1 Corinthians 7:32-40 (WEL) I want you to be without worry. He who is unmarried worries about the Lord’s things, how he can please the Lord. 33 But he who is married does worry about the world’s things, how he can please his wife. 34 There is a difference also concerning a wife and an unmarried virgin. The unmarried woman worries about the Lord’s things, so that she can be holy both in body and in spirit, but she that is married worries about the things of the world, how she can please her husband. 35 Now I say this for your own profit, not so that I can put a noose on you, instead it is for what is appropriate for the circumstances and so that you may attend to the Lord without distraction. 36 But if any man thinks that he might misbehave towards his virgin, if she might pass her prime, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes; he does not sin. Let them marry. 37 Nevertheless, he who continues resolved in his heart, having no need, having control over his will, and having firmly decided in his heart that he will keep his virgin as she is; does well. 38 So then he who gives [her] in marriage does well, but he who doesn’t give [her] in marriage does better. 39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives, but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wants, but only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she stays unmarried, in my opinion, and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
Constable writes: “The second occurrence of the phrase peri de (“now concerning”) occurs in verse 25 and indicates another subject about which the Corinthians had written Paul (cf. v. 1). This was the subject of single women. This section belongs with the rest of chapter 7 because this subject relates closely to what immediately precedes. Paul continued to deal with questions about marriage that the Corinthians’ asceticism raised.”
V32 I want you to be without worry. He who is unmarried worries about the Lord’s things, how he can please the Lord.
God knows we worry. God and we know it is not good for us (Philippians 4:6). Worry in this verse is the worry we have for our spouse. If she is OK, safe, and has the items she needs. An unmarried person does not have worry for a spouse.
V33 But he who is married does worry about the world’s things, how he can please his wife.
This is a principle that we are to express care for our spouse. We are to please him/her as much as possible.
Pett wrote: “Here Paul comes to the crux of the matter. His recommendation of celibacy has nothing to do with the fact that the flesh is thought of as sinful, or that asceticism is seen as making a man spiritual; it has to do with practical reality. He wants them, in view of the emergency times, to be free from other cares. The married person has cares and responsibilities that a single person knows nothing about. His wife will expect not to be neglected and will need her wants seeing to. This will partly depend on whether he has married a wife as dedicated as himself, but even if he has, life is such that problems can arise that take up his time and attention that would not have arisen if he had been single. He must provide a home for his children. He must watch over them and care for their needs and wants.“
Found on Precept Austin: “Warren Wiersbe points out that “It is a fact of history that both John Wesley and George Whitefield might have been better off had they remained single—Wesley’s wife finally left him, and Whitefield traveled so much that his wife was often alone for long periods of time.”
“Excerpt from Whitefield’s Curious Love Life click for full article – Whitefield had vowed that he “would not preach one sermon less in a married than in a single state.” During the week-long honeymoon in Elizabeth’s home, he preached twice a day. From then on, she usually remained in London during his travels. Once he was gone for two years. But the obligations of marriage couldn’t help but constrain Whitefield’s ministry. Within two months of his wedding, he wrote, “O for that blessed time when we shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but be as the angels of God.” (Mt 22:30, Mk 12:25+) Years later he warned a young man, “Marry when or whom you will, expect trouble in the flesh.” After Elizabeth’s death, though, he said, “I feel the loss of my right hand daily.” Elizabeth James’s letters show it took her ten years to get over Harris. She suffered four miscarriages, and her only child with Whitefield, a son, died when 4 months old. A man who lived with the couple during their last years put it well: “He did not intentionally make his wife unhappy. He always preserved great decency and decorum in his conduct towards her.”
V34 There is a difference also concerning a wife and an unmarried virgin. The unmarried woman worries about the Lord’s things, so that she can be holy both in body and in spirit, but she that is married worries about the things of the world, how she can please her husband.”
The same principles apply to married women and unmarried women.
Proverbs 31:12 (EHV) “She does good for him and not evil all the days of her life.”
In context, this verse speaks of wives, but the principle is the same for husbands. How are you treating your spouse?
V35 Now I say this for your own profit, not so that I can put a noose on you, instead it is for what is appropriate for the circumstances and so that you may attend to the Lord without distraction.
Paul is giving some ideas and options for people to pray and think about before getting married.
V36 But if any man thinks that he might misbehave towards his virgin, if she might pass her prime, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes; he does not sin. Let them marry.
If a man wants to marry a virgin and cares about her, then marry. It is not a sin.
V37 Nevertheless, he who continues resolved in his heart, having no need, having control over his will, and having firmly decided in his heart that he will keep his virgin as she is, does well.
If someone has the gift, then stay single. The Lord Jesus stated in Matthew 19:12, “For some are eunuchs who were born this way from their mother’s womb, some are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and some are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
V38 So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who doesn’t give [her] in marriage does better.
For the purposes of serving Jesus, an unmarried person can give full devotion to the task.
Personally, I am not one of those.
V39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives, but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wants, but only in the Lord.
Just because of the truth of verse 38, do not divorce. Some might think it best to divorce; then they can serve God full-time. This is condemned by God unless there is desertion (physical or by sin as porn) and/or loss of faith (Nehemiah 13:23-27).
V40 But she is happier if she stays unmarried, in my opinion, and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
Paul understands his counsel to be good and godly, but he does not want to force his opinions on anyone regarding remaining unmarried or married.
We learn:
- More about marriage.
- The different concerns about single vs married.
Questions:
- How are you treating your spouse?
- What have you learned about marriage in these verses?