…the appointed time has grown very short.
1 Corinthians 7:25-40
Paul’s counsel to betrothed Christians in Corinth that it is good for them not to go through with marriage seems unusual but, it is most likely based on unique circumstances confronting the church at that time. Understanding the Corinthian church’s circumstances allows us to apply Paul’s instruction for the church today. Paul gives certain advice which takes into account the reality that “the appointed time has grown very short.” Some theologians believe that Paul is referring to Christ’s second coming and Paul writes in other letters as if he believed in its imminent realization. But, in verse 26, he refers to the special distress afflicting the Corinthian church. In other writings where Paul is writing about Christ’s return, his directive to the believers is to continue living just as if the world is going to continue on for some time. For instance, 2 Thessalonians 3:12—after an earlier discussion of the man of sin who will appear at the end of the world— Paul instructs Christians not to make a great fuss or stop working but to live quietly and continue laboring to support themselves. Paul wants to emphasize that the imminent return of the Lord should motivate faithfulness in “normal life” ways. Here, Paul’s instruction regarding the “appointed time” is different. Paul writes to live in ways that do not reflect an enduring existence in this world. Whatever the appointed time may be, since the response to it is not to continue “normal life,” it must not be the return of Christ but a period that will soon pass. Therefore, Paul thinks it better, though not required, to abstain temporarily from certain features of everyday life. Nevertheless, Paul’s justification for thinking it better to abstain temporarily from some parts of normal life is not grounded only in the passing nature of the distress that was confronting the Corinthian church. Paul is thinking primarily not of the imminent return of Christ but of the transitory reality of the present created order. He notes that the “present form of this world is passing away.” That truth should affect how tightly we hold on to anything in this world. Good advice from an old theologian, “Possess what you must shortly leave without suffering yourselves to be possessed by it.” While God allows us to enjoy His creation, believers must be careful not to become inordinately attached to the things of this world, no matter how good they are. They are passing away and a new heaven and earth is coming.
Source: S C Ball October 31, 2023
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