Your Undivided Devotion To The Lord

“I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.”

The Apostle Paul says these words within the broad context of marriage. The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 7 is devoted to the subject of marriage. Unlike so many Christians today who make jokes about marriage, the Apostle regarded marriage as a very serious privilege. Anything related to a covenant in the Bible is to be treated very seriously. It is one of the most distressing things when husbands make jokes about their wives to the detriment of their wives, and especially in the hearing of their wives. Of course, the same applies to wives but generally speaking it is husbands who are far more guilty of this practice. Such behavior is simply indicative of the fact that husbands have given up their responsibilities as leaders of their wives and their children. The wife is usually the stronger spiritually of the two in such circumstances.

So let us be very careful about what we say of each other. Let us, of course, be very careful about what we say in general.

In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle is concerned for the Corinthians. He does not want anyone to rush into marriage because the possibility of persecution was very strong. Paul refers to this persecution in verse 26 as “the present distress,” He talks about the “appointed time” having “grown very short” (vs. 29). He says that the “present form of this world is passing away” (vs. 31). I am inclined to see verses 29 and 31 as referring to the impending disaster of the destruction of Jerusalem. It hardly seems possible that the Apostle is forbidding marriage in general since we do know that the world is passing away, so I think he has something else in mind (namely, Jerusalem’s destruction). I am very much aware that there is disagreement over such interpretation, but the question needs to be answered. To what is Paul referring then, such that he would recommend not getting married?

Paul understands that being married means being divided in obligations and responsibilities (vv. 32-34). This is not a bad thing at all, but it does mean you have to think of someone else and that would be all the more difficult if you were facing persecution. Now the Apostle has given some incredible principles about marriage in this chapter. He advocates marriage and not divorce since being married affords the greatest possibility of bearing testimony for Christ to the unsaved spouse (vv. 10-16). He advocates prayer in marriage (vs. 5). He advocates good, constant physical relations in marriage (vv. 3-5). He speaks to the single (vv. 6-8) understanding that if you cannot control yourself sexually you should marry. From his own perspective he advocates remaining single or unmarried because it sharpens focus and service for Christ (vv. 8, 9, 27, 32, 34, 39). Paul advocates that marriage is binding for life and the only thing that breaks the marriage covenant is death (vs. 39). He urges self-control (vv. 1, 2, 5, 37). The world provides temptation and trouble (vv. 2, 28, 32-34).

Paul understands the obligations we face as married and unmarried. In 1 Corinthians 7, he wants them free of anxiety. Is this really the time for marriage when you or your spouse might be dead next week due to persecution? Paul is not against marriage. Far from it! He highly recommends it (see vs. 28). He desires to spare the Corinthians the burden of those obligations in view of possible suffering (vv. 32-34). So in verse 35, he says that it is not his intention to lay any restraint upon anyone, but he has two goals for them. The first goal is the promotion of good order, and the second goal is the securing of undivided devotion to the Lord.

Good order was necessary in Corinth, both in their church lives and personal lives. The Corinthian church had numerous problems, not least the desire and ambition for self-promotion. This self-promotion took place either through the elevation of someone else or themselves (i.e.; some follow Paul, some Peter, and some follow Christ, etc – see 1:10-13). Their church practice needed correcting (5:1-6; 11:1-34; 14:26-40). The good order Paul seeks, is right thinking, primarily in terms of the marriage issues he has been speaking about.

The result of biblical thinking will be an undivided devotion to the Lord. This applies to everything. Biblical thinking results in practice. How you think is reflected in action. Undivided devotion means having no loyalties elsewhere. A husband has loyalty to his wife and vice versa (vv. 32-34). The word used here for “undivided” refers to not being distracted. Nothing to cause you to deviate away from your course! The athlete fixes his eyes on the tape. The goal or end result is important. So what are you aiming at? Frankly, you can apply this to every aspect of your life. What is your goal as a husband or wife? What is your goal in business? What is your goal in conversation with a friend? Do you have ulterior motives? Ulterior motives are usually always seen except by the person who has them.

Paul applies this devotion to our relationship to the Lord. Is it undivided? Most of us will immediately say such devotion is not possible. But why not? You can do many things without distraction. You can focus on your work, your garden, your business, your homework, your husband, your wife, your children. So why not the Lord? We are far too quick to negate what is biblically advocated. We do this because we are spiritually negligent and lazy. We love to lower the standards of Christ so that we can reach them. Of course, by lowering them, they are no longer Christ’s and you have deceived yourself, and what you have attained is not the standard of Christ. Every Christian husband or wife ought to believe that their marriage will honor God and that they can achieve that. If you lower that standard, what do you have? You certainly don’t have God’s standard but one of your own making. Your place of employment has standards and principles of conduct. Why? Are they there so that you can say, “I can never reach those standards and they don’t really mean what they say”? You would be foolish to think like that. Your employer doesn’t think like that. He expects compliance. God expects compliance to his commandments doesn’t he? So how can we secure our undivided devotion to the Lord?

Here are a few suggestions.

1: Think biblically. How do you do that? You have to renew your mind (Rom. 12:2). How do you do that? Think on the Word. Spend time over the Word. Digest the Word. Write down your findings. Study slowly and carefully. Think! Think! Think! Listen to Scripture.

2: Practice your thinking. Apply the Word to every situation you encounter. Paul says in Romans 12:2 that it’s “by testing” that we “discern God’s will.” Testing what? Testing what you are thinking on.

3: Relate everything to Jesus. He is our life and our life is hidden in him. When faced with bad news, go to Christ. Commit all things to him. Be devoted in thought, in word, and in action. For those who do not believe that you can be devoted to the Lord completely then ask yourself this question: If God expects me to glorify him, how does he expect me to do that? He expects all of us to glorify him in our thinking, in our eating, in our drinking, and with our bodies (1 Cor. 10:31). God would never ask you to do that which he does not require. Nothing is impossible with God. We must learn to do things in his strength and in his way. Less of ourselves and more of Christ. Be undivided in your devotion.