1 Corinthians 7:17

But as God has distributed to every man, as the Lord has called everyone, so let him walk, and so ordain I in all the churches. Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not be uncircumcised. Is anyone called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called. Are you called being a servant? Care not for it. But if you may be free, use it rather... You are bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God.

The gospel is not a social revolution but a transformation that begins within—so serve God right where He has planted you.

A Parenthesis on Calling

Marriage has been the primary focus of our study in 1 Corinthians 7, and it remains the root context of these verses. But verses 17 through 24 are something of a parenthetical break from that focus. Paul returns to marriage in verse 28: "If you are bound unto a wife, seek not to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned."

For the moment, though, Paul shifts to give a teaching that can be a paradigm shifter for us. In almost every generation since the church was established, there have been those who emphasize the social role and responsibility of the body of Christ. Even in our day, there are those who claim Christianity should be a major player—if not the agent—for social reform, social revolution, and sometimes even social rebellion.

Two Conflicting Cultural Pressures in Corinth

One societal issue among the Corinthian Christians that caused division was marriage. The Jewish converts believed that to remain single was sin. They even held a customary view that if a man reached 25 and was not married, he was accursed. They carried this into their Christianity, arguing that since God commanded in Genesis 1:28 that man be fruitful and multiply, that was the first commandment in rank.

Now, they didn't hold this as the greatest commandment—every Jew knew the answer to that from Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength." But in order of rank, the first command was "be fruitful and multiply." Therefore, to be single, in their view, was to disobey a foundational commandment, and there was tremendous pressure to marry.

That might not have been so problematic except for a conflicting Gentile view. From a Greek, Hellenistic worldview, the Gentiles brought in a philosophy of asceticism, emphasizing extreme self-denial. They believed the best way to honor God was to be single—and in its most extreme form, this position even told married couples to divorce so they could devote themselves wholly to God. Paul rejected that, as we saw: "If you're bound to a wife, do not seek to be loosed."

Unity Out of Diversity

Division seemed to be the norm in Corinth. They were divided over marriage and singleness, over who was the greatest leader—some siding with Paul, others with Apollos, others with Cephas. These divisions pile up as we go through the letter.

Yet since it began, the church has been the place that brings together those who would normally be divided by race, social class, philosophy, or culture. Look around this room—there are people seated next to you that you'd probably never associate with apart from Christianity. The clash of race, class, and worldview would normally mean the undoing of a group, but in Christ that is not the case. God tears down the middle wall of separation.

This is one of God's ultimate desires. In Ephesians 1:9-10, Paul writes that God has made known "the mystery of his will... that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, he might bring together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth." In that first chapter Paul uses "in Christ" or "in Him" some fourteen times. It is God's desire to gather all things together in Christ.

The Gospel Is Not Social Revolution

Sadly, some recognize this divine desire for unity and try to use the gospel and the church as the impetus to force social change. When Christianity becomes closely identified with a social movement, the message of the gospel is in danger of being lost. While there is a need to be involved in certain social issues, we ought never do so at the expense of the gospel. The preaching of the cross—foolishness to the world—must remain our primary focus.

The gospel is not about social rebellion, revolution, or even reform. Yet wherever the gospel goes, it does affect social transformation—and I use that word on purpose, because it doesn't merely come in to change things; it transforms from within. In our perspectives class we read an article by Robert Woodbury, who observed that, statistically, societies where Protestant missionaries arrived earlier and were more prevalent ended up better off on every indicator of human thriving—literacy, education, infant mortality, life expectancy, economic development, and the removal of political corruption.

God works through changed lives to transform a society, but the ultimate focus of the gospel is not societal change. The social effects flow from individuals transformed by Christianity. This matters especially in 21st-century America, where even the evangelical church has been gripped by the mindset that we must stand up and change the nation. There may indeed be things that should change, but that is not the focus or emphasis of the gospel. The gospel does not equal social revolution; it has to do with personal and spiritual transformation.

"My Kingdom Is Not of This World"

Remember Jesus' words to Pontius Pilate in John 18:36: "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight... but now is my kingdom not from this world." Our Christianity does not destroy homes or ruin friendships. It should not create chaos by tearing down the cultural institutions in which we live.

Within Christianity, as we've seen in 1 Corinthians, you can be single, married, widowed, or divorced; you can be slave or free, Jew or Gentile, black or white, Hispanic, Republican, or even Democrat—and still be a Christian. The church thrives under liberty and under tyranny, and you could make a good case that it does better under tyranny. The church has seen its greatest growth and witness when it is oppressed. It blooms in America, but also in Cuba, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The places where it dies fastest are like Western Europe, where it has the most liberty.

Why does it thrive under oppression and yet outlast regimes like China's? Because it is a kingdom not of this world. As Jesus said in Luke 17:21, "the kingdom of God is within." It transforms individuals from the inside out and then has a transforming effect on the culture—but that is not the primary focus.

The Transforming Power of Changed Lives

If a wife becomes a Christian, she should become a better wife, not a rebellious one. If a husband becomes a believer, it ought to make him a better husband. If a slave is converted, he should be a better slave, not a revolutionary. You can be a Christian in any society because Christianity is a spiritual relationship with the living God; it has little to do with social status, yet it transforms. As Paul said in Romans 1:16, "the gospel of God is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

I stumbled on a BBC article titled "Christian Faith Plus Chinese Productivity." It described entrepreneurs in China who became followers of Christ and how it changed their businesses. One owner gathers his senior managers every Monday to pray, and staff are encouraged to attend an on-site Christian fellowship. He believes that as employees convert, their attitude toward work is transformed: "If you're a Christian, you're more honest, with a better heart... when they do things wrong, they feel guilty."

The difference is so clear that the Chinese government is studying it. At the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences in Beijing, a professor noted how the growth of Christianity and economic prosperity have happened side by side, and that researchers are asking whether, in Western history, there was a link between prosperity and Protestant Christianity. The notion that faith can inspire a workforce is being taken seriously even by China's communist and officially atheist leaders. There should be a difference.

A Nation No Longer Christian

As we've gone through 1 Corinthians, we've seen that the two do not coexist—a Christian living in immorality, a Christian causing division in his family, divorce and Christianity. The believer ought to be an example of what life is really about, because Jesus promised life, and life more abundantly. That isn't a promise of the greatest prosperity. You can be one of the wealthiest people in the world and still be rude, arrogant, and unhappy. America is a picture of that—and tragically, the rest of the world calls America a "Christian nation," then equates our unhappiness and greed with Christianity. That is devastating.

We have to agree with our president, whatever you think of his politics, when he says our nation is no longer a Christian nation. It's true. We are very much like the first-century Roman world—filled with diversity, longing to forge unity from it. We're the great melting pot, chanting "one nation." But it can only happen if it's "one nation under God," because only in Christ is there that unity. After 2008, when the nation was divided 48 to 52 percent, everyone wanted to rally and unify—but the only thing that truly unifies is Christ. Look around today: unity in diversity across race, class, and position, because we are united in Him.

God has called us to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15), not to the establishment of a revolution. This is clearly seen in China, where well over a hundred million Christians hold no small power, yet are not stirring up revolution against the communist government. They simply seek to be godly witnesses, and God works through that.

The Principle: Abide Where You Are Called

In verse 17 Paul gives the principle: "But God has distributed to every man as the Lord has called everyone, so let him walk, and so ordain I in all the churches." The New Living Translation puts it: "You must accept whatever situation the Lord has put you in and continue on as you were when God first called you." And Paul adds that this is his rule in all the churches—no special dispensation for Corinth.

So important is this point that Paul repeats it twice more. Verse 20: "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called." Verse 24: "Brethren, let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God." He states the principle in verses 17, 20, and 24, and between them he sandwiches two pictures and applications.

First Illustration: Circumcision Is Nothing

"Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Is any man called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandments of God."

Circumcision was a divisive issue 2,000 years ago. To the Jew, it was bigger than citizenship; to the Roman, it was an embarrassment, a sign of bondage among a measly group in the Middle East. There was a temptation among Jews in Roman culture to hide it. That sounds strange to us, but in first-century Rome people gathered in Hellenistic gymnasiums and baths, largely unclothed, so external marks were obvious. During the intertestamental period—the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew—Israel was under Greek rule, Hellenistic culture filtered in, and 1 Maccabees 1:15 records Jewish men trying to hide their circumcision to be identified with the culture.

Strange? We do the same thing—we try to hide that we're Christians because people might think we're nuts. We become "007 Christians," undercover believers who slip in on Sunday mornings making sure no one follows us. On the other side, there were those who pressured converts to be circumcised to identify with Jewish Christianity, as at the church in Galatia. The matter was settled at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, and a whole lot of Gentile men breathed a sigh of relief.

Paul's answer cuts both ways: circumcision is nothing, uncircumcision is nothing—but keeping the commandments of God is everything. That is exactly what Jesus commissioned in Matthew 28:19-20: not to pressure converts to be circumcised, but to teach "them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

What purely religious things have we added to the gospel that have nothing to do with the command of Jesus? We tell people that to fellowship or to be a real Christian they must do fill-in-the-blank, and we even export an American mindset to other cultures as "what Christianity looks like." Paul says no. If you were a Jew when you believed, you may continue in your heritage and customs—just recognize they don't save you or make you better than anyone else; put your confidence in Christ. He is not saying you can continue in sin: a thief cannot add Jesus and become a Christian thief who robs and tithes on it; a prostitute must depart from sinful living. But culture and heritage need not change.

Second Illustration: Slave or Free, You Are the Lord's

"Are you called being a slave? Care not for it, but if you may be free, then use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's free man. Likewise also he that is called being free is Christ's servant."

Paul moves from the most divisive religious issue to one of the most socially divisive: slavery. Sixty percent of the Roman Empire's population were slaves—three slaves for every free man—so many early Christians were converted as slaves. Paul says: continue to serve the Lord in your position. If freedom is possible, that is the more desirable thing; but if you remain a slave, serve your master as unto the Lord, because ultimately it is the Lord you serve.

He says the same to Ephesus in Ephesians 6:5-6: "Servants, be obedient to those that are your masters according to the flesh... as unto Christ. Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart."

Some criticize Paul for not attacking slavery directly. But had he done so, Christianity would have been seen as a political revolution against Rome and crushed, and believers needlessly killed. Yet know this: wherever the gospel goes, it ultimately brings abolition—the liberation of slaves, of women, of all who are bound. God sets people free spiritually first, freeing us from sin and death, and then, through the gospel's advance, we have seen abolition. There are still some 24 million slaves today, especially in sex trafficking—a disgrace—and by God's grace it can be changed, but it is ultimately God who does it through His Word.

Bought with a Price

William Barclay notes that a Roman slave could purchase his own freedom. In his spare time he could take odd jobs and slowly save money, depositing it at one of the temples, which functioned like banks. When he had enough, he would bring his master to the temple, the priest would pay over the money, and the slave would be ceremonially purchased as a servant to that god and set free from human bondage. Paul has this in view: we have been set free to serve the Lord.

So he says in verse 23, "You are bought with a price." We have been purchased, redeemed; we are not our own. Every true Christian has already been delivered from the slavery of sin, and in Christ we have complete and glorious liberty—a liberty to serve God. If you are a slave who has become a Christian, serve with gladness. And if you are a master over slaves, notice that you too are the servant of Christ, just as that slave is—be good to those under you.

We see this in Philemon, only one chapter long; read it this afternoon. Philemon was a Christian slave owner in Colossae. His runaway slave Onesimus found Paul and was led to Christ. What did Paul tell Onesimus? Go back to your master—with a letter so he won't prosecute you, since your crime was punishable by death. In that letter Paul encourages Philemon to free Onesimus, while reminding him that Onesimus is now a servant of Christ and a brother.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Slavery may not be a live issue in 21st-century Southern California—but how many of you are employed by someone? If so, you are a servant of that employer. Often when people start following Christ, they say, "I don't want to do this job anymore; I want to go serve the Lord." Wonderful—serve the Lord as a contractor. You don't only build homes; you help build lives. We need Christian lawyers, teachers, and firefighters who help put out the fires of hell in someone's life. Be a minister of God in the environment He has placed you, and remain there until He frees you. If He calls you elsewhere, praise God; if not, serve with gladness.

What does Paul mean by "not with eye service" (Ephesians 6:6)? It means your manager shouldn't have to constantly watch you, wondering whether you're working or evangelizing again. Some say they won't hire Christians anymore because they never do their work—that is disgraceful. We ought to be the best workers in any environment, so people say they want to hire Christians, because they are honest, full of integrity and self-control, and when they do wrong, they own it rather than blame others. "You are bought with a price; be not the servants of men." We saw it already in chapter 6: "Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." We are not our own.

Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, wrote of an afternoon soon after his conversion when he poured out his heart to God, asking for some self-denying service, "no matter what it might be, however trivial." As he put himself, his friends, and his all upon the altar, the presence of God became "unutterably real and blessed." Though not yet sixteen, he stretched himself on the ground in silent awe and joy. "For what service I was accepted, I did not know, but a deep consciousness that I was no longer my own took possession of me, which has never been effaced." Oh, that the same understanding would come upon us—that we are not our own. We abhor slavery rightly, yet we must recognize that we are bondservants of Christ, dedicated to serve Him wherever, whenever, and however He calls.

"Brethren, let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God." It boils down to this: bloom where you're planted. Are you planted in the legal profession? Bloom and bring forth fruit to the Lord there. A teacher, a contractor—wherever you are planted, bear fruit for the Lord. And if He so desires, He'll transplant you to bloom somewhere else.

Closing Prayer

Father, we need Your grace to effectively accomplish what You've called us to. We thank You that You've given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, that we might live this life in a godly way, and that You've given us every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. There's nothing You've withheld from us. So, God, empower us. Give us the will to do what is pleasing to You and the ability to accomplish it for Your name's sake. Help us never to be ashamed of who we are in Christ, even in a culture growing in its disdain for Your word and who You are. Help us not to be ashamed of the gospel, for it is Your power unto salvation for all who believe. We praise You that You've redeemed us. Would You redeem us spirit, soul, and body—in our minds, our hearts, and our actions—that we'd be glorifying to You. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.