1 Corinthians 7

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul begins answering questions that the Corinthian believers had sent him in a letter ("Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me"). Following 1 Corinthians 6, which warns against fornication and calls the body the temple of the Holy Spirit, this chapter takes up the questions of marriage and celibacy.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 To avoid fornication, each man and each woman should have a spouse, and husband and wife should fulfill their obligations to one another. Paul tells them not to separate from each other except for an agreed period devoted to prayer, and he states that this is counsel, not a command. He also says that each person has received a different gift.
• Verses 8–9 Paul advises the unmarried and widows to remain as they are. If they cannot exercise self-control, however, they should marry.
• Verses 10–16 Paul presents the instruction that husband and wife should not separate as a command of the Lord. He addresses the question of an unbelieving spouse in his own words: if the unbelieving partner is willing to live with the believer, the believer should not put the partner away; if the unbeliever wishes to depart, the believer should let him depart.
• Verses 17–24 Whether circumcised or uncircumcised, slave or free, each person should remain in the condition in which he was called.
• Verses 25–35 Concerning virgins, Paul says he has no commandment from the Lord and offers his own opinion. In view of the impending distress and the shortness of the time, he says it is good to remain as one is, while affirming that marriage is not a sin.
• Verses 36–38 Giving a virgin in marriage is doing well, and not giving her in marriage is doing better.
• Verses 39–40 A wife whose husband has died may remarry in the Lord, but she is happier if she remains as she is.

Key Verses

• 1 Corinthians 7:7 "Every man hath his proper gift of God" — a verse that treats marriage and celibacy as a matter of the gift each person has received.
• 1 Corinthians 7:15 "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart" — frequently cited in discussions of divorce.
• 1 Corinthians 7:20 "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called" — used as a basis for understanding one's occupation and station in life as a vocation.

People and Places

• Paul: The apostle who wrote this letter. In this chapter he presents himself as an example of one who remains unmarried.
• Corinth: The Greek port city where the church that received the letter was located.

Points for Reflection

• Some interpreters read the words of verse 1, "It is good for a man not to touch a woman," not as Paul's own position but as a quotation from the Corinthians' letter.
• The "command of the Lord" in verses 10–11 corresponds to Jesus' teaching prohibiting divorce (Matthew 19:3–9).
• Church traditions apply verse 15 in different ways. The Catholic Church uses this verse as the basis for the so-called Pauline privilege. The Westminster Confession of Faith recognizes, along with adultery, willful desertion that cannot be remedied (deliberately abandoning one's spouse) as grounds for dissolving a marriage. Because denominations differ on the scope of this application, interpretations diverge in discussions of divorce and remarriage.
• Reformed traditions, including Presbyterians, sometimes cite verse 14, "else were your children unclean; but now are they holy," as one of the passages supporting infant baptism. Baptists do not connect this verse directly with baptism.
• Verses 26–31 are exhortations given with an awareness of the coming distress and the end. How one understands this eschatological background affects how the recommendation of celibacy is applied today.
• Some read verses 36–38, as the Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Hangeul) does, as concerning a father and his virgin daughter; others read them as concerning an engaged man and his fiancée.