1 Corinthians 7

[Iconoclast]

KRN....

12For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

13For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

14And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,

16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

17Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Paul sometimes teaches what directly Jesus revealed to Him by special revelation. Sometimes he teaches what he learned from the other apostles.
Sometimes he teaches or answers a question, and does not have a direct quote from Jesus or the apostles, so he offers the teaching on his own authority as an apostle,saying that he believes he has the mind of the Spirit on the answer he offers

 

[kyredneck]

KRN.......so he offers the teaching on his own authority as an apostle,saying that he believes he has the mind of the Spirit on the answer he offers

Hello Icon,

Do you think he was advising Christian slaves down through all the ages to remain slaves? Or widows in all times to remain widows? Or the young in all times not to marry? Is this to be construed as normal Pauline teaching? Seems a bit extreme to me and out of sync with the rest of scripture. I personally believe the ONLY reason he was giving such extreme advise AND making it known that it was his advice, was because he was convinced that the times were indeed extreme and short.

v 26.....by reason of the distress that is upon us...

v 29.....the time is shortened....

v 31.......for the fashion of this world passeth away

 

[menageriekeeper]

Sorry Krn, I haven't been able to post much here lately and somehow I missed this:

I believe the Christians of that day understood the significance of the words of John the Baptist when he warned of the wrath to come, and told them that even now the axe lieth at the root of the tree. They understood, that meant soon. The Christians of that era never disputed or negated the words of Christ when He spoke of the days of vengeance and the end of the age that was going to happen before that generation passed away. They understood something huge was imminent. I've no reason to doubt that they were aware of these beginning of signs that were happening in and around Judea. JFB on the date of writing of 1st Corinthians: “...the date of the Epistle is fixed with tolerable accuracy, about Easter, certainly before Pentecost, in the third year of his residence at Ephesus, A.D. 57.”

The first problem I see is that there were no Christians during the time of John the Baptist. JtB died before Christ and at that time Christ was preaching to the Jews. Sorry, just had to point that out.

Now, I do believe that the Jews understood the possibilities preached by JtB and Christ. I also believe that the Jews understood perfectly that soon in God's eyes doesn't exactly mean soon as we define the word.

As for what the Corinthians understood, I believe they knew "something" was happening, even if they didn't understand the significance of it.

I also believe that many times scripture can apply to many periods of time all at the same time. There may be a "now" event that fullfills or seems to fullfill a prophecy or cultural event (such as this) and at the same time the scripture may also point toward a future event.

Do you think he was advising Christian slaves down through all the ages to remain slaves? Or widows in all times to remain widows? Or the young in all times not to marry?

Not Icon, but let me put in my two cents: Paul isn't demanding that any of these do exactly what he says. The point isn't to follow the leader as it were, but to further the Kingdom by being the best witness possible. A slave can't be a good witness regarding submission to God, when he refuses to obey his master and is constantly running away. Paul dealt with some of slave/master issues in Philemon.

Widows? Well, I don't know about your wife, but I'm done being married when death parts me from my dh. This isn't an insult to my husband either. However, I am limited in what I can do for Christ (and otherwise) by my marriage. It is just a fact of life. I can't be running creation and leaving him to fend for himself, nor can I leave my children for the same reason. Nor can he leave me for the same reasons. We are bound to each other and that necessarily reduces what we can do to spread the word.

and so on..... Paul gives good advice and it lasts through the generations whether or not it was originally intended for pre-70 AD audiences.

 

[Pastor Larry]

It seems to me that Paul is making a definite distinction between his own judgments as an Apostle endowed with authority, and commandments directly from the Lord.

Yes, he is, and in so doing is illustrating that his judgments are equal to those of the Lord himself.

 

[menageriekeeper]

Now, Pastor Larry, I don't think Paul ever compared his own opinions/judgments to be equal to those of Christ. How could the "cheif of sinners" ever think to make that comparison?

 

[kyredneck]

Yes, he is, and in so doing is illustrating that his judgments are equal to those of the Lord himself.

Hello Pastor Larry,

I presume you are a pastor. Just curious, take as an example a young woman in your Church with young children who's husband was killed in Afghanistan. She meets and falls in love with another Christian man. Do you give her Paul's advice that it's best she remain a widow? Or young Christian lovers, do you give them Paul's advice that it's best to remain single?

 

[kyredneck]

Hello Pastor Larry,

I presume you are a pastor. Just curious, take as an example a young woman in your Church with young children who's husband was killed in Afghanistan. She meets and falls in love with another Christian man. Do you give her Paul's advice that it's best she remain a widow? Or young Christian lovers, do you give them Paul's advice that it's best to remain single?

Actually I'd like to pose these questions to any pastors here on the BB. And it applies to any widow whether she's 30, 40, or sixty. If she's met and fell in love with another Christian man, do you advise her that it's best to remain as she is? And the same for those who have never been married. Do you advise them not to marry?