Verse by verse explanation of 1 Corinthians 7

1 Corinthians Chapter 7

1 Corinthians 7:1 “Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: [It is] good for a man not to touch a woman.”

In the first 7 verses these verses elevate singleness, as long as it is celibate, but they in no way teach that marriage is either wrong or inferior.

This letter had to be written to an individual in the church in Corinth, because we notice that it was in answer to a letter that Paul had received. We know that this, like many other specific Scriptures, is not to be taken as doctrine, or even rules for the church at large, because it goes against what God said at the creation of man and woman. There would be no need for two genders, if God had intended this to be so. We must look at this carefully to understand.

This is probably written to an individual who is, perhaps, going to minister in God’s work. Paul is just explaining to this person, that the fewer other obligations he has, the more time he’ll have to devote to God’s work. Paul was never married, and he understood the freedom from other obligations that went with not being married. Marriage is not a sin, however it is God’s plan for populating the earth.

1 Corinthians 7:2 “Nevertheless, [to avoid] fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”

Paul is saying here, that if you desire to be married, it is better to go ahead and get married. You might be tempted to sin, if you desire a wife and do not have one.

There is a great danger of sexual sin when single. Marriage is God’s only provision for sexual fulfillment. Marriage should not be reduced simply to that, however. Paul has a much higher view and articulates it (in Eph. 5:22-23). He is stressing the issue of sexual sin for people who are single.

Again I say, there is not sin in getting married. There is a sin when you live with someone you are not married to.

1 Corinthians 7:3 “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.”

When a man and woman get married, they then are to think of the needs of their spouse more than they think of their own needs. The above Scripture is just saying, be true to the wife or husband you have chosen. Love them and comfort them, so there will be no need for them to look for comfort elsewhere.

Married believers are not to sexually deprive their spouses. While celibacy is right for the single, it is wrong for the married. The practice of deprivation may have been most common when a believer had an unsaved spouse.

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.”

When we get married, we become one flesh and we are no longer two flesh. Husbands and wives should not be ashamed in the presence of their spouse. Their bodies belong not to one of them, but each belongs totally to the other.

By the marriage covenant, each partner is given the right over the spouse’s body for the satisfaction of the other.

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.”

The meaning of incontinency: without self-restraint, especially regarding sexual activity

This is just saying for the two to comfort each other. They are not to refuse the closeness of husband and wife, unless they have agreed that they will refrain from personal contact, because they are fasting and praying.

The reason it is so important for the husband and wife to sleep together is because if they do not, their partner might stray to someone else for comfort. This is not just a physical togetherness with the husband and wife, but is a bond between them.

“That Satan temp you not”: After a “time” of abstinence say for pregnancy, an illness, separation or for prayer and fasting, sexual desires intensify and a spouse becomes more vulnerable to sinful desire.

1 Corinthians 7:6 “But I speak this by permission, [and] not of commandment.”

All that Paul has said here, is something that Paul wanted to share with others who were going into the ministry. It is a little of a personal testimony of himself. He realized that he was freer to go and minister, since he did not have the obligation of family. He was a eunuch by choice to serve God. Jesus spoke of this only once in the following Scripture.

Matthew 19:12 “For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].”

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.”

Paul was a eunuch by choice, and he felt the call of the ministry could be better answered with fewer distractions that way. Not all men are called to be eunuchs that are ministers of God. This is a special calling.

Eunuch: Tertullian, a second century Church Father, described Jesus himself and Paul of Tarsus as spadones, which is translated as “eunuchs” in some contexts. However, these statements can be interpreted as a metaphor for celibacy, especially given the broad meaning of the term spado in Late Antiquity.

As a single person, Paul recognized the special freedom and independence he had to serve Christ. But he did not expect all believers to be single, nor all who were single to stay that way, nor all who were married to act celibate as if they were single. Both singleness and marriage are God’s gracious gifts.

1 Corinthians 7:8 “I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.”

Paul was expecting the soon return of the Lord, and he thought there was not time to get entangled with anything that might slow down their work for the Lord. He is saying, if for any reason you are single, just stay that way and spend all your time for the Lord.

This verse makes it clear that the unmarried and widows are distinct. His first suggestion is that they stay single because of its freedoms in serving the Lord.

1 Corinthians 7:9 “But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.”

This probably is speaking of those who want to be married, and are not, who are burned up with lust for the opposite sex. It would be much better to be married, than to be filled with lust.

The Greek tense indicates a command, since a person can’t live a happy life and serve the Lord effectively if dominated by unfulfilled sexual passion, especially in the Corinthian society.

7:10 “And unto the married I command, [yet] not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from [her] husband:”

What Paul writes to these believers was already made clear by Jesus during His earthly ministry (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:5-8; Gen. 2:24; and Mal. 2:16).

Depart is a word used as a synonym for divorce, as indicated by the parallel use of the word “put away” (in verse 11).

He is just saying, if you are married, stay married. You can still work for the Lord married. Divorce is of man and not of God. God made one woman for one man. They two are to be one. To divorce and marry another does not fulfill the wishes of God.

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.”

The union of husband and wife is to be a permanent arrangement. It is not to be like in our society today, jumping from one husband to the other. A person should not get a divorce for just any little whim. The Lord has made provision for those to get a divorce from the unfaithful spouse.

This is saying that if a Christian divorces another Christian except for adultery, neither partner is free to marry another person. They should reconcile, or at least remain unmarried.

1 Corinthians 7:12-13 “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.” “And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.”

“To the rest”: Those not covered by the instruction of (verses 10-11). This is a simple way of saying that Jesus had not spoken on this and God had not previously given revelation on the matter, as Paul was then writing. Apparently, some Christians felt they should divorce their unsaved spouses, to live celibately or marry a believer.

The Lord had taught from the beginning not to be unequally yoked with those of unbelief. They should not have married a non-believer in the beginning. This house would have to be a house of confusion. One believing and the other does not, leaves a separation between them. It is possible, in time that this circumstance could change. If you love them enough to put up with the divided house, then Paul is saying, it is alright to stay. Marriages with mixed belief seldom last.

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.”

This does not mean that an unbeliever will go to heaven, because their spouse is saved. Sanctified in this instance, would be made clean. Not by the wife, but in the wife. This is not speaking of the child being saved in infancy, but is speaking of not having any curse of unbelief on the child from birth. This child would not be a bastard child, but would be of a union made acceptable to God through marriage where one parent is a believer. This cleanliness is of a ceremonial nature and is speaking of the family as being a Christian family, because one is a believer.

The sanctification is matrimonial or pertaining to family, not personal or spiritual and means that the unsaved partner is set apart for temporal blessing because the other belongs to God. One Christian in a marriage brings grace that spills over on the spouse, even possibly leading them to salvation.

The Christian need not separate from an unbeliever because of fear that the unbelieving spouse may defile the children. God promises the opposite. They would be unclean if both parents were unsaved, but the presence of one believing parent exposes the children to blessing and brings them protection. The presence of even one Christian parent will protect children from undue spiritual harm and they will receive many blessings, and often that includes salvation.

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.”

This would be covered in the spiritual adultery above. Moses permitted divorce, so that there might be peace in the family. The very fact that two people could not agree in their worship would be a very unsettling factor in a family. These two could not be one, if they had such varying commitments.

“Let him depart”: A term referring to divorce. When an unbelieving spouse cannot tolerate the partner’s faith and wants a divorce, it is best to let that happen in order to preserve peace in the family (Rom. 12:18). The bond of marriage is broken only by death (Rom. 7:2), adultery (Matt. 19:9), or an unbeliever’s leaving.

“Not under bondage”: When the bond is broken in any of those ways, a Christian is free to marry another believer. Throughout Scripture, whenever legitimate divorce occurs, remarriage is assumed. When divorce is permitted, so is remarriage. By implication, the permission for a widow to remarry (verses 39-40; Rom. 7:3), because the “bond” is broken, extends to this case where there is no more “bondage.”

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?”

I have always believed that if a person lives a good Christian life around anyone (especially their spouse), it would have great influence on the non-believer. That, in my opinion, is what this is saying. Love them with the love of the Lord and live peaceably with them, and they will be won over to the Lord by your great devotion to your Lord.

Some may have been reluctant to let go of their unsaved spouse, who wanted out and was creating discord in the home thinking they could evangelize the spouse by hanging on for seeing that one converted. Paul says there are no such assurances and it is better to divorce and be at peace (verse 15), if the unsaved partner wants to end the marriage that way.

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.”

Paul is saying in this, if you were married when you were called, stay married. Serve God wherever you were when the Lord called you. Do not leave your spouse to serve the Lord. If you were called to the ministry while you were single, consider staying single and devoting all your time to the Lord. Paul is saying, if you were called in a certain circumstance, who is he to question God in that? Just serve where you were called, and how you were called.

Discontent was prevalent among these new believers in the Corinthian church. As noted up to this point (verse 1-16). Some wanted to change their marital status, some were slaves who wanted to be free, and some used their freedom in Christ to rationalize sinning. In a general response to that, this passage plainly repeats the basic principal that Christians should willingly accept the marital condition and social situations into which God has placed them. And be content to serve Him there until He leads them elsewhere.

This is the first verse of three Paul states the principal of contentment which is required of all Christians. The other two are (verses 20 and 24).

1 Corinthians Chapter 7 Continued

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.”

With Judaizers demanding all Gentile believers in Christ to be circumcised (Gal. 5:1-6), and with some Christian Jews wanting to disassociate with Judaism and thus having a surgery to become uncircumcised (as addressed in rabbinic literature), Paul needed to clarify the issue by saying that neither was necessary. Figuratively, the idea is that when a Jew became a Christian, he was not to give up his racial and cultural identity in order to appear like a Gentile. Likewise, a Gentile was not to become culturally like a Jew. Culture, social order and external ceremony have no bearing on spiritual life. What matters is faith and obedience.

1 Corinthians 7:19 “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.”

This is just explaining that it is not the doctrine of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep the law of Moses. If a person is not circumcised, then let him stay that way. If he was acceptable to God, then why should the people put extra restrictions on him? Of course, if a person is already circumcised before he receives the Lord, that is alright too. Accept them the way the Lord accepted them. Circumcision was part of the law which Jesus fulfilled on the cross. Sacrificing of any kind after the crucifixion of Jesus would have been saying that Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough. You can see why all this sacrificing was stopped.

1 Corinthians 7:20 “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.”

Paul is stressing the fact that if the Lord approved you, who was man to question.

1 Corinthians 7:21 “Art thou called [being] a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use [it] rather.”

Servant means slave (the word servant in olden Greek means “doulos”, or slave). Paul was not approving all slavery, but is teaching that a person who is a slave is still able to obey and honor Christ.

“Care not for it”, meaning in modern society, this seems an insensitive command to those who wrongly assume that freedom is some God given right, rather than a preferable option.

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.”

“The Lord’s freeman”: In the ways that truly count, no man is freer that a Christian. No bondage is as terrible as that of sin, from which Christ frees the believer.

“Christ’s servant or slave”: Those who are not slaves, but free in the social sense, are in the spiritual sense made slaves of Christ in salvation (Rom. 6:22).

1 Corinthians 7:23 “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”

The blood of Christ was the price that was paid.

“Servants of men” is referring to sinful slavery, i.e., becoming slaves to the ways of men, the ways of the world, and of the flesh. This is the slavery about which to be concerned.

1 Corinthians 7:24 “Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.”

Your position in society is of little importance to the Lord. Every job that we are called to do should be done unto the Lord. “Abide” means continually dwell. We must not seek to be changed, or moved, until the Lord moves us.

In verses 25-40: Having already established that both marriage and being single is good and right before the Lord, and for the person who has the gift of singleness, that state has many practical advantages. Paul continued to answer the questions about which the Corinthians had written him. Paul gives 6 reasons for never marrying, in relationship to the downside of marriage, but remaining single (virgins).

(1) Pressure from the system (verses 25-27);

(2) Problems of the flesh (verse 28);

(3) Passing of the world (verses 29-31);

(4) Preoccupations of marriage (verses 32-35);

(5) Promises from fathers (verses 36-38); and

(6) Permanency of marriage (verses 39-40).

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.”

The Lord Jesus did not deal directly with this subject, and Paul is just giving his judgment (opinion) here. We know that all, whether virgins or not, should be faithful to the Lord. This is probably speaking of male virgins, as well as female.

The conviction given here is not a command, but is thoroughly dependable and sound advice to remain a virgin, which is counsel, included by the inspiration of the Spirit from a trustworthy man.

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.”

Paul is saying, because of all the distress and problems surrounding being a servant of the Lord Jesus at this time, it would probably be better to remain a virgin. Notice that Paul says for a man to be so. This means man or woman.

The present distress: An unspecified, current calamity. Perhaps Paul anticipated the imminent Roman persecutions which began within 10 years after this epistle was written.

Persecution is difficult enough for a single person to endure, but problems and pain are multiplied for those who are married, especially if they have children.

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.”

The benefits of singleness notwithstanding, married people must remain married. Loosed: means that divorce is in view.

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 you.”

“Marry, thou hast not sinned”: Marriage is a fully legitimate and godly option for both the divorced (on biblical grounds), and virgins.

“Trouble in the flesh: Trouble means literally, “pressed together” or under pressure. Marriage can involve conflicts, demands, difficulties, and adjustments that singleness does not, because it presses two fallen people into intimate life that leads to inevitable “trouble”. The troubles or singleness may be exceeded by the conflicts of marriage.

1 Corinthians 7:29 “But this I say, brethren, the time [is] short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;”

Paul is encouraging them to use all their time for the Lord. Paul is not saying that marriage is no longer binding or shouldn’t be treated with seriousness, nor should there be any physical deprivation. But Paul is teaching that marriage should not at all reduce one’s devotion to the Lord and service to Him. He means to keep the eternal priority.

1 Corinthians 7:30 “And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;”

Paul is saying, these things are a temporary situation. They will pass so quickly away. Do not be caught up in the things of the world which pass away so quickly.

The mature Christian does not get so swept up in the emotion of this life, to lose motivation, hope and purpose.

1 Corinthians 7:31 “And they that use this world, as not abusing [it]: for the fashion of this world passeth away.”

Paul is trying to impress them that the world, and the things connected with it, are but for a moment in time. They will not always be. Christians are living in this world, but their home is in heaven. Someday we will not be in this world, in fact, someday there will not be a world as we know now. He is saying, you must live here, but don’t get too attached.

1 Corinthians 7:32-33 “But I would have you without carefulness. 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.”

Paul again, is showing the difference in working for the Lord as a single person, and working for the Lord as a married person. The single person can devote all his time to the Lord without distractions and is free from concern about the earthly needs of a spouse and therefore potentially better able to set himself apart exclusively for the Lord’s work.

1 Corinthians 7:34 “There is difference [also] between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please [her] husband.”

This is the very same statement as above, except the other was speaking of the man, and this is speaking of the woman. Women do like to please their husbands, and that is not a sin. In fact, if they are married, that is what God expects them to do. The married woman can be dedicated to God, but again, may have less time to fulfill the things of God.

1 Corinthians 7:35 “And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.”

Again, we must remember that these are Paul’s thoughts on the subject. We do know that it would be somewhat of a distraction to be married and in the service of God. All things are possible with God. We must fulfill the job that God has for us to do in whatever circumstances we are in at the time He called us. He knows the problems we face, and will help us with the problems. Our part is to be totally obedient to His call.

1 Corinthians 7:36 “But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of [her] age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.”

This is a man’s daughter. Apparently in Corinth some of the fathers intending devotion to the Lord, had dedicated their young daughters to the Lord as permanent virgins. “Pass the flower of her age”: Meaning fully matured as a woman capable of child bearing.

“Need so require”: When daughters became of marriageable age and insisted on being married, their fathers were free to break the vow and let them marry.

1 Corinthians 7:37 “Nevertheless he that standeth steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.”

“No necessity”: This means the father who has kept his daughter a virgin and is not under constraint by the daughter to change his mind, does well to fulfill his desire for her to be singularity devoted to the Lord (verse 34). As with those who remain single (verse 28), the choice was not between right and wrong.

1 Corinthians 7:38 “So then he that giveth [her] in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth [her] not in marriage doeth better.”

Paul is saying that either thing you decide is perfectly alright. You have not sinned either way. Some serve the Lord while they are single, others serve the Lord married. Either way, they are pleasing unto the Lord.

1 Corinthians 7:39 “The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.”

“Bound by the law”: God’s law designed marriage for life. It is so permanent that the disciples thought it may be better not to marry. “Only in the Lord”: That is, free to marry a believer only. This is true for all believers who marry or remarry (see 2 Cor. 6:14-16).

1 Corinthians 7:40 “But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.”

Paul is saying (in his judgment), that she is usually happier with the memory of her first love, than trying to start over again and find a new mate. She will have more time to serve the Lord, if she does not remarry. Perhaps with a touch of sarcasm, Paul affirmed that this sound advice was given by the Holy Spirit.

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