Therein Abide With God – 1 Corinthians 7
‘Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.’ — 1 Corinthians 7:24
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a life-changing message. It should change everything about our priorities and our perspectives. Yet, the gospel can also create tension in the lives of those who are saved out of unbelieving homes and marriages. 1 Corinthians 7 addresses some of the questions that arise from this situation.
There is much detail in the chapter about various situations related to single people, saved people married to unsaved people, widows and fathers of unmarried young ladies. But several overarching principles arise:
- The gift of singleness is a preferred state so that a person can dedicate their entire life to serving God (v.7-8,32-35,38).
- Many are not gifted to be single and should therefore marry (v.2,9,28,38).
- All who get saved should not immediately try to change everything about their family and social circumstances. Instead, they should abide in them as much as possible and seek to use them for the honour and glory of God (v.18-24).
- The main goal of every person, no matter their marital or personal state, should be to redeem the time, to not get wrapped up in this world, to please the Lord and to serve Him without distraction (v.29-35).
How are we serving the Lord where we are? What excuses do we need to stop making about our circumstances?
We need to abide in our situations with God and seek to bring Him the most glory wherever we find ourselves.