The Strand Study Bible

Written From Ephesus During Paul’s T hird Missionary Journey

I CORINTHIANS

1890

of the Bible, smoking, playing cards, throwing dice, gambling, observing holidays, going to church on the Sabbath, setting up Christmas trees, men wearing earrings or tattoos, women wearing pants, having short hair or wearing jewelry, going to restaurants that serve liquor, sitting at a bar to enjoy a meal, kissing before marriage, or even living with someone before marriage. Again, does our liberty in Christ give us the right to live how we want to despite what others might think? While it is true that every believer has the “God-given right” not to follow other Christians who may live differently than they do, it is also true that every believer must consider what another believer believes before behaving the way they do (Rom 14:1- 6,13). Because Christians are allowed the liberty to live “freely” for God, Paul set up three guidelines for the use of that “freedom:” 1. Is what I am about to do going to be helpful ( expedient )? In other words, is what I am about to do going to be “beneficial” to my Christian life? 2. Is what I am about to do going to become habitual ( brought under the power of any )? In other words, is what I am about to do going to be “harmful” to my Christian life? 3. Is what I am about to do going to be hurtful ( edify not - I Cor 10:23)? In other words, is what I am about to do going to “wound and/or tear down” another Christian (I Cor 8:9)? NOTE – If followed, these three guiding principles for Christian liberty allow the body of Christ to function the way it should 6:18 More people hurt themselves through the deception of fornication (unlawful sex outside of marriage) than is imaginable ( but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body ). Dr. S.I. McMillen, in his book called None of These Diseases , reminded us of the deception of fornication, when in chapter six, entitled ‘They Have the Devil to Pay,’ he notes: There is a myth extant that venereal disease can be prevented if intelligence is used. Obedience to God’s helpful Guidebook has been and still is the best way to avoid the calamitous effects of venereal disease. Everybody who stubbornly seeks to circumvent his heavenly Father’s suggestions will sooner or later have to pay the devil’s price. Medical science with all its knowledge is inadequate to take care of the world’s venereal disease problem. Yet millenniums before the microscope, and before man knew the method of the transmission of venereal diseases, God knew all about them and gave to man the only feasible plan of preventing these universal and blighting killers. 1 McMillen goes on to recall an address made by Dr. Irving J. Sands at an annual meeting of New York State physicians, who said: It may be well to call attention to the fact that change and progress are not synonymous and all that is new is not necessarily good, nor all that is old necessarily bad…The Ten Commandments are old indeed, and yet they comprise the greatest mental hygiene code and the best set of rules and regulations for ethical human relationships ever produced by mankind... 1 Sadly, to this very day, people all over the world still take lightly the Sacred Scriptures concerning the subject of fornication, and have paid dearly for it ( Prov 5: 1- 11 ). 6:19 If God owns us (and He does), then we’ve become a temple inhabited by the THIRD PERSON of the Triune Godhead ( your body is the temple of the HOLY GHOST ). David Jeremiah in My Heart’s Desire notes: NOTE – Common sense informs us that HE who inhabits the Temple (the believer) is the object of worship (Jn 20:22 and II Cor 6:16). Therefore, according to the context, the HOLY SPIRIT is God (Ezk 3:24-27) and a part of the Triune Godhead, equal to both CHRIST (Jn 14:16-17 & 15:26) and the FATHER . 7:2 Whereas adultery is unlawful sex within marriage, fornication is unlawful sex outside of marriage ( Heb 13:4 a,b ). 7:7 Both marriage and celibacy are “gifts from God.” 7:8 This statement ( even as I ) could be taken to mean that Paul was either a bachelor or a widower. Seeing we have no way of knowing what he was, there is no sense in guessing what he was. 7:10 In other words, spouses need to learn to take the proper steps to staying married ( let not ). Why? Because our Lord is never for divorce (Gen 2:24, Mal 2:16, Mt 5:31-32 & 19:3-9, Mk 10:1-12 and Lk 16:18). Nevertheless, because of the hardness of men’s hearts, the woman is allowed to separate herself from her husband ( But and if she depart – vs 11) until he decides to divorce her or they reconcile. Thus, separation, possibly divorce, and eventual remarriage are all permitted (I Cor 7:27-28). Morrie Schwartz, in Mitch Albom’s book Tuesdays with Morrie , summed up what marriage should be all about when he said: I’ve learned this much about marriage… You get tested. You find out who you are, who the other person is, and how you accommodate or don’t… Still there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don’t have a common Message: Stop holding out on God–He wants it all! Nominal Christianity is of no interest to Him. The Lord wants your body and spirit signed, sealed, and delivered over to their new Landlord. And as soon as He takes possession, that Landlord will convert the whole place to…another house? No, a temple . 2

set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike. And the biggest one of those values… Your belief in the importance of your marriage. 3 7:11 The wife is encouraged to “continue” (Gr. present tense verb) to remain unmarried . 1 Mcmillen, S.I. None of These Diseases . Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1967. Print. 2 Jeremiah, David. My Heart’s Desire , Nashville, TN, Integrity, 2002. Print. 3 Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie , New York, NY, Broadway Books, 1997,2007. Print.