what does 1 corinthians 7:29-31 mean?

[waitasec]

It still is. I don't think that's the point, though.

could you imagine if the church actually did all those things?

 

[Willamena]

could you imagine if the church actually did all those things?

Yeah, I kind'a can.

 

[waitasec]

Yeah, I kind'a can.

thanks!

 

[MurphtheSurf]

29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

are the followers of christ to:
abstain from sex with their spouse, and if they are not married, they are to stop looking for a spouse?

Regarding 1 Corinthians 7:29. Marriage mates ought to be careful not to get so absorbed in each other that Kingdom interests take second place in their lives.

are they to not mourn the loss of a loved one, seek entertainment or invest for future prospects, because these things are of the world and the time is short...

Regarding 1 Corinthians 7:30-31 For us to be completely absorbed in sorrows or joys that are the product of these ever-changing circumstances and relationships could work against our drawing closer to the Most High and his Son, with serious loss to ourselves.

imagine if they actually did these things for the last 2 thousand yrs....

so if it doesn't mean these things then what does it mean?

That's what it really means.

 

[waitasec]

Regarding 1 Corinthians 7:29. Marriage mates ought to be careful not to get so absorbed in each other that Kingdom interests take second place in their lives.



Regarding 1 Corinthians 7:30-31 For us to be completely absorbed in sorrows or joys that are the product of these ever-changing circumstances and relationships could work against our drawing closer to the Most High and his Son, with serious loss to ourselves.



That's what it really means.

then why doesn't it say that...?
seems the ambiguous word of god is in need of assistance to be understood

 

[Willamena]

then why doesn't it say that...?

Why doesn't the Second Amendment say it applies to self-defense in the home?

 

[waitasec]

Why doesn't the Second Amendment say it applies to self-defense in the home?

no one claims the constitution to be the word of god...

 

[Willamena]

no one claims the constitution to be the word of god...

No one claims the letters of Paul of Tarsus to be written by anyone else.

 

[waitasec]

No one claims the letters of Paul of Tarsus to be written by anyone else.

of course, however, i believe these letters of paul are accepted as inspired words from the holy spirit.

 

[Strength & Honor]

are the followers of christ to:
abstain from sex with their spouse, and if they are not married, they are to stop looking for a spouse?
are they to not mourn the loss of a loved one, seek entertainment or invest for future prospects, because these things are of the world and the time is short...

so if it doesn't mean these things then what does it mean?

One thing that has always helped me with studying the Bible is to look at the context in which certain statements are made. In this case, we have to back up to verse 26, where Paul says "...in light of this present distress..." (NASB). This "present distress", though unidentified directly by Paul, was apparently important enough to necessitate certain changes for the Corinthian christians. It was certainly not a sin for these Christians to marry (V. 28), but Paul goes on to say that this "current distress" would cause married people some trouble in their personal lives, which he was trying to avoid.

In reading that section of Scripture, I get the feeling that the Christians in Corinth, a city known for its distinctly "un-christian" morality, may have been under some sort of persecution, and that families were perhaps even being torn apart. Paul seems to be helping them avoid any unnecessary emotional pain by warning them not to get married in the first place.

That's my take, at least.

 

[waitasec]

One thing that has always helped me with studying the Bible is to look at the context in which certain statements are made. In this case, we have to back up to verse 26, where Paul says "...in light of this present distress..." (NASB). This "present distress", though unidentified directly by Paul, was apparently important enough to necessitate certain changes for the Corinthian christians. It was certainly not a sin for these Christians to marry (V. 28), but Paul goes on to say that this "current distress" would cause married people some trouble in their personal lives, which he was trying to avoid.

In reading that section of Scripture, I get the feeling that the Christians in Corinth, a city known for its distinctly "un-christian" morality, may have been under some sort of persecution, and that families were perhaps even being torn apart. Paul seems to be helping them avoid any unnecessary emotional pain by warning them not to get married in the first place.

That's my take, at least.

1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that....

... 25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

it seems here in vs 29..From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not
he's contradicting what he said in vs 2...each man should have sexual relations with his own wife
so in light of being married or being a virgin...:"From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not"
that to me reads...stop having sex with your spouse "from now on" not until this present crisis has been settled...and virgins stay virgins from now on

i'm really baffled by how simply saying... adultry means this and you are not to do that...paul goes into this tangent instead.
why all this pussyfooting about sex between husband and wife?
virgins are to remain virgins until they are married...simple and straight
however, from now on do not have sex, even though it is permissible for married couples, but from now on live as if you were not...

 

[Strength & Honor]

it seems here in vs 29..From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not
he's contradicting what he said in vs 2...each man should have sexual relations with his own wife

You are assuming that, "...live as if they do not..." means to abstain from from sex with your wife. But Paul had already said that marital sex was not a sin. In fact, he says that not having sex with one's spouse would give rise to more temptation. So, we have to assume that, "live as if they do not," means something else. Depending on the exact nature of their "present distress," Paul could have had any number of things in mind. But it seems more appropriate, I think, to assume, as may have been suggested elsewhere in this thread, that it means to simply remember that God should be most important in life.

so in light of being married or being a virgin...:"From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not"
that to me reads...stop having sex with your spouse "from now on" not until this present crisis has been settled...and virgins stay virgins from now on

I see how you can get that from the text, but again, I don't think that's what Paul is trying to say. You are stuck on this one little phrase, "live as though they do not," in the context of a much greater lesson: Don't forge physical attachments that are greater than spiritual ones.

why all this pussyfooting about sex between husband and wife?

Because of the "present distress" I'm guessing. But it seems to me that you are making it more complicated than it really needs to be.

 

[Brahmin010]

The passage is reminiscent of ancient Indian vedic, Hindu and Buddhist teachings:
it is a call for followers to renounce this world and is thoroughly ascetic in nature. The apostle is telling us to avoid the extremes of pain and pleasure, happiness and sadness, wealth and poverty, the answer to peace is found in the middle..

Read up on the Upanishads and many of Jesus's and the apostles more obscure and difficult passages will become clear. Peace!

 

[waitasec]

You are assuming that, "...live as if they do not..." means to abstain from from sex with your wife.
But Paul had already said that marital sex was not a sin. In fact, he says that not having sex with one's spouse would give rise to more temptation. So, we have to assume that, "live as if they do not," means something else.

like what? paul is obviously leaving something out or he's contradicting himself...

Depending on the exact nature of their "present distress," Paul could have had any number of things in mind. But it seems more appropriate, I think, to assume, as may have been suggested elsewhere in this thread, that it means to simply remember that God should be most important in life.

then paul was a really bad communicator...
if you are writing a letter to a church which is facing a problem why be so ambiguous and contradicting?

I see how you can get that from the text, but again, I don't think that's what Paul is trying to say. You are stuck on this one little phrase, "live as though they do not," in the context of a much greater lesson: Don't forge physical attachments that are greater than spiritual ones. Because of the "present distress" I'm guessing. But it seems to me that you are making it more complicated than it really needs to be.

no i'm also stuck on "from now on those who have wives should live as if they do not"

 

[Willamena]

then paul was a really bad communicator...

Do you think it may be possible that it takes some learning, to learn how to read Paul?

 

[waitasec]

Do you think it may be possible that it takes some learning, to learn how to read Paul?

if the bible, paul's letters and gospels included, is intended to be understood as the infallible word of god...no.

learning to read paul would be subject to interpretation. as i understand the bible...it holds a very high standard...it is the word of god...no room for misinterpretation...no room for inconsistencies

so if we assume paul meant to say yes it is ok to have sex with your wife...(which btw is an absolute absurd thing to say to married people in the 1st place) and then to turn around and say the time is short...from now on live as if you were not married...what possible dilemma are they facing that would keep a husband and wife from having sex?

 

[Strength & Honor]

like what? paul is obviously leaving something out or he's contradicting himself...

You are absolutely right, he is leaving something out. And that's where all the ambiguity comes from in the first place. As far as what he meant, I already gave my ideas on that in my previous post. Anything beyond what is stated in the text is conjecture, though.

then paul was a really bad communicator...
if you are writing a letter to a church which is facing a problem why be so ambiguous and contradicting?

Or, it could be that people have to study to figure out the meaning? Perhaps it was not so confusing to the recipients of the letter. Afterall, this letter was a response from Paul to a letter that the Corinthians had written to him. But since we don't have that letter, we can't know what was in it.

no i'm also stuck on "from now on those who have wives should live as if they do not"

And what that means is not entirely known. You are assuming that it means, "don't have sex," but as I said, it could mean any number of things. Sadly, however, we don't have the whole story to know what it all means. All we know is that there was something bad going on that changed things to the point that they couldn't act the way they would have otherwise.

learning to read paul would be subject to interpretation.

How does learning how to do something make that thing subjective?

so if we assume paul meant to say yes it is ok to have sex with your wife...(which btw is an absolute absurd thing to say to married people in the 1st place) and then to turn around and say the time is short...from now on live as if you were not married...what possible dilemma are they facing that would keep a husband and wife from having sex?

Again, you are assuming that “live as if he were not married” means not to have sex, as if that were the only possible meaning.

 

[waitasec]

You are absolutely right, he is leaving something out. And that's where all the ambiguity comes from in the first place. As far as what he meant, I already gave my ideas on that in my previous post. Anything beyond what is stated in the text is conjecture, though. Or, it could be that people have to study to figure out the meaning? Perhaps it was not so confusing to the recipients of the letter. Afterall, this letter was a response from Paul to a letter that the Corinthians had written to him. But since we don't have that letter, we can't know what was in it. And what that means is not entirely known. You are assuming that it means, "don't have sex," but as I said, it could mean any number of things. Sadly, however, we don't have the whole story to know what it all means. All we know is that there was something bad going on that changed things to the point that they couldn't act the way they would have otherwise.

it would be impossible to find out what he meant without that other letter...right?
so why not dismiss the entire thing if we can't get to the bottom of what he meant? why do pastors use scriptures like these as a basis for a sermon when the entire picture isn't clear? why use these passages as devotional passages when the entire meaning isn't clear?

How does learning how to do something make that thing subjective?

you yourself said we don't have the other letter to make an informed decision so learning about paul has nothing to do about what he meant...see what i mean?

Again, you are assuming that “live as if he were not married” means not to have sex, as if that were the only possible meaning.

ok i'll turn the table on you, by reading this...would you then say paul wasn't advocating virginity and sex between married couples?
because that is essentially what you are saying, 'what paul writes doesn't necessarily mean this is what he meant...'



edit:
he not only listed sex but all the worries in the world shouldn't be worries because this present age is passing away...

 

[Strength & Honor]

it would be impossible to find out what he meant without that other letter...right?
so why not dismiss the entire thing if we can't get to the bottom of what he meant? why do pastors use scriptures like these as a basis for a sermon when the entire picture isn't clear? why use these passages as devotional passages when the entire meaning isn't clear?

You got me. I’ve never heard a preacher give a lesson from this text as a command for us to follow today. I don’t doubt that has happened, but I’ve never seen it personally. That would be a question for those who preach it. Either way, I agree with you that it would not be very wise to use this passage as a universally binding command.

ok i'll turn the table on you, by reading this...would you then say paul wasn't advocating virginity and sex between married couples?
because that is essentially what you are saying, 'what paul writes doesn't necessarily mean this is what he meant...'


edit:
he not only listed sex but all the worries in the world shouldn't be worries because this present age is passing away...

I’m saying that it could have meant “don’t have sex with your wife,” but it doesn’t necessarily have to, and most likely didn't. After all, having a wife is more than just sex. As I have already said, I believe that Paul is speaking here to a broader idea, that being an emphasis on spiritual attachments, rather than earthly ones.

One commentary I have puts it this way:
“Paul is, therefore, saying that in the time that remains those who have wives must live as if they did not have them, that is, they should learn to live in such a way that when the choice must be made between allegiance to Christ and family affection they will be able to choose Christ. Hence, Paul does not forbid marriage; instead, he counsels that Christians must not let their allegiance to their mattes interfere with their allegiance to Christ…” (Mike Willis, from Truth Commentaries: 1 Corinthians).

 

[earlwooters]

If you placed a little more emphasis on the teachings of Jesus, you might find that the ramblings of Paul take on a far less importance (none) than the words of the real teacher of the gospel. It is quite evident that this world in it's present form has not passed away in 2000 years and does not look like it is going to.