1 Corinthians 7:25-40 Happy Alone; Happy Together
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 19, 2020 1 Corinthians 7:25-40
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.
Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
(Understanding the Text) I clumped all these verses together because Paul is repeating himself a lot. On another occasion, I might find more inspiration in them, but today I just see that Paul is giving advice and saying that it is not from God, but simply his own logic. He says that it is better not to be married, but if you are burning with passion, you should get married, which is what he had said previously, only now he applies it specifically to betrothed people. His basic premise is that it is easier to serve God when you are single and can focus on Him alone than when you are married and have to worry about each other, and about children, and about supporting each other’s physical needs. While I understand Paul’s point, he is single and thus does not understand firsthand the marriage bond. I don’t either because I married an unbeliever who did not know how to love, but I have listened to married couples who are both believers and united in their love of God, and there seems to be something in the relationship that promotes a relationship with God. They are able to give support to each other. Paul speaks of this a little in another place, but here he does not. Thus, his point is a good one, but it is also not the only side of the issue.
Paul sees that he could not serve the Lord as well if he were married. He could not travel when needed. He would be worried about his family when traveling. His imprisonments and beatings would affect them adversely. He is correct. However, not everyone is called to serve God in that way. Paul was an apostle, which I have compared to a special forces soldier. One who infiltrates enemy territory and battles with special skills and opens the way for later soldiers to come in. However, God calls most people to serve in supporting roles for those special forces. As Paul has said earlier, we serve God where we are.
Paul does not want our choices to limit the way we serve God and views marriage as a choice that limits us, but in fact, this is not necessarily true. Marriage may free us up to serve in ways that we could not if we are not married. Paul was also looking at the dangerous times that they lived in and saying that such times could be faced better without the burden of being responsible for others’ safety. He was also saying that they were in the last days and that nothing should keep the message from being presented everywhere so that Jesus would return. Later revelations may have shown him that it would be a longer time than he thought, or I might be misinterpreting what he is saying here.
(Revelation of God) God does not deal with every person in the same way. He knows each of us well and that we are all unique. Thus, His dealings with us must be individualized. Thus, He never gave a message to Paul forbidding marriage. After all, He invented it. On the other hand, He never gave a message to Paul that people had to be married. There is not a one-size-fits-all plan for serving God.
(Application / Prayer) My application to myself is that it doesn’t matter what situation I am in, I need to focus on You. However, I need to be careful not to make a choice that will limit my ability to focus on You. My poor choices in the past kept me from knowing You well and serving You with my whole life, so I need to be careful in the future not to make such choices again. Help me to make the right choices.