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Sincerely,
Brian Anthony Bowen, Author
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The Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach,
through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared,
Who forbid people to marry... 1 Timothy 4:1-3 (Amplified Translation)
This portion of Scripture focuses on various eligibility requirements for marriage, according to the Apostle Paul, and focuses on 1 Corinthians, Chapters 5-7. While Paul’s ordination of gay marriage does not appear until Chapter7, I have included Chapters 5 and 6 because they have so often been used to condemn gay people based on a parsing down of a few passages. It is my intent to show the error of that practice, but if you’re only interested in reading about Paul’s message on gay marriage, feel free to skip to down to my commentary on Chapter 7.
But by including the insights in Chapters 5 and 6, I believe that I have offered considered commentaries and conclusions that not only help us see what and whom Paul was addressing, but helps us to more easily see how he also ordains and affirms marriage between same-gendered couples. Taken together, I consider these three Chapters to be the strongest Biblical evidence yet that gay marriage has been ordained for more than 2000 years, and yet traditional Christianity has perverted the original meanings of these chapters by misapplying these Scriptures to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, when in fact, many of them apply to corrupt Church Shepherds instead.
I know the church does not teach this, but I think it's one of those things that we have had to learn on our own. It is my prayer that this gives all of us hope that not only was Paul not so hung up on sexuality, but uses metaphoric phrasing in order to keep this message hidden until such a time as this. I hope this understanding will help grow our faith and encourage us all to press further and dig more deeply into the Scriptures that support what we know in our hearts: God knows it is not good for any man (or woman) to live life alone.
This will be rather lengthy, and for sure, I don't have all the answers, but I intend only to share my own interpretation and hope it helps us all move from our struggle to reconcile our sexual orientation with our faith, and encourage us all to lay hold of all the promises of God, whether the church ever shares this with us or not. So be blessed Brothers and Sisters! I believe the Holy Spirit is leading us to shine another light on these texts, and to shut down the power of darkness that has overshadowed Paul's true intent and message contained in them.
1 Corinthians, Chapter 5 (from the Amplified Translation)
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, impurity of a sort that is condemned and does not occur even among the heathen; for a man has [his own] father's wife.
NOTE: "impurity of a sort that is condemned and does not occur even among the heathen" indicates to me that this is immediately referring to the Church, because heathen don't even go to church, but of course there were probably those who had their own father's wife. In this case though, I believe that Paul is addressing his letter to Church Shepherds as an Apostle (church planter) that he was called to be. If so, "a man having his own father's wife" would take on a new meaning. Namely, Our Father's wife is the Church, and as the supreme head of the Church, Jesus Christ is (in essence) every Church Shepherd's father, and every church is part of the Bride of Christ. Hence, I conclude that a Church Shepherd having Jesus' own wife is the only kind of sexual impurity that the heathen would not commit, because they are not even in church. Paul is speaking metaphorically throughout much of these passages to Church Shepherds who were "pimping" their positions as leaders in the Church, and Paul is calling them on it.
2 And you are proud and arrogant! And you ought rather to mourn (bow in sorrow and in shame) until the person who has done this [shameful] thing is removed from your fellowship and your midst!
NOTE: What Church Shepherd does this passage *not* include? The pride and arrogance in the Christian church today is rampant, and continues to turn people cold toward God and His church and His people. This would not include true worshippers, of course, and not all pastors. In this case, I would say if the pulpit fits....
Then, Paul orders that the man behind it all be found out and put out of the church. Until he is, I believe the church *should* hang her head in shame considering how many people she has misled by allowing these words of Paul to go unheeded by the congregants. We'll see Paul's anger in the next few verses....and I can understand his anger; his reputation as an Apostle (church planter) is on the line, and he is stepping up to defend the congregants who don't know any better, and rebuking the Church Shepherds who should know better.
3 As for my attitude, though I am absent [from you] in body, I am present in spirit, and I have already decided and passed judgment, as if actually present,
4 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the man who has committed such a deed. When you and my own spirit are met together with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 You are to deliver this man over to Satan for physical discipline [to destroy carnal lusts which prompted him to incest], that [his] spirit may [yet] be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 [About the condition of your church] your boasting is not good [indeed, it is most unseemly and entirely out of place]. Do you not know that [just] a little leaven will ferment the whole lump [of dough]?
NOTE: How many times have we heard preachers use this Scripture as justification for expelling GLBT Believers from fellowship from the Church? Truth be known, these preachers are trying to blame us before we even step foot in church, lest the preachers' true intent to disguise his own responsibility for twisting Scripture be brought into the light and he be reproved, or worse yet, turned over to Satan for the crucifixion of his own flesh. Instead most church leaders today turn the meaning of these Scriptures around and use it as justification for people opportunities to gay bash. Paul's advice to the congregation for this type of wickedness (twisting Scripture for financial gain or to retain power) continues below:
7 Purge (clean out) the old leaven that you may be fresh (new) dough, still uncontaminated [as you are], for Christ, our Passover [Lamb], has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of vice and malice and wickedness (twisting Scriptures) but with the unleavened [bread] of purity (nobility, honor) and sincerity and [unadulterated] truth.
NOTE: “unadulterated truth” again referring to twisting Scriptures to further an agenda of hate, malice, and division and to keep hidden these preachers' true agenda to gain wealth and retain power. Paul clarifies once again he is not referring to unsaved people who have traditionally been excluded from church due to impurity of their own, but re-emphasizes the fact that if the church leaders continue in an "us vs. them" mentality, we will never reach any of the lost in this earth as Paul continues his letter.
9 I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate [closely and habitually] with unchaste (impure) people--
10 Not [meaning of course that you must] altogether shun the immoral people of this world, or the greedy graspers and cheats and thieves or idolaters, since otherwise you would need to get out of the world and human society altogether!
11 But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God], or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering], or is a drunkard or a swindler or a robber. [No] you must not so much as eat with such a person.
NOTE: As Paul clarifies his meaning, it reinforces my belief he was directing his comments to Church Shepherds, not congregants and GLBT believers. But the exact opposite is what most preachers have said, again, to hide their own guilt in the matter from their congregation, by once again twisting Scripture to keep up the facade of purity while secretly being guilty of many sins themselves.
12 What [business] of mine is it and what right have I to judge outsiders? Is it not those inside [the church] upon whom you are to pass disciplinary judgment [passing censuring sentence on them as the facts require]?
13 God alone sits in judgment on those who are outside. Drive out that wicked one from among you [expel him from your church].
NOTE: Again, Paul basically says don't be judging those "outside" your church, but judge those who are in your very midst. This again tells me that Paul is referring to preachers who profess innocence while passing judgment on those who have never stepped foot in the Church door, (or have been run out of it). Yet many preachers continue to do just the opposite. Come to think of it, when was the last time any of us heard a preacher preach a good message on how the congregation is charged with holding preachers to the truths they teach? And when is that last time that a congregant told a preacher that they should stop preaching messages against those who are not even in their own church, without ever mentioning their own sins within the very borders of their own flock and realm?
Next, Paul begins to rebuke preachers who would sue each other in court instead of turning to Scriptures and settling disputes (such as the gay marriage ban in many states). In fact, with the current public debate on gay marriage example in mind, where many churches put up millions of dollars to oppose gay marriage in the ballot box, it would seem to me that Paul could have written this letter directly to those who led the anti-gay marriage effort.
1 Corinthians, Chapter 6
1 Does any of you dare, when he has a matter of complaint against another [brother], to go to law before unrighteous men [men neither upright nor right with God, laying it before them] instead of before the saints (the people of God)?
2 Do you not know that the saints (the believers) will [one day] judge and govern the world? And if the world [itself] is to be judged and ruled by you, are you unworthy and incompetent to try [such petty matters] of the smallest courts of justice?
3 Do you not know also that we [Christians] are to judge the [very] angels and pronounce opinion between right and wrong [for them]? How much more then [as to] matters pertaining to this world and of this life only!
4 If then you do have such cases of everyday life to decide, why do you appoint [as judges to lay them before] those who [from the standpoint] of the church count for least and are without standing?
5 I say this to move you to shame. Can it be that there really is not one man among you who [in action is governed by piety and integrity and] is wise and competent enough to decide [the private grievances, disputes, and quarrels] between members of the brotherhood,
6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before [Gentile judges who are] unbelievers [without faith or trust in the Gospel of Christ]?
7 Why, the very fact of your having lawsuits with one another at all is a defect (a defeat, an evidence of positive moral loss for you). Why not rather let yourselves suffer wrong and be deprived of what is your due? Why not rather be cheated (defrauded and robbed)?
8 But [instead it is you] yourselves who wrong and defraud, and that even your own brethren [by so treating them]!
NOTE: Here again, not only do we see some of Paul's stoutest words being directed to preachers who are guilty of such deeds, but clarifies he is talking to preachers in verse 8 when he says "it is YOU yourselves who wrong and defraud your own brothers by treating them this way." It leaves little doubt in my mind that Paul is *not* talking to unbelievers outside the church, but is doing his best to get preachers to wake up and judge themselves and their own actions and stop treating their very own brothers and sisters in such a way, saying that the fact they were having lawsuits at all was a "moral loss" for these preachers. Yet these next 2 verses have been used by preachers to clobber GLBT believers when the preachers themselves are the ones doing harm to God's church.
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God?
NOTE: Paul has already made it clear that he considers what these preachers were doing as "wrong" and "unrighteous", yet the preachers point their fingers at us and clobber us with the very Scriptures Paul was directing toward preachers, again, as a way to deflect blame, and never take responsibility for their own shortcomings and sins.
(verse 9 continued): Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
NOTE: So far, Paul hasn't even mentioned "those who participate in homosexuality", but has already correctly labeled many of the activities these preachers were guilty of, yet all GLBT believers hear from most Christians concerning this passage is:
(verse 9 continued): nor those who participate in homosexuality,
NOTE: Many Biblical scholars have determined that all "clobber passages" against homosexuality applied to heterosexual men forcefully raping and sodomizing innocent victims of their depravity, and/or engaged in expressions of idolatry or adultery, and was *not* referring to love between GLBT couples. Now with this further commentary, we see Paul was talking about the *lovelessness and lawlessness* of preachers *inside the church* who were basically sodomizing Jesus Christ Himself, and not the non-believers the church was established to reach out to.
10 Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.
NOTE: Sounds like the same kind of preachers Malachi was preaching against; those who were robbing God by robbing the tithes of the people, those who were twisting Scripture for financial gain, those who were admonished to not drink much wine, and those who would extort and rob God's Church. We recall that we saw Paul's choice of words at the beginning of Chapter 5 that said "a man has his own Father's (Jesus') wife (Bride)."
I hope you see by now how I glean these glimmers of Paul's true audience of his letter to the Church in Corinth, and to many anti-gay churches and organizations who continue to do the same thing today...all in Jesus' Name. Note also that these are all sins against Jesus' church, so they were not the everyday sins we all commit at times. Rather it becomes clear that the preachers addressed in Paul's letter had engaged in intentional disregard for Jesus Christ the Man, and His Bride, the Church....and all at the hands of preachers, not individual believers.
11 And such some of you were [once]. But you were washed clean (purified by a complete atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin), and you were consecrated (set apart, hallowed), and you were justified [pronounced righteous, by trusting] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God.
NOTE: This applies to all believers, but Paul had seen those preachers whom had been once purified and cleaned return to their old ways. We see today that modern day anti-gay churches and preachers were once sinners themselves, were once cleansed themselves, were set up in positions of authority in the Church, and threw away their righteousness in exchange for the money they could earn by preaching against GLBT believers.
12 Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power.
NOTE: in the following verses, I have added the word "Church" before the word "body" because as we seemed to have determined, Paul is talking to Church Shepherds about the ministry that God had entrusted unto them. I think it continues the train of Paul's thought as we see that he was talking about the preachers' "church body" of believers. We never hear preachers talk about how they are charged with protecting Jesus' Church Body, and Paul continues with the words he used at the beginning of his letter by saying "a man has his own Father's (Jesus') wife (Bride)" or in other words, these preachers were making God's House of Prayer a house of ill-repute instead.
13 Food [is intended] for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will finally end [the functions of] both and bring them to nothing. The [Church body] is not intended for sexual immorality, but [is intended] for the Lord, and the Lord [is intended] for the [Church body] [to save, sanctify, and raise it again].
14 And God both raised the Lord to life and will also raise us [the Church body] up by His power.
15 Do you not see and know that your [Church bodies] are members (Church bodily parts) of Christ (the Messiah)? Am I therefore to take the parts of Christ and make [the Church bodies] parts of a prostitute? Never! Never!
16 Or do you not know and realize that when a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? The two, it is written, shall become one flesh.
17 But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.
18 Shun immorality and all sexual looseness [flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed]. Any other sin which a [preacher] man commits is one outside the [the Church body], but he [the preacher] who commits sexual immorality sins against his own [Church body...and that of Christ's].
19 Do you not know that your [Church body] is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,
20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your [Church body].
NOTE: To me, Paul wraps up his admonishments and rebukes of Church Shepherds in love saying basically, "Look, I know how tempting it can be to use your position and your cleansing from Jesus' blood as a way to excuse your sinful behavior, and how tempting it can be to want to gain financial rewards and power by using your exalted position as a preacher to twist Scriptures, but don't accuse those *outside* of the church of guilt and pass judgment on them, when you yourselves are the ones who are guilty of "pimping" out Christ's own [Church body] and making yourself go from being a "preacher" to a "prostitute" as well as making Christ Himself a "prostitute" in the process!"
Then he says "NEVER!" NEVER!" To me, Paul was clearly worried this practice would diminish the Gospel and make these preachers look like the charlatans they were. Paul seem to give them another chance to clean up their own House [Church body], while insisting that the man behind the whole scheme be "put out of your midst and turned over to Satan for the crucifixion of his flesh," lest unbelievers *outside* the church discredit the entire church with but a "little leaven the whole loaf would be leavened" and make Paul look like a charlatan himself, weaken the Church, and prevent new believers from believing in God and His Son's sacrifice on Calvary.
I see Paul bravely stepping up to lead in this matter, and made it very clear (to me anyway) that this type of behavior is not to be tolerated from preachers. Further, by writing it in Scripture, Paul empowers every member of the [church body] to hold their leaders accountable, and thank God there are some congregants who do!
Moving now into Chapter 7, I believe what follows is the most important passage of Scripture from Paul as it ordains and reaffirms marriage for all of God's children, including those of us who are GLBT Believers in Him. For those today who are opposed to "redefining traditional marriage as being between one man and one woman," it may not come as such good news, to realize that Jesus and Paul already have. This is Scripture, and to me is the most supportive of GLBT loving relationships in all of Scripture, aside from Jesus' own mention of eunuchs in Matthew 19:11-12 where He says "Not all men can accept this saying, but it is for those to whom [the capacity to receive] it has been given. For there are eunuchs who have been born incapable of marriage; and there are eunuchs who have been made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves incapable of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who is able to accept this accept it."
Remembering that the following is the continuation of Paul's letter to Church Shepherds from 1 Corinthians Chapters 5 and 6, I hope you'll be blessed by these GLBT Believers affirming Scriptures from our Beloved Apostle Paul. He first reaffirms heterosexual marriages in verse 1-7, but if we continue reading until verses 8-9, we see him begin to explain "other" options as well.
1 Corinthians, Chapter 7
1 Now as to the matters of which you wrote me. It is well [and by that I mean advantageous, expedient, profitable, and wholesome] for a man not to touch a woman [to cohabit with her] but to remain unmarried.
NOTE: Right away, we see Paul is clearly talking about marriage, and that Church Shepherds in Corinth had written him to ask about the exceptions to one man/one woman marriage Jesus (and Isaiah) spoke of, and Paul responds with a list of various types of marriage options for different people in different circumstances in life:
2 But because of the temptation to impurity and to avoid immorality, let each [man] have his own wife and let each [woman] have her own husband.
3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights (goodwill, kindness, and what is due her as his wife), and likewise the wife to her husband.
4 For the wife does not have [exclusive] authority and control over her own body, but the husband [has his rights]; likewise also the husband does not have [exclusive] authority and control over his body, but the wife [has her rights].
5 Do not refuse and deprive and defraud each other [of your due marital rights], except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves unhindered to prayer. But afterwards resume marital relations, lest Satan tempt you [to sin] through your lack of restraint of sexual desire.
6 But I am saying this more as a matter of permission and concession, not as a command or regulation.
7 I wish that all men were like I myself am [in this matter of self-control]. But each has his own special gift from God, one of this kind and one of another.
NOTE: Here is where the Apostle Paul begins to discuss the marriage options for same gendered people, and actually refers back to the prophecies from Isaiah 54 and 56 wherein widows, barren women, and eunuchs are given the same promises of God as all His other children, and that includes marriage.
The next two verses support both those who believe that all GLBT Believers should abstain from sexual expression and commit to lifelong celibacy, but also supports GLBT Believers who believe same-gendered marriage is a gift from God just as it is for heterosexual couples. It also once again reaffirms Jesus' teachings about eunuchs (who are both male and female according to Isaiah 56 where God calls us "sons" and "daughters").
It's equally important to remember that Paul has just finished talking about heterosexual marriages in verses 1-7, so the following cannot be about heterosexuals...therefore, it must be about "other than heterosexuals":
8 But to the unmarried people [eunuchs] and to the widows, I declare that it is well (good, advantageous, expedient, and wholesome) for them to remain [single] even as I do.
9 But if they have not self-control (restraint of their passions), they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame [with passion and tortured continually with ungratified desire].
NOTE: That's right, Brothers and Sisters! Paul said we GLBT Believers should get married if celibacy is not our calling! I have included the word [eunuchs] above in verse 8 to add clarity. Clearly, as we determined that Jesus indicated "eunuch" meant "incapable of heterosexual marriage," the "unmarried people" Paul refers to would definitely include eunuchs who had been "incapable of marriage", but have now, through the blood of Jesus Christ, been made eligible to participate fully in God's House of Prayer for ALL People, partake of Holy Communion, receive baptism, and partake of all the sacraments pertaining thereto, including marriage.
10 But to the married people I give charge--not I but the Lord--that the wife is not to separate from her husband.
11 But if she does [separate from and divorce him], let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband. And [I charge] the husband [also] that he should not put away or divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I declare--I, not the Lord [for Jesus did not discuss this]--that if any brother has a wife who does not believe [in Christ] and she consents to live with him, he should not leave or divorce her.
13 And if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he consents to live with her, she should not leave or divorce him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is set apart (separated, withdrawn from heathen contamination, and affiliated with the Christian people) by union with his consecrated (set-apart) wife, and the unbelieving wife is set apart and separated through union with her consecrated husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean (unblessed heathen, outside the Christian covenant), but as it is they are prepared for God [pure and clean].
15 But if the unbelieving partner [actually] leaves, let him do so; in such [cases the remaining] brother or sister is not morally bound. But God has called us to peace.
16 For wife, how can you be sure of converting and saving your husband? Husband, how can you be sure of converting and saving your wife?
17 Only, let each one [seek to conduct himself and regulate his affairs so as to] lead the life which the Lord has allotted and imparted to him and to which God has invited and summoned him.
This is my order in all the churches.
NOTE: That's right, Brothers and Sisters! All of the above Scriptures, beginning in verse 1, Paul says this is his order in ALL the churches....not just the ones in Corinth...but ALL the Churches!
18 Was anyone at the time of his summons [from God] already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the evidence of circumcision. Was anyone at the time [God] called him uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised.
19 For circumcision is nothing and counts for nothing, neither does uncircumcision, but [what counts is] keeping the commandments of God.
20 Everyone should remain after God calls him in the station or condition of life in which the summons found him.
NOTE: That's right, Brothers and Sisters! Paul just said there should be no "ex-gay" therapy, no "aversion therapy", and no "self-loathing" for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender believers! Instead, Paul says "let each one remain in the station or condition of life in which the summons to Christ found us." The same happens after the Ethiopian Eunuch is baptized in Acts 8, and Scriptures says the "eunuch went on his way rejoicing!" So Scripture itself still refers to the "eunuch" as a "eunuch" even after his conversion to Christianity and baptism!
21 Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you. But if you are able to gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.
NOTE: Paul here does not "endorse" slavery as much as he encourages slaves to free themselves if they have the opportunity.
22 For he who as a slave was summoned in [to union with] the Lord is a freedman of the Lord, just so he who was free when he was called is a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah).
23 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ]; then do not yield yourselves up to become [in your own estimation] slaves to men [but consider yourselves slaves to Christ].
NOTE: That's right, Brothers and Sisters! The same passages so many Christian leaders used to use to oppose freedom of slaves were the same ones Paul said we should "not yield ourselves up to become slaves to men"....so much for Paul affirming slavery...to the contrary.
24 So, brethren, in whatever station or state or condition of life each one was when he was called, there let him continue with and close to God.
NOTE: Again, Paul endorses no "ex-gay" theology, nor does he claim there is some "cure" for being a GLBT Believer. However, this was also a Scripture that preachers used to avoid the fact Paul said slaves should seek freedom, and instead preached that slaves should remain slaves. Thank God He won that battle for us all! I believe He can free GLBT Believers from the tyranny that keeps us banned from so many churches as well!
25 Now concerning the virgins (the marriageable maidens) I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion and advice as one who by the Lord's mercy is rendered trustworthy and faithful.
26 I think then, because of the impending distress [that is even now setting in], it is well (expedient, profitable, and wholesome) for a person to remain as he or she 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 do not sin [in doing so], and if a virgin marries, she does not sin [in doing so]. Yet those who marry will have physical and earthly troubles, and I would like to spare you that.
NOTE: Amen to that! Marriage is a difficult thing to manage for many people, both gay and straight, and Paul *suggests* that we remain single, and not get overwrought for not having a life mate. Yet he also encourages us to marry if we cannot control our passions, "for it is better to marry than to burn in our lusts and ungratified desire."
We have daily proof of that too, because as the Church has excluded GLBT Believers, they have driven away many who would have otherwise possibly avoided a life of chance sexual encounters, may have married by now, and be quite well adjusted, serving the Lord, instead of regretting that we let preachers go unchecked in their hate speech and drive people away from God instead of drawing us closer.
That's exactly what happened to me, but thank God, He called me back into fellowship with Him! It's no wonder Paul told the preachers to stop judging those outside the church in 1 Corinthians 5. He knew it would be better for same-gendered people to be married and faithful to their spouse than to be out "roaming around" looking for love in all the wrong places, and forced apart from God by the Church itself. And now Paul gets to the very heart of the Gospel with this warning that what really matters is that Christ is soon to come:
29 I mean, brethren, the appointed time has been winding down and it has grown very short. From now on, let even those who have wives be as if they had none,
30 And those who weep and mourn as though they were not weeping and mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they did not possess anything,
NOTE: Again, this refers to the eunuch prophecies of found in Isaiah 55:1. Another interesting note is that Isaiah is also the same Scriptures the Ethiopian Eunuch was reading and from where Philip picked up when he began to bring him to the Lord....all in Isaiah 53-56:8...and the eunuch says, "Well then what's to keep me from being baptized?" So Philip, Paul and Jesus all refer to the eunuch prophecies from Isaiah and especially the (as yet) unfulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 56:7-8, which says, "For my House shall be a House of Prayer for ALL People, for I will gather others in also with those already gathered."
To me, this is proof that God is intent on His Word going forth and accomplishing what He sent it for, just as He says in Isaiah 55:11. But the troubling part is that until that prophecy is fulfilled and God's House of Prayer is for ALL People--including GLBT believers--Christ cannot come back to the earth, according to Isaiah 55:11. .He can't! He's bound by Scripture, including Isaiah 56:7-8!! Now, Paul summarizes his remarks with the following admonishments:
31 And those who deal with this world [overusing the enjoyments of this life] as though they were not absorbed by it and as if they had no dealings with it. For the outward form of this world (the present world order) is passing away.
32 My desire is to have you free from all anxiety and distressing care. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord--how he may please the Lord;
33 But the married man is anxious about worldly matters--how he may please his wife--
34 And he is drawn in diverging directions [his interests are divided and he is distracted from his devotion to God]. And the unmarried woman or girl is concerned and anxious about the matters of the Lord, how to be wholly separated and set apart in body and spirit; but the married woman has her cares [centered] in earthly affairs--how she may please her husband.
35 Now I say this for your own welfare and profit, not to put [a halter of] restraint upon you, but to promote what is seemly and in good order and to secure your undistracted and undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 But if any man thinks that he is not acting properly toward and in regard to his virgin [that he is preparing disgrace for her or incurring reproach], in case she is passing the bloom of her youth and if there is need for it, let him do what to him seems right; he does not sin; let them marry.
NOTE: Many theologians and believers alike have commented on how Paul was just "hung up" on sexuality and never let anyone do anything by exercising their own conscience. In actually, he offers his opinion, while still providing for ALL believers to exercise their own conscience. (Oh that many preachers would allow us to do the same!) But of course they know that if we do, the jig is up for the preachers who are not adhering to the Scriptures, as well as anti-gay organizations whose deep wallets give them power to enslave preachers all over the world to preach a message based on a personal agenda of man, twist Scripture, keep people out of the Church, forbid them to marry, and all in the Name of Christ. No wonder Paul wrote: "Now I write these things to move you to shame, and about your church....your boasting is not good, indeed it is entirely out of place" early on in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.
37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart [strong in mind and purpose], not being forced by necessity but having control over his own will and desire, and has resolved this in his heart to keep his own virginity, he is doing well.
38 So also then, he [the father] who gives his virgin (his daughter) in marriage does well, and he [the father] who does not give [her] in marriage does better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband by law as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she will, only [provided that he too is] in the Lord.
40 But in my opinion [a widow] is happier (more blessed and to be envied) if she does not remarry. And also I think I have the Spirit of God.
Frequently Offered Explanations:
In double checking my interpretations of these Scriptures, I have participated in various focus groups, some made of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and some that were comprised entirely of heterosexual, fundamental, and Evangelical Christians who vehemently oppose the eunuch Scriptures as foundational truths from the Bible. Listed here are the most commonly offered explanations as to who the Born Eunuchs in Scriptures were, and follow up responses that I have found continue to either be ignored or otherwise go unanswered. I hope it helps to prepare those who are gay Christians to understand what they will come up against when explaining these passages to fellow (and often times hostilely opposed) fundamental and/or evangelical Christians:
FOUNDATIONAL SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
1 Now as to the matters of which you wrote me. It is well [and by that I mean advantageous, expedient, profitable, and wholesome] for a man not to touch a woman [to cohabit with her] but to remain unmarried.
NOTE: Right away, we see Paul is clearly talking about marriage, and that Church Shepherds in Corinth had written him to ask about the exceptions to one man/one woman marriage Jesus (and Isaiah) spoke of, and Paul responds with a list of various types of marriage options for different people in different circumstances in life:
2 But because of the temptation to impurity and to avoid immorality, let each [man] have his own wife and let each [woman] have her own husband.
3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights (goodwill, kindness, and what is due her as his wife), and likewise the wife to her husband.
4 For the wife does not have [exclusive] authority and control over her own body, but the husband [has his rights]; likewise also the husband does not have [exclusive] authority and control over his body, but the wife [has her rights].
5 Do not refuse and deprive and defraud each other [of your due marital rights], except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves unhindered to prayer. But afterwards resume marital relations, lest Satan tempt you [to sin] through your lack of restraint of sexual desire.
6 But I am saying this more as a matter of permission and concession, not as a command or regulation.
7 I wish that all men were like I myself am [in this matter of self-control]. But each has his own special gift from God, one of this kind and one of another.
NOTE: Here is where the Apostle Paul begins to discuss the marriage options for same gendered people, and actually refers back to the prophecies from Isaiah 54 and 56 wherein widows, barren women, and eunuchs are given the same promises of God as all His other children, and that includes marriage.
The next two verses support both those who believe that all GLBT Believers should abstain from sexual expression and commit to lifelong celibacy, but also supports GLBT Believers who believe same-gendered marriage is a gift from God just as it is for heterosexual couples. It also once again reaffirms Jesus' teachings about eunuchs (who are both male and female according to Isaiah 56 where God calls us "sons" and "daughters").
It's equally important to remember that Paul has just finished talking about heterosexual marriages in verses 1-7, so the following cannot be about heterosexuals...therefore, it must be about "other than heterosexuals":
8 But to the unmarried people [eunuchs] and to the widows, I declare that it is well (good, advantageous, expedient, and wholesome) for them to remain [single] even as I do.
9 But if they have not self-control (restraint of their passions), they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame [with passion and tortured continually with ungratified desire].
NOTE: That's right, Brothers and Sisters! Paul said we GLBT Believers should get married if celibacy is not our calling! I have included the word [eunuchs] above in verse 8 to add clarity. Clearly, as we determined that Jesus indicated "eunuch" meant "incapable of heterosexual marriage," the "unmarried people" Paul refers to would definitely include eunuchs who had been "incapable of marriage", but have now, through the blood of Jesus Christ, been made eligible to participate fully in God's House of Prayer for ALL People, partake of Holy Communion, receive baptism, and partake of all the sacraments pertaining thereto, including marriage.
“Born eunuchs cannot marry, therefore they must remain celibate.”
RESPONSE: Not according to the Apostle Paul. Compton's lists 1 Corinthians 7:8 as a reference to eunuchs when Paul refers to them as "unmarried people and widows", which hearkens back to God's prophecy regarding eunuchs and widows in Isaiah 54 and 56. Let's look at what Paul says then regarding eunuchs: But to the unmarried people and to the widows, I declare that it is well (good, advantageous, expedient, and wholesome) for them to remain [single] even as I do. But if they have not self-control (restraint of their passions), they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame [with passion and tortured continually with ungratified desire].
“Paul was saying eunuchs should marry the widows, or a woman”
RESPONSE: This cannot be true, or Jesus wouldn't have exempted eunuchs from the male/female marriage paradigm, and why would the Apostle Paul ever issue an order to the Church that would contradict Jesus Himself?
“The word translated "unmarried" in 1 Cor 7:8-9, means only unmarried it does NOT mean eunuch and it certainly does not mean homosexual. In 1 Cor 7, Paul said nothing about eunuchs or homosexuals. In the chapter he is talking about husbands and wives, and he includes unmarried men and widows, not homosexual people and widows. Paul said absolutely nothing about, "eunuchs SHOULD marry." He did NOT even use the word "eunuch.”
RESPONSE: Why would Paul repeat himself? If he was talking about unmarried men or women, they would have already been included in vss 1-2 when he said let each man have his own wife and each wife his own husband. Not only would you have him repeating himself, but not making sense, because basically you'd have that Scripture read as:
NOW AS to the matters of which you wrote me. It is well [and by that I mean advantageous, expedient, profitable, and wholesome] for a man not to touch a woman [to cohabit with her] but to remain unmarried.
But because of the temptation to impurity and to avoid immorality, let each [man] have his own wife and let each [woman] have her own husband.
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights (goodwill, kindness, and what is due her as his wife), and likewise the wife to her husband.
For the wife does not have [exclusive] authority and control over her own body, but the husband [has his rights]; likewise also the husband does not have [exclusive] authority and control over his body, but the wife [has her rights].
Do not refuse and deprive and defraud each other [of your due marital rights], except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, so that you may devote yourselves unhindered to prayer. But afterwards resume marital relations, lest Satan tempt you [to sin] through your lack of restraint of sexual desire.
But I am saying this more as a matter of permission and concession, not as a command or regulation.
I wish that all men were like I myself am [in this matter of self-control]. But each has his own special gift from God, one of this kind and one of another.
7 But to the unmarried people and to the widows, I declare that it is well (good, advantageous, expedient, and wholesome) for them to remain [single] even as I do.
8 But if they have not self-control (restraint of their passions), they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame [with passion and tortured continually with ungratified desire].
To say that Paul repeated in verses 7 and 8 EXACTLY what he had already said in verses 1 and 2 and about the very same people just does not compute He's clearly talking about two different groups of people. The first group are clearly heterosexual, the second group must not then be heterosexual, or they would be included in the first group. As Paul said he wished all men could remain "as he was" (celibate), but if they could not they should marry. But what does Paul mean by "as he was?"
Well, Paul too was a eunuch, in that he was celibate by choice, and did not marry. That does not mean Paul was gay, but that if someone was a born eunuch (unmarried) or a widow, that they SHOULD marry rather than to burn in their lusts. But he said this to a completely different group of people in verses 7 and 8 from those mentioned and which would have been included in verses 1 and 2, and FOR THE EXACT SAME REASON: because marriage is the remedy for sexual impurity, whether heterosexual or homosexual. This is true without it even being in Scripture. But let's take another look to be certain:
1 NOW AS to the matters of which you wrote me. It is well [and by that I mean advantageous, expedient, profitable, and wholesome] for a man not to touch a woman [to cohabit with her] but to remain unmarried.
2 But because of the temptation to impurity and to avoid immorality, let each [man] have his own wife and let each [woman] have her own husband.
So he's already talking about unmarried heterosexual men and women in verse 1 and tells them to marry to avoid temptation and avoid immorality, and then you'd have us believe that he repeated his message in verse 7 and 8 to the very same people and for the very same reason.
Finally, let's recall from Chapter 1 that the the Amplified Bible translates the word "eunuch" as "incapable of (heterosexual) marriage."
For there are eunuchs who have been born incapable of marriage; and there are eunuchs who have been made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves incapable of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let him who is able to accept this accept it. Matthew 19:12
Also Strong's Concordance includes this definition of eunuchs:
2135 εὐνοῦχος [eunouchos /yoo·noo·khos/] n m. From eune (a bed) and 2192; TDNT 2:765; TDNTA 277; GK 2336; Eight occurrences; AV translates as “eunuch” eight times.
1 a bed keeper, bed guard, superintendent of the bedchamber, chamberlain.
1a in the palace of oriental monarchs who support numerous wives the
superintendent of the women’s apartment or harem, an office held by eunuchs. 1b
an emasculated man, a eunuch. 1b1 eunuchs in oriental courts held by other
offices of greater, held by the Ethiopian eunuch mentioned in Ac. 8:27-39.
1c one naturally incapacitated.
1c1 for marriage.
1c2 begetting children.
1d onewho voluntarily abstains from marriage.
What does "one naturally incapacitated for marriage" mean if not a reference to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender people? Even physically injured people can marry. Even those who do not procreate and have children can marry. So what does "one naturally incapacitated for marriage" mean, if it does *not* refer to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender people?
"The use of the word "widows" in 1 Corinthians 7 does NOT make it a reference to Isaiah 54."
RESPONSE: Check out the commentary on Isaiah 54 from Biblegateway.com, and I think you'll see he does:
SING, O barren one, you who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who did not travail with child! For the [spiritual] children of the desolate one will be more than the children of the married wife, says the Lord.
Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes,
For you will spread abroad to the right hand and to the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded and depressed, for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you shall not [seriously] remember the reproach of your WIDOWHOOD any more.
For your Maker is your Husband--the Lord of hosts is His name--and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He is called.
For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken, grieved in spirit, and heartsore--even a wife [wooed and won] in youth, when she is [later] refused and scorned, says your God.
For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you [to Me] again.
In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age-enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.
O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in fair colors [in antimony to enhance their brilliance] and lay your foundations with sapphires.
And I will make your windows and pinnacles of [sparkling] agates or rubies, and your gates of [shining] carbuncles, and all your walls [of your enclosures] of precious stones.
And all your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children.
You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you.
Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy.
But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.
Footnotes from Biblegateway.com:
1.Isaiah 54:1 Although this chapter is primarily intended to express Zion's joy over redemption, it has also a very personal, long-neglected, and often overlooked message for women--the lonely, the disappointed, the childless, the widow. It has all the glorious confidence and assurance, the incentive and understanding, for which feminine hearts have longed throughout the ages! Every woman who will read it every week for a year with receptive heart and mind will find herself not only spiritually prepared for her own childlessness or widowhood, should it come, but also supplied with rich treasure with which to address the similar needs of countless other aching hearts to whom the Holy Spirit is here speaking.
FOUNDATIONAL SCRIPTURE 2: 1 Timothy 4:1-3:
1 But the [Holy] Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach,
2 Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized),
3 Who forbid people to marry.....
Who else in the latter days are forbidden to marriage by the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared except gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people? In my opinion, this passage of Scripture confirms and continues to reveal Paul's orders to all the churches to allow GLBT Believers to marry, and that by forbidding us to, many Christians are inadvertently being seduced by doctrines that demons teach, and are causing a great many number of people to fall away from the faith in these latter times (last days).
Frequently Offered Explanations:
“There are no examples of same gender marriage in Scriptures, therefore same gender marriages are strictly prohibited by God's Word”
RESPONSE: That makes sense, until we realize the Holy Spirit already knew there wouldn't be any examples included in the Scriptures long before the Bible was completed. In fact, it was the Holy Spirit Who said through the Apostle Paul that there would be people forbid to marry in the latter days.
“Paul was referring to the Catholic Church's practice of forbidding priests from marrying”
RESPONSE: This cannot be true, because those entering the Priesthood of the Catholic Church do so by choice, and are not forbid from marriage provided they lay down their duties as priest. Also this follows Paul's encouragement for people to remain single in order to focus on the Lord. This was not an order by Paul that NO clergy could marry, because he even says later that a bishop should be the husband of only one wife. At any rate, this does not "forbid people to marry" and in the last days, and by the hypocrisy and pretense of those who had turned away from the faith (even if they continue to refer to themselves as Christians). The Holy Spirit is very specific in who it was being forbid to marry in the last days, and only the forbidding of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from marrying by those who call themselves Christians (many of whom have had divorces) fits all the criteria the Holy Spirit outlines, including the hypocrisy and pretense exemplified in the skyrocketing divorce rate both inside and outside the church over greater than 50%.
“Paul was referring to the forbidding of marriage by the Gnostic Christians.”
RESPONSE: This cannot be true, for the Gnostics no longer exist, and we are in the last days NOW, not when the Gnostics existed.
