By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: 1
Corinthians 7:17-24
1
Corinthians 7:24
So,
brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with
God.
(ESV)
The Church is referred to
in scripture as the body of Christ (Romans
12:5). Viewing the Church as a body
provides a view of a community with many members each having different functions
or callings to perform, endowed with gifts from God to help them carry out these
functions (1
Corinthians 12:12-31). Unity in the Church is not uniformity where each
member dresses, acts, and speaks in the same manner but a blending of different
people unified by the Spirit of God to lift up Jesus and make disciples (John
12:32; Matthew 28:19-20). In 1
Corinthians 7:17-24, Paul reminds us that we are to live as we are called
by God.
Paul begins with his rule
to the churches that they lead the life the Lord has assigned to them and to
which God has called them (1
Corinthians 7:17). As an example of the application of this rule, Paul uses
circumcision. Those already circumcised at receiving his calling should remain
circumcised with those not circumcised not required to be circumcised for
circumcision counts for nothing, only keeping the commandments of God (1
Corinthians 7:18-19). Each one should remain in the condition he was in at
the receipt of his calling (1
Corinthians 7:20).
Paul gives another
example, that of a bondservant. For those who were bondservants at the time of
receiving their calling, Paul’s rule would dictate it is okay to remain a
bondservant but if an opportunity to gain freedom presents itself, they should
take advantage of it (1
Corinthians 7:21). Those who were bondservants when called by Christ are
now freed children of God with those free when called now bondservants of
Christ (1
Corinthians 7:22). The bottom line is that all followers of Christ were
bought with a price, the blood of Christ (Revelation
1:5). Considering the high price of our salvation we are to remain with God
in whatever condition we were in when called (1
Corinthians 7:24).
The friction between
Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ had brought about deceptive teaching
that Gentile believers needed to be circumcised before fulfilling their
calling. Based upon this text there may also have been teaching that
bondservants needed to gain their freedom before fulfilling their calling. Paul
is teaching that keeping the commandments of God is what counts, not one’s
status in life at the time of his or her calling.
The Church is made up of
a diverse group of individuals with the text of Romans
16 providing an example through people Paul knew. The group of individuals
in Romans
16 contains,
- 25
men, 10 women, and 2 whose gender is unknown based on their name.
- 31
Gentiles and 6 Jews.
- Heads
of households and slaves.
- Married
couples and singles.
- A
variety of roles
The diverse group of
individuals Paul refers to in the conclusion of the book of Romans indicates he
celebrated the diversity of the Body of Christ and was not interested in
bringing everyone in the Church into uniformity. Instead, Paul’s interest was
in the unification of this diverse community under the Spirit of God through
Christ (Ephesians
4:1-6).
With the global expansion
of Christianity around the world, the Church is even more diverse than it was
at the time of Paul. Jesus called for those in the Church and called by God to
love one another with this being the sign they are disciples of Christ (John
13:34-35). Unity in the Church is not uniformity with everyone being the
same but a diverse group of individuals unified by the Spirit with the mission
of declaring the Gospel and making disciples (Ephesians
4:1-6; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). However, one remaining in the
condition to which he or she was called does not include continuing to live in
sin for Paul does stress the importance of one keeping the commandments of God
(1
Corinthians 7:19-20).
If you are reading this
post and have not obeyed the calling of God to accept Jesus as your savior and
have eternal life (John
3:16), I invite you to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God challenge and
bless everyone reading this post.
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