(#033) 1 Corinthians 7 - The Lord Jesus Christ is Not a Fan of Divorce

Class Outline:

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Joseph and Mary even stayed married.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To 

 

 

 

 

 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God.  As the Lord He is 100% Deity… He is God the Son.  He is also 100% human just like you and me, and His name is Jesus Christ.  The Lord…God the Son…became flesh…Jesus Christ...and lived among us.  He is the uniquely born One as the God-Man… 100% God and 100% man in one Person forever…He is the Sovereign God of the Universe…He is the Savior of the whole world…and He is the Jewish Messiah.  

 

Those who make Barah Ministries their spiritual home are Christians.  We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord…because Christianity is a relationship, not a religion…and the Lord Jesus Christ is a Person…He is not a thing… and He is not a concept.  Just as we do with anyone whom we love, we spend time getting to know the Lord…and we do that through the study of His Word.  You can’t get to know the Lord without knowing His mind, and the Bible is His exact thinking.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Jesus Christ is Not a Fan of Divorce

 

One of the universe’s first relationships, between the Lord and His bodyguard (now known as Satan)...ended in divorce…Ezekiel, Chapter 28, Verses 11 to 19…

 

 

EZEKIEL 28:11

Again, the word of the Lord came to me (Ezekiel) saying…

 

EZEKIEL 28:12 

“Son of man, sing a lamentation (a funeral song) over the king of Tyre (Satan...the one behind the human king of Tyre)…and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God' … “You had the seal of perfection (you were created perfectly)… you were full of wisdom (a genius…filled in advance with all the knowledge a creature could learn)…and you were perfect in beauty (gorgeous).”

 

EZEKIEL 28:13 

“You were in Eden, the garden of God…every precious stone was your adornment:  the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond;  the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; and the gold…the workmanship of your settings and sockets was in you.  On the day you were created, they were prepared.”

 

EZEKIEL 28:14 

“You were (known as) the anointed cherub who covers (a four-winged officer angel and the Lord’s bodyguard) and I (the Lord) placed you there (in the highest position a creature could hold).  You were on the holy mountain of God (in the first heaven); you walked amid the stones of fire (the throne room of heaven…with direct access to God’s presence).”

 

EZEKIEL 28:15 

“You were blameless in your ways (that is, sinless) from the day you were created until unrighteousness (the sin of arrogant pride) was found in you.”

 

EZEKIEL 28:16 

“Using the trafficking of slander (going about from one to another with dishonest messages) you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore, I (the Lord) have cast you as profane from the mountain of God.  And I have removed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire (you were expelled from God’s government team).”

 

EZEKIEL 28:17 

“Your heart was lifted up (in arrogant pride) because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  I cast you to the earth; I put you before kings, that they may see you (so you will be a spectacle both to God and to men).”

 

EZEKIEL 28:18 

“By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your dishonest slander, you profaned your sanctuaries.  Therefore, I have brought fire from the midst of you; the fire has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you.”

 

EZEKIEL 28:19 

“All who know you among the peoples are shocked by you; you have become consumed…a horrible end… and you will cease to be forever.”’”

 

Satan turned on the Lord and convinced all of the angels to follow in his rebellion.  What is the Lord’s attitude toward divorce?  He allows it, but he’s not a fan of it.  In today’s lesson, we’ll continue our study of First Corinthians as Paul gives the believers at Corinth the divine perspective on divorce.

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!  First John, Chapter 1, Verses 5 to 7 say this…

 

FIRST JOHN 1:5

This is the message we have heard directly from the Lord Jesus Christ and announce to you…that God the Father is Light, and in the Father, there is no darkness at all.

 

FIRST JOHN 1:6 

If we say that we have fellowship with God the Father (that we are possessors of the resurrection life) and yet walk in the darkness (the lifestyle of the unbeliever)…we lie and do not practice the truth…

 

FIRST JOHN 1:7 

…but if we walk in the Light as God the Father Himself is in the Light, we (God and us) have fellowship with one another…and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

Surfaces says in song…show me WHERE THE LIGHT IS!

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

WHERE THE LIGHT IS

Surfaces

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for the tribulation we experience in human relationships which You allow as our spiritual gymnasium…and just as it happens in real gymnasiums, thank you for helping us to build spiritual muscle through the trials You provide for our lives…thank you for the people who hurt us, because it builds spiritual toughness in us…thank you for always providing a way of escape from our trials, a door with a road beneath it that leads us back to You and Your Word…

 

Be our navigator Father…have God the Holy Spirit direct us on the narrow path…help us to thrive during the tough times with the tough-mindedness you instill in us…teach us not to quit…direct us down the path of righteousness so that we can experience the abundance You planned for us in eternity past…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Jesus Christ is Not a Fan of Divorce

 

We’re studying First Corinthians, Chapter 7 where Paul begins addressing problems brought up to him in the form of questions by Chloe and other people concerning the believers in Christ in the church at first-century Corinth.  Corinth is the Las Vegas of its day (what happens in Corinth stays in Corinth)!  Paul is interested in correcting erroneous thinking that is being housed in the minds of these new believers.  Here is an overview of the remaining topics in Chapter 7…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS

Chapter 7, Verses 10 to 16

 

Instructions About Divorce 

For Married Christians

For Christians Married to Unbelievers

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS

Chapter 7, Verses 17 to 24

 

A Guiding Principle:

Remain as You Are

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS

Chapter 7, Verses 25 to 40

 

The Advisability of Marriage 

For the Engaged

For Widows

 

Let’s look at the verses we have studied so far…First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verses 1 to 9…and then we’ll move into today’s section.  

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:1

NOW CONCERNING the things about which you wrote (such as), “Isn’t it the highest, most virtuous good for a married man not to touch a married woman?”

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:2 

Because of the temptations of sexual immoralities (like fornication and

purchasing sex for hire with strangers) … each man is to have sex with his own wife…and each woman is to have sex with her own husband.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:3 

The husband must fulfill his sexual obligation to his wife (by making himself available to her for sexual intercourse) … and likewise also the wife must fulfill her sexual obligation to her husband (by making herself available to him for sexual intercourse).

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:4 

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband has authority over her body…and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body…but the wife has authority over his body.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:5 

So…STOP DEPRIVING ONE ANOTHER…except by mutual agreement for a time…so that you may withdraw to devote yourselves to prayer…and then have sexual intercourse again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control (because you are aflame with passion).

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:6 

Now I (Paul) say the following things…not as a command…but by agreement (a choice).

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:7

I wish that all of you were as I am…(single and celibate). However, each Christian has his very own grace gift from God…one has a gift in this manner…and another has a gift in that manner.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:8 

But I (Paul) say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them to remain single and celibate…even as I am single and celibate.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:9 

But if they are (absolutely) not (able at) exercising self-control (if they burn…aflame with a sexual passion) … (the imperative mood…a command) let them marry…for it is better to marry than to burn (to be aflame with a sexual passion).

 

Now today’s passage…instructions about divorce for married Christians and for Christians married to unbelievers…First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verses 10 to 16…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:10 

But to the married I give instructions…not I, but the Lord…that the wife

should not leave her husband…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:11 

…(but if she does leave…she must remain unmarried…or else be reconciled to her husband)…and the husband should not divorce his wife.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:12 

But to the rest I say…not the Lord…that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever…and she consents to live with him…he must not divorce her.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:13 

And a woman who has an unbelieving husband…and he consents to live with her…she must not send her husband away. 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:14 

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife…and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband…for otherwise your children are unclean…but now they are holy. 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:15 

Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave…the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases…but God has called us to peace.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:16 

For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? 

 

When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take your offering, and then we’ll study this section verse-by-verse to learn the Lord’s attitude toward divorce. 

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Jesus Christ is Not a Fan of Divorce

 

Sometimes when we give from a benevolent intent, we get suckered…

people take advantage of our generosity.  We must never let the fact that our gift has been misused affect us so that we are wary of giving in the future.  This is attitude of many Christians toward giving, who “once burned are twice shy” as the saying goes.  It’s always good to remind ourselves of God’s attitude about giving… Second Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verses 6 to 8…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:6

Now this I (Paul) say…he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly…and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:7 

Each one of us must give just as he has purposed in his own heart…not grudgingly or under compulsion…for God loves giver who is not reluctant to give.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:8 

And God the Father is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance to give for every good deed…

 

When you give, let it be a one-way experience between you and God.  And don’t worry at all how your gift is used.  The God of all-sufficiency who knows your heart will bless you abundantly. Know this…Barah Ministries will use your gift well.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

SECOND PETER 2:17

These false teachers are springs without water and mists driven by a storm… for whom the blackest darkness (the Lake of Fire) has been reserved.

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

SECOND PETER 2:18 

For speaking out arrogant words of vanity, false teachers entice by appealing to fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error…

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

SECOND PETER 2:19 

…they promise (their converts) freedom while false teachers themselves are slaves of corruption…for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

SECOND PETER 2:20 

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in the world and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

SECOND PETER 2:21 

For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. 

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

SECOND PETER 2:22

It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

David Bauer, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Jesus Christ is Not a Fan of Divorce

 

Welcome back!   Let’s take a look at the passage under study verse-by-

verse.  First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verse 10…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:10 

But to the married (Christian) I give orders…and not I (Paul), but the Lord gives the orders, that the (Christian) wife should not initiate divorce from her husband…

 

In God’s eyes, marriage is permanent.  Christians are commanded by God not to divorce their Christian spouses.  God does not want people to divorce.  He wants people to live together in harmony. Choosing to do what God requests is our choice.  And guess what…marriages are not always a bowl of cherries!

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:11 

…(but if the Christian wife does initiate divorce, she must remain unmarried, or she has the choice to be reconciled to her husband)…and the Christian husband should not divorce his wife (he shall not send her away).

 

Remember what Joseph planned to do with Mary when he found out she was a pregnant “virgin”? Assuming the worst, he was going to divorce her secretly so she wouldn’t be stoned to death.  Matthew, Chapter 1, Verse 19…

 

MATTHEW 1:19

And Joseph…Mary’s husband…being a righteous man (a believer in Christ) and not wanting to disgrace Mary…planned to send her away (to divorce her) secretly.

 

Angels intervened in a dream and Joseph hung in there!  So, to the married Christian, God’s advice, as always, is pretty succinct…two verses…boiling down to two words.  DON’T DIVORCE.  

 

Marriage illustrates…our union with Christ…the Creator-creature bond… God and his union with the Holy Nation Israel…God and his union with the chosen race, The Jews…and the union between Christ and His Church Age Believers.  Matthew, Chapter 19, Verses 4 to 6…

 

MATTHEW 19:4

And Jesus answered the Pharisees and said, “Have you not read that God the Son…the Lord…who created Adam and Isha from the beginning made them male and female…”

 

MATTHEW 19:5 

“…and said, ‘For this reason (marriage) a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife (through sexual intercourse)…and the two shall become one flesh’?”

 

MATTHEW 19:6 

“So, they are no longer two…but the two have become one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

 

Divorce, on the other hand, illustrates a bond broken (by Satan)…he cheated on God…the friends became enemies…and it was the enemy who declared the separation.  The Lord is not a fan of divorce, but He offered a reconciliation for all creatures.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 18…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:18

Now all these things (including believers in Christ as a new creation) are from God the Father, who reconciled us to Himself through the work of Christ (on the Cross) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:19 

…namely, that God the Father was through the Christ reconciling the world to Himself…not counting their trespasses against them (because sins are imputed to Christ and paid for by His shed blood)…and God the Father has committed to us believers in Christ the ministry of reconciliation.

 

What are Christians who marry unbelievers to do?  Second Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verses 14 and 15…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 6:14

Do not be bound together (married) with unbelievers…for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness…or what fellowship has light with darkness? 

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 6:15 

Or what harmony has Christ with Belial (which means a lawless worthless

person)…or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

 

The command discourages marriage to unbelievers.  But after a Christian marries an unbeliever, the believers in Corinth wanted to know, “Can I just leave them?”  In fact, some wanted to know, “Is divorcing an unbeliever THE DUTY of a Christian?”  First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verse 12…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:12 

But to the rest (Christians married to unbelievers), I (Paul) say…it’s not the Lord saying it…that if any (Christian) brother has a wife who is an unbeliever…and she consents to live with him (in a committed marriage)… he must not divorce her.

 

The Lord says through Paul’s authoritative discernment (He is filled with the Spirit) that a Christian is not to divorce an unbeliever to the extent that it is in the Christian’s control.  (By the way, if you’re not married, work out your “God differences” before you marry.  It will definitely be a factor that can undermine the success of your marriage.  It is not a small matter.)  Paul is using the instruction of the Lord and his knowledge of the Lord and is applying this knowledge with confidence to situations the Bible does not explicitly define.   But in John, Chapter 20, Verse 30, the Bible says…

 

JOHN 20:30

Therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book…

 

So, for some human problems, we have to make an application of Biblical principles.  God is not always explicit.  Sometimes He is implicit, leaving the decisions to our will!  First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verse 13…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:13 

And a (Christian) woman who has an unbelieving husband…and he consents to live with her (in a committed marriage)…she must not send her husband away (in divorce). 

 

DON’T DIVORCE.  The Lord is not a fan of divorce.  Then the question arose, “Does being married to an unbeliever defile me?”  To be defiled meant being in the right place at the wrong time when someone was dumping their chamber pot…the in-home urinal and feces container.  Their concern was that a sexual relationship with a pagan who would have authority over their body is polluted.  Paul says NO...the Christian is not defiled.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:14 

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through (the spiritual power of) his (Christian) wife…and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through (the spiritual power of) her believing husband…for otherwise your children are unclean…but (through sanctification)…now they are holy. 

 

There was a worry that a marriage to an idolater unbeliever is defiled because an unbeliever who marries a Christian is made one body with the Christian…one flesh…remember First Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verse 16?

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 6:16 

Or DO YOU NOT KNOW that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh (fused).”

 

Paul says NO ISSUE.  First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verse 15…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:15 

Yet if the unbelieving spouse initiates a divorce, let him leave (a command)…the (Christian) brother or the sister is not enslaved (required to stay in the marriage) in such cases…but God has called us to peace (harmony…not discord and division).

 

God prefers peaceful reconciliation and not separation.  The mixed marriage union (Christian to unbeliever) is dependent on the will of the unbeliever spouse’s desire to stay.  It is not within the believer’s control.  If an unbeliever leaves a Christian, the Christian has the right to remarry.  In the first century, just as is true now, a marriage was over when one spouse wants out.  The only thing to be contested is possessions.  

 

Paul wants believing spouses to stay married…and for good reason…First Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verse 16…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 7:16 

For how can you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or

how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? 

 

Hopefully, this lets you know that God prefers unity.  Let unity be your guide in all human relationships.

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The closing moments of our study are for the benefit of anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU. 

 

As human parents, often we are emotional, arbitrary, and sentimental.  We tell our children exactly what we want them to do, expecting they will do it.  Quite often, they do the opposite, and just as often they ask us for an exception to our request.  “I know I didn’t do exactly what you asked…but please, please, please…can I do it my way?”  Often, our emotional, arbitrary, and sentimental self allows them to disobey.  By doing this, we teach them to ignore our requests in critical matters.

 

Many people think God is a similar parent.  God tells us exactly what we must do to be saved, and many don’t do it, but they think in the end God will be emotional, arbitrary, and sentimental...and He will let them into heaven their own way.  But in John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said…“I am the way (to salvation)…and I am the truth (through the

Word of God)…and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

  

Your salvation is a critical matter, and the Lord isn’t emotional, or arbitrary, or sentimental about it.  He’s crystal clear.  In Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 21, the Lord says…

 

MATTHEW 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven...but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter into the kingdom.”

 

What is God the Father’s will in the matter of your salvation?  First, Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 tells us what is NOT God’s will…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9b

…(it is not God’s will) for any of you (unbelievers) to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

God’s will is simple, revealed in Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

If we ignore God’s critical request, there are consequences…John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4… 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received… that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…

 

So, if you want to get to heaven, it’s probably just best to do what God asks you to do…Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

When we believe, we simply take God’s word for it in the matter of what it takes to be saved…and we do it!  Do it now!

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  As believers in Christ we are the “born again ones” according to the Lord… John, Chapter 3, Verse 3…

 

JOHN 3:3

Jesus…said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you are born again (the spiritual birth) you cannot see the kingdom of God the Father (in heaven).”

 

Here’s June Murphy to encourage us to live a lifestyle…to WALK IN THE

LIGHT.  I do so with pleasure.

 

CLOSING SONG

WALK IN THE LIGHT

June Murphy

 

PROVERBS 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. //In all your ways acknowledge Jesus, and He will make your paths straight.

 

DEUTERONOMY 31:8

“For the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you…He will be with you…He will not fail you or forsake you…so not fear or be dismayed.”

 

ISAIAH 30:18

The Lord longs to be gracious to you…He waits on high to have compassion on you…for the Lord is a God of justice…blessed are all those who wait for Him.

 

FIRST PETER 5:6-7

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time…//…slamming all your cares on His back, because He cares for you (God considers your problems to be His responsibility).

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

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