Bound or Loosed from a Wife 1 Corinthians 7:27

Paul the apostle told the Corinthian church members he “supposed therefore that this is good for the present distress...that it is good for a man” to remain a virgin or unmarried. In chapter seven and verse twenty-seven of First Corinthians, Paul told the church members what to do if they are, “bound or loosed from a wife” where we read:

Are you bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

The verse begins, “Are you bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed.” Paul began with the word, “Are you bound” which means “are the male church members fastened and under obligation of the law and duty” “unto a wife” or “to his married woman”? “seek not” which means “do not crave or demand” “to be loosed” which means “set free, released or delivered from the bond of marriage”. If the male church members had a “wife” they were to continue being married to them.

The verse continues, “Are you loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.” Paul added the words, “Are you loosed” which means “are the male church members set free, released or delivered from the bond of marriage” “from a wife” or “separated from his married woman”? “seek not” which means “do not crave or demand” “a wife” or “a woman to marry”. If a man within the church was “unmarried” and “divorced”, according to Paul, he was not to look for another “wife”.

When we consider these words from Paul, we see the emphasis he made on continuing in their current state whether it was as a “married” or as a “single” person. Paul's idea was to maintain their current circumstance, and they were not to be overly concerned with being married or single. Jesus Christ desires that we keep Him in the preeminent place in our lives, and when we are “troubled” or “overly concerned” with being “single” or “married”, it can become a distraction to our relationship with Him. Let us seek the Lord for His wisdom in whichever state we are in, and may our lives be lived in a manner that glorifies and is pleasing to Him.

Next time Paul tells the church members, “if you marry, you have not sinned”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.