October 15 – 1 Corinthians 7:32-40

It is love, not knowledge, that forms the basis of Christianity. Paul wrote letters to the church at Corinth to emphasize this point and lead the Corinthians back into right relationship with God and others. Join our study by reading today’s scripture below and journaling about it using SOAP (click on the “What’s SOAP?” link above to learn more). Below today’s scripture is an example SOAP from our team. Whether it’s your first time reading the Bible or you’ve been doing daily devotions for decades, God will use this One Thing to speak to you. We love hearing from you! Please use the comment section of our website to share your SOAP, thoughts or questions on the reading, or prayer requests. Join us as we build unity and community through God’s Word!

1 Corinthians 7:32-40 32 I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better. 39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

SOAP Note

Marriage Advice | Becky Newman

Scripture

1 Corinthians 7:34b-35

Observation

Paul seems so jaded to marriage! It’s almost like he’s trying to justify his choice to be single. Nonetheless, this is God’s Word, and God’s Word is Truth, even when it’s flavored through Paul’s experiences. His point here is that we can find ourselves in a divided situation as wives, trying to please God and also trying to please hubby. And sometimes these things can be in conflict. Because we’re sharing the same house with hubby, his needs seem to be more pressing; thus pleasing him can easily out-prioritize pleasing God, to bring peace to the home, at least temporarily.

Application

As a married woman, I’d flavor these verses a little differently. to live in undivided devotion to the Lord means seeking to please God first and through pleasing my husband. The two should not be divided but beautifully interwoven, and when conflict between the two arises, pleasing God should win. Marriage is a beautiful union and commitment, and it should bring me closer to You.

Prayer

Lord, may my body and spirit be undivided, pleasing You first and above all, which includes pleasing my husband and filling the role You have called me to in his life. May Your peace reign in our home.

The Discover One Thing main website follows a reading plan that goes through the entire Bible in one year. Click HERE to check out today’s Discover One Thing post.