September 15, 2025 - 1 Corinthians 7:23,24 - "Rooted in Christ"

1 Corinthians 7:23-24

"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God."

When we open God’s Word, we are not merely studying history, doctrine, or moral advice. We are beholding Christ Himself. From Genesis to Revelation, He is the theme—the Lamb slain from (since) the foundation of the world, revealed in the types, pictures, and prophecies of the Old Testament. He is the One in Whom all the promises of God are "Yea and Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20). In this letter to the Corinthians, written to a fledgling church in a chaotic city, Paul continually draws them back to Christ as the One True Foundation.

The Corinthians were unsettled in many ways—questions about marriage, singleness, slavery, and social standing filled their minds. Yet Paul does not provide them with a system of rules. Instead, he calls them to remember who they are in Christ. Our LORD is sovereign over every circumstance of life, and He has purchased His people with His own blood. That purchase is the Anchor, the unshakable Foundation—the reason God’s elect, His redeemed ones, endure storms without being swept away. It is not that they were holding on to Christ, but Christ holding them in His Almighty Sovereign Hand, from which nothing could or would remove them! (Romans 8:38–39). This is why Paul wrote earlier: “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). And again, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The sum of all Truth is Christ—His Person, His work, and His sovereign rule. He is the One Who has called us, and He is the One Who holds us.

In 1 Corinthians 7:23–24, Paul reminds us of two aspects of the Truth as it is in Christ: the price that bought the sinners for whom He died, and the call to abide with God wherever He has placed them. Both flow from Christ, and both call His sheep to rest in Him. “Ye are bought with a price.” What is that price? Nothing less than the precious blood of Christ. This is not a transaction of silver or gold, nor the empty traditions of men, but the very Life of the Son of God given for His people. “He purchased His church with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Christ bore the wrath of God alone, fulfilled all righteousness, and obtained His people's salvation forever. This means we are not our own. Our identity is not tied to outward things—whether circumcision or uncircumcision, slave or free, high or low in this world. None of these defines us. Paul, in all his writings, presses the point of whose we are in Christ: “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7). What matters is not man’s opinion, nor subjection to men’s systems, but the Eternal Truth that Christ has laid hold of us at the cost of His own life.

Then Paul says, “Be not ye the servants of men.” The believer does not live under the dominion of human traditions, religious demands, or social hierarchies. Though in the flesh one may still be a servant, yet in Christ he is the LORD’s freedman. And if one is free in this world, he is Christ’s servant. Either way, we belong wholly to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Herein lies the sovereignty of God in Christ—He rules His people, and He alone has purchased the right to claim them as His own.

And then verse 24: “Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” This is a call to contentment, to rest in the providence of God. It is not the changing of our outward condition that saves us; it is Christ. Whether in marriage or singleness, in wealth or poverty, in freedom or servitude—God has called us where we are, and there we are enabled to abide with Him. This does not mean we never move, nor that circumstances cannot change. Paul says if a slave can be free, use it rather. But the believer’s peace does not depend on outward change. True Peace is knowing that in every condition, Christ is our Foundation. Like the ship in the storm, we hold steady because He holds us steady.

To “abide with God” means to live in constant remembrance that He is present with His elect, ruling over them, sustaining them, and sanctifying them in the very place He has placed them. It is to walk with Christ, whether in the palace or in the prison, knowing that His will is good and His Grace sufficient. This is the glory of the Gospel for those of us who are His chosen, redeemed, and called out ones: Christ has bought us, Christ owns us, and Christ keeps us. We are rooted not in the traditions of men but in the eternal Son of God Who gave Himself for us. And because He reigns sovereignly over all things, we abide with Him and are kept by Him in contentment wherever we are.

So hear again the Word of the LORD: “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” May we live each day remembering whose we are in Christ, resting in His sovereign Hand and His finished work at the cross.