Discussion Questions

• Read through the whole passage.

• Some of the Corinthian teachers are trying to lead the church into celibacy which is allowable (and celebrated) by Scripture, but not prescribed. What are some times in your life that you’ve seen teachers or others lead people astray by defining their faith by the things they don’t do instead of what Christ did?

• What call (or calls) to remain in your circumstances stand out most to you? It may help to first discuss some different categories of circumstances; the way the can be defined is not neat, but worth discussing. For example: ethnicity, vocation, family of origin, socio-economic status, sexual desire, personality, personal sin struggles, marital status, and more.

• This is an in-depth question, but discuss the different ways that living in the circumstances of the different examples (married, single, married to non-Christian, embracing ethnicity, societal snobbery due to vocation, betrothed and choose to marry, betrothed and stay bethrothed) display the Gospel.

o For example, if you are single, have you ever felt like you would be more valuable to God or the church if you were married? Or vice versa, if married, have you ever thought that you would be more impactful for the kingdom if you were single? How does Paul encourage us in those circumstances?

• In this section, Paul is in majority discussing a sexual ethic instead of a marital manifesto. Have you ever viewed sexuality and what we do with it as a stewardship from God that is entrusted to you? Or have you always simply viewed it as something to stop doing?

• Do you find yourself more often considering Jesus as Savior or as Lord? How can we be encouraged and refreshed by considering him as both?

• What are circumstances that you face today that you want to hit eject on, but recognize that God has called you to remain in and steward for His glory?

• Paul gives an allowance for changing circumstances, but still pushed remaining in circumstances as the norm for Christians. Is that the way we view changing circumstances? Is this a corrective for us today when our society is so mobile and more able to change our circumstances than any generation before us?

Deeper Dive for Discussion

• We see in Paul encouraging the bondservant to get his freedom and telling us not to become slaves to men (in the bondservant sense) the Christian expectation of bondservant-ness (or slavery) being eradicated in a Christian sense. How can that help inform our current national conversation around race? Especially when paired with the expectation that people will embrace their ethnicity? If you are a part of ethnic majority culture, how can you help those in minority culture not believe that they need to be ethnically different than what they are? If you are part of the ethnic minority culture, have you ever felt pressured to conform to majority culture expectations of expression of faith? How can you help majority culture Christians see that and change?

• When Paul says that he has or does not have a command from the Lord, does that mean some things are Scripture and some things are not? No, he is simply saying that on some of these matters he had words directly from Jesus himself while on other matters Paul is giving his judgement as an apostle (and as Holy Spirit inspired Scripture).

• Paul seems to land inconclusively on the pros and cons of marriage and singleness. Why do you think he does this? How should we evaluate those things? IS one more worthy and valuable than another?