Chapter seven deals with the issue of marriage, celibacy,
and all that comes with it. Most people pull out one, or even
just half a verse of this chapter to twist what they want out of
it. Sometimes, it is to twist condemnation on Paul and the
Catholic Church. This chapter can answer many questions
people may have today. Realize the Church cannot change
any teachings; she serves Jesus our Lord, and what the Lord
has said in Sacred Scripture is immutable: it is the very word
of God. This is not written to condemn, but because our
society is very weak on its understanding of marriage by its
very nature.
So before I even consider this sacred text, there is a correct
understanding that needs to be established by good human
reasoning, directed toward truth. To deny truth is to live a lie
and be dedicated to that lie. Lies hurt us. Humans suffer
when we have a lack of knowledge as expressed in
untruthfulness. If a doctor cannot find the cure of a disease,
we all are affected by it. Humanity suffers. In the same way,
when humanity does not understand the reality of what
marriage is, we suffer. When we think marriage is all about
type of love that is selfish, we use it as such and hurt the ones
around us and ultimately, we suffer. It is a misuse of a great
gift God has given us.
I remember when I was a child. My dad would let me use his
tools to make or “fix” things. Nothing ever came back the
same. My poor dad! Sometimes I would take a flat blade
screwdriver and use it as a chisel. But that is not what the
screwdriver was for, so it always happened that I would
break or at least chip the blade. Things got broken when I
ignored the way things were supposed to be used. Then
nobody could benefit and there was great sadness. Sounds a
lot like marriage today. This is why it is so important to listen
to what the Church and Paul have to say about marriage so
that those who get married can have a fulfilling marriage.
The more you conform yourself and your marriage to God’s
plan, the more joy you will get out of it. That is also why
couples that have good marriages should continue to listen to
the Church and Paul. How fulfilling can marriage be? That
comes in Ephesians chapter 5.
There are two forms of marriage: the natural and the
supernatural. The supernatural marriage is the sacramental
form. Paul here is dealing with the human practicalities of
marriage and gives sound advice. This is very important. St
Thomas Aquinas taught that grace builds upon nature. So if a
child has a test coming up, he has to study. He cannot ignore
the responsibility to study and just ask Jesus to help him pass
the test. It is the part of our responsibility to cooperate with
God’s grace in marriage to take care of what God created.
Nature can never be denied. Even when man learned how to
fly, he still had to obey the laws of physics. Grace builds

upon nature. This reality applies to all aspects of life; it is a
universal concept.
The nature of marriage is the bond between one man and
one woman who are able to give themselves to each other in
a way that marriage demands. Anybody who has been
married knows that marriage demands a lot. But through the
grace of God, the reward far surpasses. But that speaks of
the sacramental form. The natural form relies on the human
person and its physical, intellectual, and emotional
capacities with the decision (the will) to make marriage
work. Without the physical aspects, the marriage cannot
take place. What is the physical? One man and one woman
with the ability to give themselves to each other in a physical
way. That is why same-sex unions are not marriage by its

very nature. The physical nature cannot be denied for God’s
grace to enter. We are not angels, nor are we pure spirits
trapped in a body. God created us body and soul:
integrated. The body is the physical, the soul deals with the
intellect, passions and the will. Also, the consummation of
marriage is integral to marriage.
The intellectual is our understanding of what marriage is.
This deals with the consent: “I…take you….” This is why we
do not write our own marriage vows. By changing the words
of the consent or our understanding, we are attempting to
change the nature of the bondage. If one changes the nature
of the bondage, it is not marriage. The nature of marriage
exists outside our desires just like the concept of gravity
exists outside our understanding. I do not decide for myself
what marriage is, it just exists like gravity. So we have an
obligation to know that marriage is for life, meaning that
you remain bound to each other till “death do [you] part.”
Openness to children is necessary for marriage and is in the
very nature of marriage, especially due to the physical part
of marriage. This makes the integration of marriage come
forth. Body and soul are in union with each other; the
physical and the intellect with its understanding are in union.
Being faithful to each other is another necessary truth of
marriage. This does not just mean not galivanting around, it
means being there for each other “in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.”
The passions should see the beauty and give meaning to
this holy bondage. It is the means of natural strength to
preserve it and indeed pursue it to be accomplished till
death parts. The passions are led by what the intellect has
discovered as truth. Today, we allow our passions to tell us
what truth is. This pattern will always lead us astray. It

makes us chase after what we think will bring joy, but right
before we get there, everything falls apart. It is the biggest
lie of the devil, and it keeps us from having that joy that
only following God can give.
The will is where love comes to fulfillment. It is where we
decide to live out this truth in marriage and the beauty of
marriage is manifest, because the love of God is made
manifest in this sacred bond. But again, that is in reference
to God’s grace and His promise He made “for those who love
Him” (1 Cor 2:9). We do deeds of “love [for] one
another” (Jn 15:12) as physical proof of our love for each
other. Love is found in all aspects of the human person, body
and soul – the intellect, passions and the will – but it is
primarily in the will, not the emotions. Emotions come and go,
depending on what we feed them with our intellect and our
environment. Sometimes we simply get exhausted. Emotions
cannot be propped up all the time. But we can choose to will
the good for each other, even when we are tired.
Marriage has an all-in situation. It needs to be integrated,
body and soul, with the intellect, passions, and the will all
involved in a prudent manner. The nature of marriage is
very fragile for humans born with original sin, but by God’s
grace, it becomes an image of hope for the world to see.
Here I go again; I am talking about the sacramental form
again. Yes, because the ultimate goal of marriage is
supernatural, it is designed by God to bring the two spouses
to heaven, and inspire all those who see in this same
direction. That is why God gave us such a strong natural
desire for it. So what do we have to do to get there?

Father Barr

As we go through Chapter six, Paul declares something very shocking: “Everything is lawful to
me” (v12). How can he say such a thing? He uses this to get our attention and really get to the
point. Paul thinks it is awful that there would even be any kind of discrepancy between
Christians or that any Christian would desire to take advantage of anybody, for that matter. We
are a community of believers that are supposed to love and care for each other. Jesus founded
the Church so that we would help each other grow and flourish in faith so that the whole
community may be abundantly fruitful and joyful. Paul is deeply scandalized by the behavior he
sees. How scandalized he would be to see how we act today!
But how does he come to the conclusion that “everything is lawful”? The fact is that if we really
loved Jesus and our neighbor as Jesus commanded us, we would never think of doing evil to
our neighbor. It would be as if those evils did not exist to us. The old man is dead (Rm 6:6-23).
Please read that passage, it puts everything into perspective. When you love God, the last thing
you would do is offend Him. God lives in your neighbor. That is why John said that you cannot
love God and hate your neighbor (1 Jn 4:20). Paul radically loves God. Contrary to the world, it
is actually virtuous! The world hates Paul, because he actually loves Jesus with no
compromises. Doing evil has been radically rooted out of his life and it has made him a saint.
Being a saint is what is normal in heaven. Not so much here below. It begs the question, where
do you want to be known as being normal – in heaven or in the world? We live maybe to one
hundred years here, but eternally when we get to the other side. That is a decision we make
every day.
So sin, retaliation, anger, revenge, possessiveness, addictions, and justification are not part of
the Christian life. When we find ourselves doing these things, we have to ask ourselves what we
are holding on to. What part of the old man have we kept lingering around? We must not “let
[ourselves] be enslaved by anything” (v12). “Food is for the stomach” (v13). The purpose of food
is to be consumed and used so that we may live. The beauty of food is found in its fulfillment
and how well it serves us. But what is our soul made for? It is made to be with God in heaven,
and sin confounds that purpose. It is not human to sin, it goes against us to sin; it is inhuman.
God has called us for greatness, not sinfulness.
We are members of the body of Christ. There is a lot of material here in a very short space to
cover. The issue started was with a man of lewd conduct in Chapter 5. It is also likened to
prostitution because we are being unfaithful to God when we sin. It is a preference to sin that is
at the root opposed to God. This “lewd conduct” (v18) is something that severs our relationship
with God: it is a mortal sin. Marriage, as a sacrament, is supposed to emulate and make happen
the love God has for us. This is why Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, “this is a profound
mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the Church” (Eph 5:32). Marriage is not just a symbol
of God’s love for us. As spouses, the marital act makes the very love that God has for each
spouse actually happen, that they may experience it and be strengthened to face the world
together in the lasting fidelity that is God’s. This was a mouthful. Contemplate it for a while.
What are the ramifications? If this is true, what should our desire be for our marriages and the
marriages of others? If this is true, how much hope can your marriage bring to others? If this is
true, how could we ever want to be drawn to the lewd conduct that tears apart the deepest part
of our soul and the souls of others? How do we benefit from sin? How we benefit from the true
virtue God poses to us! “So glorify God in your body!” (V20).

In this next chapter, Paul is exhorting the authority he has in the Church Jesus has established.
Paul does not look for his own will, and the authority he is using is of a different sort than what
we usually think of. It is an authority of a father as we will see. The very first verse in Chapter
four already sets the tone of his authority, “Men should regard us as servants of Christ and
administrators of the mysteries of God.” He is establishing the authority is not of his own. He did
not pay anybody to gain leverage over them. It comes from the true God. Since he calls himself
an “administrator,” there is some sort of structure of this Church he is referring to. The very next
verse, Paul admits that he must be “trustworthy” to his Lord. There is something very different
that he has been entrusted with than what others do. There is a strong hint of hierarchy in the
Church Paul is laboring for and with.
But since the Church is God’s possession, no mere human owns it. Even the Pope is charged
before God to do His bidding. The Pope cannot simply do whatever he wants. He is responsible
before God and will be judged before God, and no one else. Paul has a responsibility before
God to discern the truth and is answerable to God. “It matters little to me whether you or any
human court pass judgement on me,” Paul says, “I do not even pass judgment on myself” (v3).
It is Paul that feels the full weight of his own decisions, knowing it may mean his own
condemnation. Better to fear the one who can condemn to hell than the ones who cannot (Mt
10:28). Therefore, Paul’s comment does not say he is declaring himself innocent, but rather is a
process of discernment.
If Paul had to listen to people and get their approval, then he could be led in the wrong direction.
Not all people have the interest of the community at heart. How easy it would be to be deceived.
But God does not deceive. He can rely on God telling him the truth and giving him direction for
His holy Church. Paul has clear discernment; he is focused like a laser on God’s holy will. He is
giving warning to the people to not be deceived either. The salvation of souls depends on this.
That is why he seems very severe about this issue. How souls spend eternity is more serious by
far than any matter here on earth. In the end, all things are revealed after we die, and we will all
have to deal with our actions for all of eternity. God “will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and manifest the intentions of hearts” (v5). Knowing this is a motivation to do always the good
God wants, no matter what is seen or not, for those who believe. It keeps a person honest.
Passing judgement on those in authority can be a very serious sin of pride. Paul says, “May you
learn from us not to go beyond what is set down, so that none of you may grow self-
important…” (v6). A couple things are going on here. Some people were associating themselves
with one apostle or another. They would follow them as an opposition of another. Paul would not
have anything to do with this. When people follow certain priests or pastors, it can be a form of
flattery which can be aimed at self-interest on the part of the priest or preacher. It in turn makes
them dependent on the flattery and they slowly get manipulated by people. This is not of God.
Apollos, whom Paul is being compared to, does not want this sort of thing happening either.
Politics has entered the church. But Paul is undaunted.
Then Paul has a logic he presents to the Corinthians. He points out that everything is a gift from
God. The only things we can truly say are ours are the things we have by our nature. Everything
else is gift. So all the food we have, the roofs over our heads, the jobs we have – everything is a
gift. We have nothing we can claim to be our own and therefore, we have no claim to anything
(v7-8). In fact, Paul sees this authority as what we began with, servants. Paul says, “God has
put us apostles at the end of the line” (v9). He is willing to put up with much abuse so that his
spiritual fatherhood (v15) may be fruitful (v16). He comes with a stern warning, hoping for their
salvation.

Paul is scandalized by the behavior of the Corinthians. He also shows his understanding of where they are at spiritually and their inability to grow. They are still living in the flesh. His complaint is not far from what we do. Paul states, “Brothers, the trouble was that I could not talk to you as spiritual men but only as men of flesh, as infants in Christ” (v1).  He is referring to when they first became Christians. This is somewhat of an expectation. When a person first comes into the faith, they are still learning the language and habits of faith, practically speaking. Paul is expecting the faithful to grow in faith and in knowledge of spiritual things, but they cannot make that step. Paul continues, “I fed you with milk, and did not give you solid food because you were not ready for it. You still are not ready for it even now” (v2). He points to the quarrels as proof of this spiritual immaturity. Not much has changed today.

As humans, we look at what physically happens, and many times only that. This is what Paul is referring to when he says they are “still very much in a natural condition” (v3). We think about the natural and spend no time thinking about the supernatural. We obsess about what is visible, but pay no attention to what is invisible. As we say in the creed, God made both, but one is more eternal. This is where he challenges us, too: “is not [this] behavior that of ordinary men?” (v3). We fuss over such trivial things. Things that do not bring any good fruit. Paul wants to guide us to think as God does. It is a supernatural way of thinking, not of the lower natural ways. We were cut above that.

Paul is stressing all of His works are just that: His works. It does not matter who is doing the labor, it is God in all things. Don’t look at the minister. It is God working through the minister. It is His name that should be praised and not Paul, or Apollos or anybody else. Each minister is doing their part as God ordains it. “He who plants and he who waters work to the same end” – our salvation (v8). That is why we need to ask God to continue to send out laborers for the harvest.

We do not have to judge the works of God’s workers; it will be tested in due time. God tests with fire each and every one of us. On the day of the testing, all will be made apparent. “If different ones build on this foundation with gold or silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, the work of each will be made clear” (v12-13). God will test our works as with the foundation. If the foundation is good, it will stand, but if out of hay, the reality of our lives will be made apparent and therefore judged accordingly. Yet this analogy is meant for those who are intent on good works. They are not necessarily bad people. They built; how well they built is the question.

So it is tested. If we come short of God’s expectations, we “will suffer loss. [We ourselves] will be saved, but only as one fleeing through fire” (v15). This is purgatory. When we remain thinking at the natural level, this does not mean damnation, it means we come short of God’s desire for us. God destined us for greatness, not mediocrity or to be “ok.” He wants you to be a light to the world, something special. But if we remain at the natural level, we limit God’s plan for us. It holds us down.

To inspire the Corinthians, Paul makes them aware of this great calling God has given them. “Are you not aware that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (v16). You are so precious to God that He wants to live in you. When we see these realities and live by them, we discover the true wisdom of God. Paul turns around his previous argument, “If anyone of you thinks he is wise in a worldly sense, he had better become a fool. In that way he will really be wise” (v18). What seems to the world to be wise is in fact foolishness to God. Because God is seeing things at a supernatural level. With a God that sees all things, it is good to know that He is our helper. The question is, are you open to what He has to say?

Paul begins the second chapter on the issue of wisdom. There are two types of “wisdom” he
talks about. There is the conventional human wisdom, and then there is the wisdom of God. By
the conventional human wisdom, Paul admits he did not share with the people. Everybody likes
the idea of people sharing quick one-liners as a tidbit of wisdom. We open the fortune cookies at
the Chinese restaurants and have our daily calendars that remind us of some wise saying. Most
of these sayings may be helpful to an extent. We take it in, ponder it for a second, and feel
better or somehow a little smarter. Then we go on with our lives.
Rather, Paul preaches “Jesus Christ and him Crucified” (v2). This is no quip saying. It looks like
an absurdity, but not until the message has been given that the real wisdom can be perceived,
hidden in the message of suffering. He does not use “wise argumentation” (v4). To Paul, the
“wise argumentation” does not go far enough. It is not that human wisdom is evil, but God’s
wisdom is above the earthly wisdom. In many ways, they seem contradictory. But after careful
reflection, we see wisdom in the ironies between the clashing of these two “wisdoms.”
Paul uses the wisdom of God, but there is logic in human thinking to make his point. Because
Paul relies on the wisdom of God, he discovers, as do his listeners, the “convincing power of the
Spirit” (4). The result of this is that the reason for their faith is built upon the Power of God rather
than mere human intelligence (v5). This is so important to understand. We can reason our way
into faith, but if that is our sole foundation, it can only go so far. It can convince a people to be
more just and to do good things; however, it cannot save. Salvation is not found in being nice
people. Our faith must be in Jesus Christ. Without the reality of Jesus dying on the cross for us,
there would be no salvation, no hope.
Paul makes the distinction between these wisdoms in greater detail in verse 6, “There is to be
sure a certain wisdom which we express among the spiritually mature.” For these people, one-
liners are not good enough. Mature people do not rely on the “wisdom of this age… nor of the
rulers of this age, who are men headed for destruction” (6). Why are they heading for
destruction? Human wisdom cannot lead to salvation. The nature of humanity and humanity’s
wisdom is according to what the human nature can produce. The wisdom of heaven is
according to the nature of heaven and produces what is of its nature: grace, salvation and
perfect beatitude for all eternity. Human relies on what it sees, but divine wisdom seeks the
hidden reality that God reveals. It reveals “what eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it
so much as dawned on man,” so that man may enjoy “what God has prepared for those who
love him” (v9). We could never fathom the mind of God, let alone His graciousness.
Human thinking can never comprehend God because He sees all things that are and all things
that are possible. He knows what goes on in our minds and hearts that are not even acted on.
There is no way we can understand all of this, we are finite and God is infinite. “Yet God has
revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit” (10). God has revealed His wisdom to the Church
and those who are open to hearing the message of faith and truth according to the Holy Spirt.
The Holy Spirit has been given to the Catholic Church and despite our sins, He works through
us. His power is not limited by human weakness, but rather, the power of God shines through
our fragile state. That is why it is so important to form our lives according to the Spirit and truth.
That God may do His work in us and “we may have the mind of Christ” (v16).