1 Corinthians 7

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1 Corinthians 7 is Paul's answer to the Corinthians' questions about marriage, sex, and singleness. Husbands and wives owe each other their bodies and should not withhold them except briefly for prayer. The unmarried do well to stay as he is, but it is better to marry than to burn. The married must not divorce; a believer married to an unbeliever should stay if the unbeliever is willing, but is not bound if the unbeliever leaves. The principle beneath it all is to remain as you were when God called you, circumcised or not, slave or free. Because the time is short, Paul prefers singleness for its undivided devotion, but insists that marrying is no sin and that each has a gift from God.

장 주석 열기

1 Corinthians 7 is Paul answering letters, and you can hear the questions behind the answers. Some in Corinth had decided that the truly spiritual thing was to give up sex altogether, even inside marriage. Paul says no: husband and wife belong to each other, body and all, and neither may withhold except by agreement, briefly, for prayer. He would be glad if everyone could live single as he does, but that is a gift, and for those who do not have it, marriage is better than burning. Then the harder cases. Married believers must not divorce; that comes from the Lord. Believers married to unbelievers, a new problem, should stay if the other is willing, because the unbelieving partner is made holy by the marriage and the children are holy; if the unbeliever leaves, the believer is free, for God has called us to peace. Underneath all of it Paul lays one rule: stay in the situation you were in when God called you. Circumcised or not, it is nothing. Slave or free, you are the Lord's freedman or Christ's slave, so do not become anyone's slave, and take your freedom if it comes. The last part of the chapter is Paul's own judgment, offered as such, that in a world that is passing away, with the time short, the unmarried are free to give the Lord undivided attention while the married are rightly divided. He does not make it a law. Marry and you do well, he says; stay single and you do even better; and each of you has your own gift from God.

핵심 본문

1 Corinthians 7:1-7 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 1 Corinthians 7:25-35 Matthew 19:3-12 Ephesians 5:22-33

Historical and literary context

Paul wrote from Ephesus around AD 54 or 55, answering a letter from Corinth; "It is good to abstain from sexual relations" in verse 1 is probably a slogan of Corinthian ascetics, whom Paul corrects while sharing their preference for singleness. Roman law allowed either spouse to divorce easily, and mixed marriages arose when one partner converted. The "present crisis" of verse 26 may be a local famine or the general pressure of the last days. Slaves made up a large part of the church, and manumission was common enough that Paul can advise taking the chance. "Virgins" in verses 25 to 38 are most likely betrothed couples deciding whether to complete their marriages. Verse 10 is one of the few places Paul cites a command of Jesus directly.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 7 address marital relations and mutual obligation. Verses 8 and 9 address the unmarried and widows. Verses 10 and 11 give the Lord's command against divorce. Verses 12 to 16 treat mixed marriages. Verses 17 to 24 state the rule of remaining in one's calling, with circumcision and slavery as examples. Verses 25 to 35 give Paul's judgment on the betrothed, the shortness of the time, and the divided concerns of the married. Verses 36 to 38 apply it to a man and his betrothed. Verses 39 and 40 close with widows, free to remarry in the Lord but happier, in Paul's view, single.

Why this chapter matters

The chapter is the New Testament's fullest teaching on marriage and singleness and has shaped Christian practice on all of it: the mutual conjugal rights of verses 3 to 5, unusual in the ancient world for making the wife's claim equal; the prohibition of divorce and the "Pauline privilege" for deserted believers; the sanctity of children in mixed marriages; and the honoring of celibacy as a gift, which underlies monasticism and clerical celibacy. "It is better to marry than to burn" and "the time is short" have entered common speech. Verse 22, the slave as the Lord's freedman and the free man as Christ's slave, relativized social status in a way that would eventually undermine slavery.

Interpretive tension to watch

Paul distinguishes the Lord's command from his own judgment more openly here than anywhere else, which raises the question of the authority of his opinions on singleness. His preference for the unmarried life, and his "as if they had none" in verse 29, have been read as devaluing marriage, though he calls marriage a gift and no sin. Whether "remain as you were" and "do not let it concern you" counsel slaves to stay slaves or to seize freedom depends on how verse 21 is translated, and the two readings have had very different histories. The identity of the "virgins" and the meaning of the "present crisis" remain unsettled.

이 장을 위한 질문

Paul says the wife has authority over her husband's body as much as he over hers. What did that mutuality mean in his world, and what does it mean now?
He calls both marriage and singleness gifts. How would a church look if it honored both equally?
"The time is short; the world in its present form is passing away." How does that change the weight you give to marrying, buying, grieving, and rejoicing?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

노트에 추가

1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But, because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render unto the wife her due: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife. 5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency. 6 But this I say by way of permission, not of commandment. 7 Yet I would that all men were even as I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. 9 But if they have not continency, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 10 But unto the married I give charge, [yea ]not I, but the Lord, That the wife depart not from her husband 11 (but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and that the husband leave not his wife. 12 But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her. 13 And the woman which hath an unbelieving husband, and he is content to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the brother: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 15 Yet if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such [cases]: but God hath called us in peace. 16 For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife? 17 Only, as the Lord hath distributed to each man, as God hath called each, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all the churches. 18 Was any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Hath any been 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 each man abide in that calling wherein he was called. 21 Wast thou called being a bondservant? care not for it: but if thou canst become free, use [it ]rather. 22 For he that was called in the Lord, being a bondservant, is the Lord’s freedman: likewise he that was called, being free, is Christ’s bondservant. 23 Ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men. 24 Brethren, let each man, wherein he was called, therein abide with God. 25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. 26 I think therefore that this is good by reason of the present distress, [namely], that it is good for a man to be as he is. 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. Yet such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I would spare you. 29 But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none; 30 and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not; 31 and those that use the world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32 But I would have you to be free from cares. He that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord: 33 but he that is married is careful for the things of the world, how he may please his wife. 34 And there is a difference also between the wife and the virgin. She that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married is careful for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is seemly, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. 36 But if any man thinketh that he behaveth himself unseemly toward his virgin [daughter], if she be past the flower of her age, and if need so requireth, let him do what he will; he sinneth not; let them marry. 37 But he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power as touching his own will, and hath determined this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin [daughter], shall do well. 38 So then both he that giveth his own virgin [daughter ]in marriage doeth well; and he that giveth her not in marriage shall do better. 39 A wife is bound for so long time as her husband liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she abide as she is, after my judgment: and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

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