If someone is attempting to take your picture, they will say to you, “Look at the camera,” and you are supposed to focus your eyes on the camera. When you do so, you will also be able to see other things that are going on around the individual who is taking the picture, and perhaps someone will pop into your field of vision to attempt to distract you and take your focus off of the camera. Well, part of the idea in our text has to do with this matter of having proper focus.

We can think about worship in similar terms. Some would say that worship pertains to all of life, pointing to Romans 12:1-2, and this is correct. Worship does involve all of life. But at the same time they may say that Sabbath worship is just the same, and we do not do anything different in Sabbath worship as we do during all the rest of the week. Really? I would say no, that is not the case. Sabbath worship has a particular place in the scheme of life, and Sabbath worship ought to be the focus or focal point of life when we consider all of life as worship. So we would make that kind of distinction.

Moving the circle out a little bit, we can think of all of life in similar terms. The Bible says, through the Apostle Paul, that we should look to heaven and keep our eyes on Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 12). And when we have a proper focus on Jesus Christ, other things in life will come into proper perspective.

This is the kind of thing you need to think about when we approach our text that has to do with married folks and unmarried folks and with stress, anxiety and worry. What you need to remember is that what Paul has to tell you in this text is that he wants undivided focus on Christ. How does he put it in verse 35? “Undistracted devotion” to Christ. This is the point that Paul is attempting to get across as he discusses these matters that concern marriage and worry or anxiety or concern: That you and I are to have a proper focus, and our focus is to be on Christ. You and I are to have, as he says, “undistracted devotion to the Lord.”

Paul Is Not Opposed to Marriage⤒🔗

As we get into this text, the first thing I want to say about the text is that Paul is not opposed to marriage. It would seem, if you pull these verses out of context and just look at these verses by themselves, that you might get the sense that Paul is opposed to marriage. This is not the case at all. In fact, if you look at the very beginning of 1 Corinthians 7, Paul says:

Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfil his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.1 Corinthians 7:1-5, NASB

Paul jumps in immediately and starts giving some directions with regard to married folks. He is quite concerned about this and does not want to back away from it. He talks about married folks having responsibilities toward one another, and that sexual relations within marriage are of utmost importance. And he tells us in other contexts that sexual relations are for the married state and you are not to participate in sexual relations outside of the married state. So Paul speaks about these things.

You recall also that in Ephesians 5 the Apostle Paul likens the relationship of a husband and wife to the relationship between Christ and the Church. He says to husbands, “Love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church” (Ephesians 5:25). And Paul teaches us (as the Bible teaches us in many places) that the marital relationship is special because the marital relationship is designed by God to reflect the love that God has for his own people. So individuals who are married have the opportunity to bear a special testimony to the world—a testimony concerning the love of God for his people. So this is the first thing I want you to get as we enter this text: Paul is not at all opposed to marriage.

The Context of “Present Distress”←⤒🔗

Another thing that is important for you to recognize in dealing with this particular text is that Paul speaks out of the context of what he calls this “present distress”:

I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.1 Corinthians 7:26-27, NASB

Paul is concerned about what he calls this “present distress.” What does he mean? Turn back to Luke 21. Earlier in the series we looked at Luke 21. Here Jesus is talking about the impending destruction of Jerusalem.

Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.Luke 21:23-24, NASB, emphasis added

The word has to do, it appears, with great distress that may come in the time of war or in the time of persecution. Going back to 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in his third year of missionary work in Ephesus. This was probably in the early- or mid-50s in the first century. Nero, who was the Emperor, became known for the persecution of Christians. In 64 AD there was a great fire in Rome and almost 70 percent of the city of Rome was destroyed. At that time most of the buildings were wood frame. It was only after this great fire that the wider streets and the great marble buildings were erected, and it was because of this great fire. There were rumours about Nero wanting the fire because he hated the squalor of Rome. There were rumours about Nero himself starting the fire, and in order to divert attention he blamed the Christians. There was the persecution of Christians that then began to take place. If you look in your history, this was the first great persecution of Christians. Then when Nero committed suicide, Vespasian took his place. It was Vespasian's son Titus who sacked Jerusalem. Later, Domitian initiated persecutions. History says that the persecutions under Domitian were the second great phase of persecutions.

Paul was really concerned about this sort of thing. He was concerned about this sort of thing because he felt keenly the fact that individuals and couples would be placed in compromised positions. You can imagine what might take place. If your husband or your wife were arrested by the Roman authorities because they professed faith in Christ, and they would say to you as a spouse, “Unless you recant your Christian faith, we are going to kill your husband,” what do you do in a circumstance like that?

In 2006 a FOX News reporter and his cameraman were apprehended in the Gaza Strip by the Palestinians. They were kidnapped and they were held for some time. When they were released, this FOX News man reported that the Palestinians had said to them, “Unless you profess the Muslim faith and recant the Christian faith, we are going to kill you.” What do you do? They said, “We embraced Islam and they released us.” There is only one problem with that. Jesus says, “If you refuse to confess me before men, I will not confess you before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10). This is serious business. And Paul was deeply concerned about this sort of thing. So this is why there is this note about the “present distress” in the context in 1 Corinthians 7.

Concern Versus Anxiety←⤒🔗

Let's look at the text itself a little bit more closely, because I would like you to see the use of the term concern, or anxiety (however they may be translated in the Bible you are using) and also the term virgin, or betrothed. Verse 32: “But I want you to be free from concern” (New American Standard Version). Well, if you get this note of the terror that might be behind persecution, you might want to translate that word as “anxiety,” and not just care or concern. Last week we put the translations of this term on a spectrum: On the end “anxiety,” and on the other end “care,” or “concern.” It is the same word, but it is used in different ways. If you look in a dictionary and look up any word, you will see that every word has what is called a range of meanings. In other words, there are [several, or sometimes many] different uses of the same term. It depends on the context. So what we are doing is we are looking at the context here a little bit.

Verse 32: “But I want you to be free from concern” (free from anxiety). “One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord.” I would prefer the word “concern” here, or that you have a deep care for the things of the Lord. I would say the proper translation would be along that line, not the kind of anxiety that eats at the heart and results in an ulcerated stomach. That is not what Paul is talking about in this part of the text.

One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world.

Now you might say “is anxious about the things of the world,” or worries about the things of the world. Again, consider the context.

…how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided.1 Corinthians 7:32b-34a, NASB

I will tell you a little story on myself here. When we moved to Pittsburgh, I was very concerned about my wife coming to Pittsburgh—someone who grew up in the middle of Kansas and coming to Pittsburgh. The first time we drove from Geneva College to Pittsburgh to take a look at the seminary, we were coming down the parkway and she said to me, “I am getting a little claustrophobic.” She couldn't see the horizon. My concern was raised. I wanted a place for us to live where she would be happy. This is the kind of thing that Paul is talking about: “His interests are divided.”

The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit…

“Concerned about the things of the Lord”: Having a proper care for the things of the Lord. I think this is Paul’s emphasis here.

…but the one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.1 Corinthians 7:34, NASB

We might say “anxious” or “worried.” Do you see how this is working in the text?

The Term “Virgin”←⤒🔗

Now, let's go back and look at another term here. Paul uses the word “virgin.” I think it is important for us to see this.

But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord.1 Corinthians 7:32-34a, NASB

In the English Standard Version it says the woman who is unmarried and the betrothed. I think that translation is entirely wrong. This is a particular idea that some of the commentators have, but I say to you I think this translation is wrong, because the word in the original language is virgin, and when the Gospels speak about Mary as betrothed to Joseph the Gospels use a word that does mean betrothed. It is a different word. This is imposing something on the text.

So what do we have? The woman who is unmarried. The unmarried woman here, or the unmarried person here, in this text might be the person who has never been married or it might be the widow or widower (the person who has been married but has lost their spouse), and furthermore, the unmarried person here might be a divorced person. I think Paul has this in mind. Look at verse 15 in our text:

Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.1 Corinthians 7:15, NASB

Paul is talking about desertion—the desertion of an unbelieving spouse. And Paul is teaching (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that you are no longer bound in marriage when an unbelieving spouse deserts you. This would have been a situation in which the Corinthians likely found themselves, because some of them were converted to faith in Christ out of paganism and they had a spouse who was not a believer.

Then in verse 34: “The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin.” Then you come to the unmarried person and the virgin—the individual who has maintained before marriage sexual purity. Not all would have done that, because they came out a pagan culture. I am convinced more and more that our culture today is much like the culture we find in the New Testament. Pagan. I say to you, young people especially, who are not yet married: Preserve yourself for marriage. Sexual relations are for marriage, not before marriage. Now, some of you may have sinned and some of you may have fallen. Okay. Flee to Christ. Beg the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Beg the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. And begin again and preserve yourself. These are important matters, and Paul considers these important matters.

Be Concerned about the Things of the Lord←⤒🔗

As we look at the text further, Paul is giving to you and me general principles. This is another thing that is important for us to understand. Listen to how the Apostle Paul puts this: “But I want you to be free from concern” (verse 32). I want you to be free from anxiety. I want you to be free from care. He wants you to be free—not from all care, not from all worry (that is impossible), but he wants you to be free from the particular kind of worry and care that arises, because of the present distress and the possibility of persecution, in the marriage relationship. The kind of stress that might arise in that kind of a situation.

“One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord” (verse 32). This is a general principle. The reason I say it is a general principle is because I know people who are Christians and who are not married and who are not concerned properly about the things of the Lord. It is a general principle that Paul is dealing with. “But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife” (verse 33). Well, I know people (and I suspect some of you in this room are in this category) that are married and have a proper concern for their family and a proper concern for their spouse, but they also focus properly on Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ has done and what Jesus Christ has done for you. Paul is speaking in general terms.

But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. 1 Corinthians 7:33-34a, NASB

Dare I say this? I fear that there are those who are unmarried who are not concerned adequately about being holy in body and spirit. If that fits you, you need to repent, you need to change your ways, you need to amend your thinking and you need to amend your conduct. This is part of what arises from the text. As Paul lays out these general principles, he is telling you and me that in marriage, as in the single life, have the proper perspective. Have the proper perspective on the world and on the things of the Lord.

The Things of the World and the Things of Christ←↰⤒🔗

Let's look at our text again. There is a tension in the text. Paul says, “I want you to be free from concern” (verse 32). Those are powerful words. That is his ultimate desire. “One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord” (verse 32). There is a proper concern that you and I should have for the things of the Lord, whether married or unmarried. And you will have a proper concern for the things of the Lord when you have your priorities straight. When you have your times of prayer, when you study the Bible and when you fellowship with God's people, you will have a proper concern about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, how to live for him. “But the one who is married is concerned about the things of the world” (verse 33). You see the tension? The tension is between the things of the Lord on the one hand, and the things of the world on the other hand, the cares of the world.

We rehearsed some of the cares of the world: Worry about clothing, worry about food, worry about shelter or worry about how we will present ourselves. The cares of the world! We worry about these things. Have a proper perspective on these things! Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The proper perspective on the things of the world. We are in this tension between the things of the Lord that we know we need to pursue and the things of the world that pull on us.

The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.1 Corinthians 7:34, NASB

There is that tension again: The things of the world and the things of the Lord. I think in verse 32, when Paul says, “But I want you to be free from concern,” he is recognizing that we exist in this tension in this world. And what does Paul want in the end? Undistracted, undivided devotion to Christ! This is what we need to pursue.

Undivided Focus on Christ←↰⤒🔗

This is what he tells us in verse 35: “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you.” He is not saying marriage is bad. And let me say this: He is not saying the single life is bad either. If you are single and God has put you in that position, God has given you a gift to be single. I think in many circumstances being single is a special gift. I really do! If that happens to be your gift, praise God! Walk in your gift.

This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.1 Corinthians 7:35, NASB

In other words, focus on Christ. I am glad you are here today, because if you are here and your desire is to meet with Christ and to learn from Christ, you have a proper perspective. And that is what you should be after. In the end, this is what Paul is telling you. Where there is this tension (the things of the world pulling in one direction and the things of the Lord pulling in another direction), Paul is saying: Seek undivided devotion to Christ. And what happens is that the things of the world fall into a proper perspective and you take care of the things of the world without the anxiety that so many people are consumed with. Undivided devotion to Christ then becomes the answer to bad stress and anxiety.

In my introductory preaching class, I have my students memorize a definition of preaching: Preaching is God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—communicating his truth in our world to people in the pews through human instruments in order to change their thinking, bridal their emotions, and alter their wills for the purpose of converting sinners, sanctifying saints, and preparing people for heaven. When you and I are together in the preaching moment, the important thing is that God is communicating his truth to you. That is why you are here. And his objective is to bring your thinking into conformity to the thinking of Christ and his Word, to work on your emotional structure and complex and bring your emotions into conformity to the man Christ Jesus, and to alter and fix your will so that you resolve to pursue and seek undivided devotion to Christ.

And in this, God's purpose is to convert sinners—to convert men and women and young people and children—to faith in Christ. You must believe in Jesus Christ, the crucified One, who paid the debt of sin on the cross. You must believe in this Jesus. And further, God's purpose is to sanctify men and women and young people and children, to draw them closer to Jesus Christ in an undivided devotion to Jesus Christ. And God's purpose is to prepare you for heaven. The Bride of Christ prepared for heaven! What a privilege it is!

And when you reach heaven, there will be undivided devotion to Jesus Christ. The tension between the draw of the world and the cares of the Lord will be gone, because there will be undivided devotion to Jesus Christ. Some of you will not like or appreciate this aspect of it as much right now, but you will later: There will no longer be any need for marriage in heaven. There is no longer marriage or the giving in marriage, because we will all celebrate together the marriage feast of the Lamb and we will be united to Christ and experience undivided devotion to Christ.

This is Paul's exhortation to you under the Holy Spirit: Seek undivided devotion to Christ. When he talks about the worry of the world and he talks about concern for the things of the Lord, he is pointing you and me to Jesus Christ. And he is saying that this is where you are going, this is where you are headed: To a life of undivided devotion to Jesus Christ. Christ will bring you there. And now, in this period as you wait for that time to occur, your task is to seek undivided devotion to Jesus Christ. That is the exhortation of the Holy Spirit for you.