Get Married and Avoid Fornication 1 Corinthians 7:2

The church members in Corinth wrote to Paul the apostle concerning different issues including how to relate to “women” as church members. Paul's answer was, “it is good for a man not to touch a woman”, and in chapter seven and verse two of First Corinthians, Paul continued to explain what this means as he told the church members how to, “avoid fornication” where we read:

Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife,

and let every woman have her own husband.

The verse begins, “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife,...” Paul began with the word, “Nevertheless” or “the ground reason or account by which something is or is not done” “to avoid” which means “ avert, head off and keep away from,”“fornication” or “illicit sexual intercourse including adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest or with divorced people”, “let every man” which means “allow and permit every male human being” “have his own” or “hold, own, possess, be joined and cling to his” “wife” which means “a woman who marries”. Paul told the church members in order to “keep away” from “fornication” men should be married and have their “own wife”.

The verse continues, “... and let every woman have her own husband.” Paul added the words, “and let every woman” which means “allow and permit every female human being” “have her own” or “hold, own, possess, be joined and cling to her”“husband” which means “a man who marries”. Paul told the female church members to “keep away” from “fornication” by getting married and having their “own husbands”.

When we consider these words from Paul, we see the sensible way to keep away from “sexual immorality”. Each male and female among the church in Corinth were to “marry”. Each man was to “marry a woman”, and each woman was to “marry a man”. “Sexual immorality” was readily and easily available to the church members in Corinth, and perhaps it was part of their regular lifestyle before they received Jesus Christ as their “Savior and Lord”. Now their lives were to be “pure and holy”, and yet, they continued to have “bodily urges” and “desires”. Paul's way to satisfy those “desires” was for each man to marry “his own” woman, and each woman was to marry “her own” man. This relationship would honor not only their relationship with one another, but also their relationship with God. Jesus Christ has His “own wife” which is the church, and those who believe in Him become part of His “wife”. The husband and wife relationship becomes a model or example to the world of Christ and His church, and those who are wise will see not only the sense of Paul's instruction, but also the benefit to the world through the witness of marriage in the way he directed it.

Next time Paul instructs the married church members to, “render unto the husband and wife due benevolence”, 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.