Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 1 Corinthians 7:1-17 Marriage J. Lyth, D. D. I. IS NOT NECESSARY FOR ALL (ver. 1). 1. Instituted by God, sanctified by Christ, it is pure and holy. 2. Yet circumstances, such as times of calamity, personal duty, &c., may render it undesirable II. IS ADVISABLE FOR MANY (vers. 2-5). Because — 1. Of the force of natural passion. 2. It is a shelter from temptation. III. IT IS NEVERTHELESS A MATTER OF CHOICE (vers. 6-9). 1. Paul only counsels, does not command 2. The choice must be determined by the gift of God, which may render celibacy preferable, but every one must carefully estimate his case. ( J. Lyth, D. D. )

Benson Commentary 1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 . Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me — The letter of the Corinthian believers to which the apostle alludes here, and in which it appears they put divers questions to him, hath long been lost; a circumstance to be much regretted; for had it been preserved, it would doubtless have illustrated many passages of the two epistles to the Corinthians, which are now obscure because we are ignorant of the matters to which the apostle alludes in these passages. It is good for a man — Who is master of himself, and has his passions and appetites under due control; not to touch a woman — That is, not to marry; so great and many are the advantages of a single life, especially in the present calamitous state of the church. Nevertheless — Since the God of nature has, for certain wise reasons, implanted in the sexes a mutual inclination to each other; to avoid — That is, in order to prevent; fornication — And every other species of uncleanness and pollution; let every man — Who finds it expedient in order to his living chastely; have his own wife — His own, for Christianity allows no polygamy; and every woman her own husband — “Here the apostle speaks in the imperative mood, using the style in which superiors give their commands; but although he recommends a single life in certain circumstances, this and the injunction ( 1 Corinthians 7:5 ) given to all who cannot live chastely unmarried, is a direct prohibition of celibacy to the bulk of mankind. Further, as no person in early life can foresee what his future state of mind will be, or what temptations he may meet with, he cannot certainly know whether it will be in his power to live chastely unmarried. Wherefore, as that is the only case in which the apostle allows persons to live unmarried, vows of celibacy and virginity, taken in early life, must in both sexes be sinful.” — Macknight. 1 Corinthians 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 1 Corinthians 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 . Let the husband — Where this relation is commenced; render unto the wife, ??? ??????????? ??????? , the due benevolence — That is, the conjugal duty, the duty resulting from the nature of the marriage- covenant. Or, let not married persons fancy that there is any perfection in living with each other as if they were unmarried. The wife hath not power over her own body — Namely, in this respect, but by the marriage- covenant hath transferred it to her husband. And likewise the husband hath not power over his own body; but it is, as it were, the property of the wife, their engagements being mutual; so that, on every occasion, conscience obliges them to remain appropriated to each other. “The right of the wife to her husband’s body, being here represented as precisely the same with the husband’s right to her body, it excludes the husband from simultaneous polygamy; otherwise the right of the husband to his wife’s body would not exclude her from being married to another, during her husband’s lifetime. Besides, the direction, ( 1 Corinthians 7:2 ,) let every woman have her own husband, plainly leads to the same conclusion. The right of the wife to her husband’s body is a perfect right, being founded on the ends of marriage, namely, the procreation of children, their proper education, and the prevention of fornication. But these ends would, in a great measure, be frustrated, if the wife had not an exclusive right to her husband’s person.” — Macknight. 1 Corinthians 7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. 1 Corinthians 7:5-7 . Defraud not — Or deprive not; one the other — Of this benevolence; or withdraw not from the company of each other; except it be with consent for a time, that — On those special and solemn occasions, you may entirely give yourselves up to the exercises of devotion. From this passage it appears, that, in the first age, when married persons parted for a time to employ themselves in the duties of devotion, they lived in separate habitations, or rather in different parts of their own house. For in the eastern countries the houses were so built, that the women had apartments allotted to themselves. And come together again — As usual, and do not continue the separation too long; that Satan tempt you not — To unclean thoughts, if not actions too, which he probably might do, if you should long remain separate from each other; for your incontinency — The word ??????? , thus translated, properly signifies, the want of the government of one’s passions and appetites. It is properly observed here by Dr. Macknight, “that marriage being an affair of the greatest importance to society, it was absolutely necessary that its obligation and duties, as well as the obligation and duties of the other relations of life, should be declared by inspiration in the Scriptures. This passage, therefore, of the word of God ought to be read with due reverence, both because it was dictated by the Holy Spirit, and because throughout the whole of his discourse the apostle has used the greatest chastity and delicacy of expression.” But I speak this — That which I have said, for the preventing of incontinency, both in the unmarried, ( 1 Corinthians 7:2 ,) and married, ( 1 Corinthians 7:5 ,) by permission — From Christ, to leave you to your liberty therein, if you have the gift of continency. Or, as an advice, as some render ???? ????????? . Bengelius says the word denotes an opinion, rightly suited to the state or disposition of another. And not of commandment — Not as an injunction. Or, as some commentators suppose, he may refer to what follows. For I would that all men — All the disciples of Christ who are unmarried, and can live chastely, were even as I myself — That is, would remain eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake; or, that they could as easily bear the restraints of a single life in present circumstances, and exercise as resolute a command over their natural desires. Paul, having tasted the sweetness of this liberty, wished others to enjoy it as well as himself. But every man hath his proper gift of God — According to our Lord’s declaration, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given, Matthew 19:11 . 1 Corinthians 7:6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. 1 Corinthians 7:7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. 1 Corinthians 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 . I say, therefore — I give this advice; to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them — It is a condition of life which will tend to promote their eternal welfare, that, if they conveniently can, they abide even as I — Namely, unmarried; for that Paul was then single is certain: and from Acts 7:58 , compared with the following parts of the history, it seems probable that he always was so. It may not be improper to observe, that many of the things which the apostle delivers here, as also chap. 14., and in some other parts of this epistle, are rather to be considered as advices about what was best to be done in many particular cases, to which the general precepts, or doctrine of the gospel revealed to this apostle, did not descend, than as commands, enjoining these things to the believers, under the penalty of their contracting guilt, and exposing themselves to the divine displeasure, if they did not comply with them. Yet these also were directions, or counsels of the Lord, concerning what was expedient to be done, and were delivered to the apostle by the infallible inspiration of the Holy Spirit, (as appears by comparing 1 Corinthians 14:37 ; 2 Corinthians 1:17 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:8 ; with 1 Corinthians 14:40 ,) and were faithfully delivered by him; and therefore the assent of the Corinthians is required to them as such. See the like advice concerning some particular charities of the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 8:8 ; 2 Corinthians 8:10 ; the apostle distinguishing between the commands of God, which none might disobey without sin, and these advices, concerning what was fitting and proper, though not absolutely necessary. And therefore, as he directs, that it was better to observe them, so he acknowledges that there was no command that made it unlawful to omit them. But if they cannot — Live continently, or preserve themselves in purity of body and spirit in a single state; let them marry — Especially the younger widows, ( 1 Timothy 5:14 ,) or widowers; for it is better to marry — And suffer the inconveniences attending marriage, than to be tormented with unchaste desires. 1 Corinthians 7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 1 Corinthians 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 . The married I command — Greek, ???? ?? ?????????? ?????????? , Now those that have married I charge: so these words should be rendered, the phrase being the same with that in 1 Timothy 1:3 , rendered by our translators, that thou mightest charge some. Yet not I — Only, or not I by any new revelation, nor by mere counsel, or prudential advice, as 1 Corinthians 7:25 ; 1 Corinthians 7:40 . But the Lord — Namely, in the first institution of marriage, Genesis 2:24 ; and the Lord Christ also commanded the same, Matthew 5:32 ; Matthew 19:6 ; Matthew 19:9 . The Lord Jesus, during his ministry on earth, delivered many precepts of his law in the hearing of his disciples. And those which he did not deliver in person, he promised to reveal to them by the Spirit, after his departure. Therefore there is a just foundation for distinguishing the commandments which the Lord delivered in person, from those which he revealed to the apostles by the Spirit, and which they made known to the world in their sermons and writings. This distinction is not only made by Paul; it is insinuated likewise by Peter and Jude, 2 Peter 3:3 , Jdg 1:17 , where the commandments of the apostles of the Lord and Saviour are mentioned, not as inferior in authority to the commandments of the Lord, (for they were all as really his commandments as those which he delivered in person,) but as different in the manner of their communication. And the apostle’s intention here was not, as many have imagined, to tell us in what things he was inspired, and in what not; but to show us what commandments the Lord delivered personally in his own lifetime, and what the Spirit inspired the apostles to deliver after his departure. This Paul could do with certainty; because, although he was not of the number of those who accompanied our Lord during his ministry, all the particulars of his life and doctrine were made known to him by revelation, as may be collected from 1 Corinthians 11:23 ; 1 Corinthians 15:3 ; 1 Timothy 5:18 ; and from many allusions to the words and actions of Christ, found in the epistles which Paul wrote before any of the gospels were published; and from his mentioning one of Christ’s sayings, not recorded by any of the evangelists, Acts 20:35 . Further, that the apostle’s intention, in distinguishing the Lord’s commandments from those he calls his own, was not to show what things he spake by inspiration, and what not, is evident, from his adding certain circumstances, which prove that, in delivering his own commandments, or judgment, he was really inspired. Thus, when he asserted that a widow was at liberty to marry a second time, by adding, ( 1 Corinthians 7:40 ,) she is happier if she so abide, after (that is, according to) my judgment; and I think, or, (as ???? rather means,) I am certain that I also have the Spirit of God, he plainly asserted that he was inspired in giving that judgment or determination. See more on this subject in Macknight. Let not the wife depart from her husband — Wilfully leave him, on account of any disagreement between them. But if she depart — Contrary to this express prohibition, assigning, perhaps, reasons apparently necessary for it, as that her life is in danger, or the like; let her remain unmarried, or — Rather, if it may be accomplished by any submission on her part, let her be reconciled to her husband — That, if possible, they may live in such a union and harmony as the relation requires. And let not the husband put away his wife — Except for the cause of adultery; because the obligations lying on husbands and wives are mutual and equal. The apostle, after saying concerning the wife, that if she departed from her husband, she must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to him, did not think it necessary to add a similar clause respecting the husband, namely, that if he put away his wife, he must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her. This, however, is implied in what he says concerning him. 1 Corinthians 7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 1 Corinthians 7:12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 . To the rest — Who are married to unbelievers; speak I — By revelation from God; not the Lord — Who, during his ministry, gave no commandment concerning the matter. If any brother hath a wife that believeth not — Is a heathen, not yet converted; let him not put her away — If she consent to dwell with him. The Jews indeed were obliged, of old, to put away their idolatrous wives, Ezra 10:3 ; but their case was quite different. They were absolutely forbid to marry idolatrous women; but the persons here spoken of were married while they were both in a state of heathenism. It is probable that some of the more zealous Jewish converts, on the authority of that example of Ezra, contended that the Corinthians, who before their conversion had been married to idolaters, were bound to put away their spouses, if they continued in idolatry. Therefore the sincere part of the church having consulted the apostle on that question, he ordered such marriages to be continued, if the parties were willing to abide together. But as a difference of religion often proves an occasion of family quarrels, and there was danger, if the believers should be connected in marriage with idolaters and open sinners, lest they should be drawn by their partners into similar vices and abominations, the apostle advised them, in his second epistle, in contracting marriages after their conversion, by no means to marry idolaters, 2 Corinthians 6:14 . And — On the other hand, if any Christian woman have an unbelieving husband, whether he be a Jew or a Gentile, and he consent to dwell with her, let her not leave him — Nor put him away, as the expression ?????? ????? (the same that is used in the preceding verse) implies. And it is certain, though the Jewish law did not put it into a woman’s power to divorce her husband, yet that in those countries, in the apostle’s days, the wives among the heathen had a power of divorce as well as the husbands; and that the Roman women practised it in a most scandalous manner, as did several Jewish ladies of distinguished rank; and among them, even Josephus’s own wife. See Lardner’s Credibility, part I, vol. 2. p. 890, Juv. Sat., ver. 222-230. 1 Corinthians 7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 1 Corinthians 7:14 . For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife — That is, so far that their matrimonial converse is as lawful, holy, and honourable, as if they were both of the same faith: and in many instances the unbeliever, whether husband or wife, hath been converted to God by the instrumentality of the believing partner. The former sense, however, and not this latter, seems to be the primary meaning of the apostle. Else were your children unclean — And must be looked upon as unfit to be admitted to those peculiar ordinances by which the seed of God’s people are distinguished; but now are they holy — Confessedly; and are as readily admitted to baptism as if both the parents were Christians: so that the case, you see, is in effect decided by this prevailing practice. So Dr. Doddridge, who adds, “On the maturest and most impartial consideration of this text, I must judge it to refer to infant baptism. Nothing can be more apparent than that the word holy signifies persons who might be permitted to partake of the distinguishing rites of God’s people. See Exodus 19:6 ; Deuteronomy 7:6 ; Deuteronomy 14:2 ; Deuteronomy 26:19 ; Ezra 9:2 ; Acts 10:28 , &c. And as for the interpretation, which so many of our brethren, the Baptists, have contended for, that holy signifies legitimate, and unclean, illegitimate, (not to urge that this seems an unscriptural sense of the word,) nothing can be more evident, than that the argument will by no means bear it; for it would be proving a thing by itself, (idem per idem,) to argue that the converse of the parents was lawful, because the children were not bastards; whereas all who thought the converse of the parents unlawful, must of course think that the children were illegitimate.” Thus also Dr. Whitby: “He doth not say, ‘else were your children bastards, but now they are legitimate,’ but ‘else were they unclean;’ that is, heathen children, not to be owned as a holy seed, and therefore not to be admitted into covenant with God, as belonging to his holy people. That this is the true import of the words ???????? and ???? , will be apparent from the Scriptures, in which the heathen are styled the unclean, in opposition to the Jews, who were in covenant with God, and therefore styled a holy people. Whence it is evident that the Jews looked upon themselves as ?????? ???? ??????? , the clean servants of God, Nehemiah 2:20 ; and upon all the heathen and their offspring, as unclean, by reason of their want of circumcision, and the sign of the covenant. Hence, whereas it is said that Joshua circumcised the people, chap. 1 Corinthians 5:4 , the LXX. say, ???????????? , he cleansed them. Moreover, of heathen children, and such as are not circumcised, they say, they are not born in holiness; but they, on the contrary, are styled ?????? ????? , a holy seed, Isaiah 6:13 ; Ezra 9:2 ; and the offspring from them, and from those proselytes which had embraced their religion, are said to be born in holiness, and so thought fit to be admitted to circumcision, or baptism, or whatsoever might initiate them into the Jewish Church; and therefore to this sense of the words holy and unclean, the apostle may be here most rationally supposed to allude. And though one of the parents be still a heathen, yet is the denomination to be taken from the better, and so their offspring are to be esteemed, not as heathen, that is, unclean, but holy; as all Christians by denomination are. Hence, then, the argument for infant baptism runs thus: ‘If the holy seed among the Jews was therefore to be circumcised, and be made federally holy, by receiving the sign of the covenant, and being admitted into the number of God’s holy people, because they were born in sanctity; then, by like reason, the holy seed of Christians ought to be admitted to baptism, and receive the sign of the Christian covenant, the laver of regeneration, and so be entered into the society of the Christian Church.’ So also Clemens Alexandrinus and Tertullian.” 1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases : but God hath called us to peace. 1 Corinthians 7:15-17 . But if the unbelieving party depart, let him, or her depart — And take the course they think best. A brother or sister — A Christian man or woman; is not under bondage — Is at full liberty; in such cases: but — Let it be always remembered; God hath called us to peace — To live peaceably with them, if it be possible: and therefore it ought to be our care to behave in as inoffensive a manner as may be, in all the relations of life; that so, if there must be a breach, the blame may not be chargeable upon the Christian. For what knowest thou, &c. — As if he had said, It is of great importance that you should conduct yourselves properly toward those who thus make, as it were, a part of yourselves, and that you should adorn the gospel by the most amiable and engaging behaviour possible, that thereby the unbeliever may be gained over to Christianity. And surely the everlasting happiness of the person, now the companion of your life, will be more than an equivalent for all the self-denial to which you may be required at present to submit. See on 1 Peter 3:1-2 . But — However it be, whether the unbeliever be converted or not; as God hath distributed to every man — The various stations of life, and various relations, let him take care to discharge his duty therein; for the gospel disannuls none of them: And as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk — “By declaring here, and 1 Corinthians 7:20 ; 1 Corinthians 7:24 , that men were bound, after their conversion, to continue under all the moral and just political obligations, which lay on them before their conversion, the apostle condemned the error of Judaizers, who taught, that, by embracing the true religion, all the former obligations, under which the convert lay, were dissolved. The gospel, instead of weakening any moral or just political obligation, strengthens them all.” This I ordain in all churches — This I lay down as a general rule for all Christians to observe, and insist on it, as a matter of the greatest importance. 1 Corinthians 7:16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? 1 Corinthians 7:17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. 1 Corinthians 7:18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. 1 Corinthians 7:18-19 . Is any man called — Brought to the saving knowledge of Christ, and to a participation of his grace; being circumcised — Having been born of Jewish parents, and therefore circumcised in his childhood, or being a proselyte of righteousness, and therefore circumcised; let him not become uncircumcised — Not act as if he were desirous, as far as possible, to undo what was done for him by his Jewish parents, or others. Is any called in uncircumcision — Having been a Gentile by birth; let him not be circumcised — The Judaizing teachers urged the Gentile converts to receive circumcision as necessary to salvation. This the apostle declared to be a renouncing of the gospel, Galatians 5:2-3 . Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing — Will neither promote nor obstruct our salvation. The one point is, keeping the commandments of God — Namely, from a principle of faith and love, and with a single eye to the glory of God: for this, according to the same apostle, implies faith working by love, and a new creature, or a new creation, the necessity of which the apostle declares, in similar terms, Galatians 5:6 ; Galatians 6:15 . 1 Corinthians 7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. 1 Corinthians 7:20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 1 Corinthians 7:20-24 . Let every man abide wherein he was called — Affect not to change without the clear and evident leadings of Providence, as there is generally greater reason to expect a man will enjoy comfort, and be holy and useful, in a situation to which he is accustomed, than in another to which he is a stranger. The apostle repeats the injunction because of its great importance; for they who are so unsettled in their minds as to be continually changing from one condition or line of life to another, seldom make progress, or are of much use to themselves or others, in any one. Art thou called being a servant — Or bondman, as ?????? properly signifies; care not for it — Do not much regard it, nor anxiously seek liberty: do not suppose that such a condition renders thee less acceptable to God, or is unworthy of a Christian. But if thou mayest be made free — By any lawful method; use it rather — Embrace the opportunity. He that is called in, or by, the Lord — To the Christian faith; being a servant — Or a bond-man; is the Lord’s freeman — Being delivered by him from the slavery of sin and Satan, and therefore possesses the greatest of all dignities. Likewise — In like manner; he that is called, being free — From the authority of any human master; is Christ’s servant — Or bondman; not free in this respect; not at his own disposal; not at liberty to do his own will, but bound to be subject and obedient to Christ. Surely, as Goodwin observes, “the apostle could not have expressed in stronger terms his deep conviction of the small importance of human distinctions than he here does; when, speaking of what seems, to great and generous minds, the most miserable lot, even that of a slave, he says, Care not for it.” To this Doddridge adds, “If liberty itself, the first of all temporal blessings, be not of so great importance as that a man, blessed with the high hopes and glorious consolations of Christianity, should make himself very solicitous about it, how much less in those comparatively trifling distinctions on which many lay so disproportionate, so extravagant a stress.” Ye are bought with a price — Christ hath redeemed you at the expense of his own blood, a price of infinite value; be not ye the servants — The slaves; of men — If it can by any lawful means be avoided, since so many evils, dangers, and snares are inseparable from such a condition. Brethren, let every man, &c. — Here the apostle repeats the same advice a third time in the compass of a few verses, intending, L’Enfant thinks, “to correct some disorders among the Christian slaves in Corinth, who, agreeably to the doctrine of the false teachers, claimed their liberty, on pretence that, as brethren in Christ, they were on an equality with their Christian masters.” Therein abide with God — Doing all things as unto God, and as in his immediate presence. They who thus abide with God, preserve a holy indifference with regard to outward things. 1 Corinthians 7:21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 1 Corinthians 7:22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. 1 Corinthians 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 1 Corinthians 7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 1 Corinthians 7:25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. 1 Corinthians 7:25-26 . Now concerning virgins — The word ???????? , translated virgins, denotes persons of either sex, who never were married. For Elsner, after Suidas, tells us, that men were called ???????? , virgins, as well as women; of which Revelation 14:4 is an undoubted example; these are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. The apostle seems here to speak of such single persons as were in their fathers’ families. I have no commandment of the Lord — Namely, delivered during his ministry, or communicated by any particular revelation. Nor was it necessary he should; for the apostles wrote nothing which was not divinely inspired, but with this difference, sometimes they delivered what Christ had expressly declared or enjoined during his personal ministry, or what was made known to them by a particular revelation, and a special commandment; at other times they wrote from the divine light, which abode with them, the standing treasure of the Spirit of God. And this also was not their own private opinion, but a divine rule of faith and practice to the Christians, or a directory to them in cases of difficulty. See note on 1 Corinthians 7:6 . Yet I give my judgment — Guided by the Holy Spirit, not only to deliver sound doctrine, but faithful and wholesome advice, 1 Corinthians 7:40 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:8 . As one that hath obtained mercy to be faithful — As one whom God hath in mercy made faithful in my apostolic office, who therefore faithfully deliver what I receive from him. The apostle, in other passages, ascribes his inspiration and supernatural gifts to divine mercy, ( 2 Corinthians 4:1 ,) and grace; ( Galatians 2:9 :) wherefore, as by this mercy and grace he was enabled to be a faithful apostle and steward of the mysteries of God, his judgment, in all cases, must be considered as being dictated by inspiration. I suppose therefore — The word ?????? , thus rendered, might, with propriety, have been translated I determine, or I establish by law; (see Park. Dict.; ) for the apostle does not give a simple opinion, such as any wise man might give, but an inspired decision: that this is good — Is right and proper, and ought to be observed; for the present distress — Or exigency; that is, while any church is under persecution. The same word, ?????? , is used for affliction arising from outward circumstances, Luke 21:23 . By mentioning the present distress as the chief, or only thing which rendered a single state proper, the apostle hath prevented us from fancying that celibacy is a more holy or perfect state than matrimony. The one or the other, as Macknight justly observes, is proper, according to the circumstances in which persons are placed. I say that it is good for a man so to be — “Though the English word man, like its corresponding word in Greek and Latin, denotes both sexes, the Greek word here might have been translated a person, better to agree with the signification of the word virgin, which, as we have just observed, denotes an unmarried person of either sex.” 1 Corinthians 7:26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say , that it is good for a man so to be. 1 Corinthians 7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 1 Corinthians 7:27-28 . Art thou bound to a wife? — “Because the directions which the apostle was about to give ( 1 Corinthians 7:36 ) to fathers, concerning the disposal of their children in marriage, were partly to be founded on the inclination and circumstances of the children, before he gave these directions, he very properly addressed the children themselves, and set before them the considerations by which their inclinations were to be regulated in that matter, namely, the inconveniences attending a married state, and the brevity and uncertainty of all human enjoyments; considerations which, he told them, ought to determine them to wish to remain unmarried under the present distress.” Seek not to be loosed — From her by an unjust divorce, or by deserting her. Art thou loosed? — Hath Providence never led thee into those engagements; or has it broken the bond by the death of thy former companion? Seek not a wife — If thou canst conveniently and virtuously continue as thou art; at least at present, till the storm, which now hovers over the church, be a little blown over, and more peaceful times return. But yet if thou marry, thou hast not thereby sinned: and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned — The marriage state is, no doubt, both lawful and honourable. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh — Many outward troubles; but I spare you — I speak as little and as tenderly as possible. 1 Corinthians 7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare

Expositor's Bible Commentary 1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Chapter 11 MARRIAGE THERE are two preliminary considerations which throw some light on this much-contested passage. First, Paul had to speak about marriage as he found it, as it existed among those to whom he wished to be of service. Hence he makes no allusion to that which among ourselves is the main argument for, or at least the one only justifying motive to marriage, viz., love. Marriage is treated here from a lower point of view than it would have been had this letter been originally written for Englishmen. The Church to which it was addressed was composite. Jews, Greeks, and Romans, in what proportions it is not easy to say, brought their peculiar and national usages into it. In the marriages of the Jews and Greeks, love had, as a rule, little to do. The marriage was arranged by the parents of the contracting parties. "Faces strange and tongues unknown Make us by a bid their own," is the remonstrance of the Greek maiden against the unnatural custom which prevailed of allowing no intimacy, and scarcely any real acquaintance, prior to marriage. The lack of warmth and personal interest which characterises the Greek plays arises mainly from the circumstance that among the Greeks there was absolutely no such thing as that love prior to marriage on which even our best works of fiction uniformly depend for their interest. Among the Romans there was none of this Eastern seclusion of women, and but for other causes marriage among this section of the Corinthian population might have served as an example to the rest. Secondly, it is to be considered that not only had Paul to speak of marriage as he found it, but also that he was here only giving answers to some special questions, and not discussing the whole subject in all its bearings. There might be other points which to his mind seemed equally important; but his advice not having been asked about these, he passes them by. He introduces the subject in a manner fitted to remind us that he has no intention of propounding his views on marriage in a complete and systematic form: "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me." There had arisen in the Corinthian Church certain scruples about marriage; and as the Church was composed of persons who would naturally take very different views on the subject, these scruples might not be easily removed. Among the Jews it was believed that marriage was a duty, "so much so that he who at the age of twenty had not married was considered to have sinned." Among the Gentiles the tendency to celibacy was so strong that it was considered necessary to counteract it by legal enactment. In a community previously disposed to take such opposite views of marriage difficulties were sure to arise. Those who were predisposed to disparage the married state would throw contempt upon it as a mere concession to the flesh; they apparently even urged that, Christians being new creatures, their whole previous relationships were dissolved. To Paul therefore appeal is made. The questions referred to Paul resolve themselves into two: whether the unmarried are to marry, and whether the married are to continue to live together. In reply to the former question, whether the unmarried are to marry, he first states the duty of unmarried persons themselves (in 1 Corinthians 7:2 ; 1 Corinthians 7:7-9 ); and afterwards (in 1 Corinthians 7:25-39 ) he explains the duty of parents to their unmarried daughters. I. First then we have Paul’s counsel to the unmarried. This is summed up in the words, "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I"; that is to say, if they remain unmarried, Paul being probably the only unmarried Apostle. But if any man’s temperament be such that he cannot settle undistractedly to his work without marrying; if he is restless and ill at ease, and full of natural cravings which make him think much of marriage, and make him feel sure he would be less distracted in married life-then, says Paul, let such a one by all means marry. But do not misunderstand me, he says; this is permission I am giving you, not commandment. I do not say you must or ought to marry; I say you may, and in certain circumstances ought. Those among you who say a man sins if he do not marry, talk nonsense. Those among you who feel a quiet superiority because you are married, and think of unmarried people as undergraduates who have not attained a degree equal to yours, are much mistaken if you suppose that I am of your mind. When I say, "Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband," I do not mean that every man who wishes to come as near perfection as possible must go and marry, but what I speak I speak by way of permission; I permit every man to marry who deliberately believes he will be the better of marrying. So far from thinking that every man ought to marry, or that married men have somehow the advantage over single men, I think the very opposite, and would that all men were even as I myself, only I know that to many men it is not so easy as it is to me to live unmarried; and therefore I do not advise them to a single life. But this advice of Paul’s proceeds, not from any ascetic tendency, but from the practical bias of his mind. He had no idea that marriage was a morally inferior condition; on the contrary, he saw in it the most perfect symbol of the union of Christ and the Church. But he thought that unmarried men were likely to be most available for the work of Christ; and therefore he could not but wish it possible, though he knew it was not possible, that all unmarried men should remain unmarried. His reason for thinking that unmarried men would be more efficient in the service of Christ is given in the thirty-second and thirty-third verses: "He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife, ( 1 Corinthians 7:32-33 )" an opinion quite similar to that which Lord Bacon pronounced when he said, "Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men, who both in affections and means have married and endowed the public." Given two men with equal desire to serve Christ, but the one married and the other unmarried, it is obvious that the unmarried man has more means and opportunities of service than he who has a large family to support. No doubt a good wife may stimulate a man to liberality, and may greatly increase his tenderness towards deserving objects of charity; but the fact remains that he who has seven or ten mouths to fill cannot have so much to give away as if he had but himself to support. Then, again, however alike in sentiment husband and wife may be, there are sacrifices which a married man may not make. With the unmarried man there need be no other consideration than this: How can I best serve Christ? With the married man there must always be other considerations. He cannot ignore or forswear the ties with which he has bound himself; he cannot act as if he had only himself to consider. The unmarried man has life and the world before him, and may choose the most ideal and perfect style of life he pleases. He may seek to realise, as many in recent times have realised, the exact apostolic idea of how it is best to spend a human life. He may choose to devote himself to the elevation of some one class of the community, or he is free to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel. He has no one thing to consider but how he may please the Lord. But the married man has limited his range of choice, and has cut himself off from some at least of the most influential ways of doing good in the world. It is therefore to the unmarried that the State looks for the manning of the army and navy; it is to the unmarried that society looks for the nursing of the sick and for the filling of posts of danger; and it is on the unmarried that the Church depends for a large part of her work, from teaching in Sunday schools to occupying unhealthy and precarious outposts in the mission field. But while Paul makes no scruple of saying that for many purposes the unmarried man is the more available, he says also, Beware how you individually think yourself a hero, and able to forego marriage. Beware lest, by choosing a part which you are not fit for, you give Satan an advantage over you, and expose yourself to constant temptation, and pass through life distracted by needless deprivation. "Far be it from me," says Paul, "to cast a snare upon you," to invite or encourage you into a position against which your nature would unceasingly rebel, to prompt you to attempt that for which you are constitutionally unfit, and thereby to make your life a chronic temptation. "Every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, another after that." And if any man fancies that, because there are advantages in being unmarried, therefore that is the best state for him, or if, on the other hand, any man fancies that, because most men seem to find great happiness in marriage, he also needs marriage to complete his happiness, both of these men leave out of account that which is chiefly to be taken into account, viz., the special temperament, calling, and opportunities of each. The common sense and wise counsel of this chapter are sometimes half jestingly put aside by the idle remark that Paul, being himself unmarried, takes a biased view of the subject. But the chief merit of the whole passage is that Paul positively and expressly declines to judge others by himself, or himself by others. What is good for one man in this respect is not good, he says, for another; every man must ascertain for himself what is best for him. And this is precisely what is lacking in popular feeling and talk about marriage. People start in life, and are encouraged to start in life, on the understanding that their happiness cannot be complete till they are married; that they are in some sense incomplete and unsatisfactory members of society until they marry. Now, on the contrary, people should be taught not to follow one another like sheep, nor to suppose that they will infallibly find happiness where others have found it. They should be taught to consider their own make and bent, and not to take for granted that the cravings they feel for an indefinite addition to their happiness will be satisfied by marriage. They should be taught that marriage is but one out of many paths to happiness, that it is possible celibacy may be the straightest path to happiness for them, and that many persons are so constituted that they are likely to be much more useful unmarried than married. They should, above all, be taught that human life is very wide and multifarious, and that, to effect His ends, God needs persons of all kinds and conditions, so that to prejudge the direction in which our usefulness and happiness are to run is to shut God out of our life. There can be no doubt that the opposite way of speaking of marriage as the great settlement in life has introduced much misery and uselessness into the lives of thousands. It is this then which not only signally illustrates the judicial balance of the Apostle’s mind, but at the same time gives us the key to the whole chapter. The capacity for celibacy is a gift of God to him who possesses it, a gift which may be of eminent service, but to which no moral value can be attached. There are many such diversities of gifts among men, gifts of immense value, but which may belong to bad as well as to good men. For example, two men travel together; the one can go without food for twelve hours, the other cannot, but if you repair his strength every five hours, he can go through as much fatigue as the other. This power of abstinence is a valuable gift, and has frequently enabled men in certain circumstances to save life or perform other important service. But no one would dream of arguing that because a man possessed this gift, he was therefore a better man than his less enduring friend. Unfortunately, so simple a distinction has not been kept in view. In the most powerful Church in the world celibacy is regarded as a virtue in itself, so that men with no natural gift for it have been encouraged to aim at it, with what results we need not say. But while there is no virtue in remaining unmarried, there is virtue in remaining unmarried for the sake of serving Christ better. Some persons are kept single by mere selfishness; having been accustomed to orderly and quiet ways, they shrink from having their personal peace broken in upon by the claims of children. Some shrink from being tied down to any definite settlement in life; they like to feel unencumbered, and free to shift their tent at short notice. Some dread responsibility and the little and great anxieties of family life. A few have the feeling of the miser, and prefer the possibility of many conceivable marriages to the actuality of one. For such persons to make a virtue of their celibacy is absurd. But all honour to those who recognise that they are called to some duty they could not discharge if married! All honour to that eldest son of an orphaned family who sees that it is not for him to please himself, but to work for those who have none to look to but him! There are here and there persons who from the highest motives decline marriage: persons conscious of some hereditary weakness, physical or mental; persons who, on a deliberate survey of human life, have seemed to themselves to recognise that they are called to a kind of service with which marriage is incompatible. We may be thankful that in our own country and time there are men and women of sufficiently heroic mould to exemplify the wisdom of the Apostle’s counsel. Such devotion is not for everyone. There are persons of a soft and domestic temperament who need the supports and comforts of home life, and nothing can be more cruel and ill-advised than to encourage such persons to turn their life into a channel in which it was never intended to run. But it is equally to be lamented that, where there are women quite capable of a life of self-devotion to some noble work, they should be discouraged from such a life by the false and foolish, and petty notions of society; and should be taught to believe that the only way in which they can serve their Lord is by caring for the affairs of a single household. No calling is nobler or more worthy of a Christian woman than marriage; but it is not the only calling. There are other callings as noble, and there are callings in which many women will find a much wider field for doing good. II. St. Paul’s counsel to the married. Some of the Corinthians seem to have thought that, because they were new creatures in Christ, their old relations should be abandoned; and they put to Paul the question whether a believing man who had an unbelieving wife ought not to forsake her. Paul had shrewdness enough to see that if a Christian might separate from an unbelieving wife on the sole ground that he was a Christian, this easy mode of divorce might lead to a large and most unwelcome influx of pretended Christians into the Church. He therefore lays down the law that the power of separation is to rest with the unbelieving and not with the believing, partner. If the unbelieving wife wishes to separate from her Christian husband, let her do so; but the change from heathenism to Christianity was no reason for sundering the marriage union. It frequently happened in the early ages of the Church that when a man was converted to the Christian faith in middle life, and judged he could serve God better without the encumbrance of a family, he forsook his wife and children and betook himself to a monastery. This directly contravened the law here laid down to abide in the vocation wherein God’s call had found him. The principle, "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called," is of wide application. The slave who heard God’s call to him to become His child was not to think he must resent being a slave and assert his Christian liberty by requiring emancipation from earthly servitude. On the contrary, he must be content with the inward possession of the freedom Christ had given him, and must show his liberty by the willingness and spontaneity of his submission to all his outward conditions. It is not externals that make a Christian: and if God’s grace has found, a man in unlikely circumstances, that is the best evidence he can have that he will find opportunity of serving God in those circumstances, if there be no sin in them. It throws great light on the relation which we as Christians hold to the institutions of our country, and generally to outward things, when we understand that Christianity does not begin by making external changes, but begins within and gradually finds its way outwards, modifying and rectifying all it meets. But the principle to which Paul chiefly trusts, he enounces in the twenty-ninth verse: "This I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none, and they that weep as though they wept not; for the fashion of this world passeth away." The forms in which human life is now moulded, the kind of business we are now engaged in, the pleasures we enjoy, even the relationships we hold to one another, pass away. There are no doubt relationships which time cannot dissolve, marriages so fit and uniting spirits so essentially kindred that no change can dissolve them, affections so pure and clinging that if the future does not renew them, it loses a large part of its charm for us. But whatever is temporary in our relation to the present world it is foolish so to set our heart on, that death may seem to end all our joy and all our usefulness. We may resent being asked to be moderate and self-restrained in our devotedness to this or that pursuit, but the fact is that the time is short and that the fashion of this world passeth away; and it is surely the part of wisdom to accommodate oneself to fact. In this life we now lead, and underneath all its activities, and forms, and relationships, we have opportunity of laying hold on what is permanent; and if, instead of penetrating through the outward things to the eternal significance and relations they bear, we give ourselves wholly to them, we abuse the world, and pervert it to an end for which it was not intended. The man who is sent abroad for five years would consider it folly to accumulate a large collection of the luxuries of life, furniture, and paintings, and encumbrances; how many times five years do we expect to live, that we should be much concerned to amass goods which we cannot remove to another world? This world is a means, and not an end; and those use it best who use it in relation to what is to be. They use it not less vigorously, but more wisely, not despising the mould which fashions them to their eternal form, but ever bearing in mind that the mould is to be broken and that what is fashioned by it alone remains. It is the thought of our great future which alone gives us sufficient courage and wisdom to deal with present things intensely and in earnest. For, as a heathen long ago saw and said, "if God make so much of creatures in whom there is nothing permanent, He is like women who sow the seeds of plants within the soil enclosed in an oyster shell." The very intensity of our interests and affections reminds us that we cannot root ourselves in this present life, but need a larger room.. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.