Rev. Jason M. Kaspar, pastor at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in La Grange, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 7:1-24.
St. Paul begins to address the matter of marriage as he starts answering questions that the Corinthians had asked in previous correspondence. He upholds the goodness of both God’s gift of marriage and God’s gift of celibacy. If a person has not been given the gift of celibacy, that person is right to seek after marriage in holiness and honor in order to avoid falling into the sin of sexual immorality. Within the marriage, the husband and wife should recognize the authority each has over the other’s body in order to serve each other in love. At the same time, those who are given celibacy can receive that from the Lord with thanksgiving in service to the neighbor. In speaking about divorce, St. Paul keeps primary the instruction of the Lord that a husband and wife should remain united until death parts them.
“Nothing But Christ Crucified” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistle of 1 Corinthians. In response to correspondence from the Christians in Corinth and reports about matters arising in the congregation, St. Paul writes to address various matters of Christian faith and life. Throughout it all, he directs our attention to the power and wisdom of God for our salvation: Christ crucified.
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