1 Corinthians Chapter 7

At a Glance

  • In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul shifts from addressing disputes and moral issues to a focused teaching on marriage, singleness, and family life.
  • Paul then reflects on singleness and marriage in light of his own life situation.
  • The chapter then addresses marital harmony where one partner is a believer and the other is not.
  • Toward the end, Paul broadens the horizon by urging attentiveness to how relationships function within the church and the broader mission.
  • Historical & Literary Context.

CHAPTER REFERENCE

Chapter Overview

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul shifts from addressing disputes and moral issues to a focused teaching on marriage, singleness, and family life. He responds to questions the Corinthians sent him, offering pragmatic guidance that is deeply pastoral yet shaped by his overarching conviction about how the gospel redefines ordinary relationships. The chapter opens with a sober acknowledgment of sexual morality and the proper context for sexual union: marriage between a husband and wife as the most fitting solution to sexual desire. Paul emphasizes mutual obligation and respect within marriage—husband and wife owe each other benevolence, and they should not withhold intimacy except by mutual consent for a period of prayer and fasting. The idea is not merely about sexual conduct but about cultivating trust, unity, and spiritual focus within the marital bond.

Paul then reflects on singleness and marriage in light of his own life situation. He rejoices in the gift of celibacy as a gift from God, urging that it can free a person to devote themselves more fully to the Lord. Yet he does not present singleness as a universal obligation; he acknowledges that not everyone has the same gift and that marriage remains a viable, honorable option for those who struggle to maintain chastity. This nuanced balance safeguards freedom in Christ while honoring human diversity in calling.

The chapter then addresses marital harmony where one partner is a believer and the other is not. Paul encourages staying with a unbelieving spouse if they are willing to live together, noting that such a marriage can become a conduit for blessing and the salvation of the family. He argues that the sanctifying influence of a believing spouse can extend to the entire household, yet he also recognizes the painful possibility of divorce in cases where the unbelieving partner chooses to depart, asserting that in such scenarios, the believer is not under bondage.

Toward the end, Paul broadens the horizon by urging attentiveness to how relationships function within the church and the broader mission. He stresses that our ultimate aim is peace in Christ and that decisions about marriage should be guided by practical wisdom and the gospel’s priority—loving God and serving His kingdom. The chapter ends with a reminder that the gospel reorients ordinary life: family status, marriage, and singleness must be lived in light of God’s purposes, not merely cultural norms or personal desires.

Historical & Literary Context

1 Corinthians is Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, written in the mid-to-late 50s CE, during his prolonged ministry in Ephesus and his broader missionary network. The book belongs to the genre of occasional Pauline epistles—letters addressing specific problems, questions, and controversies that had arisen in a local Christian community. Chapter 7 forms part of a longer unit (chapters 7–16) in which Paul responds to reports and inquiries about marriage, divorce, eating, worship, and other practical matters. Corinth’s social world was a bustling, diverse, and often morally charged city, marked by status, sexual permissiveness, and competing philosophies. Paul’s guidance here is shaped by his “already/not yet” gospel framework: in Christ a new order has begun, but believers still navigate complex social realities. The rhetorical balance—affirming legitimate marital bonds while encouraging singleness as a virtuous option—fits Paul’s broader concern to harmonize Christian liberty with sacrificial love and communal integrity.

Key Themes

- The dignity and purpose of marriage: Mutual obligation, benevolence, and faithfulness are underscored, with sexual ethics anchored in the spouse’s welfare.

- Singleness as a valid spiritual vocation: The ideal of celibacy as a gift for those who can bear it, contrasted with the legitimacy of marriage for others.

- Gospel-shaped family witness: The sanctifying influence of a believing spouse on an unbelieving partner, and the potential for household salvation.

- Practical wisdom within grace: Paul’s approach is pastoral—acknowledging real life struggles and empowering believers to make choices that serve love, peace, and the mission.

- Freedom within boundaries: While Christians are free in Christ, they are urged to consider others’ conscience and the unity of the community, avoiding unnecessary divisions.

Modern Application

1 Corinthians 7 speaks into modern debates about marriage, singleness, and intimate life with pastoral nuance. It invites Christians to reflect on motivations behind relationship decisions: are we acting out of fear of loneliness, cultural expectations, or gospel-centered fidelity? The chapter affirms faithful marriages as a rightful, noble context for sexual intimacy and mutual care, challenging coercive or self-centered approaches to sexuality. For singles and those who feel called to lifelong celibacy, the text offers dignity and a path for devoted service to God—encouraging non-anxious companionship with Christ and flexibility in vocational dreams.

In mixed-belief households, the chapter’s urging to maintain relationship stability for the sake of witness remains strikingly relevant in today’s pluralistic environments. It also stabilizes the church’s posture toward divorce in the absence of apostolic rigidity: if a believer is married to an unbeliever who wishes to depart, the believer is not bound to the marriage in the same way. This has been a source of both guidance and tension in many communities, but the underlying principle is perseverance in peace and trust in God’s sovereign work in families.

Practical takeaways:prioritize healthy communication and mutual respect; view marriage as a call to sacrificial love; cultivate a life that honors God in singleness if that is your gift; and pursue unity in the church by honoring conscience while remaining steadfast in gospel integrity.

- Romans 7:2-3 (marriage and the law of the spouse)

- 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (freedom and body as temple)

- 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (partnership with unbelievers)

- Matthew 19:3-12 (Jesus’ teaching on divorce and celibacy)

Recommended Personas (Which biblical figures offer insight)

- Paul (letter-writer’s perspective on church life and practical ethics)

- Jesus (restatement and expansion of marriage and celibacy principles in Matthew 19)

- A pastor-elder voice (to translate in a contemporary church setting)

- A married couple in faith (to reflect lived experience within counsel)

Chapter Text

1

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

2

Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

3

Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

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.

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.

6

But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.

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.

8

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

9

But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

10

And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

18

Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.

19

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

20

Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

21

Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.

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.

23

Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

24

Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

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.

26

I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

27

Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

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.

29

But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

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;

31

And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

32

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:

33

But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

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.

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.

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.

37

Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast 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.

38

So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.

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.

40

But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

Explore 1 Corinthians Chapter 7 with Biblical figures who can provide unique perspectives grounded in Scripture.

Ask Apostle PaulAsk MosesAsk King DavidAsk Jesus Christ
← 1 Corinthians 61 Corinthians 8 →