God’s will for all mankind includes, having our undivided devotion to Himself,
this may seem like an unattainable ideal from the natural man’s perspective,
but it’s a scriptural instruction in 1 Corinthians 7, which is coupled to God’s help for His children,
and through this, the Saints can live in unity, so that we bear fruit as one body in Christ to the glory of God, building up each other in love, and being light to those in the world who are to be heirs of salvation.

We’re told in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.“.
Then in verse 16, “But we have the mind of Christ.“, but still, since the fall of man, the corrupt nature of each person and the evil one, have been attempting to govern God’s creation, in every aspect of our being, including our:

  • relationships
  • emotions
  • possessions
  • and responsibilities

But God has provided the way for His children to be governed according to His will, rather than by the will of the natural man or the evil one.
The new man has the the mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit in him, God’s face toward him, and the Word of God in his hand, and from this Word of God, we read again in 1 Corinthians 7:26-35:

26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 

29 This is what I mean, brethren:
the appointed time has grown very short.
From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 
30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning,
and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing,
and those who buy as though they had no goods, 
31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.
For the present form of this world is passing away.
32 I want you to be free from anxieties.

The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 
33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided.
34 And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit.
But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 
35 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.

1 Corinthians 7:25-35

In his Biblical overview of Corinthians, Pastor John MacArthur wrote:
“Unable to fully break with the culture from which it came,
the church at Corinth was exceptionally factional, showing its carnality and immaturity.“

1 Corinthians includes instruction to deal with many problems which the Corinthians were having. Essentially, they were governing their lives by earthly minds, just as the unsaved do, rather than with an eternal Godly perspective by the Spirit, through the mind of Christ.

We’re told in Romans 8:13

For if you live according to the flesh you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.

And we’re told in Galatians 5:17 that “the flesh craves what is contrary to the spirit“.

We need to be regularly submitting our perception to the Word of God, which gives clear distinction between spirit and soul. For example Paul wrote foundational guidelines in 1 Timothy 5, to equip us for the ministry of the gospel of reconciliation, by promoting selflessness and unity through godly love within the church. The exhortation teaches us to view and acknowledge each other in love, as family members,
he wrote:

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, 
younger men as brothers,
older women as mothers,
younger women as sisters, in all purity.

1 Timothy 5:1

In consideration of Viewing each other as family as directed in Timothy, some have said:
“they’ve never had a respectful relationship with either their father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, or all of them”, so, based on what they’ve experienced, they may not feel that the application of Paul’s words to Timothy, would help any relationships in the church, but we’re not being told to apply corrupt relationship systems in the body of Christ;
When humility and love are practised with forgiveness, there are godly relationships in families.

We’re to base our relationships with Jesus’s earthly family, on His commandments that are provided and intended by Him to be the condition of natural relationships.
Natural relationships are in order when they’re governed by the spirit rather than the flesh.

Marriage relationships:
My first priority in relating to my wife, is to regard her as a dear sister in Christ.
Recognising that she won’t be my wife in heaven, as we’re told in Matthew 22:23-30:

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27  And last of all, the woman died.
28  In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.”
Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.

Matthew 22:23-30

This relational aspect is also taught in 1 Peter 3:7

Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel,
and with honour as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life,
so that your prayers will not be hindered.

  • This spiritual perspective doesn’t dismiss the responsibilities and blessings of the present earthly conditions, which are granted by God for those who have committed to spousal relationships.
    But earthly relationships should not to be primary governing factors among Christians.

Jesus taught this aspect of the spiritual priority over the natural, on a number of occasions, such as in Luke 2:43,

43  When those days were over and they were returning home, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware He had stayed.
Assuming He was in their company, they travelled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends. and when they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

48 When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”
“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

Luke 2:43-46,48,49

then in Mark 3:31

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside.
They sent someone in to summon Him, and a crowd was sitting around Him.
“Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside, asking for You.”
But Jesus replied,
“Who are My mother and My brothers?”
Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said,
“Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:31-35

and again in John 19

but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” 
And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

John 19:25-27

Here again, reasoning is directed to the spiritual realities that should be governing our lives.
Philippians 2:1 also refers to a governing factor in our relationships of service to each other, being the knowledge of having been created in God’s image and likeness:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 
2 complete my joy by being of the same mind,
having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. 
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:1-8

In the 1st letter to the Corinthians in 1:10, Paul greets the saints in love, as brothers, or brethren, these words are both translated from the Greek word adelphos meaning from the womb.
Jesus also used the same word when He instructed Mary after His resurrection:

Jesus said to her, “… go to my brethren and say to them, 
‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

John 20:17

Jesus’s inclusion here, of His believing followers being spiritually related to Him from the womb, is also reiterated when Jesus said “my Father and your Father“, and Paul spoke to the Corinthian saints in Chapter 3, similarly as to how he instructed Timothy, by viewing and treating other Christians as brethren in Christ.

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people,
but as people of the flesh,
as infants in Christ. 
2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.
And even now you are not yet ready, 
3 for you are still of the flesh.
For while there is jealousy and strife among you,
are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Paul’s observation and rhetorical question:

“For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?“, is by contrast, the expression of God’s greater desire for us to exercise the spiritual mind of Christ with heavenly aligned perspective.

Now to review that section in 1 Corinthians 7:29-32, containing the heavenly aligned perspective again:

This is what I mean, brethren: the appointed time has grown very short.
From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 
30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning,
and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing,
and those who buy as though they had no goods, 
31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.
For the present form of this world is passing away.
32 I want you to be free from anxieties.

1 Corinthians 7:29-32

We’re told that the time is very short:
God delivered through Paul, a reminder here of our heavenly future, how our thoughts and activities should be governed by the hope of Christ receiving the saints, whether that be at the glorious appearing of Christ and our ascension as being changed in half the blink of an eye, or by our union with Him through death of the body.

  • Then we’re told:
    • though some of what is written, is guidelines on managing natural relationships in natural terms, this is milk, I’d prefer you were guided in your thoughts, tongues and actions, by the Word of God from a spiritually mature perspective which is meat, then you’ll bear the fruit of righteousness in unity among the body of Christ, and the world will see Christ in you.
  • So for those of us who are married, rather than largely basing our reason for fulfilling our responsibilities to our spouse, on natural grounds,
    • we can fulfil our responsibilities to our spouse through the fruits of the spirit, having affection, but not being governed by it, because our primary affection and hope is founded on Christ,
      and if by any means we no longer have a spouse,
      • we’re not overcome or laboured with mourning in natural grief or bitterness, as those who are not governed by the mind of Christ.
      • instead, we’re sustained in the peace of God that surpasses all understanding,
      • because our strength and reason for living has been based on our undivided love of God,
      • being intimately firstly in fellowship with him.
  • And for the unmarried, they are already individually able to serve God undivided in their commitment, fulfilling their responsibilities to the church and to those that are to receive salvation, in whatever way God directs them throughout each day.
  • Then regarding mourning and joy,
    • We don’t mourn as those who have no hope! because we have the hope of Jesus having gone to prepare a place for us, and of His appearance to receive the Saints, and of a resurrected body.
      Though we mis those who have gone, we look forward ourselves to being in Christ’s presence, where there’s no corruption of any form.
    • Joy:
      When we have joy and rejoicing, these are not highs we’re chasing after that are likely followed by a low or a plateau; and they’re not a momentary adrenaline rush which can be just as quickly emotionally reversed,
      • but instead, we’re to live in the peace and consistency of the joy and rejoicing of our rest and hope in God through Christ and His promises, where our disposition is stable, being fed by Christ, and our fellowship with Him in the Saints.
      • This is what we speak of with each other when we come together on Sundays before and after the service,
        • and when we interact throughout the week,
        • these are the rich blessings and gems of the Word of God and of His providence throughout the week,
        • not the conversations of the cares of this world which are like the thorns mentioned in Matthew 13, which choke the plant so that it doesn’t produce seed.
  • Regarding “those who buy as though they had no goods,”
    • This again is contrary to the worlds perspective, where they teach retail therapy, “buy it because your worth it”, or “treat yourself , you’ve worked hard , you deserve it!“, they teach that if you feel emotionally low, you should treat yourself one way or another.
    • But we’re taught in scripture:
      • Philippians 4:11
        I am not saying this out of need,
        for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
      • 1Timothy 6:6
        Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
      • 1Timothy 6:8
        But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
      • Hebrews 13:5
        Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
        for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
    • Essentially, God provides all that we need, and any more than that is still His also,
      whether its physical possessions, money, or time.
      • And we’ll be called to give account of what we’ve done with the resources we have in this time, which, as Paul said, “is very short“.
    • This teaching of “those who buy as though they had no goods,” is exemplified by the members of the early church in Acts 4:

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul,
and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own,
but they had everything in common. 
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

Acts 4:32-33
  • The last point of contrasting exhortation in the passage is:
    “and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.”
    • This statement doesn’t negate responsibilities of voting or overseeing in employment, secular government or business; but when this instruction is applied, it disconnects God’s children from our reliance, dependence, personal stability and hopes being found in these systems and structures/
    • Through our acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty in governing all earthly systems of law, employment, social order and business. We can rest in the knowledge that all adversities are sent or allowed for His glory and our good,
    • and because we live in acknowledgement of His ultimate control and providence, we don’t labour above reasonable service in secular responsibilities.
    • We’re told in Psalm 121:1-2 that our help doesn’t come from the hills, which are metaphorically earthly governments of all types;
      “From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
  • The final words in this central exhortation are “I want you to be free from anxieties.”
    • God knows us fully, and if we ask Him for bread, He won’t give us a stone, so we can request His help in these matters and commit our ways to Him,
      • knowing confidently that He wants us to have victory over the flesh
        and to contribute to love triumphing among the saints,
      • which then works to maintain unity among brethren,
      • who then express Christ to the community when we walk out the door of the Church building.

In Matthew 7:24 Jesus said: “Everyone then who hears these Words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock:”

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before[d] Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:11b-16

A.P.Overton 14Sep2025