An Undivided Devotion (1 Corinthians 7:32-25)

I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. [33] But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, [34] 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. [35] 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. (1 Corinthians 7:32–35)

Good morning faith family. We are going to be continuing our walk through 1 Corinthians. (Mention why we are here) Before we dive into the word, I just want to remind us, myself included, of something. Why are we here? Why do we take time out of our weekend to gather together? We are here to worship the Lord Jesus. We are the redeemed people of God, and we gather to worship Him, with love and thankfulness in our hearts that  expresses itself through singing and our interactions with one another. We gather around His word, to hear from Him, how we are to love and serve Him and others. Whether we are five or five hundred in number, whether we meet here or at a house or criss cross applesauce on dirt, we meet for Him. Who loved us and gave himself up for us.

We are picking up where we left off last week, starting in verse 32 of chapter 7. But what is going to be helpful for us before we go on through this chapter is to briefly look back at where we’ve been. Paul is the author of this letter, and up until chapter 7 he had been addressing various problems that had sprung up amongst the church in Corinth. These included divisions in this church, We see that in chapters 1-3, and both sexual immorality & petty legal cases in the church, throughout Chapters 5 & 6.

But in chapter 7 there’s a transition that takes place. Verse one, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote”. He begins to address questions that the Corinthians had on Christian living. We don’t have a document containing the word for word questions that the Corinthians sent to Paul, but we can discern what they asked by simply looking at Paul’s answers. He gives instruction regarding marriage & divorce in verses 1-24, and in verses 25-31 he starts to tackle one of the other questions that they had, verse 25

“Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgement as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy”. Their question was, should the unmarried get married. His answer? Verse 26 “I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is.”

Paul’s answer is influenced by several things, first, “the present distress” What was the present distress? Some scholars think that what he is referring to, was the first sparks of Christian persecution under the Roman Empire. Another interpretation is that he is simply referencing the fact that those who are living in between Christ’s life, death and resurrection and His second coming are in “the last days” and will experience “distress” until His return. Either of those views pair with his answer, in light of that distress “it is good for a person to remain as he is”. Why? Because in this life, the Christian will face troubles, we live in a troubled world, and so in some circumstances it may be best to refrain from marrying, a spouse and children although in general are a blessing, come with “additional stress” (don’t believe, just ask a parent) or “pressure” is what the word “troubles” in verse 28 translates to. But he assures them in that same verse, 28, that if they did end up marrying, they wouldn’t be sinning. (We know this from other parts of scripture, God instituted marriage)

Now, another thing that influenced Paul’s judgment “It is good for a person to remain as he is” (and he’s not just talking about singles he mentions the married and people who find themselves in other circumstances) another thing that influenced that statement is touched on in verse 29 “the appointed time has grown very short” and fleshed out a little more at the end of verse 31 “For the present form of this world is passing away”. We spoke about this last week, and how the fact that this world in its current form, its cursed and fallen make up, is soon to be done away with and how that reality should totally re-shape the relationship that we have to everything in our lives, not just spouses as Paul indicates in verses 29-31. In summary, they ask Paul, hey what about singles he says in light of the distress of this world believers should remain as they are, but if they marry it’s they’ve not sinned. And he reminds them that the reality is, this world is soon to fade and that they need to keep that in mind as they live their lives. 

And all of this leads up to what we find in verses 32-35. As we are reading through these verses, hold on to that idea, that truth, “The present form of this world is passing away”. I think that we’re going to see just how much it influences Paul’s view of singleness & life in general and how it should shape our view as well. Let’s jump into it!

Verse 32 “I want you to be free from anxieties. (It’s funny because he says that but it’s going to be clear in a few moments that he actually does want them to have a type of anxiety, or we can use the word concerns) 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”. I think it’s important to note that Paul assumes, that the single believer is anxious or concerned with “the things of the Lord” that is, everything having to do with God, His will, His work, and how to “please” Him, act in a way that is satisfying to Him, enjoyable to Him.

A good question to ask yourself, non-married person, is this: is pleasing Jesus the dominant concern that I have about my life? Another thing that I think is important to point out is that when Paul says “the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife” he’s not using that word “worldly” to refer to something sinful, it just means things pertaining to this life, and in this context, with a wife. Husbands should be concerned about pleasing their wives, that’s not a bad thing but it does mean, like Paul said, that the married man’s “interests are divided” his focus, what he is preoccupied with. Paul is not saying that the married man is not at all concerned with serving and pleasing God, but that the single man, in general, is more freed up to have an undivided focus on the Lord.

He’s not degrading marriage, he’s just exalting singleness. And he gives the female equivalent, “And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. (That applies to the single man too) But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband”. He’s saying the same thing but speaking to the opposite gender, highlighting the contrast between the single person’s ability to focus on pleasing the Lord, and the married person’s. Remember we’re talking about the ability to focus, not the ability to please. And this is Paul’s intention, “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”. He’s not trying to bind them to some new command condemning marriage, he wants to make that clear. No he’s doing what he said in verse 25 giving his “judgment (or opinion on the matter) as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy”. And what he’s been saying is not intended to be a chain around the neck, it’s meant for the single person’s benefit, to promote what is good, elegant, attractive. That’s the idea behind the Greek word there. It is a beautiful and desirable thing to be a child of God who is not married, and so able to serve Him with less worldly concerns. It’s a beautiful thing to be married, but that’s not Paul’s emphasis here. We do not view singleness that way, not in our culture, and most of the time not in the church. I haven’t viewed it this way, it’s been a thing to ditch quick for me until recently.

And another intention behind what he’s been saying is, “to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord”. Paul wanted to capture the believers undivided/undistracted attention for Jesus. Why? Well, because marriage is a good institution created by God, but like “the present form of this world” it’s passing away. Remember Jesus said in the new world to come, marriage will no longer exist. Matthew 22. So he encourages the singles among the Corinthians to remain as they are, because it provides them with the ability to be uniquely focused on the Lord.

Single believer, God’s word to you from Paul is this. You should remain as you are, if you can bear it well, to what end? So that you may be more freed up to focus on loving and serving Jesus. That’s the application from this passage and the surrounding context.

We feel some tension don’t we? Because Paul also affirmed that marriage is a gift, verse 7 of this chapter. We have to hold both truths. Marriage is a gift and so is singleness. Do not despise your singleness, do not despise not being married. Those of us who are not married have the opportunity to be uniquely focused on how to please Jesus, how to serve Him. The man who bought us with His own blood. It is better to serve and please Jesus rather than serving and pleasing a wife. It is better to serve and please Jesus rather than serving and pleasing a husband. Spouses should try to be pleasing to one another, that is a good thing, Scripture says that, and husbands and wives serve and honor God by serving and honoring each other scripture says that. But God through the pen of Paul says this verse 38 “so then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better”

A wife will leave you, she will die and so will a husband, Jesus is infinitely better than any spouse. Jesus is more satisfying, more beautiful, more loving, more enjoyable, infinitely more able to give you what you need. He is more. Friends, be anxious about how you are to please the Lord, make that your top concern, married or not. In every aspect of your life, ask yourself, how can I please the Lord? When you're at work ask yourself “Father, how can I please you today?How can I express love for you and others in my work?” When you’re about to turn on the TV, think about whether or not what you plan to watch would please Him. When you read your Bible, look for what God loves, look for what He approves of, and pray and ask Him to help you apply those things to yourself. When you speak to others, be thinking about how you might please Him with your words.

We’re not talking about works, and pleasing God so that He will save us or love us more. It’s only the gospel that enables us to even want to please Him. Spiritually dead sinners have no regard for God let alone a desire to do what is pleasing in His eyes. The only way to please God is by faith, “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). Through faith, trust in His Son, that pleases Him, by faith trust and rely on His promises, that pleases Him. By faith, obey Him, serve Him. In our quest to please the one who saved us, we look to the man “with whom God was well pleased”. Jesus Christ is the only person who always pleased the Father, yet He was the one who suffered and bore the displeasure of God on the cross.

Single believer, married believer, strive to secure and undivided devotion to the Lord. Why? Because you’ve  been bought at such a price. Why? Because He’s the reason why we exist.

“From Him and to Him and through Him are all things” Romans 11:36.

Do you agree that we should have an undivided devotion to Him? If you do, the next question is HOW? It starts with faith and prayer. You cannot please God without faith. Without trusting His Son. And it starts with prayer. We strive by faith in prayer, clinging to Jesus. Asking Him, “Lord help ME! Help me to be focused on you, give me a heart that I set on you”.

And we gather together, we talk about Him, we keep ourselves around those who love Him and want to pursue Him in this life. And if we experience any growth in our devotion to Him, it’s only because of His mercy, it’s only because of His grace.

Turn with me to Hebrews 12:1... “therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin that clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to JESUS, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”. Look to Jesus the one who initiated and will grow your faith, as you strive to secure an undivided devotion to Him.