Keep The Marriage Intact Series

The word “intact” is beautiful, it means “not damaged or impaired in any way.”

• Keep the marriage intact, so that the marriage union is not damaged or impaired in any way. Keep it intact and complete.

From chapter 7 onwards Paul was answering the questions raised by the Corinthians in a letter they had written to him. 7:1 “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote…”

This line appears 5 more times:

7:25 “Now concerning the betrothed…”

8:1 “Now concerning food offered to idols…”

12:1 “Now concerning spiritual gifts…”

16:1 “Now concerning the collection for the saints…”

16:12 “Now concerning our brother Apollos…”

Chapter 7 begins with Paul responding to the questions they raised about marriage.

• We have to understand that Paul is not writing a thesis on marriage or setting out a doctrine of marriage here. He is but answering some specific questions.

• He set out some principles regarding the practical aspects of marital life. They are short and brief, and some are local issues.

• To get a full understanding of marriage, we need to get it from the Scriptures, like the texts in Genesis, the words of Jesus, and the other writings of Paul (Ephesians, Colossians).

Let’s recap last week’s section – 1 Cor 7:1-7 – about abstinence

• 7:1 “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

• Yes, if you have the gift to remain unmarried; it is a gift of God for some (v.7).

• Otherwise, you should marry, “for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” (7:9b)

• Do not sin by having sex outside of marriage, a problem with the Corinthians.

And if you are married, be committed to meeting each other’s sexual needs.

• Sex is God’s design for marriage, so take care not to “deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer…” (7:5)

• If you have to abstain from sex for a spiritual reason, do that for a short while “…but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (7:5)

• God wants sex within the marriage, Satan wants sex outside of marriage. Sex in marriage is a blessing of God. Sex outside marriage destroys the marriage.

Husband and wife are to care for each other’s needs, whether it’s sexual, physical, emotional, mental or social. God has made the two ONE.

• They are brought together for life - for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish each other until death parts them.

Paul moves on to the next question regarding marriage and divorce.

1 Cor 7:10-11 ESV

10To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11(but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

Paul addresses marriages where both partners are Christians.

• His charge, also the charge of Jesus: Stay married. Do not entertain a divorce.

• This is also the charge of Jesus. Matt 19:6b “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

• Matt 19:7 [The Pharisees] said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?”

• Matt 19:8-9 8He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning, it was not so. 9And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

The Corinthians, like the Pharisees, were thinking about the permissibility of divorce.

• Under what circumstances can we get a divorce? That’s the wrong question to ask.

• God’s will is for marriage is permanent and for a lifetime, and therefore it cannot be broken except upon the death of a spouse.

• Think “prevention” and not the “permissibility” of divorce.

But because of the hardness of man’s heart. It is man’s stubborn and willful attitudes that caused this, resulting in broken relationships in marriage and hence the divorce.

• “But from the beginning, it was not so.” (19:8) This is a concession, not God’s original intent.

• And if one were to depart from their spouse, they must either remain unmarried or be reconciled (7:11). The principle is to stay as you are.

• To marry someone else, we would have committed adultery.

Paul states this only in a few lines because he is answering their specific question, not giving a full discourse about divorce.

• There are myriads of different scenarios and diverse situations that Paul did not address.

• We have many unanswered questions too: What if it is an abusive relationship or the spouse is under some addiction, children are being harmed, or the spouse is completely irresponsible… and the list of scenarios can go on.