ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 26, 2025
I have been doing some reading on the Apostle Paul’s sexual ethic. Some of you are thinking to yourself, “Bruce, find a hobby… consider stamp collecting.” Starting in 1st Corinthians 7, Paul sounds as if he is freestyling, just making it up as he goes. As you read the chapter, it reads like a stream of consciousness, as if Paul did not have the option of going back and editing the document on the computer. My point is that he bounces all over the place—both defending celibacy, which is his own choice. In fact, he writes: “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain unmarried as I am.” But then he qualifies his remarks by telling his readers to get married if they can’t control themselves because “it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion” (vs.9). Yet in vs. 17, it feels as if he throws up his arms in frustration and writes, “However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you. This is my rule in all the churches.” Many people might be scratching their heads, but to complicate matters further, this rather convoluted portion of scripture needs to be read with one particular line in mind. In vs. 26, Paul explains how his thinking is based upon “the impending crisis.” Paul believed the new age, which included the return of Jesus, was going to happen soon, probably within his lifetime and definitely within the lifetime of many of those reading 1st Corinthians. This raises an important question in my mind: since Paul was mistaken about the imminent return of Jesus, and his rambling attempt at a sexual ethic was based on the notion that Jesus was coming very soon, can we entirely disregard what Paul wrote in this chapter? I won’t share my thoughts on this question, but I will say that, regardless of your answer, be prepared to provide a compelling explanation for it.
Continue to guide me, Wise and Gracious Spirit, as I explore more deeply what it means to center my life on scripture, including portions of scripture that may not be relevant… or may have been built on an incorrect premise. Amen.
