Now concerning what you wrote: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Because of sexual immorality, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
The husband owes the wife marital faithfulness, and the wife owes the husband the same. The wife does not exercise authority over her own body — the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not exercise authority over his own body — the wife does.
Do not deprive one another, except by mutual agreement for a limited time, so you can devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that temptation does not exploit lack of self-control.
I say this as a concession, not a command. I wish everyone were as I am, but each has their own gift from God — one in this way, another in that.
To the unmarried and widows, I say it is good if they remain as they are. But if they lack self-control, they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with desire.
To the married I give this instruction — not I, but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband. If she does separate, she is to remain unmarried or be reconciled. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
To the rest I speak — I, not the Lord: if any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he is not to divorce her. If any woman has an unbelieving husband willing to live with her, she is not to divorce him.
The unbelieving spouse is sanctified through the believing partner, and the children are holy — otherwise they would be unclean.
But if the unbelieving partner chooses to leave, let them leave. The brother or sister is not enslaved in such cases. God has called you to peace.
How do you know, wife, whether you are saving your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you are saving your wife?
Let each person live the life the Lord has assigned and to which God has already called them. This is my instruction in all the churches.
Was anyone called while circumcised? Let them not seek to remove it. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let them not pursue circumcision. Circumcision is nothing. Uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s call is what matters.
Each person is to remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
Were you called while enslaved? Do not let it trouble you. But if you can gain freedom, use the opportunity. For the one called as a slave is the Lord’s freed person. Likewise, the one called as free is Christ’s servant.
You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of people. Brothers and sisters, remain with God in whatever condition you were called.
Now concerning virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one shown mercy to be trustworthy.
Because of the present distress, I think it is good for a person to remain as they are. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek release. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek marriage.
If you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such people will experience trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.
This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: the appointed time has been shortened. From now on, those who have wives should live as though they did not; those who weep, as though they did not; those who rejoice, as though they did not; those who buy, as though they did not possess; those who use the world, as though not fully immersed in it — for the form of this world is passing away.
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried person is concerned with the Lord’s affairs — how to please the Lord. But the married person is concerned with worldly matters — how to please their spouse — and their interests are divided.
I say this for your benefit, not to restrict you, but to promote proper order and secure undivided devotion to the Lord.
If anyone thinks he is not acting properly toward the virgin he is engaged to, if passions are strong and it must be so, let him do as he wishes — he does not sin. Let them marry.
But the one who stands firm in their heart, under no necessity, and has self-control, and decides to keep the engagement, will do well.
So then, the one who marries does well, and the one who does not marry will do better.
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes — only in the Lord.
In my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is — and I think I also have the Spirit of God.
Corinth is reacting to moral chaos by swinging toward ascetic extremes. Paul refuses both licence and denial. He reframes marriage and singleness inside New Covenant stability, not crisis-driven rules.
Paul’s advice is shaped by immediate covenant upheaval and social instability. He is not creating eternal marriage law, but helping believers live wisely during a compressed historical moment.
This does not mean the planet is dissolving. It means the old covenant order and identity system are losing authority. Life decisions are reframed because the age defining status and security is collapsing.
Paul relocates meaning away from marital or social state and into faithful presence with God. The New Creation does not require life reconfiguration — it redeems life where it already stands.
New Creation life does not demand escaping relationships or roles. It invites faithfulness, peace, and undivided devotion right where you are — married or single, settled or unsettled.
Where am I trying to force spiritual change through external rearrangement instead of faithful presence with God in my current life?
Share this study: 𝕏 Twitter Facebook Email