We talk a lot about personal rights in today\u2019s world\u2014especially in the United States. Culture says we\u2019re owed sexual fulfillment. We\u2019re entitled to romance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what God says about sex and relationships is entirely different. If we follow Paul\u2019s logic from the rest of 1 Corinthians, relationships\u2014as with everything else in the Christian life\u2014should be entirely others-centered. Relationships aren\u2019t about us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a completely different message from what we hear. Romance is supposed to make us happy. It\u2019s supposed to leave us sexually satisfied. It\u2019s supposed to make us feel secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Except, Paul says it\u2019s not. Because relationships aren\u2019t about you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read back through what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:1-9.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup><\/strong> Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. 2<\/sup><\/strong> But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.<\/p> 3<\/sup><\/strong> The husband should fulfill his wife\u2019s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband\u2019s needs. 4<\/sup><\/strong> The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.<\/p> 5<\/sup><\/strong> Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won\u2019t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6<\/sup><\/strong> I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7<\/sup><\/strong> But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.<\/p> 8<\/sup><\/strong> So I say to those who aren\u2019t married and to widows\u2014it\u2019s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9<\/sup><\/strong> But if they can\u2019t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It\u2019s better to marry than to burn with lust.<\/p>1 Corinthians 7 (NLT)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n His words would have shocked the Corinthians who lived in a culture where marriage was primarily about legal standing and sexual fulfillment for men. Women didn\u2019t matter. They got married to avoid poverty, to please their fathers, or to keep from public shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul steps in and flips the cultural idea of marriage on its head. In just a few verses, Paul shatters the conventional view of marriage the Corinthians had\u2014and the one we might have ourselves. He says marriage should serve the other person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a good message for married and single people alike. If you have a spouse, he or she is not built to satisfy you. They can\u2019t. Our goal in marriage shouldn\u2019t be to live happily ever after. It should be to care for, listen to, and meet the needs of your spouse. Of course, the hope is that you and your spouse would serve each other and both of you would have your needs met. But it\u2019s not guaranteed. And it\u2019s not something you\u2019re owed. Marriage is a risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, if you aren\u2019t married, hold on to this truth: Marriage is not the end game. It will not fulfill you. It can\u2019t. Your life isn\u2019t about your pleasure or joy or relationship status. It\u2019s about God. It\u2019s about his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re back to talking about the risky, others-centered life again. It\u2019s terrifying to focus only on your spouse in marriage. What if your needs don\u2019t get met? It\u2019s also scary to let go of a romanticized view of marriage. What if daydreams are the closest you\u2019ll ever get to saying \u201cI do\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spend the next five minutes in prayer. Talk to God about the worries you have about being married or single. Ask him all your questions. And then listen to his voice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does Paul\u2019s concept of marriage and singleness sit with you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and\/or share it as a comment below<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We talk a lot about personal rights in today\u2019s world\u2014especially in the United States. Culture says we\u2019re owed sexual fulfillment. We\u2019re entitled to romance. But what God says about sex and relationships is entirely different. If we follow Paul\u2019s logic from the rest of 1 Corinthians, relationships\u2014as with everything else in the Christian life\u2014should be entirely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n Welcome!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Welcome to the book of 1 Corinthians. As we study this letter, we\u2019ll step into ancient Corinth while reading the words Paul wrote to the fledgling church. We\u2019re going to see that, like all churches, the Corinthian church wasn\u2019t perfect. They had a problem. A big problem. And it grew to such an epic proportion that it poisoned the church in various ways. Paul wrote to provide the antidote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this study, we\u2019re going to explore Paul\u2019s solution to both the problems in Corinth and in us. Through his words, we\u2019ll learn more about Jesus\u2019s plan for a people who live radically different lives than the world around them. But we\u2019ll also take a hard look in the mirror and ask the Spirit to point out our own self-centered attitudes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading the Bible isn\u2019t just something we do to impress people or to check off on a to-do list. It\u2019s about getting to know God. It\u2019s about shaping every minute of our lives to reflect Jesus. It\u2019s about thinking differently in the power of the Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So as we approach each week, we\u2019ll focus on one main idea. That main idea will point us to change how we think, feel, and act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, we\u2019ll see that resolving relational disunity begins in our hearts because division is a symptom of self-focus. From this main idea, we have three goals: <\/p>\n\n\n\n First Corinthians will take us on a journey. We\u2019ll look at the struggles of one of the first local churches in all of history. We\u2019ll see that the Corinthians weren\u2019t much different from us. And we\u2019ll realize that Paul\u2019s words to them still ring true today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before we jump into 1 Corinthians, spend a few minutes writing out a short prayer to God. Ask him to use this study to change you. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Open up your Bible to 1 Corinthians. Go ahead and read the entire first chapter. As you read, ask yourself this question: What was the problem in the Corinthian church?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Corinthians 1:1\u201331 (ESV): <\/p> 1\u00a0Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, \u201cI will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.\u201d<\/p> 20\u00a0Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21\u00a0For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22\u00a0For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23\u00a0but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24\u00a0but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25\u00a0For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.<\/p> 26\u00a0For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27\u00a0But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28\u00a0God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29\u00a0so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30\u00a0And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31\u00a0so that, as it is written, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Corinthian church suffered from division. We\u2019ll see it all throughout the book. The struggling church fought over leadership, spiritual gifts, food, marriage, and theology. Since the theme of disunity runs throughout the letter, it\u2019s tempting to think that was the church\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t. Disunity was only a symptom of a far more insidious\u2014and common\u2014 disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you catch the real issue that was going on in Corinth? It was selfishness. They were so consumed with themselves that they tried to solve their problems their own way, held on to their culture, and, as a result, blasted chasms between them and other Christians.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one likes to admit to selfishness\u2014 especially people who claim to follow Jesus. But it often sneaks into our lives in ways we don\u2019t readily see. And then it spills over in ways we never expect. For the Corinthians, their selfishness led to severe divisions in the church. What is it for us? We\u2019ll spend the rest of the study unpacking that very question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we know the main problem Paul\u2019s tackling in 1 Corinthians, take a moment to be honest with God. Write down any fears or concerns you have about confronting the problem of selfishness. Ask God to use this study to turn your gaze to him.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1corinthians"],"yoast_head":"\n
2\u00a0To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3\u00a0Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4\u00a0I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5\u00a0that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge\u2014 6\u00a0even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you\u2014 7\u00a0so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8\u00a0who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9\u00a0God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10\u00a0I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11\u00a0For it has been reported to me by Chloe\u2019s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12\u00a0What I mean is that each one of you says, \u201cI follow Paul,\u201d or \u201cI follow Apollos,\u201d or \u201cI follow Cephas,\u201d or \u201cI follow Christ.\u201d 13\u00a0Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14\u00a0I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15\u00a0so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16\u00a0(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17\u00a0For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18\u00a0For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19\u00a0For it is written, <\/p>