1 Corinthians 7:17-24 Whatever your condition, remain with God.
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: February 18, 2020 1 Corinthians 7:17-24
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
(Understanding the Text) Why does Paul feel the need to say that this is his rule for all the churches? Is he telling the Corinthians that he does not have a different rule for them than others? What does this have to do with the earlier themes of this letter? Maybe, it has to do with the idea of staying married to an unbelieving partner if the partner is willing. Paul is saying that many things change when a person becomes a Christian, but that the life situation does not have to change. You serve Jesus within the situation you are at. Whether you are married to an unbeliever or not, you serve Jesus there; whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, you serve Jesus as who you were before knowing Him, only now with Jesus as your Lord, whether you are a slave or free, you are still who you are, except now you are that with Jesus as your Lord. Serving Jesus changes us, but not in simplistic ways. His changes are in character and behavior, but not always in life circumstance.
Paul is saying that becoming a Christian does not mean that we have to change occupations or worry about what has been done to our bodies in the past. I would apply this to tattoos today. If a person already had tattoos when becoming a Christian, they do not need to remove them although if there is something that would bring dishonor to Christ’s name, then it would be correct to change them or remove them. However, Paul’s main point is that circumcision is neither good nor bad. It is simply part of the life of Jews and not of others. Thus, when we become Christian, being circumcised or not being circumcised is irrelevant. The relevant issue is keeping God’s commands.
“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” Some might see this as predestination, but Paul’s comment about gaining freedom if you can clearly shows that he is not saying that we are stuck with whatever life situation that we are in. God has called us to live a transformed life of love and integrity. That is the life that we have been assigned. Other aspects of life are irrelevant compared to this.
“You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.” Paul is saying not to become slaves to men if you are already free. His point, I think, is that now we are Jesus’ bondservants, so we should not choose to place ourselves under someone else’s authority who might contradict Jesus’ commands for us. On the other hand, if we were slaves when we came to Jesus, we are not condemned for having a human master. It simply means that we have limitations on how far we can serve God because our movements and time are limited. Paul is saying that if you are not in that situation, then you should not put yourself in a situation that limits your ability to serve Jesus.
(Revelation of God) Paul points out here that even if we are in bondage, we are free in Jesus. We may be in a restrictive life situation, but through our relationship with Jesus, we are free. On the other hand, even if our life situation gives us total freedom from responsibilities and worry, we are not free because we owe our continued existence to Jesus, and we need to live like that. We have been bought by God, so we owe our loyalty to Him. We are not free to act in just any way we choose. We are to act for God’s glory.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that no matter what I am doing, I need to do it with God. No job is too low not to share it with God or too focused. I need to share my whole life with Jesus. How can I do this? I want to share my life with You, but when I am on the job, dealing with kids and bureaucracy and co-workers and bosses, it is to forget that You are with me. I don’t know how to work with You present as I do stuff to fit into the system and try to maintain control among a bunch of recalcitrant pre-teens. Oh, I understand that my behavior should exemplify Your character, but how do I live with Your presence when everything is going haywire and I do not know where You are in the mix? Help me.