Chap. 7 - Outline
7:1-6 - Marry or Immorality - your choice
7:7-9 - If Possible
7:10-16 - Married to an Unbeliever
7:17-24 - As You Were
7:25-35 - Demands of Marriage
7:36-38 - Virgin Daughters
7:39-40 - Widows and Re-Marriage
The church in Corinth wrote to Paul for advice or guidance. What were their questions? Perhaps the Corinthian church wrote concerning marriage - were Christians to marry, or should they stay single, or if married should they separate - but it most likely was not about the subjects discussed in the early part of this letter. The following list briefly shows the subjects chapters 7-16 cover.
ch. 7 - primarily deals with marriage;
ch. 8 - ‘liberty’, or using your freedom in Christ correctly;
chs. 9-11- expound on Paul’s ministry to them;
ch. 12 - the church as a organization or body of Christ;
ch. 13 - love;
ch. 14 - prophecy and tongues;
ch. 15 - Christ’s resurrection, and
ch. 16 - closing thoughts.
1 Corinthians 7:1-6 -Marriage
1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
3 The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command.
V. 1 - “Now concerning the things about which you wrote” - Paul begins to answer questions presented to him from the Corinthian church. We must infer from the letter what the questions Paul was being asked...
“it is good for a man not to touch a woman” - I do not think Paul was teaching isolation of men from women. (This is not rehashing Mosaic law: like dealing with a leper, or touching a woman during her menstrual cycle, or touching a dead body (See: Lev. 11:31, 32; 13:45; 14:2, 3; 15:19, 25,33; 21:1, 11; 22:4; Num. 5:2; 6:6.) Paul was warning against romantic or sexual involvement. Both men and women can be distracted from the Lord during a romantic encounter with the opposite sex. This is fleshed out more clearly in the following verses.
V. 2 - “because of immoralities” - Men and women are attracted to each other. This is the way God designed us (See: Gen. 2:18-25). There is nothing immoral or sinful about this mutual attraction. The problem is not in the attraction, but in the way humans meddle or pervert the plan. It is not a surprise that sex is a big business - pornography, prostitution, etc. - or that non-criminal sexual acts are prevalent in every society. It is difficult to write about this without sounding prudish, or stodgy, or puritanical. I do not mean that males simply talking with females turn into slavering louts, or that the females become harlots luring the males into sin. Paul is saying it is difficult to be single-minded, focused on the Lord’s work in some situations.
“each man is to have his own wife” - The solution: get married! Paul is teaching/preaching monogamy. We can see from the OT scripture that it was not uncommon for a man to have several wives and/or concubines - AT THE SAME TIME!
“each woman is to have her own husband” - The solution: get married! I haven't noticed that a woman would have several husbands - at the same time - in scripture.
And I think these were not unusual situations all over the ancient world. My personal understanding is that God intended a one-man-one-woman relationship, or marriage. And like so many things we touch, it (marriage) gets marred by our sin. This discussion is not connected to divorce or remarrying.
V. 3 - “The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife and likewise also the wife to her husband” - Sexual intercourse within a marriage is neither immoral or sinful. It is as God intended. I am not sure that I see that as a “duty” that has to be done, a “chore” or “task” that must be checked off as completed. A husband shows his love to his wife by this intimate act. The wife shows her love by providing the way to keep the man’s mind from wandering into sinful thoughts or relations. Their love for each other supports them and keeps them from sexual sin.
V. 4 - “The wife does not have authority over her own body... the husband does not have authority over his own body” - This is not an authoritarian, master-slave relationship. This is to be a mutual surrendering of self to another. Our society seems to treat sex as a simple physical function - see almost any movie or TV show. (Two people meet in a bar and are strangers; the next thing you know they’ve hopped into bed for sex, hop out of bed and go about their business as if nothing special has occurred.) We try to pretend that sex is merely satisfying a physical attraction or need. We try to pretend it is not what God has intended for us.
V. 5 - “Stop depriving one another” - Addressing a problem that may have come about between married couples. This may be a result of misunderstanding Jesus’ teaching, or a misunderstanding of what it means to be spiritual and a member of the body of Christ while here on earth.
In the first instance, we know Jesus Christ taught that when the kingdom of God is fully realized there will be no marriage between man and woman. (See: Matt. 22:30; Mk. 12:23; Lk 20:34-35) Does that mean there should be no marriage now here on earth before the Lord returns in power and glory? I do not think that is what Jesus is teaching. We will be His and there will be no need for marriage in His kingdom. More than that i cannot guess.
In the second instance, I suspect that people were drawing the conclusion that since we are now in Christ and Christ is in us, we should not be having sex, subjecting Christ to those physical, emotional and spiritual activities. In other words, ‘defiling’ the body of Christ with our bodies. This is taking the teaching from chapter six (1 Cor.6:15) and applying it to the marriage bed. Sexual immorality with a harlot is not in the same category as sexual intercourse with your spouse. Unmarried sex with a harlot is a sin. Sex with your lawfully wedded spouse is not. Plain and simple.
“and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control“ - If you cannot control your urges, those sexual desires lead you into sin. Sexual desire is extremely strong. I do not think it is only emotional, but far deeper because it is the way life is extended. All animals and humans (Humans are not animals, even though we eat, breathe, live, die, and procreate as animals do - we are more! God has made us so). Know that sex is important for life to go on. It doesn’t mean you will die if you don’t have sex, but the human race will die out if we don’t. Rather than trying to tamp down those natural urges, get married and enjoy them with your spouse. Rather than give in to the sexual desires and do it any time with any one, get married and avoid the sin, and the penalty of sin.
V. 6 - “But this I say by way of concession, not of command” - Paul is not telling them they must get married and must have marital intercourse. It is better for them to be married and satisfy their desires within that marriage than stay single and fall into sin. We are not ignoring that it is possible to be married and yet sin outside of marriage. He knows that sexual sin is less likely when needs are being met within the marriage.
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