Bh – Grow Where You’re Planted 7: 17-24

Grow Where You’re Planted
7: 17-24

Grow where you’re planted DIG: What does the principle mean? Why is it restated three times? What two conditions does Paul address? What historical factors have made it all but impossible for a Jewish believer to obey Paul’s instruction here? Why did Paul tell Gentile believers not to convert to Judaism? How were slaves treated during Paul’s day?

REFLECT: How does the principle “grow where you’re planted” have to do with you? Where have you been planted? How are you growing? How are you affecting others by your growth? Does being circumcised mean nothing to the Jews? In what sense does Paul say that it means nothing? In what sense are you a slave to Messiah? In what sense does Messiah free you?

Let each person live the life the Lord has assigned them.

The Corinthian church was made up of both Jews and Gentiles, an improbable fellowship. Paul uses it and applies it to two “conditions” – being Jewish or Gentile, and being enslaved or free, repeating at the end and in the middle of each of these encouragements not to seek unnecessary change in one’s religious or social or economic status when the time can be better spent serving the Lord.¹⁹⁴

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being such a wonderful and gracious Heavenly Father – always caring and always there with Your children to help and to guide us. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Thank You for allowing Your children the blessing of serving You and being able to serve You in the place that You have put us in. Our heart and love is new for it is now focused on pleasing You rather than on ourselves, but our life work may, or may not, change. What is important is the heart change of love putting God first. Now You work in circumstances to give us a new way to live out our love for You. Thank You for giving us Your Ruach Ha’Kodesh to live within those who love You and to help and to guide us how to live. You call us to walk as children of love (Ephesians 5:1), children of light (Ephesians 5:8) and as wise children (Ephesians 5:15).

As we spend time in Your Word and meditate on what it says, we will have the knowledge how to walk in ways of service that please You. How wonderful that we can live a life of thankfulness to you (Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6; First Thessalonians 5:18) no matter how hard the situation is. Though earthly trials seem long and hard, they are really only momentary. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). Eternal joy and peace (Revelation 21:1-4) awaits Your children. You are a wonderful father and it is a delight to serve You always! In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The principle established (7:17): Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him, whether single or married, and let him live it in the condition he was in when God called (Greek: kekleken, in the perfect tense hints at the continuing effects of that call) him (7:17a). Paul repeats this principle in 7:20: Each person should remain in the condition he was in when he was called, and like bookends, he repeated it for a third time in 7:24: Brothers, let each one remain with God in the condition in which he was called. I think Paul was trying to tell us something! Then, to make sure that the Corinthians realized he was not treating them any differently from what he expected from any of the other churches he had started, Paul went on to say: This is the rule I lay down in all the congregations (7:17b). One gets the feeling that some in Corinth may have been charging Paul with treating them differently from, or perhaps more harshly than, his other churches.¹⁹⁵

To be, or not to be Jewish (7:18-20): Those in the church at Corinth who were Jewish when they received Messiah wondered if they needed to stop being Jewish in order to follow Yeshua. Paul assured his Jewish readers that that wasn’t the case, saying: Was someone already circumcised when he was called, that is, a Jewish believer? Then he should not try to remove the marks of his circumcision (7:18a). This had both a symbolic and a literal meaning.

First, literally, this had a very specific application. Circumcision was an embarrassment in the Roman world. According to the Maccabees, some Jewish men “made themselves uncircumcised.” Josephus tells us that during the Greek rule of the eastern Mediterranean several centuries before Messiah, some Jewish men who wanted to be accepted into Greek society had surgery performed to make themselves appear uncircumcised when they bathed or exercised in the gymnasiums. They literally became uncircumcised surgically. The Roman encyclopedist Celsus, in the first century AD, wrote a detailed description of the surgical procedure for decircumcision (De Medicina VII. 25).¹⁹⁶

Secondly, symbolically, we can reasonably infer that Paul meant that Jews should not try to assimilate into Gentile, or so-called “Christian” culture, but should remain strictly Messianic. Paul drew the principle that he opposed Jewish believers removing the mark of circumcision, most likely using an example from the Maccabean crisis of the Second Century AD (First Maccabees 1:11-15; and allusions to the phenomenon in the Assumption of Moses 8:3 and in Avot 3:11), and how it would it would lead to Jewish apostasy away from ADONAI. Why some Jewish believers may have thought circumcision was unnecessary is because Paul opposed Gentile circumcision (Galatians 5:11).

Curiously, when a Jew come to believe that a fellow Jew, Yeshua, is the Jewish Messiah promised in the Jewish Scriptures, today’s Jewish community considers it the very essence of assimilation into the Gentile world. Yet here is a verse from one of the books of the B’rit Chadashah that strongly discourages a Messianic Jew from assimilating. These conflicting views result from five historical factors which have made it all but impossible for a Jewish believer to obey Paul’s instruction.

First, since B’rit Chadashah times, a Jew who acknowledges Yeshua as the Messiah has usually been excommunicated by his own Jewish people, or at best regarded with suspicion; so that even if he wants to follow Jewish customs, participate in the Jewish festivals, and remain loyal to his Jewish roots, it isn’t easy for him to do so in isolation.

Second, no longer welcomed in the Jewish community, he goes to a church. But there, even though Jews and Gentiles are equal in God’s sight, Gentiles are the vast majority. He finds himself a lone Jew in a sea of Gentiles, vastly outnumbered, with few or no other Jewish believers to support him in his efforts to preserve his Jewishness. Most Gentile believers are generally oblivious to this challenge and wonder why Jews aren’t just happy in church, asking such questions as, “Why would you want to go back under the Law!”

Third, the Church has usually maintained a mistaken view of conversion. Instead of understanding that a Jewish believer converts from sin to righteousness (the same as a Gentile believer), it is thought he converts from Judaism to Christianity. By the fourth century AD the Roman Catholic Church was requiring Jewish believers to sign documents in which they had to agree to stop following Jewish customs or associating with unsaved Jews. Further, since the Roman Church decreed this view, it was not surprising that the Jewish community used it as evidence that a Jewish believer was no longer Jewish. If this was true (which it was, and is not), then it would be appropriate to urge Jewish believers to eliminate all of their Jewish practices. But this was, and is not true, showing that the first Jewish believers remained fully Jewish, and encouraging today’s Jewish believers to do the same.

Fourth, the Church has misunderstood the B’rit Chadashah’s teaching about the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Messianic Community (12:13) and therefore misused it to force Messianic Jews to assimilate. Members of every other ethnic group are encouraged to maintain their culture and express their faith within it. But when a Messianic Jew does so, he may be accused of “legalizing” (Romans 6:14), “Judaizing” (Galatians 2:14), and “raising the middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2:11-16).

Fifth and last, it cannot be denied that some Jewish believers have had a measure of self-hate (although this unfortunate phenomenon is also found among non-Messianic Jews). In their desire to be accepted by their new Gentile friends in the Church they may have said or done things that depreciate Judaism or Jewishness. On the one hand, Judaism’s failure to recognize Yeshua as the Messiah is a sin of grievous dimension. On the other hand, no Messianic Jew should ingratiate himself with Gentile Christians by appealing to antisemitic impulses. Jewish self-hate is simply not a concomitant of the gospel.

The challenge for today’s Messianic Jews is to establish, despite these factors, a Messianic synagogues in which they can express fully their ties with both Messianic Jews and believing Gentiles in the Lord since the dividing wall of hostility which divided us has been broken down (Ephesians 2:14).¹⁹⁷

Was someone uncircumcised when he was called, that is, a Gentile believer? He shouldn’t undergo circumcision (7:18b). That is, a Gentile believer shouldn’t convert to Judaism and be circumcised. This does not speak of a Gentile believer who wants to give up his faith in Yeshua and convert to non-Messianic Judaism – of course, Paul would never approve of that. Rather, he says that Gentile believers should not undergo conversion to Judaism while retaining their faith in Yeshua because at the time of Paul’s writing there was a strong Judaizing movement (see the commentary on Galatians, to see link click Ag – Who Were the Judaizers), but he does not deal with that corrupt teaching here. He is basically saying that for believing Gentiles to convert to Judaism was unnecessary. There were more important things to do, namely, serving the Lord.

Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing. By themselves, out of context, these words are a slap in the face of Judaism, in which circumcision confirms a man’s and a woman’s membership in God’s people under the covenant with Abraham (see the commentary on Genesis En – For Generations to Come Every Male Who is Eight Days Old Must be Circumcised). This verse does not teach that Jews should give up their Jewishness. Many Jewish believers of the past have assimilated their way into the Gentile church and stopped circumcising their sons, remembered the Sabbath or appointed times, or ate kosher. It is absolutely appropriate for Jewish believers to oppose this sort of assimilation. Also, it is quite clear that God has a special, national, calling for Isra’el, “For all Isra’el will be saved” (Romans 11:29).¹⁹⁸

But in the Corinthian context, Paul is talking about an individual calling to salvation. And in that regard, Jews and Gentiles have an equal standing before ADONAI (Romans 3:22-23 and 29-30; First Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 2:13, 3:28, 5:6 and 6:15; Colossians 3:11). Ethnic ties, cultural expressions, customs and social or religious status have no bearing in individual salvation; in this regard, being Jewish or Gentile means nothing. However, what does mean something is keeping God’s commandments (7:19b). The entire Torah is summed up in a single command, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14).¹⁹⁹

And repeating for the third time: Each person should remain in the condition he was in when he was called (7:20). It is important to remember that Paul didn’t suggest that we should never change our status. He said that we should remain as we are, in relationships and service, until ADONAI assigns us new tasks.²⁰⁰

To be, or not to be a slave (17:21-24): Paul now moves to his second example, this time concerning slaves. His point is not to approve of slavery or to suggest that it is as good a condition to live under as freedom. His point is that, if a person is a slave, he is still able to serve the Lord. No circumstance, no matter how terrible, painful, or unjust, can keep us from being salt and light in the world (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Df – You are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World). A slave can, in fact, serve Messiah through his slavery (Ephesians 6:5-8). Paul consistently taught that principle. Slaves were to serve their masters honestly and sincerely: Whatever work you do, put yourself into it, as those who are serving not merely other people, but the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Slaves had a unique opportunity to testify for the Lord. They were to show their human masters that they worked hard and honestly, not because they were forced to, but because they wanted to, out of love for and their obedience to their true Master and Lord. They could demonstrate true contentment and peace in the midst of slavery, thus showing the inner provision of salvation.

The book of Philemon centers around the runaway slave Onesimus, whom Paul had led to Messiah while in prison (Philemon 10). As it happens, Onesimus’s owner was a believer. He was Paul’s beloved brother and fellow worker and the church in Colossae met in his home (Philemon 1-2). The apostle makes a strong personal and spiritual appeal for Philemon to forgive Onesimus and to take him back, not just as a slave, but as a brother in Messiah (Philemon 16). Yet, as sticky as it is for some social activists today, Paul did not condemn slavery or question Philemon’s legal rights over his slave. He did not ask for social justice for Onesimus. In fact, he even used slavery as an analogy for the believer’s walk with God.

In the Roman empire of Paul’s time, around fifty percent of the population were slaves. But unlike most slaves throughout history, the slave of that day often was better educated, more skilled, and more literate and cultured than the average free person. A large percentage of the doctors, teachers, accountants, and other professionals were slaves. Many of them lived in relative ease and were treated with respect. Others, of course, lived in constant poverty and humiliation under cruel and merciless masters.

Paul made no distinction. Were you a slave when you were called? Any slave, in any circumstance, was to be willing to remain as he or she was. Only sin can keep us from obeying and serving the Lord . . . circumstance cannot. Therefore, if we are in a difficult, uncomfortable, and restricting situation, don’t let it bother you, but be determined to be faithful as long as the Lord leaves you there (7:21a). However, even having affirmed that principle, Paul makes it clear that he did not consider slavery to be the most desirable condition: Although if you can gain your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity (7:21b). Freedom is immeasurably better than slavery, and believers are not more spiritual for staying in slavery. If a believer had the opportunity to become free, as did many slaves in B’rit Chadashah times, a believer should take advantage of it. Paul was content to be in jail and to serve the Lord as long as he was jailed. He carried on much of his ministry from a jail cell. But when he was freed, he left jail. If a slave who was a believer had the opportunity to become free, he should take advantage of the opportunity.²⁰¹

Now Paul uses a “reverse thinking” that is similar to Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 3:22 to 4:1, where he likewise deals with slavery. Slaves should indeed be obedient to their masters, but they should also realize that in the Lord, they have an inner freedom that no one can take away. For a person who was a slave when he was called is the Lord’s freedman. Similarly, a slave owner should realize that, even though he may be able to command other people, in the eyes of the Lord, he himself is a slave. Likewise, someone who was a free man when he was called is a slave of the Messiah (7:22). We belong to another, Messiah, who is Lord.

It is perhaps for this reason that Paul reiterates here what he said in 6:20. You were bought at a price, so do not become slaves of other people (7:23). That is, we are owned by Someone who has with His blood paid the purchase price for us, namely, Yeshua Messiah. The statement, do not become slaves of other people, perhaps reflects the situation brewing in Galatia, where Paul considers that those who, after becoming believers, were being tempted into submitting themselves to all the 613 commandments of the Torah, were, in fact, submitting themselves to a new form of slavery. Therefore, he wrote to those Galatian churches: It is for freedom that Messiah has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).²⁰²

For the third time Paul gives the principle: Brothers, let each one remain with God in the condition in which he was called (7:24). However, it is that we have been called (saved), and in whatever condition we are now in, we should be willing to remain. ADONAI allows us to be where we are and to stay where we are for a purpose. Conversion is not the signal for us to leave our social condition, our marriage, or singleness, our boss, or other circumstances. We are to leave sin and anything that encourages sin; but otherwise, we are to grow where you’re planted until God moves us.

There is the story of the pastor who was out eating dinner at a restaurant, when a woman recognized him and came over to his table. She said, “I feel like I should go into the ministry.” He asked her, “Are you married?” She said that she was. “How many children do you have?” She answered that she had five children. He said, “That’s wonderful. God has indeed called you into the ministry, and He has already given you your congregation!”²⁰³