Wedding Woes Part 4

If you would, please take your
Bibles and turn once again to 1 Corinthians chapter 7. We come this morning to these
last sections, plural, of this chapter, which we have styled,
I have titled, Paul’s Marriage and Family Seminar. Here in this
very dynamic chapter, the Apostle Paul has dealt with so many things
related to marriage, not only husband-wife intimacy, but he
has provided his counsel on so many other things. His opinion
regarding everything from divorce to singleness. Paul had nothing
from which to draw from Jesus’ teaching in this latter section,
and so he steps up as a faithful shepherd and offers his wisdom
on these particular matters. We’ve considered the latter half
of chapter seven and Paul’s theme regarding the pursuit of marriage.
What I entitled there, Wedding Woes, not because of, you know,
that marriage is bad, but really just because of the inherent
difficulties of the married relationship. It’s not a low view of marriage.
It’s just reality. A married person will have more,
not fewer, difficulties than a single person. And so we’ve
worked through, so far, three of these five pieces of advice
that Paul provides in the latter half of this chapter. Not only
Paul’s principle of abiding in marriage in verses 25 through
28, Paul’s principle of urgency in marriage, 29 through 31, Paul’s
principle of devotion and marriage, verses 32 through 35, That last principle, which we
considered last Lord’s Day, it was just built on themes that
Paul had already established. The abiding, that of abiding
in the state in which God finds a person at the point of salvation,
whether single or married. It’s a good and appropriate thing,
Paul says, whatever condition God finds you. And his whole
motivation through this entire latter half of the chapter is
that of maximizing our effectiveness for Christ and for His kingdom,
being fully devoted to the Lord. To do that, to accomplish that,
one not only needs to minimize one’s distractions, but even
to pare down other opportunities that are in themselves good. And marriage may well be, if
you have the gift of singleness, marriage may well be one of those
life opportunities that a person sacrifices in the pursuit of
a greater focus upon the Lord and His work. Paul’s made that
point. And all he’s doing is encouraging
a full awareness of all the benefits and drawbacks of both of those
conditions, both married or single. Paul argues for adjusting our
spiritual focus. We cannot possibly, we saw this
last week, we cannot possibly eliminate all cares and concerns
in this life. They are endemic to our lives
in this world. We will have cares. And those
are good and right and expected and appropriate, but they can
be managed. They can get out of balance.
We can get out of focus. And so these cares and concerns
must be watched. They must be watched and considered
for their influence over our lives. And so Paul’s wisdom here
was to fine tune our concerns. And he expressed his desire here
for freedom from worry. Verse 32, I want you to be free
from worry. And then he discussed the wide
range of worries, whether single or married. Verses 33 and 34, And he closed in verse 35 with
a strident defense of overcoming worry. There’s a great cause,
a great reason for overcoming worry in this life. His concern
was for his readers. He’s not against them. He’s not
providing them a law, but in order to free them up, He wants
them to be unencumbered for service to our Lord. The time has been
shortened, and in view of the present distress, He desires
that we adjust our focus. It’s entirely reasonable. But
there are two remaining pieces of advice, and we find them in
verses 36 through 40. The first, Paul’s principle of allowance
and marriage. He makes a concession here, and
then he closes with his principle of abiding in marriage. I suggested
that if verse, or if that fifth principle sounds familiar, it
should, because we already dealt with abiding and marriage in
verses 25 through 28. But there the discussion was limited to
the abiding of the husband in marriage. Here, however, in verses
39 and 40, the discussion centers around the abiding of the wife
in marriage. Now, for reasons that I will
explain next week, I’m choosing to wrap up this chapter by handling
both of these principles, these last two principles, allowance
in marriage and abiding in marriage in one message this morning. So
if you would, if you would glance down, I just wanna look at these
five verses, verses 36 through 40. But if any man thinks that he
is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she has
passed her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin. Let her marry. But he who stands firm in his
heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his own
will, and has decided this in his own heart to keep his own
virgin daughter, he will do well. So then, both he who gives his
own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not
give her in marriage will do better. A wife is bound as long as her
husband lives. But if her husband is dead, she
is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But in my opinion, she is happier
if she remains as she is. And I think that I also have
the Spirit of God. You may recall although it’s
been now more than eight weeks, that Paul’s discussion actually
started out to address the subjects before us this morning. Look,
if you would, at verse 25. There, Paul, with his familiar
device, now concerning. And remember, it’s almost as
if Paul had a list of questions and he was going down one by
one, now concerning, now concerning, now concerning. Well, Paul uses
this familiar device now concerning, and he directs his attention
to answering yet another of the Corinthians questions. This one
pertaining to giving away their daughters in marriage. And it
is in that particular context that Paul advances his argument
to remain as you are. Verse 26. But if you notice,
instead of addressing the young women in their midst, as Paul
set out to do, he addresses the men. In verse 27, are you bound
to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are
you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. And we are
left with a somewhat uncomfortable silence about what Paul’s counsel
might be either for a virgin, as he identifies them, an unmarried
young woman or a married woman. He doesn’t address it. Well,
not immediately, but it is here all the way down at the end of
the chapter that Paul finally ends his silence on both of these
matters. He deals with the first, first
rather with the issue of the unmarried women in verses 36
through 38. And he deals with the issue of
married women or at least women who have at one time been married
in verses 39 and 40. And so Paul is not scattered
in his thinking as his critics might think. He comes full circle
To close out this amazing chapter here, his chapter on marriage
and family, let me pause just a moment, though, to address
the elephant in the room. Why on earth would I preach such
a passage? It’s a good question. And it’s one with which I occasionally
have to remind myself. It’s hard, first of all, because
in this case, Paul has identified this material, verses 25 through
40, as his opinion. How could I preach on Paul’s
opinion? But, as we’ve observed, Paul
has been able to set forth what one commentator described as
three degrees of authority. Let me explain that. First of
all, Paul certainly had direct commands from the Lord. He had
the entire Old Testament or Jesus’ words as chronicled in the gospel
accounts. But he also has a spirit indwelled
function as an apostle. He was divinely enabled to utter
or write God’s words. Remember 2nd Timothy 3 16, all
scripture, Paul said, is inspired by God. And so there were times
where Paul would speak on God’s behalf as his inspired servant. But thirdly, there are those
pieces of advice, and he identifies that here, that Paul gives, not
unlike what you and I occasionally do for one another. Just a piece
of godly counsel. It’s not a divine command. It’s
just brotherly advice. And Paul has been careful here
to distinguish for us between these three forms of wisdom. This particular section, 26 through
40, is his counsel. It’s his advice. It’s his wisdom. He calls it his opinion. But
it’s not unimportant. And we do well to consider this
wise apostles advice. And we will consider it here
momentarily. But there’s an even more perplexing
question with the material itself, especially verses 36 through
38. Verses 36 through 38 especially
seem to be completely out of sync with our societal norms,
with what seems like heavy handed fatherly rule over his home and
family, especially his daughter. And the question might be asked,
why preach this? Why not just brush past it and
move on to the next section? And that’s a good question. As
for me, it provides reason and study to preach. This is God’s
Word. And there is wisdom here. There is God’s guidance here. After all, Paul’s own words,
again, in 2 Timothy 3, 16, all Scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness. That is as applicable to this
particular text as it is anywhere. Even and especially those sections
that make us somewhat uncomfortable as we read them. I’ll just tell
you that some of the deepest instruction I’ve ever received
has come from passages like this, that upon first glance, they’re
obscure, they’re unclear. On the face of it, they’re even
odd. And so we dig in and we press forward. Let’s consider
each of these two principles this morning, not only the latter
principle, which seems to be very simple and straightforward,
but also the former principle, which seems to be completely
out of touch with our more modern courtship practices. It’s not
gonna be easy. It’s not gonna be comfortable.
We’ll take a look first at what Paul says, and then we’ll try
to make sense of what he says by way of an application. First,
I want to look at allowance and marriage. Paul’s principle of
allowance and marriage as seen there in verses 36 through 38. Let me just review those verses.
But if any man thinks he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin
daughter, if she has passed her youth, and if it must be so,
let him do what he wishes. He does not sin. Let her marry. But he who stands firm in his
heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his own
will, and has decided this in his own heart to keep his own
virgin daughter, he will do well. So then both he who gives his
own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not
give her in marriage will do better. This is a tough sale,
gentlemen. Let’s take a peek at it. We begin
first with the matter which Paul originally set out to address.
Glance back at verse 25, if you would. It’s the question of giving
away one’s daughter in marriage, verse 25, now concerning virgins. And given the context, it’s now
concerning virgins and the question of marriage. That’s the issue
at hand. And we suggested that the question
posed to Paul by the Corinthians might have gone something like
this. Paul, with all that is going
on in our church, with all that is going on in our city, the
friction that we have with unbelievers, the hope of the Lord’s soon return,
with all of that, should I try to marry off my daughters? Well, as we said, Paul finally
moves to answer that very specific question, finally here in verse
36. If you look at it, the simple
sentence is, but his virgin daughter, that mild contrast there at the
head of the sentence, but It stands in relief to the conclusions
that Paul is drawing in verse 35. The whole purpose of his
discussion, not just in verses 32 through 35, but really this
entire latter half of chapter seven is, again, maximizing the
believer’s usefulness. And the desire that he expresses
there in verse 35 is undistracted devotion to the Lord. But, he
says. Or we might even soften it and
say, nevertheless. Though I wish everyone could
be single and super productive like me, Paul says, nevertheless. That’s the function of that little
word, but. It serves to grant a concession
to Paul’s ultimate desires here. Now this concession, it seems,
is built on the father’s concern that he is or has been or is
being unfair. Would you glance down at the
verse, verse 36, if you would, that he is acting in some way
unbecomingly. Shamefully is what the word means. In some way, shape, or form,
People believe that he’s acting shamefully or unbecomingly toward
his own daughter in some degree. And so this particular question
that Paul is addressing may have come from some guilt ridden father
who is being accused of injustice, acting unbecomingly toward his
virgin daughter. By the way, this word unbecoming
implies nothing impure here, only that his position of preventing
her from marrying has become very unpopular with his daughter,
likely with some young man, and perhaps even with his wife and
family, not to mention the town, the local society in which he
lived, The girl’s singleness after all could expose her to
temptation and even societal ridicule as a single unmarried
woman. We’ve covered all that. The father
has kept her from marrying and he’s done so much longer than
most people think is appropriate. The prevailing opinion is that
this is shameful on the part of the father’s behavior. The
pressure on him is great, whether from his daughter or her mom
or her suitor. And Paul explains that part of
the issue is, look at it, the ticking clock. Glance at the
verse. It just says that she’s past
her youth. And one of the recurring translations
of this sentence is that the girl is past the flower of her
age. That’s very creative. It’s not
very literal, but it’s creative. It just means that she has reached
her peak. That is that she is past puberty
and she has reached childbearing years. If she’s ever going to
get married, now’s the time. Other translations, and therefore
other commentators, attribute this peak to the woman’s passions,
and I see no reason to do that. I don’t believe that that’s appropriate
at all here. The bottom line sense here is that she is no
longer a little girl. She is a young woman now. She
has reached the age of maturity, and the window of opportunity
for childbearing is narrowing. It’s time. If ever there was
time, a time is fading. And Paul says that if this is
the case, if it must be so, that is, if the daughter really desires
marriage, and there is a young man who affirms that, you need
both, then the father is free to allow her to marry. There’s
a concession here in Paul’s voice. He’s already declared the ideal
that a woman remains single or a man, but here he grants a concession. It’s a compromise. And in such
a case, there would be no sin, Paul says. The whole discussion
has made that clear. It’s not a sin issue, but rather
one of expedience. That if a young woman has a suitor,
She’s no longer a little girl. A father is free as her guardian
to have her to marry. That’s the easy part of this
discussion. But at the opposite end of the
spectrum, Paul says in verse 37, he who stands firm in his
heart to keep his own virgin daughter, that is to refuse to
let her marry, does well. And this is where things get
really uncomfortable for our 21st century Western mind. The language is clear and strong
in this verse. The father stands firm in his
authority. And you almost come away thinking
this guy’s a brute, a bully. But the word translated here,
stand firm, is elsewhere translated steadfast. It’s a good quality. It’s a word used in one of the
first verses that I ever memorized. First Corinthians 1558. Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast. That’s our word. Steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your
toil is not in vain in the Lord. Beautiful verse. Colossians 1.23
is the only other place where this word is used. Paul is urging
those believers to continue in the faith firmly established
and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel.
It’s a good word. Steadfast is a good, noble quality,
and it is so in this passage as well. The father has interacted
with all the parties involved, especially his daughter and this
young man. He’s evaluated the situation
and he has even heard their appeals. And he remains steadfast in his
decision not to allow his daughter to marry. This is not cold stubbornness.
I told you ahead of time, this is a very uncomfortable situation
for us to consider. Who does this in our day and
age? Not many, but this father did. And we’ve known a few. We’ve
known a few fathers who have turned some young man away from
pursuing his daughter, either at the dating stage or at the
marrying stage. We’ve known this. We’ve seen
these situations work themselves out. The father says no. The young man goes away and he
grows and he changes and he matures and he perseveres and he comes
back. He comes back a changed man and
everything works out in the end. We’ve seen those. We’ve also
seen fathers stand their ground. The boy departs, usually with
an attitude. The girl eventually meets someone
new and they live happily ever after, right? We’ve seen those
work out. And we’ve also seen these situations
end disastrously. The father stands his ground.
The girl and her boyfriend are devastated and angry and rebellious. Everyone is mad and things quickly
go from bad to worse. You’ve probably heard of similar
situations. Now, a great deal of this is
brought about from our societal norms regarding the father’s
authority. The daughters, potential sons-in-law,
even mothers do not believe that the father has the authority
to say no to anything. That’s the root of the problem.
But it is the father’s responsibility to shepherd his daughter. And
if he sees something that concerns him, he’s obligated to address
it. He is not compelled to say yes
to the young man who seeks his daughter’s hand or to the daughter
who desires a husband. He is not obligated to say yes
And much would be remedied if everyone involved rethought their
perspective of the father’s authority in the home, especially in the
realm of dating and marriage. Well, verse 38 rounds off the
discussion by reminding us once again that either way, whatever
the father decides whether to give his own daughter in marriage
or to keep his own virgin daughter. Either way, this isn’t a matter
of sin, he says, but Paul’s opinion is that it is better to keep
her single. If he lets his daughter marry,
he does well. And if he holds her back from
marriage, he does better. It’s not a black and white, good
or bad issue. There is neither sin in marriage
nor superiority in singleness. He makes a good choice either
way, he’s free to choose. So what do we do with all this?
And in Greek, and especially in Jewish cultures, the father,
as I said, had explicit authority over his daughter’s decisions
in this regard, over the realm of marriage. And what sounds
odd and heavy handed, to us, to our Western ears, was perfectly
in keeping with marital norms of the day. Many cultures today still practice
what we call arranged marriages or contract marriages, marriages
in which neither the bride nor the groom have any say so in
the matter. And that sounds really strange
to us, doesn’t it? But consider how the typical
frenetic dating practices of our culture might sound in the
ears of those where arranged marriages are commonplace. This
is what they hear, that this relationship is attraction-based,
it’s emotionally stirred, it’s based largely on the opposite
sex’s appearance, They date around, even sleep around, living together,
all before marriage. I recently mentioned to someone
that I’ve observed a really strange quirk about millennials, or what
are they now, Gen Zs, or whatever they choose to, whatever you
want to call kids of our day, that’s them. I’ve noticed this thing about
this, new group. What I’ve noticed is they go
from one serious relationship to the next immediately and seamlessly. Jump out of one relationship
and immediately they’re back in to another serious relationship. They always have to have a boyfriend
or a girlfriend. It’s just the way it is. They
move from one to another always with the same intensity. Why when I was a boy, That sounds
so old, doesn’t it? When I was young, we had all
kinds of friends of the opposite sex. We did a lot of things together
in groups. We weren’t running around like
a bunch of married couples constantly. And even when things began to
move towards something a bit more serious, It wasn’t exclusive,
not initially. It didn’t lock on to a relationship
immediately, but not today. And the problem is that the great
amount of money spent, the time spent, hearts are broken. Arranged marriages start to look
really good. I referred to our modern approach
as the Samson mentality. You’re familiar with this? Probably
not. In the book of Judges, Samson,
remember Samson? He directs his parents to secure
him a wife, not of their choosing, but the young Philistine girl
that he saw in the marketplace. And his approach? Get her for
me. for she looks good to me. Forget
about her character, forget about her heritage, forget about the
provision of being unequally yoked, the prohibition rather.
She’s cute and I want her. Sounds like a caveman. That’s the Western way. I don’t
care what she believes, her integrity doesn’t matter. Get her, she
looks good. That’s the very reason that our
counsel to the children was always, our own kids, was always spiritual
standards with a flexible wish list. Spiritual standards and
a flexible wish list. Focus on their character. Are
they a real Christian? Look at that first. Well, my
point is that as a father shouldn’t a father guide this part of their
children’s dating and marriage life, shouldn’t he? He should. Remember that beautiful story
of Isaac’s marriage, the Isaac in the Bible? Flip back, if you
would, to Genesis chapter 24. Genesis chapter 24. Abraham, Isaac’s father, oversaw
the entire courtship operation for his son. Glance at verses
three and four, he gives the stipulation to his servants that
they not find a foreigner for a wife for Isaac. Spiritual standards. No ungodly women for my son Isaac. Look at verse 12. Abraham’s servant
prayed over the process. He prayed for direction and success. He said, oh Lord, the God of
my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show loving
kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, I’m standing by the spring
and the daughters of men of the city are coming out to draw water.
Now may it be that the girl to whom I say, please let down your
jar so that I may drink And who answers, drink, and I will water
your camels also. May she be the one whom you have
provided, appointed rather, for your servant Isaac. And by this,
I will know that you have shown loving kindness to my master. He prayed for the process. And the presumption is that Abraham
obviously prayed as well. And God providentially brought
a young woman named Rebecca to the well. Abraham’s servant goes
to the young girl’s home, you know the story, and he acquires
the father’s permission to take her back to be Isaac’s bride. Easy as pie, right? We should
make a new dating app based on this approach. Spiritual standards,
prayer, and God’s providence. Works every time. You know the
amazing thing about this account? No dating, no long drawn out
courtship, no expensive dinners, no flowers, no games, no drama. Look at verse 63. Watch this. Isaac went out to meditate in
the field toward evening and he lifted up his eyes and looked
and behold, camels were coming. Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and
when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. Rebecca veiled
herself in modesty and out of respect, and the servant filled
Isaac in on all of the details, and that was it. Two verses later,
look at verse 67, they consummate the marriage. Then Isaac brought her into his
mother’s Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became
his wife, and he loved her. Thus Isaac was comforted after
his mother’s death. Their first glimpse of one another
was from afar. And that was it. And that would
change a whole lot, our particular approach to dating, wouldn’t
it? Isaac never even saw her, not up close. He took her sight
unseen because his father took the initiative and his servant
sought God for provision. It’s a radically different approach. So the servant comes back, bride
to be in tow, sitting upon a camel, and they are introduced and married. You talk about short engagements.
I don’t know how quickly we could get back to that model or whether
we even should. But there certainly is room for
us as fathers, as parents to learn from this and to be much
more involved in the process than we currently are, shouldn’t
we? We should. Shouldn’t we teach and guide
and admonish and caution and instruct and even restrict some
relations, relationships if necessary, we should. To stand in the gap,
especially on our daughter’s behalf, and to even forbid certain
marriages, it’s right and good. Paul’s address here is exclusively
to fathers. It’s largely cultural. But I
believe both parents really, but especially the father should
be involved every step of the way in young person’s relationships,
The father’s approval should be sought before dating. The
father should be consulted before things begin to get serious,
before things are official. The father’s approval must be
sought before the woman’s hand in marriage is granted. And even
after a young couple is engaged, both parents, but especially
the father, should be actively counseling and guiding the couple.
That’s the way things ought to be. But there are, is one final principle
this morning in Paul’s marriage and family seminar. One last
thing that Paul desires to communicate here is the principle of abiding
once again. This time applied not to men,
but to women. Would you glance at verses 39
and 40? A wife is bound to her husband as long as her husband
lives. But if her husband is dead, she
is free to be married to whom she wishes only in the Lord.
It’s not a new principle. As I said earlier, he’s already
applied this opinion to men. In verse 26, he told them to
remain as you are. That if you have a wife, remain
married. If you have not, do not seek
one. He told the men as much, but
now he tells the women essentially the same thing, verse 39, that
a wife is bound as long as her husband lives. In verse 40, if she’s a single
woman, she’s happier if she remains so. That’s basically the same
advice with the same purpose that he provided to the men.
Let’s consider both parts of this advice. First, the initial
statement, verse 39, a wife is bound as long as her husband
lives. He told the men the same thing.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. The
word bound is the same Greek word in both sentences. And that
word sounds harsh to our ears as if we’re tied with fetters
to our respective spouses. It’s a strong word. It’s often translated, as a matter
of fact, as imprisoned. Be careful how you couch that,
men, on the way home. Marriage is not a literal bondage,
slavery. The so-called bonds of marriage
should be thought of in a favorable light. But it is a union that
is designed by God to be inseparable. And so Paul speaks here of the
enduring covenant, the unbreakable bond of marriage. What God has
joined together, let no man separate. It’s essentially the same exact
counsel that he provided to the men, just slightly different
words. The fascinating thing is that
In a completely different context, Paul provides the same exact
counsel. Would you turn just briefly to
Romans chapter seven? Did I leave you in Genesis? Romans chapter seven. If I left you in Genesis, blame
it on the tractor. Romans chapter seven. Paul there
is dealing with the jurisdiction of the law. And Paul says the
law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives. There isn’t
anyone who isn’t accountable to God’s law. And then to illustrate
this, Paul gives a practical illustration. Look at verse two. The married woman is bound by
law to her husband while he is living. That’s almost identical
to what he says in 1st Corinthians 7. The two have become one flesh. It’s the same thing that he tells
the Corinthians. A wife is bound to her husband
as long as her husband lives. Both of these statements lay
the groundwork for a qualification, an exception. And the exception
is both here and in Romans and in first Corinthians, the exception
is the death of the woman’s husband. What happens then? Well, here
in Romans, he says it this way, the married woman is bound by
law to her husband while he is living. But if her husband dies,
she is released from the law concerning her husband. The death
of her husband releases the woman from the marriage bond. Back,
if you would, to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians, in chapter 7, Paul says the same thing here. In verse 39, a woman is bound
as long as her husband lives, but if her husband is dead, she
is free to be remarried. Paul softens the language here.
He doesn’t use the word death. He says fallen asleep, but we
know this metaphor. Paul uses this metaphor, fallen
asleep, three times in his epic chapter on the resurrection,
chapter 15 of this epistle. And there, as here, He is without
doubt using this metaphor to speak of one who has passed on,
one who has died. He’s not talking about a napping
husband. And I actually like this metaphor
of death for a Christian. For a Christian, it’s appropriate
to be spoken of as asleep in the Lord. Isn’t that beautiful? Awaiting eternity. What a peaceful
rest that will be, won’t it? And this, we have to assume,
was part of a series of questions, as I reminded you, posed to the
apostle. Not merely how long exactly did
the marriage bond last, but if it was ended, if the husband
died, was the woman free to remarry? Ultimately, that’s the question
that Paul is answering. Paul has dealt with marriage.
He’s dealt with singleness. He’s dealt with divorce. But
until now, he has not spoken to the issue of the death of
a spouse. What then? Well, he says plainly that a
widowed woman is free to remarry. And the presumption here is that
a widowed man is free as well. This is a position that Paul
is very consistent in 1st Timothy 5, Paul’s discussing there the
subject of widowhood and all the things related to it. And
he addresses many things there, especially their practical care.
But he also says, I want younger women, younger widows rather,
to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy
no occasion for reproach. So there he even encourages younger
widows to remarry. Paul says that under such a circumstance
she is free to be married to whom she wishes. But there’s
one condition. She is free to marry whom she
wishes only in the Lord. Remarriage is a possibility for
widows, and I would add widowers too, but the prospective spouse
must be a Christian. And Paul echoes this counsel
in his second epistle, doesn’t he, to the Corinthians, do not
be bound together with unbelievers. And that prohibition there must
not be limited to marriage, but it certainly includes marriage.
And as a final capstone to this chapter, Paul returns once again
to the statement that he makes at the outset of this section,
verse 26. There he addressed his thoughts
to the men. It is good for a man to remain
as he is. That is in whatever condition
he was when the Lord called him to salvation. If married, remain
married. If single, remain single. But
here in closing, Paul applies the same principle to the woman,
verse 40. And he says that a widow is free
to be married, but in my opinion, she is happier if she remains
as she is. She’s blessed. If she’s single or single again,
God has the ability to bring her happiness. And he again couches
his comment here is his opinion. But in Paul’s classic style,
he closes with a bit of irony. I would even call it gracious
sarcasm. He says, I think that I also
have the spirit of God. It’s almost said with a wry smile. I’m pretty sure that I’m God’s
chosen apostle. Others were claiming divine inspiration.
Paul doesn’t seek so much to disprove that as much as he seeks
to affirm that he too is indwelled by the Spirit of God. This, remember,
was his defense for being unwilling to speak where Jesus himself
had been silent. As he declared in verse 25, he
was willing to provide his opinion Because by the mercy of the Lord,
he was trustworthy. God had found him such. The Lord
had saved him, was at work in him. And from end to end in this
section, Paul maintains this closing with the affirmation
that he was indwelled by God’s own spirit. That’s a man we should
listen to, isn’t it? And thus the advice he was giving
was ultimately divine. Quite a seminar, this marriage
seminar. I trust that you’ve been encouraged,
challenged, sometimes rebuked, sometimes chastened for some
of your practices, and this section is no different. Fathers need
to be involved in the management of their family, the shepherding
of their daughters especially, and women, if they are single
again, are free to remarry only in the Lord. Let’s pray.