. He was the foremost statesman of the kingdom of heaven. The golden mean between extreme opinions to him was clear. How firmly he held the balance between asceticism and license!
2. The subject here is most difficult and delicate. Fanatics on either side were watching eagerly for a word which might support their views. A less able, wise, and self-controlled man might easily, with such a force as the gospel, have shattered the whole framework of civilisation. Well was it for the world that this tremendous power of revolution was in hands so wise, so calm, so firm. Note--
I. The earnest desire of St. Paul that there should be no violent, visible change in the relations of classes and the organisation of society. These men, that have turned the world upside-down, are come hither also. But the marvel is that practically they overturned so little, and left so much peacefully and patiently to grow. Whatever has come forth from Christianity for human welfare and progress has come, not from without, by any rearrangement of classes or orders, but from within, by the renewing and reordering of individual arts. Christianity introduced an idea absolutely new into the world: There is neither Greek nor Jew … for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Here was explosive matter enough to shatter society. This issue Pauls wisdom and firmness averted. Read the Epistle to Philemon. What a world of practical wisdom is there. Take this great question of slavery. The slaves bore the yoke uneasily, and in fact slavery in those days was eating out the very heart of the empire. Throw this new thought into their minds, It is hateful to God and wrong; all are equal before Him, and have the right from Him to contend for equality. It might have originated a new and more awful servile war, which would have reduced to ruin the whole structure of Roman society, ages before the German races were trained to occupy its room. But the gospel announced the principle, and yet maintained the order.
II. Pauls deep conviction that no external change in the condition and relations of men is worth anything unless it grow out of and clothe a change deep down in individual souls. Nothing can be more fallacious than the notion that in different circumstances you would be a different man. A bad slave would be a bad master; a bad child a bad parent; a bad man would be bad everywhere. Man cannot be content with the world as it is. But he dreams that the mischief is in things. God says it is in souls. And God sets up His kingdom in souls--in the heart of the mischief. The Jews thought the evil was in their condition, so they dreamed of a splendid Messiahs kingdom. God saw that it was in their spirits, and said, the kingdom of God is within you. Paul would have had little hope of any great ultimate good if he could simply have struck the sceptre out of the hand of the brutal Nero, emancipated every slave in the broad Roman dominion; while no new life-blood was poured into the exhausted veins of society. No! it must go on struggling, suffering, while the inward renewing was working; then it might be lifted bodily into a clearer and brighter heaven.
III. That the condition of a man in his particular calling is just the instrument which God has furnished, by the use of which he may train himself for yet higher things. Do not be content to aspire, but grow. Do not demand things as abstract rights, win them by manifest power. Do not talk of being, or boast of calling, but be, and thus make your calling and election sure. And this runs through the whole scale of life. Have you capacity for higher things? Prove it by doing the lower more perfectly. Throw all your soul into your work; you are surely training yourself for the highest work of heaven (Luk_19:16-17). Despising the one talent it the most fatal folly. All faculty is like seed. Planted in work, it grows, and fills wide neighbourhoods with shade and fruit. The condition wherein a man is called is Gods best school for him. Not by wriggling hastily out of it, but by working bravely and patiently in it, he is helping the progress of his own being and of mankind.
IV. But a man may say, It is poor work after all. Is it? Therein abide with God. Let the poorest remember that God abode with it; and that all that is most blessed for the universe came to it out of a poor workmans home. But the lot is a very humble one! Be it so. It is humble with Him. What is it to abide in our lot with God? Surely it means, Let a man abide in it with the full consciousness of all that he is, all that he has, all that he shall have, in Christ Jesus.
1. Let him dismiss all fretful impatience at the meanness of his figure and the poorness of his pay. Such matters are not, cannot be, vital to a man who is so rich in hope. He must calmly wait Gods time.
2. Let him know that the Lord abides with him in his lot, and has a deeper interest and joy in his daily labour than in the debates of the worlds most famous congresses, and the acts of its most splendid kings.
3. The man who abides with God in the lowliest condition makes that condition illustrious by the patient, strenuous discharge of its duties, and manly resistance to the temptations which beset it, and which drag many a helpless worldling down.
4. Such a man will wait for Gods word, and not mans, to go up higher.
5. Wherever he is, he will abide with dignity and patience, because assured of the supreme promotion at last. (J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.)
Godliness in all conditions of life
The text teaches--
I. That men are found in various conditions of life. Some are free men, some are slaves, &c. This variety--
1. Affords scope for benevolent activity. If all men were in precisely identical worldly conditions, there would be manifestly no sphere for it.
2. Creates a bond of social unity. Gratitude is one of the strongest social ties, and hence the relation between the giver and the receiver, the helper and the helped, is generally close, tender, and strong. Were all men in exactly the same condition, there would be a spirit of reckless independency, and a state of social disorder.
3. Invests society with social charms. Variety is one of the charms of existence.
II. That some of the conditions of life are of Divine appointment. Of some this cannot be said. People are found in--
1. Matrimonial relations which God has not appointed. Two people are brought together for life whose instincts, temperaments, habits, are antagonistic.
2. Ecclesiastical positions which God has not appointed.
3. Commercial engagements which God has not appointed. Those who turn the ores of the earth into implements of destruction, and distil the fruits of the earth into liquids that drown the reason, ruin the health, and destroy the morals of a community, are not called to their sphere.
III. That in every condition of life men should practise godliness. What is it to abide with God? It means constancy of supreme love and obedience to Him, and of devotion to His cause. Godliness is--
1. Binding in all conditions of life. As much so in the market as in the chamber or the temple. God is every- where, and your relation to Him remains intact in all circumstances.
2. Possible. Let no man say his conditions are such that he cannot be religious. If they really are, he must come out of them. If lawful, God knows them, and will help you in them. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Christian life
Three times within the compass of a very few verses this injunction is repeated (verses 17, 20, 24).
1. The reason for this emphatic reiteration is that there were strong temptations to restlessness besetting the early Christians. The great change from heathenism to Christianity would seem to loosen the joints of all life. Hence would tend to come the rupture of family ties, the Jewish convert seeking to become like a Gentile, and vice versa, and the slave trying to be free. To all three the apostle says, Stop where you are. For if Christianity had become the mere instrument of social revolution, its development would have been thrown back for centuries, and the whole worth and power of it, for those who first apprehended it, would have been lost. Paul believed in the diffusion of the principles which he proclaimed, and the mighty name which he served, as able to girdle the poison-tree, and to take the bark off it, and the rest--the slow dying--might be left to time.
2. But, besides this more especial application of the text, it carries with it a large general principle that applies to all. Our maxim is, Get on! Pauls is, Never mind about getting on, get up! Our notion is, Try to make the circumstances what I would like to have them. Pauls is, Leave circumstances to take care of themselves--or rather leave God to take care of the circumstances--and everything else will right itself.
I. Our chief effort in life ought to be union with God. Abide with God means--
1. Constant communion, the occupation of all our nature with Him. As we go to our work to-morrow, what difference would obedience to this precept make upon our lives? Before all else, we should think of that Divine Mind that is waiting to illumine our darkness; we should feel the glow of that perfect Love which, in the midst of change, treachery, is ready to fill our hearts with tenderness and tranquillity; we should bow before that Will which is the good pleasure of His goodness and the counsel of His grace. And with such a God ever in our thoughts, love, and obedience, what room would there be for agitations and distractions? They die in the fruition of a present God all-sufficient, even as the sun when it is risen may wither the weeds that grow about the fruitful tree whose deeper roots are but warmed by the rays that ripen the rich clusters which it bears.
2. And then there will follow the recognition of Gods will as operating in and determining all circumstances. When our whole soul is occupied with Him, we shall see Him everywhere, and connect everything which befalls ourselves and the world with Him.
II. Such union with God will lead to contented continuance in our place, whatever it be. You have been called in such and such worldly circumstances, which proves that these circumstances do not obstruct the highest and richest blessings. And that is the one point of view from which we can bear to look upon the world and not be bewildered and overmastered by it. Peace, a true appreciation of all outward good and a charm against the bitterest sting of outward evils, a patient continuance in the place where He has set us, are all ours--when by fellowship with Him we look upon our work as doing His will, and upon all our possessions and conditions as means for making us like Himself. The only question worth asking in regard to the externals of our life is, How far does each thing help me to be a good man, and open my understanding to apprehend God, and prepare me for the world beyond? Is there any other more satisfying, more majestic thought of life than this--the scaffolding by which souls are built up into the temple of God! And to care whether a thing is painful or pleasant is as absurd as to care whether the bricklayers trowel is knocking the sharp corner off a brick, or plastering mortar on the one below it before he lays it carefully on its course. Is the building getting on? That is the one question that is worth thinking about. If, then, we have once got hold of that principle that all the antitheses of life are the product of His will, the manifestation of His mind, His means for our discipline, then we have the talisman which will preserve us from the fever of desire and the shivering fits of anxiety as to things which perish.
III. Such contented continuance in our place is the dictate of the truest wisdom.
1. Though you may change about as much as you like, there is a pretty substantial equipoise and identity in the amount of pain and pleasure in all external conditions. The total length of day and night all the year round is the same at the North Pole and at the Equator. It does not matter much at what degrees between the two we live, when the thing comes to be made up we shall be all pretty much upon an equality. What is the use of such eager desires to change our condition, when every condition has disadvantages attending its advantages, as certainly as a shadow; and when all have pretty nearly the same quantity of the raw material of pain and pleasure, and when the amount of either actually experienced by us depends not on where we are, but on What we are?
2. Whilst the portion of external pain and pleasure summed up comes pretty much to the same in everybodys life, any condition may yield the fruit of devout fellowship with God.
3. What is the need for my troubling myself about outward changes, when in Christ I can get all the peculiarities which make any given position desirable to me? Hear how Paul talks to slaves wanting to be set free (verses 21, 22). If a man is a slave he may be free in Christ. If free, he may have the joy of utter submission to an absolute master in Christ. If you and I are lonely we may feel all the delights of society by union with Him. If distracted by companionship, and seeking for seclusion, we may get all the peace of perfect privacy in fellowship with Him. If we are rich and think that if we were poorer we should be less tempted, we may find all for which we covet poverty in communion with Him. If we are poor and fancy that if we had a little more we should be happier, we may find all tranquillity in Him.
4. Think seriously of the antagonism between these principles and the maxims current in the world. Our text is a revolutionary one. It is dead against the watchwords that you fathers give your children--push, energy, advancement, get on whatever you do. If you, by Gods grace, lay hold of these principles, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred you will have to make up your minds to let the big prizes of your trade go into other peoples hands, and be contented to say, I live by peaceful, high, pure, Christ-like thoughts. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Vocation
I want to take the general principle Paul lays down here and draw from it some lessons which I think it plainly teaches.
1. In the first place, then, we learn that our daily work may be work to which we are divinely called. Now that: is not how many men think of their work. We may admit that the prophet, the reformer, or the patriot receive their calling from above--that a John Knox, a Joan of Arc, were called to their vocations in life; but to most people it seems a little ridiculous to say that a painter, a sailor, a manufacturer, or merchant has been called by God to do the work he is doing. The reason we think this is, I suppose, because of the hard definition we make between the sacred and the secular. That distinction should not by any means be an absolute distinction. In the tabernacle, in the Jewish temple, there was a holy and a holy of holies, and yet they were both under the same roof, and formed part Of the great Temple of God; and so it is with the things we call sacred and the things we call secular. We must admit that much of Gods work is what we would call secular. He makes the sun to shine, the rivers to flow, the grass to spring: and if God is interested in work like that, the man ought not to feel he is bemeaning himself if God calls upon him to be a fellow-labourer in the same vineyard. For instance, we talk of God supplying us with food. But when we come to ask how it is that the world is provided with its meat, we find that God calls in human agencies. The farmer who grows the grain, the miller who grinds it, and the baker who makes the bread, have all been called by God.
2. There is another great lesson to be drawn from this principle, and it is--if this be true we ought to have a plain call to the occupation we follow, because it must be admitted that every occupation is not a Divine occupation. Sometimes a man is engaged in a particular form of business which his conscience tells him is wrong; such a man cannot think he is Divinely called. Again, a young man may be employed in a business that is worked on wrong principles. Another man may be employed in quite an honest calling, yet for which he is unsuited--sometimes a square man gets into a round hole--and if he gets a change to a vocation he likes, he should take the opportunity and enter into the calling he really cares for. How does God call upon us? Well, sometimes He gives us a bias for a special business. Another way in which Gods guiding hand comes in is in our outward circumstances, because we must remember these circumstances are shaped by Gods own hand, and sometimes our way is made pretty clear by circumstances alone. Another way in which Gods voice can be heard is in the advice of our friends, and we ought to take the advice of those who can look at our character and work from a different standpoint than that we ourselves occupy. And now let me say this--that we should all choose our calling in the full light of the Word of God, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Then we must remember prayer. Remember that more things are done by prayer than people think of; that if we lift up our voices in prayer for guidance, that guidance will come. Again, I would remark that when we have received our calling we should abide in it. Let every man abide in the calling wherewith he is called. No doubt, the statement might be twisted into a wrong meaning. It might be said that this was an advocacy of the great fallacy that whatever is, is right, teaching that man should have no aspirations after better things. Christianity is something that has the principle of revolution in it; and yet though Christianity has the revolutionary principle inside of it, it does not make its followers revolutionists. And now in the last place we are taught that, abiding in our callings, we should therein abide with God. It matters not what your duties are, however common, however merely secular, do them as under your great Masters eyes. (J. C. Lambert.)
Our calling
We are the subjects of two callings. There is our high calling of God in Christ Jesus, that is the calling of grace; and there is our outward situation in life, that is the calling of Providence. In the text both these callings are mentioned, our temporal and our spiritual calling; and we are directed to abide in the same temporal calling, wherein we may be, when we are spiritually called. A Christian man is not to murmur or be fretful and restless in that situation which the providence of God has assigned to him, but to be patient, quiet, submissive, and cheerful in it. Grace, when it takes possession of a man, does not alter his place in society, nor annul the obligations that pertain to it, unless it be intrinsically wrong and sinful, requiring of him a course of action which is immoral and injurious. If that be its character, it is the devils calling and not Gods, and we cannot too promptly abandon it at whatever sacrifice. Now what I wish to impress upon you is that our temporal condition, with that peculiar form of life which it imposes, is a calling, and is such because God has called us into it. I would remind you that the fashion of our existence in this world is not an accident, not the fruit of chance, nor of our own will, nor of the will of other men. God has assigned us our place. Whether we shall work with our brains or our hands, and in which of the various departments of human activity that belong to either, He has determined. How important, indeed, is the truth which we express in the naming our work in this world our vocation, or which is the same, finding utterance in homelier Anglo-Saxon, our calling. What a calming, elevating, solemnising view of the tasks which we find ourselves set in this world to do, this word would give us if we did but realise it to the full. What a help is this thought to enable us to appreciate justly the dignity of our work, though it were far humbler work even in the eyes of men, than that of any one of us present! What an assistance in calming unsettled thoughts and desires, such as would make us wish to be something else than that which we are! What a source of confidence when we are tempted to lose heart, and to doubt whether we shall be able to carry through our work with any blessing or profit to ourselves or others l It is our vocation, our calling; and He who called us to it will fit us for it and strengthen us in it. That the circumstances which frame our outward condition into its actual fashion are of Gods ordering, none will doubt, who believe in the presence and agency of God in the affairs of the world. Our parentage, the period of our birth, the associations of our childhood, the events that betide us in our early days, the influences that act upon us as we advance to manhood, all the causes that cooperate to fasten upon our life the form it finally and permanently assumes, are of Gods ordering and fixing. And thus the whole sum of society, in all its complicated framework, its mutual relations and dependences, its necessary gradations and shares of honour and advantage, will appear to be a visible outgoing of the Divine will, instinct throughout with a Divine presence, a Divine authority, and a Divine blessing; and every member of the same, in his own proper station and work, his special vocation and ministry, believing God made his place for him and him for his place, will be enabled to walk in it with God, without pride in elevation, with self-respect in inferiority, in a spirit of cheerful submission, conscientious fidelity, and lowly hope. What we contend for is that every Christian should believe himself called to every work in which he finds his occupation and his livelihood; and that, except he believes this, the work of life, whatever it may be outwardly, will be unholy and cheerless, lack its best stimulus and its purest support and comfort, and be pursued without confidence in God, or any expectation of high and worthy fruit. The rich man who is exempt from the necessity of relying on some trade or profession for a living, is not so exempt in order that he may be an idler. He also has a calling, and a calling has always a work, and the work of his calling is by no means the least arduous and difficult; and if, because he is not driven to it by the stern pressure of necessity, he leaves it undone, and dies a mere loiterer, his will be the fearful reckoning of one who wrapped not one but many talents in a napkin and hid them in the earth. This view of our work as a calling communicates dignity and comfort to life, and this not in some of its ranges, but in all of them. The precious ointment on the head goes down to the skirts of the garments. There is no valley in life so low that the dew of Divine service does not visit and refresh it. The honour of the noble head pervades the family, stops not at the favourite of the lord, or chief officer of the household, but goes on till it reaches the bottom of the social fabric; and the lowest menial shines in the reflected lustre of his Master. And surely there can be no debasement in filling any station which God has created and assigned to us. It is an honour to serve Him in any place. It is looking upon our lot in life apart from God, viewing ourselves as the sport of a blind chance, or the victim of human tyranny, caprice, or injustice, that makes us despise and scorn it, view it with a bitter contempt and an indignant hatred. Only let us look at it as our calling, the utterance of Gods will, and the appointment of Gods wisdom, and we shall respect it and ourselves in it; for we shall sea that we are parts of a system, in which it is an honour to hold any position, of a mechanism so glorious, that the cog of the smallest wheel, or the cord of the obscurest pulley that is needful to its well-being and well-working, is honoured by its function. Nothing has so elevating an influence on men as to feel that they are members of a Divine economy in which honour depends not upon place, but upon faithfulness; so that some who are far down in it, may be higher in the estimation of Him whose judgment is its only rule of eminence, than many that are outwardly above them, as sweet violets lie low and nestle in the sod, overhung and hidden by tall, thrifty, but idle weeds, and gaudy but scentless blossoms. But if this view of the work of life as a calling confers on life a dignity that relieves and gladdens it, so does it also load it with a weight of responsibility which communicates to it a tincture of seriousness and solemnity. Seeing that all stations are of God, it is indeed a grave and awful thing to live in any station. God does not ask at our hands volunteer services, but prescribed and ordered services; and if in the final reckoning we undertake to recite our performances of the former kind, we shall be cut short with the inquiry, Who hath required this at your hand? how did you fill your station? A soldier who is appointed to stand sentry will not escape censure if he has left his post to reconnoitre the enemys camp, or capture a solitary straggler. Nor will a farmer be satisfied with his servant who leaves his field unploughed to instruct his neighbour in agricultural science. When every man does his own work, the specific service of his place, then is the welfare of society most advanced, Gods will best done, the gospel best recommended, and the souls of men best fitted for eternal life. (R. A. Hallam.)
Everyday religion
Learn--
I. What the religion of Jesus Christ really is. The godly man is the man who abides with God. We use the term religious very loosely, meaning by it the observance of certain ceremonies or the reception of certain opinions, but religion in deed and in truth consists in a right state and action of the soul towards God. It is our knowledge of God in Jesus Christ leading us to aim at a Christ-like life.
II. Religion so understood is a right and a reasonable thing. It is the exercise of our powers upon Him who is infinitely worthy of them all. It is the rendering to God His own what He is pleased to ask and require. The eye is no more fitted to see or the ear to hear than is the constitution of your nature fitted for religion; and just as the formation of the eye tells us that though there may be blindness, nevertheless, we were made to see, and just as the formation of the ear tells us that though there may be deafness the ear was constructed that men should hear, just so the very structure of our moral nature teaches us that, in spite of all the wanderings of the intellect and the worse wanderings of the heart, we are made, it is the very end of our being, to love and honour God. Regarded as a life, religion is the life a man is fitted to live. Regarded as a work, religion is the work a man is adapted and intended to perform. A man is not a man in the full sense of the term unless he is religious; he is other than he ought to be, he is less than he ought to be if he is not religious. He is a ground not tilled, a seed not sown, a perversion of power.
III. This religion may be a matter of every-day life with us is every condition of life a man may be called to occupy. If it consisted in the observance of certain rites, then it would be a thing of times and places; but since it is a life, it cannot be restricted to times and places and conditions. Even slaves are told that whatsoever they do they do heartily as unto the Lord. Well, now, if the bard service of slaves may be a service of God, is it not perfectly clear that every-day religion must be possible to each one of us? (J. Vaughan Pryce, M. A.)
Home life and duties
(Mar_5:19, and text):--
1. The first text is the reply of Jesus to the maniac out of whom He had cast a legion of devils. This man certainly had passed through a very remarkable experience; and we might reasonably expect that so remarkable a case would be made much of by Jesus. This man will at once be sent out into the world as a witness to the power of his Saviour. The man seems to have thought that something of this sort was called for in his case. He prays to be always with Jesus. But instead he is met by the quiet, tame words, Go home to thy friends. They saw you go wrong, and are the ones, above all others, to be moved by the sight of your restoration. Go back to your former life, and from that centre work outward.
2. The same thought lies in the second text. The early Christians thought that in their conversion something unearthly, prodigious, had happened, and expected a complete translation from their past life. They had caught the significance of Jesus words, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. No disruption of your life in the world is proposed, but simply to conduct that life to nobler issues by purified and sanctified spirit. So the apostle says to these restless Corinthians, Go home to your friends and to your occupation. Your relations to your fellow-beings in the household, in the state, in the market and shop, are the very points of contact at which your new spiritual life is to get access to the gross life of the world. Let every man, therefore, abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
3. There is something perennial in the mistake of this maniac and the early Church, and it arises from a total misconception of our life. We have not two lives, but life. We have not two sides to our life any more than a ray of light or a current of electricity has sides. We live; that is all. If you would see the absurdity of this division of our life, carry it up to God, our Father. He is a Spirit, yet He is constantly carrying on the affairs of a material universe. Now has God two lives--one spiritual, when He is lost in self-contemplation, or when receiving the adorations of the heavenly hosts? The other life material, when He is conducting the minute affairs of a world or a constellation, tempering its climates, mixing its soils, ordering wars and overturnings here, prosperity and abundance there? All actions of a spiritual being are spiritual. We are the children of God, and to divide our life and call one part earthly, the other heavenly, is just as absurd as to attempt to draw such a line through the life of God our Father.
4. Now, this being so, it follows that the practical life is the only point of vital, spiritual contact with the world, and if you are to make yourself felt as a spiritual power, it must be in the practical life. What is the world to you and to me? It is just our own small circle of the daily life. Now just that is our point of contact with the great round world. A tree is a mighty growth, with thousands of leaves, presenting to the sun and atmosphere a vast area of surface. Now suppose a single leaf should busy itself with thinking of that vast surface of absorption and radiation, and forget that its own daily life was its world of absorption and radiation. And having made this mistake, it hastens to make another. It forgets that its own stem is the nexus, the point of vital contact with the great life of the tree, and whatever transactions it may have with light and air, the results must be communicated to the great life of the tree through its own stem. Our point of living union with the great life of the world is our daily practical life; that is the stem which joins us to the mighty tree. Whatever dealings we may have with the heavens, the result must be communicated to the world through that one point of union, that leaf-stalk, the practical life. E.g., here is an humble, honourable craft--shoemaking. Now the average Christian shoemaker says to himself, My secular life lies in my craft. But my spiritual life lies in another realm. I must go apart there to do my praying and meditating, and get my spiritual nourishment. Now Christ meets that man in his so-called spiritual realm, and orders him off at once. Go home to thy friends. And the apostle re-echoes the words of his Lord. You are joined to the great world at the point of your daily life. The need of the world for shoes is just as imperative, therefore as sacred, as its need for praying, and singing, and Bible-reading. If it imperatively needs shoes, it just as imperatively needs good shoes. You are called of God to minister to that honourable need. The principal part of your time, your thought, your labour, is held to that one point. If you are not spiritual there, then the principal part of your life is unspiritual. If you fail of a spiritual impression there, you have failed altogether, and any fine talk or earthly experiences which you may bring to your fellow-men from some other dreamy spiritual realm will be to them as chaff and dust. They turn upon you in just wrath, saying, Away with your religion. I needed you. I had a right to demand of you, and all that I asked of you was good work. You have lost your chance on me. And so the man loses his chance of spiritual influence upon the world. See to it that spiritual power goes into your work, through it and with it as it passes from your hands into the world. Genuine material, honest work; clean and sound thought and speech; these are the vehicles for transmitting spiritual power to the world. St. Paul was a tent-maker. I pledge you he made the best tents to be had in the country. (J. H. Ecob, D. D.)
Christian contentment
Observe--
I. The danger.
1. Of becoming discontented with our calling.
2. This is common.
3. It may be excited by the more enlightened views produced by conversion.
II. The duty. To abide, &c.
1. This does not mean--
(1) That a slave may not seek his liberty.
(2) That a man must not relinquish a nefarious occupation.
(3) That a Christian may not desire a position of greater advantage and usefulness.
2. It
(1) Inculcates contentment.
(2) Teaches that every honest calling affords scope for Christian development, and that we should serve God in our calling.
III. The motive. God--
1. Has appointed your condition.
2. Blesses you in it.
3. Can easily improve it if desirable. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
The need, choice, and use of a calling
The Christian calling doth not at all prejudice, much less overthrow, it rather strengtheneth those interests that arise from natural relations, or from voluntary contracts betwixt man and man. I desired to speak, and judged expedient for you to hear, concerning--
1. The necessity.
2. The choice.
3. The use of particular callings.
Points, if ever need to be taught, certainly in these days most. Wherein some habituated in idleness will not betake themselves to any calling: like a heavy jade that is good at bit and nought else. These would be soundly spurred up and whipped on end. Other some, through weakness, do not make good choice of a fit calling: like a young unbroken thing that hath mettle and is free, but is ever wrying the wrong way. These would be fairly checked, turned into the right way, and guided with a steady and skilful hand. A third sort, through unsettledness, or discontentedness, or other untoward humour, walk not soberly and uprightly and orderly in their calling: like an unruly colt that will over hedge and ditch, no ground will hold him, no fence turn him. The first sort are to be taught the necessity of a calling; the second, to be directed for the choice of their calling; the third, to be limited in the exercise of their calling. Of which three, in their order; and of the first--
I. The necessity of a calling. The necessity whereof you are to imagine not an absolute and positive, but a conditional and suppositive necessity. Not as if no man could be without one, de facto, but because, de jure, no man should be without one. And this necessity we are now to prove. And that--First, from the obedience we owe to Gods ordinances, and the account we must render for every one of Gods gifts. Amongst those ordinances this is one, and one of the first, that in the sweat of our faces every man of us should eat our bread (Gen_3:19; Eph_4:28), and woe to us if we neglect it. But say there were no such express command for it; the very distribution of Gods gifts were enough to lay upon us this necessity. Where God bestoweth He bindeth; and to whom anything is given, of him something shall be required. We may not think the God of nature doth bestow abilities whereof He intendeth no use, for that were to bestow them in vain. Secondly, the necessity of a calling is great in regard of a mans self, and that more ways than one. For man being by nature active, so he must be doing. There is no Cross, no holy water, no exorcism so powerful to drive away and to conjure down the fiend, as faithful labour in some honest calling. Thirdly, life must be preserved, families maintained, the poor relieved; this cannot be done without bread, and bread cannot be gotten honestly but in a lawful vocation or calling. Fourthly and lastly, a calling is necessary in regard of the public. God hath made us sociable creatures; contrived us into commonwealths; made us fellow-members of one body. Every man should put to his helping hand to advance the common good. For which reason the ancient renowned commonwealths were so careful to ordain that no man should live bug in some profession. It is the sin of many of the gentry whom God hath furnished with means and abilities to do much good, to spend their whole days and lives in an unprofitable course of doing either nothing, or as good as nothing, or worse than nothing. Manual, and servile, and mechanic trades and arts are for men of a lower condition; but yet no man is born, no man should be bred unto idleness. There are generous, and ingenuous, and liberal employments sortable to the greatest births and educations. But for our gallants who live in no settled course of life, but spend half the day in sleeping, half the night in gaming, and the rest of their time in other pleasures and vanities to as little purpose as they can devise, as if they were born for nothing else but to eat and drink and sport. The third sort of those that live unprofitably and without a calling, are our sturdy rogues and vagrant towns-end beggars; the very filth and vermin of the commonwealth. I mean such as have health and strength and limbs, and are in some measure able to work and take pains for their living. God is just, and will not call any man to that which is not honest and good. God is all-sufficient, and will not call any man to that which is above the proportion of his strength. God is wonderful in His providence, and will not call any man to that whereto He will not open him a fair and orderly passage. Somewhat by your patience of each of these. And first, of the course we intend. Wherein let these be our inquiries--First, whether the thing be simply and in itself lawful or no. Secondly, whether it be lawful so as to be made a calling or no. Thirdly, whether it will be profitable or rather hurtful to the commonwealth. Now observe the rules.
II. Our first care past, which concerneth the calling itself, our next care in our choice must be to inquire into ourselves, what calling is most fit for us and we for it. Wherein our inquiry must rest especially upon three things; our inclination, our gifts, and our education.
III. Remaineth now the third and last point proposed, the use of a mans calling. Let him walk in it (verse 17). Let him abide in it (verse 20). Let him abide therein with God. It may seem he would have us stick to a course; and when we are in a calling, not to forsake it, nor change it, no, not for a better, no, not upon any terms. Perhaps some have taken it so, but certainly the apostle never meant it so. It is lawful to change it, so it be done with due caution. It is lawful, first, in subordinate callings. How should we do for generals for the wars if colonels, and lieutenants, and captains, and common soldiers might not relinquish their charges? It is lawful, secondly, yea, necessary, when the very calling itself, though in itself good and useful, doth yet by accident become unlawful or unuseful. As when some manufacture is prohibited by the State. It is lawful, thirdly, when a man by some accident becometh unable for the duties of his calling, as by age, blindness, maim, decay of estate, and sundry other impediments which daily occur. It is lawful, fourthly, where there is a want of sufficient men, or not a sufficient number of them in some callings, for the necessities of the State and country; in such cases authority may interpose. But then it must be done with due cautions. As first, not out of a desultory lightness. Nor, secondly, out of the greediness of a covetous or ambitious lust. Thirdly, nor out of sullenness, or a discontentedness at thy present condition. Much less, fourthly, out of an evil eye against thy neighbour that liveth by thee. But, fifthly, be sure thou change not, if thy calling be of that nature that it may not be changed. Wheresoever thy calling is, therein abide; be content with it. The second is faithfulness and industry and diligence. What is here called abiding in it, is at verse 17 called walking in it, and in Rom_12:17, waiting on it. The third is sobriety, that we keep ourselves within the proper bounds and limits of our callings. For how doth he abide in his calling that is ever and anon flying out of it, and starting beyond it? like an extravagant soldier that is always breaking rank. But yet abide with God. The clause was not added for nothing; it teacheth thee also some duties. First, so to demean thyself in thy particular calling as that thou do nothing but what may stand with thy general calling. Magistrate, or minister, or lawyer, or merchant, or artificer, or whatsoever other thou art, remember thou art withal a Christian. God is the author of both callings. Do not think He hath called thee to service in the one, and to liberty in the other; to justice in the one, and to cosenage in the other; to simplicity in the one, and to dissimulation in the other: to holiness in the one, and to profaneness in the other. It teacheth thee, secondly, not to ingulf thyself so wholly into the business of thy particular calling as to abridge thyself of convenient opportunities to the exercise of those religious duties which thou art bound to perform by virtue of thy general calling, as prayer, confession, thanksgiving, meditation, &c. God alloweth thee to serve thyself, but He commandeth thee to serve Him too. It teacheth thee, thirdly, to watch over the special sins of thy particular calling. Sins, I mean not that cleave necessarily to the calling, for then the very calling itself should be unlawful; but sins unto the temptations whereof the condition of thy calling layeth thee open more than it doth unto other sins, or more than some other callings would do unto the same sins. (Bishop Sanderson.)
Christianity diffusive, not revolutionary
Paul reminds us of the moral act which has the power of sanctifying and ennobling every external position: the eye fixed on God, walking in His presence. This is what preserves the believer from the temptations arising from his situation, and what raises his humblest duties to the supreme dignity of acts of worship. This principle has been of incalculable importance in the development of the Church. It is by means of it that Christianity has been able to become a moral power, at once sufficiently firm and sufficiently elastic to adapt itself to all human situations, personal, domestic, national, and social. Thereby it is that without revolution it has worked the greatest revolutions, accepting everything to transform everything, submitting to everything to rise above everything, renewing the world from top to bottom, while condemning all violent subversion. Whence has the apostle derived this principle in which there meet the most unconquerable faith and the most consummate ability (see Rom_12:3)? Wisdom from on high did not less direct Paul the pastor than Paul the teacher; and it is not improbable that he was acquainted with the parable of the leaven. (Prof. Godet.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40 24. Let every man, wherein he is called, etc.…
24. Let every man, wherein he is called, etc. Let each one remain in the domestic and social condition in which the call of God found him.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 25-31. Paul’s prophetic eye sees rivers of blood rolling…
25-31. Paul’s prophetic eye sees rivers of blood rolling right before him in the great outbreak of the imperial persecution in which he lost his head, and his amanuensis was hung on an olive-tree in Greece, and a general slaughter of all the Christians in the Roman Empire, which then belted the globe, broke out, under the edict of Nero, only ten years from this writing. Hence, responsive to their questions on matrimony, he advises them to turn their attention away to things more important, each one in his or her respective situation, content for the present, and all energies concentrated in the preparation and outlook for their returning Lord.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v24 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
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1Co 7:24.
You find that three times within the compass of a very few verses this injunction is repeated. ‘As God hath distributed to every man,’ says the Apostle in the seventeenth verse, ‘as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all the churches.’ Then again in the twentieth verse, ‘Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called.’ And then finally in our text.
The reason for this emphatic reiteration is not difficult to ascertain. There were strong temptations to restlessness besetting the early Christians. The great change from heathenism to Christianity would seem to loosen the joints of all life, and having been swept from their anchorage in religion, all external things would appear to be adrift. It was most natural that a man should seek to alter even the circumstances of his outward life, when such a revolution had separated him from his ancient self. Hence would tend to come the rupture of family ties, the separation of husband and wife, the Jewish convert seeking to become like a Gentile, the Gentile seeking to become like a Jew; the slave trying to be free, the freeman, in some paroxysm of disgust at his former condition, trying to become a slave. These three cases are all referred to in the context-marriage, circumcision, slavery. And for all three the Apostle has the same advice to give-’Stop where you are.’ In whatever condition you were when God’s invitation drew you to Himself-for that, and not being set to a ‘vocation’ in life, is the meaning of the word ‘called’ here-remain in it.
And then, on the other hand, there was every reason why the Apostle and his co-workers should set themselves, by all means in their power, to oppose this restlessness. For, if Christianity in those early days had once degenerated into the mere instrument of social revolution, its development would have been thrown back for centuries, and the whole worth and power of it, for those who first apprehended it, would have been lost. So you know Paul never said a word to encourage any precipitate attempts to change externals. He let slavery-he let war alone; he let the tyranny of the Roman Empire alone-not because he was a coward, not because he thought that these things were not worth meddling with, but because he, like all wise men, believed in making the tree good and then its fruit good. He believed in the diffusion of the principles which he proclaimed, and the mighty Name which he served, as able to girdle the poison-tree, and to take the bark off it, and the rest, the slow dying, might be left to the work of time. And the same general idea underlies the words of my text. ‘Do not try to change,’ he says, ‘do not trouble about external conditions; keep to your Christian profession; let those alone, they will right themselves. Art thou a slave? Seek not to be freed. Art thou circumcised? Seek not to be uncircumcised. Get hold of the central, vivifying, transmuting influence, and all the rest is a question of time.’
But, besides this more especial application of the words of my text to the primitive times, it carries with it, dear brethren, a large general principle that applies to all times-a principle, I may say, dead in the teeth of the maxims upon which life is being ordered by the most of us. Our maxim is, ‘Get on!’ Paul’s is, ‘Never mind about getting on, get up!’ Our notion is-’Try to make the circumstances what I would like to have them.’ Paul’s is-’Leave circumstances to take care of themselves, or rather leave God to take care of the circumstances. You get close to Him, and hold His hand, and everything else will right itself.’ Only he is not preaching stolid acquiescence. His previous injunctions were-’Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.’ He sees that that may be misconceived and abused, and so, in his third reiteration of the precept, he puts in a word which throws a flood of light upon the whole thing-’Let every man wherein he is called therein abide.’ Yes, but that is not all-’therein abide with God!’ Ay, that is it! not an impossible stoicism; not hypocritical, fanatical contempt of the external. But whilst that gets its due force and weight, whilst a man yields himself in a measure to the natural tastes and inclinations which God has given him, and with the intention that he should find there subordinate guidance and impulse for his life, still let him abide where he is called with God, and seek to increase his fellowship with Him, as the main thing that he has to do.
I. Thus we are led from the words before us first to the thought that our chief effort in life ought to be union with God.
‘Abide with God,’ which, being put into other words, means, I think, mainly two things-constant communion, the occupation of all our nature with Him, and, consequently, the recognition of His will in all circumstances.
As to the former, we have the mind and heart and will of God revealed to us for the light, the love, the obedience of our will and heart and mind; and our Apostle’s precept is, first, that we should try, moment by moment, in all the bustle and stir of our daily life, to have our whole being consciously directed to and engaged with, fertilised and calmed by contact with, the perfect and infinite nature of our Father in heaven.
As we go to our work again to-morrow morning, what difference would obedience to this precept make upon my life and yours? Before all else, and in the midst of all else, we should think of that Divine Mind that in the heavens is waiting to illumine our darkness; we should feel the glow of that uncreated and perfect Love, which, in the midst of change and treachery, of coldness and of ‘greetings where no kindness is,’ in the midst of masterful authority and unloving command, is ready to fill our hearts with tenderness and tranquillity: we should bow before that Will which is absolute and supreme indeed, but neither arbitrary nor harsh, which is ‘the eternal purpose that He hath purposed in Himself’ indeed, but is also ‘the good pleasure of His goodness and the counsel of His grace.’
And with such a God near to us ever in our faithful thoughts, in our thankful love, in our lowly obedience, with such a mind revealing itself to us, and such a heart opening its hidden storehouses for us as we approach, like some star that, as one gets nearer to it, expands its disc and glows into rich colour, which at a distance was but pallid silver, and such a will sovereign above all, energising, even through opposition, and making obedience a delight, what room, brethren, would there be in our lives for agitations, and distractions, and regrets, and cares, and fears-what room for earthly hopes or for sad remembrances? They die in the fruition of a present God all-sufficient for mind, and heart, and will-even as the sun when it is risen with a burning heat may scorch and wither the weeds that grow about the base of the fruitful tree, whose deeper roots are but warmed by the rays that ripen the rich clusters which it bears. ‘Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.’
And then, as a consequence of such an occupation of the whole being with God, there will follow that second element which is included in the precept, namely, the recognition of God’s will as operating in and determining all circumstances. When our whole soul is occupied with Him, we shall see Him everywhere. And this ought to be our honest effort-to connect everything which befalls ourselves and the world with Him. We should see that Omnipotent Will, the silent energy which flows through all being, asserting itself through all secondary causes, marching on towards its destined and certain goal, amidst all the whirl and perturbation of events, bending even the antagonism of rebels and the unconsciousness of godless men, as well as the play of material instruments, to its own purposes, and swinging and swaying the whole set and motion of things according to its own impulse and by the touch of its own fingers.
Such a faith does not require us to overlook the visible occasions for the things which befall us, nor to deny the stable laws according to which that mighty will operates in men’s lives. Secondary causes? Yes. Men’s opposition and crime? Yes. Our own follies and sins? No doubt. Blessings and sorrows falling indiscriminately on a whole community or a whole world? Certainly. And yet the visible agents are not the sources, but only the vehicles of the power, the belting and shafting which transmit a mighty impulse which they had nothing to do in creating. And the antagonism subserves the purposes of the rule which it opposes, as the blow of the surf may consolidate the sea-wall that it breaks against. And our own follies and sins may indeed sorrowfully shadow our lives, and bring on us pains of body and disasters in fortune, and stings in spirit for which we alone are responsible, and which we have no right to regard as inscrutable judgments-yet even these bitter plants of which our own hands have sowed the seed, spring by His merciful will, and are to be regarded as His loving, fatherly chastisements-sent before to warn us by a premonitory experience that ‘the wages of sin is death.’ As a rule, God does not interpose to pick a man out of the mud into which he has been plunged by his own faults and follies, until he has learned the lessons which he can find in plenty down in the slough, if he will only look for them! And the fact that some great calamity or some great joy affects a wide circle of people, does not make its having a special lesson and meaning for each of them at all doubtful. There is one of the great depths of all-moving wisdom and providence, that in the very self-same act it is in one aspect universal, and in another special and individual. The ordinary notion of a special providence goes perilously near the belief that God’s will is less concerned in some parts of a man’s life than in others. It is very much like desecrating and secularising a whole land by the very act of focussing the sanctity in some single consecrated shrine. But the true belief is that the whole sweep of a life is under the will of God, and that when, for instance, war ravages a nation, though the sufferers be involved in a common ruin occasioned by murderous ambition and measureless pride, yet for each of the sufferers the common disaster has a special message. Let us believe in a divine will which regards each individual caught up in the skirts of the horrible storm, even as it regards each individual on whom the equal rays of His universal sunshine fall. Let us believe that every single soul has a place in the heart, and is taken into account in the purposes of Him who moves the tempest, and makes His sun to shine upon the unthankful and on the good. Let us, in accordance with the counsel of the Apostle here, first of all try to anchor and rest our own souls fast and firm in God all the day long, that, grasping His hand, we may look out upon all the confused dance of fleeting circumstances and say, ‘Thy will is done on earth’-if not yet ‘as it is done in heaven,’ still done in the issues and events of all-and done with my cheerful obedience and thankful acceptance of its commands and allotments in my own life.
II. The second idea which comes out of these words is this-Such union with God will lead to contented continuance in our place, whatever it be.
Our text is as if Paul had said, ‘You have been “called” in such and such worldly circumstances. The fact proves that these circumstances do not obstruct the highest and richest blessings. The light of God can shine on your souls through them. Since then you have such sacred memorials associated with them, and know by experience that fellowship with God is possible in them, do you remain where you are, and keep hold of the God who has visited you in them.’
If once, in accordance with the thoughts already suggested, our minds have, by God’s help, been brought into something like real, living fellowship with Him, and we have attained the wisdom that pierces through the external to the Almighty will that underlies all its mazy whirl, then why should we care about shifting our place? Why should we trouble ourselves about altering these varying events, since each in its turn is a manifestation of His mind and will; each in its turn is a means of discipline for us; and through all their variety a single purpose works, which tends to a single end-’that we should be partakers of His holiness’ ?
And that is the one point of view from which we can bear to look upon the world and not be utterly bewildered and over-mastered by it. Calmness and central peace are ours; a true appreciation of all outward good and a charm against the bitterest sting of outward evils are ours; a patient continuance in the place where He has set us is ours-when by fellowship with Him we have learned to look upon our work as primarily doing His will, and upon all our possessions and conditions primarily as means for making us like Himself. Most men seem to think that they have gone to the very bottom of the thing when they have classified the gifts of fortune as good or evil, according as they produce pleasure or pain. But that is a poor, superficial classification. It is like taking and arranging books by their bindings and flowers by their colours. Instead of saying, ‘We divide life into two halves, and we put there all the joyful, and here all the sad, for that is the ruling distinction’-let us rather say, ‘The whole is one, because it all comes from one purpose, and it all tends towards one end. The only question worth asking in regard to the externals of our life is-How far does each thing help me to be a good man? how far does it open my understanding to apprehend Him? how far does it make my spirit pliable and plastic under His touch? how far does it make me capable of larger reception of greater gifts from Himself? what is its effect in preparing me for that world beyond?’ Is there any other greater, more satisfying, more majestic thought of life than this-the scaffolding by which souls are built up into the temple of God? And to care whether a thing is painful or pleasant is as absurd as to care whether the bricklayer’s trowel is knocking the sharp corner off a brick, or plastering mortar on the one below it before he lays it carefully on its course. Is the building getting on? That is the one question that is worth thinking about.
You and I write our lives as if on one of those manifold writers which you use. A thin filmy sheet here, a bit of black paper below it; but the writing goes through upon the next page, and when the blackness that divides two worlds is swept away there, the history of each life written by ourselves remains legible in eternity. And the question is-What sort of autobiography are we writing for the revelation of that day, and how far do our circumstances help us to transcribe fair in our lives the will of our God and the image of our Redeemer?
If, then, we have once got hold of that principle that all which is-summer and winter, storm and sunshine, possession and loss, memory and hope, work and rest, and all the other antitheses of life-is equally the product of His will, equally the manifestation of His mind, equally His means for our discipline, then we have the amulet and talisman which will preserve us from the fever of desire and the shivering fits of anxiety as to things which perish. And, as they tell of a Christian father who, riding by one of the great lakes of Switzerland all day long, on his journey to the Church Council that was absorbing his thoughts, said towards evening to the deacon who was pacing beside him, ‘Where is the lake?’ so you and I, journeying along by the margin of this great flood of things when wild storms sweep across it, or when the sunbeams glint upon its blue waters, ‘and birds of peace sit brooding on the charmed wave,’ will be careless of the changeful sea, if the eye looks beyond the visible and beholds the unseen, the unchanging real presences that make glory in the darkest lives, and ‘sunshine in the shady place.’ ‘Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.’
III. Still further, another thought may be suggested from these words, or rather from the connection in which they occur, and that is-Such contented continuance in our place is the dictate of the truest wisdom.
There are two or three collateral topics, partly suggested by the various connections in which this commandment occurs in the chapter, from which I draw the few remarks I have to make now.
And the first point I would suggest is that very old commonplace one, so often forgotten, that after all, though you may change about as much as you like, there is a pretty substantial equipoise and identity in the amount of pain and pleasure in all external conditions. The total length of day and night all the year round is the same at the North Pole and at the Equator-half and half. Only, in the one place, it is half and half for four-and-twenty hours at a time, and in the other, the night lasts through gloomy months of winter, and the day is bright for unbroken weeks of summer. But, when you come to add them up at the year’s end, the man who shivers in the ice, and the man who pants beneath the beams from the zenith, have had the same length of sunshine and of darkness. It does not matter much at what degrees between the Equator and the Pole you and I live; when the thing comes to be made up we shall be all pretty much upon an equality. You do not get the happiness of the rich man over the poor one by multiplying twenty shillings a week by as many figures as will suffice to make it up to £10,000 a year. What is the use of such eager desires to change our condition, when every condition has disadvantages attending its advantages as certainly as a shadow; and when all have pretty nearly the same quantity of the raw material of pain and pleasure, and when the amount of either actually experienced by us depends not on where we are, but on what we are?
Then, still further, there is another consideration to be kept in mind upon which I do not enlarge, as what I have already said involves it-namely, that whilst the portion of external pain and pleasure summed up comes pretty much to the same in everybody’s life, any condition may yield the fruit of devout fellowship with God.
Another very remarkable idea suggested by a part of the context is-What is the need for my troubling myself about outward changes when in Christ I can get all the peculiarities which make any given position desirable to me? For instance, hear how Paul talks to slaves eager to be set free: ‘For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.’ If you generalise that principle it comes to this, that in union with Jesus Christ we possess, by our fellowship with Him, the peculiar excellences and blessings that are derivable from external relations of every sort. To take concrete examples-if a man is a slave, he may be free in Christ. If free, he may have the joy of utter submission to an absolute master in Christ. If you and I are lonely, we may feel all the delights of society by union with Him. If surrounded and distracted by companionship, and seeking for seclusion, we may get all the peace of perfect privacy in fellowship with Him. If we are rich, and sometimes think that we were in a position of less temptation if we were poorer, we may find all the blessings for which we sometimes covet poverty in communion with Him. If we are poor, and fancy that, if we had a little more just to lift us above the grinding, carking care of to-day and the anxiety of to-morrow, we should be happier, we may find all tranquillity in Him. And so you may run through all the variety of human conditions, and say to yourself-What is the use of looking for blessings flowing from these from without? Enough for us if we grasp that Lord who is all in all, and will give us in peace the joy of conflict, in conflict the calm of peace, in health the refinement of sickness, in sickness the vigour and glow of health, in memory the brightness of undying hope, in hope the calming of holy memory, in wealth the lowliness of poverty, in poverty the ease of wealth; in life and in death being all and more than all that dazzles us by the false gleam of created brightness!
And so, finally-a remark which has no connection with the text itself, but which I cannot avoid inserting here-I want you to think, and think seriously, of the antagonism and diametrical opposition between these principles of my text and the maxims current in the world, and nowhere more so than in this city. Our text is a revolutionary one. It is dead against the watchwords that you fathers give your children-’push,’ ‘energy,’ ‘advancement,’ ‘get on, whatever you do.’ You have made a philosophy of it, and you say that this restless discontent with a man’s present position and eager desire to get a little farther ahead in the scramble, underlies much modern civilisation and progress, and leads to the diffusion of wealth and to employment for the working classes, and to mechanical inventions, and domestic comforts, and I don’t know what besides. You have made a religion of it; and it is thought to be blasphemy for a man to stand up and say-’It is idolatry!’ My dear brethren, I declare I solemnly believe that, if I were to go on to the Manchester Exchange next Tuesday, and stand up and say-’There is no God,’ I should not be thought half such a fool as if I were to go and say-’Poverty is not an evil per se, and men do not come into this world to get on but to get up-nearer and liker to God.’ If you, by God’s grace, lay hold of this principle of my text, and honestly resolve to work it out, trusting in that dear Lord who ‘though He was rich yet for our sakes became poor,’ in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred you will have to make up your minds to let the big prizes of your trade go into other people’s hands, and be contented to say-’I live by peaceful, high, pure, Christ-like thoughts.’ ‘He that needs least,’ said an old heathen, ‘is nearest the gods’; but I would rather modify the statement into, ‘He that needs most, and knows it, is nearest the gods.’ For surely Christ is more than mammon; and a spirit nourished by calm desires and holy thoughts into growing virtues and increasing Christlikeness is better than circumstances ordered to our will, in the whirl of which we have lost our God. ‘In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God and the God of peace shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv24–40 Brethren, let each man, wherein he was called, therein…
Brethren, let each man, wherein he was called, therein abide with God . [i. e., abide with God in the calling wherein he was called. Taking up the rule of 1Co_7:17 ; Paul shows by way of illustration its application to other matters. Christianity does not require that Jews or Greeks change their nationality, for nationality has nought to do with salvation, which rests wholly on obedience to the law of Christ. Again, Christianity does not demand that a man change his vocation or calling, if honest and clean (comp. Luk_3:12-14 ). Taking up the extreme case of slavery, Paul counsels that a change is not to be feverishly sought. If, however, freedom can be obtained, it is to be preferred, and where master and slave are both Christians it should be bestowed, for the slave is exalted to be Christ's freedman ( Luk_1:52 ), and the master is humbled in Christ to be a servant ( Mat_20:25-28 ). Acting under these principles, Paul asked Philemon to free Onesimus. The price which the Lord paid for his own when he gave his precious blood as their ransom, so far exceeds that paid for them as slaves that it nullifies slavery. Third question: Is celibacy or virginity preferable to marriage? Paul answers:]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv28, 31, 33, 34, 36 Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
sinned
Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv25, 29, 32, 36 The question of celibacy in general:
The question of celibacy in general:
v. 25. Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord; yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
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v. 26. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present distress; I say that it is good for a man so to be.
v. 27. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife.
v. 28. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh; but I spare you.
In this section Paul again presupposes the general rule, based upon the institution of marriage and its blessing by God, that the normal adult will be found in this state. His words, therefore, again concern a peculiar exception, and he applies his judgment to the case as it exists, the difference between principle and individual case thus being upheld. Concerning the unmarried, especially the virgins, he had no command of the Lord which would be applicable at all times and under all circumstances, and so he offered his inspired suggestion to cover this exception, as he had received grace from the Lord to be faithful. Because the mercy of the Lord had been effectually shown in his case, making him a faithful servant of the Lord, therefore his advice also is trustworthy. And so he gives his opinion, as at the beginning of the chapter, to the effect that it is good, advantageous, praiseworthy, for a person to be so, that is, to remain unmarried. But note that he includes a restricting clause which throws a flood of light upon the entire chapter: On account of the distress now existing. The word distress, literally "narrowness, pinching stress," signifies such straits and difficulties as are found at the time of oppressions and persecutions. Such a time was then upon the Christians, not only on account of the enmity of the Jews, but also on account of the increasing unfriendliness of the Gentiles. The tyrant Nero had but recently taken possession of the throne, and the first severe persecution of the Christians was instituted by him. With such present distresses and imminent perils, it is true indeed that the advantage was on the part of the unmarried. See Mat 24:10.
Paul now applies his advice in detail: Are you bound to a wife? Do not be seeking separation. Are you (as a bachelor or widower) without a wife? Do not be seeking a wife. In the former case the lawfully wedded person sins by trying to break the marriage-tie; in the latter case the one that does not accept the advice of Paul is making himself liable to many forms of unpleasantness. But Paul does not want to be misunderstood as coming into conflict with the general rule of God, so he hastens to add: But if indeed you have married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. The Corinthian Christians were not to set up a false ascetic ideal in forbidding marriage. There was no sin connected with entering into that state or with being in that state. The only thing was, as Paul states: But affliction for the flesh such will have; I, however, am seeking to spare you. He is not referring mainly to the special cross of the married woman, Gen 3:16, but to all forms of tribulation which are liable to strike the body, the physical life, in such times as were upon the Christians. Persecution was more bitter to endure for the married, because to the perils threatening the body and life there were added the cares and worries for the well-being of the members of the family. Very often, indeed, the alternative lay between duty to God and affection to wife and children. It is in that sense that Paul desires to spare them, to save them a good deal of temporal adversity by giving them his advice.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 27, 29, 32, 35, 36, 39 Now concerning those who never married, I have no…
Now concerning those who never married, I have no commandment from the Lord
Paul knows no teaching of Jesus that speaks about this situation. AT: "The Lord has not commanded me to say anything to people who have never married"
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I give my opinion
"I tell you what I think"
as one who, by the Lord's mercy, is trustworthy
"because, by the Lord's mercy, I am trustworthy"
translationWords
command
lord
mercy
trust
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 36, 39 7:25-35 Paul gives three reasons why it is generally…
7:25-35 Paul gives three reasons why it is generally preferable for single people to remain unmarried. First, single people have fewer everyday problems than married people. Second, because the end is near, Christians ought not let marriage and the things of the world be their dominant concerns. Their primary concern should be Christ and eternity. Third, because marriage brings earthly responsibilities and divided interests, those who choose to remain single can devote their lives more fully to serving Christ.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.