you and the Lord. The Christian counsellor is not even injected. We have to decide, in the light of God's Word, what is going to be acceptable. We surely have to see Paul's point which would be, "Do not get married just because every body else is doing it." We must realize that marriage is demanding. This theme dominates the chapter. It is entirely a matter of priorities as the Lord would lead. In verses 32 and 33 the Apostle sees mar riage as a distraction from the great est extension possible in Christian service. He also recognizes that marriage is not desirable unless there is great dedication on the part of both individuals (vrs. 3-5). A marriage partner is not to get too involved in prayer and fasting since he has a partner with atten dant obligations and concerns for personal needs. The second major point is the permanency of marriage. Biblically there is no question but that once one is married he ought to remain that way, and to the same person (vs. 10). In the day in which this was written there was a very real conflict over whether a person could get a quick divorce. The pat tern for this was given in Deuter onomy 24:1. The liberality with which marriages were dissolved in Corinth was amazing. All a Jewish man had to do was to write a bill of divorce, and he was free. Dur ing Christ's ministry there were those who came trying to trap Him on this point (Matthew 19:3). He told the evil-motivated Pharisees, "Have ye not read, that He which
made them at the beginning made them male and female, And Said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and the twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore Cod hath joined togeth er, let no man put asunder." The legalists argued, "But what about Moses who gave opportunity to write out a bill of divorcement?" Christ pointed out that such was granted because of the hardness of their hearts. The only exception
Dave Bicker (center), Associate Professor of Communications, in class discussion during summer session.
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