About This Message
Pastor Roy Jones taught Wednesday night Bible study from 1 Corinthians 7:1–16 — his topic: your life should honor God in your marriage. Paul planted the church at Corinth about five years before this letter; he spent its first six chapters correcting what had gone wrong, and chapter 7 answers the questions the Corinthians wrote to him. They were confused — false teachers had told them intimacy outside marriage didn't count, and some didn't know whether their own marriages were even legitimate. What follows is built from the night's teaching: singleness, the marriage bed, separation, and the mixed marriage — every state of life, brought under God's standard.
The Word — 1 Corinthians 7:1–16
1Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
1 Corinthians 7:1–2 (NKJV)
3Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
1 Corinthians 7:3–5 (NKJV)
6But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.
7For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.
8But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am;
9but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
1 Corinthians 7:6–9 (NKJV)
10Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband.
11But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:10–11 (NKJV)
12But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.
13And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.
14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
1 Corinthians 7:12–14 (NKJV)
15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace.
16For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
1 Corinthians 7:15–16 (NKJV)
9And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Matthew 19:9 (NKJV)
3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
1 Kings 11:3 (NKJV)
5Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:5 (NKJV)
The Message in a Sentence
Pastor Jones taught that Paul spent six chapters correcting Corinth — then chapter 7 answers the church's own questions, one after another: Is it good to touch? Whose body is it? What if we separate? What if my spouse doesn't believe? The answers are plain. Intimacy belongs inside marriage: one man, his own wife; one woman, her own husband. Affection is a duty spouses owe each other, not to be withheld except by agreement for a season of prayer. Singleness is an honorable gift — but it is better to marry than to burn. The married must not depart. And the believer whose unbelieving spouse is willing to stay should stay, for God has called us to peace. Over it all stands the topic: your life should honor God in your marriage.
The Arc of the Message
Opening — The Letter Corinth Wrote
Pastor Jones sets the scene: Paul, about five years out from planting the church, has spent six chapters straightening them out. Chapter 7 opens with their questions — "Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me." A confused church: common-law unions, arranged marriages, teachers saying intimacy outside marriage was only flesh and didn't count. They wrote the apostle to settle whether their marriages were even real.
Development — Verse by Verse Through 7:1–16
The fire inside the word "touch." One wife, one husband — not Solomon's seven hundred. The affection owed, bodies surrendered. "Do not deprive one another" — and Satan waiting on your lack of self-control. Paul's concession versus the Lord's command. Singleness honored; burning answered with marriage. Departure forbidden; reconciliation the goal of any separation.
Landing — "Is That Man Still Your Husband?"
A student puts the hard question out loud: after a divorce, is that man still your husband? "That's what Jesus said." Pastor Jones doesn't answer from opinion — he turns the whole class to Matthew chapter 19, to hear Jesus's own words on divorce. The transcript ends as he turns there.
Key Points
In His Own Words
Illustrations From the Message
Three Weddings in Corinth
Pastor Jones walked the class through how people got "married" in Corinth — and why the church was confused. There was common law: live together a year or more and Roman law counted you married. There was arrangement: a father in debt could give his daughter's hand and settle what he owed. And there was the traditional way: a ring, some cake, and vows. With all three running at once — and false teachers blessing intimacy outside all of them — believers wrote to Paul with the most basic question a married person can ask: Is my marriage even legitimate?
The Fire
Why does Paul say it is good "not to touch a woman"? Pastor Jones explained the word: in the Greek it carries arousal — it burns like a fire. A held hand, a little kiss — nothing wrong in itself, until it reaches the point of arousal. His counsel was plain: if you know you can't stop when you get to that point, don't get to that point. Don't light a fire you have no intention of tending.
SOIL — Go Deeper This Week
S — Scripture: Read 1 Corinthians 7:3–5 again. What does Paul say each spouse owes the other — and what is the only agreed exception?
O — Observation: Paul marks some words as his concession and others as the Lord's command (vv. 6, 10). Find both. Why does the distinction matter for how seriously we take each?
I — Interpretation: Why does Paul tell a believer married to an unbeliever to stay if the unbeliever is willing (vv. 12–16)? What does "God has called us to peace" have to do with it?
L — Life application: Which instruction in this chapter lands on your life — the fire you must not light, the affection you must not withhold, or the peace you must keep? Name one step you'll take this week.
Dig a Little Deeper
1. Corinth's confusion started with teachers who said intimacy outside marriage "didn't count" because it was only the flesh. What is our culture teaching about marriage and singleness — and where does it collide with chapter 7?
2. Paul says neither spouse has authority over their own body (v. 4). How should that reshape the way a husband and wife handle disagreement, distance, and unmet needs?
3. A student asked, "Is that man still your husband after the divorce? That's what Jesus said." Read Matthew 19:3–9 alongside 1 Corinthians 7:10–11. What do Jesus and Paul say together about the marriage covenant?
This Week's Challenge
Render what's due. If you're married: give your spouse the affection, attention, or help they've been needing — unasked, every day this week. If you're single: take the margin your singleness gives you and spend it the way Paul points — undivided, daily time with God.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for a word that honors You in every state of life. For the married among us, teach us to render the affection we owe — not holding back, not keeping score. For the single, make our singleness undivided devotion, never shame. Where there's confusion, be our clarity; where there's fire, be our self-control; where there's strain, be our peace and our way back to reconciliation. In Jesus' name, amen.