Slices
Prepare
Pray for those you know struggling with their singleness or their relationships at the moment. Ask for God’s mercy and grace to be at work, bringing peace to households.
Bible passage
Concerning the unmarried
25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs – how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world – how he can please his wife – 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world – how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honourably towards the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin – this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.
39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is – and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Explore
Paul’s concern here is both pastoral and practical. Without a specific command from the Lord, Paul trusts to God’s mercy and his own discernment to give wise advice (vs 25,40). Paul’s challenge is that the Corinthians want clarity in choosing between two outcomes that are both good. Paul’s response can best be summed up as asking the question, ‘What best serves holiness?’
The context isn’t clear. It might be there was an imminent expectation that the Lord would return (v 29: ‘the time is short’), but the ‘present crisis’ (v 26) might suggest a local context (perhaps the unexpected deaths referred to in 1 Corinthians 11:27–32). That second background would change the advice to remain unmarried into advice to wait until the crisis has passed.
Against that background, Paul recommends celibacy because an unmarried person has fewer concerns that pull them away from an ‘undivided devotion’ to the Lord’s purposes (v 35). While being a spouse and a parent are both undeniably good things, they’re inevitably distracting (vs 33,34). Choosing to marry rather than remain unmarried is not choosing wrongly, but Paul dares to say that choosing celibacy is even better because it best serves holiness (v 38).
Respond
Undivided devotion’ (v 35) sets a high bar for all of us. What steps towards this could you take?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Deuteronomy 2,3; Matthew 26
Pray for Scripture Union
Every six months the SU Council meets. Drawn from across the country, and with wide and differing knowledge and experience relevant to SU ministry, its members aim to help the movement think through the most effective ways of reaching the 95. Pray for wisdom and clear thinking as they meet today.