1 Corinthians 7 Study Notes

7:15-16 Paul gives a qualification to the above ruling: do not hinder a nonbeliever’s desire to separate. Peace in this context refers to being “at peace” if the unbelieving spouse should decide to leave, for in this event the believer has done nothing wrong.

7:17-19 Paul issues a remain-as-you-are edict and illustrates it with a false dilemma facing a Jewish-born male Christian. Such a man had the option to remain circumcised or become uncircumcised (undo his circumcision) by undergoing a painful operation, as some secular-minded Jews did in the first century (Josephus, Ant. 12.241). These things are mere distractions. Paul zeroes in on what really matters: keeping the commands of God as those who belong to him.

7:20-23 Paul again states the remain-as-you-are principle and illustrates it with a choice faced by slaves: willingly to remain a slave or to seek freedom. The apostle did not condemn slaves to a life of permanent slavery. By all means take the opportunity to become free if it presents itself, he said. But on the other hand, the fact of being a slave should not be a concern. His logic is thus: whether a Christian was free or a slave when he came to Christ, he owes lifetime obligations to the same master, Jesus Christ. In Roman parlance, a freedman was an emancipated slave, whereas a free man was one who had never been enslaved.

7:24 This is a concluding restatement of vv. 17 and 20.

7:25-27 The focus of this entire discussion (vv. 25-27) is cast from the male perspective since ancient culture gave males primary responsibility for marital decisions. Now about serves as a marker denoting that Paul is now applying the remain-as-you-are principle (vv. 17-24) to the dilemma facing virgins. In this case Paul has no command from the Lord, but that does not lessen the impact of his teaching (i.e., it is good for a man to remain as he is) since his opinion was made faithful by the Lord. “Virgins” in this context refers to betrothed, female virgins (cp. “virgins” for “betrothed wives,” Lk 1:27; 2Co 11:2). Their dilemma was brought about by an unnamed present distress (impending hardship), possibly a famine that called the practicality of marital plans into doubt. Paul’s talk of being bound to or released from a wife in v. 27 can be summarized as follows: (1) The man who was bound by promise to a betrothed virgin (essentially already his wife, given the seriousness of betrothal) was not to seek release from future obligations to consummate the marriage (v. 27a-b), and (2) the man who had already been released from obligation (to a virgin) was not to seek betrothal with another woman (v. 27c-d). In other words, keep your commitments and/or remain as you are.

7:28 Paul does not define trouble in this life. Possibly it refers to the responsibilities and hardships that can attend marriage and childrearing. Improperly handled, these can distract us from devotion to God; see vv. 32-35.

7:29-31 Regardless of a person’s situation, he or she should live for the Lord. Two realities should heighten our emphasis on such a lifestyle of devotion: The time is limited and the world . . . is passing away.

7:32-40 In this section Paul shares his motivation for espousing the remain-as-you-are principle for the unmarried. It comes down to this: the significant change in life status that would result from these choices, particularly during a time of “present distress” (v. 26), could pose a distraction from devotion to the Lord.

7:39-40 Newly widowed women were free to marry in the Lord (i.e., other believers), but Paul reiterates the virtue of the remain-as-you-are principle. Remaining as she is offered the widow the possibility of undistracted devotion to the Lord.