Inductive Bible Study: 1 Corinthians chapters 7–9

PRAY: Lord, as I begin this week with you, show me what it means to put Christ above all else in my life.

READ: 1 Corinthians 7:1–16

MEDITATE:
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul begins to answer questions sent to him by the church at Corinth. The first topics he addresses are sex and marriage. Corinth was not unlike our modern culture—it was a cosmopolitan city, and certain elements of the society were highly erotic and sexually permissive. The temple of Aphrodite had 1,000 “sacred prostitutes,” and the Greek verb “to Corinthianize” meant “to practice sexual immorality.” For some in Corinth, vows and fidelity meant little, and certain members
of the new church would have been unaware of the high regard that should be given to marital faithfulness.

Paul says that Christians should be neither sexually indulgent outside of marriage nor ascetic within marriage. One of the reasons God created marriage was for husbands and wives to find sexual fulfillment. Paul reinforces the point that marriage is a lifelong union, and specifically mentions that someone who has become a Christian should do all he or she can to preserve this union if the spouse is not also a believer.

Paul also says that singleness is good if a person uses it to devote him or herself to serving Christ. He writes more about this later in the chapter. While he wishes that everyone could have the same focus on serving Christ that he does as an unmarried man, he doesn’t command singleness but recognizes that both marriage and singleness
are gifts and callings to honor God (v. 7).

Questions and Application:

1. What does this passage say?
2. What does this passage mean?
3. Ask God to show us whether our culture is blinding us from recognizing any sin.
4. How can you serve Christ today as a married or single person?
5. What can you do to uphold God’s design for marriage in our church and culture?

PRAY: Lord, please show me how I can serve you today and uphold your standards for marriage and sexual purity.