In which unsuspecting students are bombarded with the Triune God.

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul does a little question-and-response session to the church in Corinth. Unfortunately, the church’s questions did not end up as part of the Bible, but we can infer that they sent Paul a letter asking some questions, to which Paul referred in verse 1. I imagine it sounded a little like a Dear Abby column, but set in the early first century:

Dear Paul,

I noticed you aren’t married. Is it bad for Christians to marry? What if I’m married already? Should we separate? Are all spiritual Christians celibate? Or what if my spouse is not saved? Surely it is not good for Christians to be married to a non-Christian, but divorce isn’t condoned by the Bible. What should I do? Or what about my daughter? Should I keep her from getting married?

We also have some brothers and sisters who were slaves before they were saved, and their masters are saved also. But if we’re brother and sister, does that mean that the masters must free their slaves when they are saved? Or what if they’re slaves and their masters do not believe?

Sincerely,

Anxious-and-troubled-about-many-things (Luke 10:40).

These believers genuinely love the Lord, and therefore, they’re genuinely concerned about how to live a life for God, in a proper way. But this manifested as their asking many, many questions about proper Christian practice. In other words, “What do we do?”

Paul answered very deliberately. For some things, he clearly said, “I am not saying this, but the Lord.” For other things, he said, “This is not a commandment from the Lord, but I am giving my opinion.” And most mysteriously, in verse 40, he gives his opinion, but he also quips, “But I think I have the Spirit of God.” The manner in which he spoke is well embodied by verse 35: “This I say for your own profit, not that I may put a noose upon you but that you may be comely and may wait on the Lord without distraction.”

There are several key differences between the way God speaks in the Old Testament and the New Testament highlighted in this chapter. In the Old Testament, what we should do is very clearly delineated — and repercussions for not doing so are specified as well. In the New Testament, our law is an inward one, written on our hearts; though some choices are better than others, the main goal is that we would wait upon the Lord without distraction, no matter what we end up doing outwardly. For each person, God’s leading may be different. Some may marry. Some may not. Those who do, do well. Those who do not, do better. All is well, as long as we wait on the Lord without distraction. The law is no longer a noose, but it is the law of the Spirit of life, which frees us (Rom 8; 2 Cor 3). In the Old Testament, prophets spoke directly the word of God as borne by the Holy Spirit (“Thus saith the LORD”); in the New, he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor 6). We may speak, giving our opinion, but we may also have the Spirit of God (1 Cor 7:40). What a mysterious union! Does that mean we don’t necessarily know when we are one with God, but we may have an inkling that such a union is taking place? This chapter appears to confirm such an interpretation. Though Paul didn’t seem 100% sure whether he was speaking from the Lord in this chapter, it ended up being included in the Holy Scripture by God’s sovereignty, and 2 Tim 3:16 says all Scripture is God-breathed. Paul’s uncertainty became the breath of God. Isn’t that marvelous?

Every so often, undergrads reach out to me for career advice (I made a video for a biomedical engineering intro class a few years ago; it haunts me still), and this week I sat down with one. Every time this happened when I was in undergrad, I would have my usual spiel. Work hard, do what you love, break your bad habits, and here are some opportunities I would recommend. But since I got back from Bible school, I feel my career advice has changed in nature. This week, a student asked, “What keeps you going to achieve all the things you’ve accomplished?” I twisted my lips, thinking how to phrase my thoughts nicely, and then gave up. “If I could do undergrad again, I wouldn’t have spent so much time on those things. At the end of the day, a plaque is a piece of wood with a thin sheet of metal slapped on top, and a certificate is a fancy piece of paper that you have to be extra careful not to fold. There are things in life that matter, and being real, your GPA, your awards, your career, your income, and your possessions don’t. I think it’s really important to find out what really matters, and pursue it with everything you are.” Then I proceeded to tell him about eternity in his heart, and about how all my effort produced fruit that did not satisfy the God-shaped space yawning in my being. My voice got more animated and loud — a classmate of mine sitting nearby started to look over. I didn’t care. Honestly, I saw a bit of myself in this teenager, and I didn’t want him to waste time the way I did. Could I make him see what I saw? Maybe not. I hope that at least he got a glimpse. After I shared, there was a beat. He came full of questions, but he seemed not to know what to say. So he swung the topic back around to how he could stop procrastinating. Later on in the conversation, he asked, “Do you have a Bible verse or something that motivates you when you just don’t want to do anything?” I told him, “I used to have those. I would kind of repeat it to myself, like an encouraging mantra. But there’s a verse that says the Bible is God’s very breath. So now, when I just can’t do it, I spend some time breathing in God, whether by reading the Bible, or praying a verse back. That feeling — He is really with me! — is what keeps me going.” As I was speaking, inwardly I was calling on the Lord, asking, Lord, what do You want to say to this student?

I don’t know if I spoke from myself or whether I had the Spirit of God. But… (am I allowed to say this? Is only Paul allowed to say this?) I think I had the Spirit of God. After the student left, I was filled with inward joy. (Then I turned back to my notes and started to study again. Some things never change.)