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First Corinthians 7:32-40

Paul has begun to address a second question that the Corinthian believers have posed to him in their letter
concerning celibacy. This question concerned the virgins in their assembly - mostly young women - and
whether it was right for them to get married.
The ascetic camp in Corinth viewed celibacy as a more spiritual state than marriage. With their degraded
view of the physical body, they may have begun to see sexual relations as sinful - or at least, detrimental to
the cultivation of a truly spiritual life.
Paul had first made it clear that both celibacy and marriage are graces of the Spirit. This means that they
are given by God to each believer when and if God so chooses.
Therefore, Paul suggested that the believers in Corinth remain in the state in which they were called whether single or married - particularly because of the present distress - the crisis of division in Corinth,
which was tearing the assembly apart. To remain as they were would tend to have a stabilizing effect on
the assembly, and hopefully cause the believers there to focus on the Lord, instead of side issues.
But Paul also made it absolutely clear that the never-married - whether men or women - were still free to
choose whether marriage was right for them - with the expectation that they would seek the Lords mind in
the matter.
Paul had affirmed marriage earlier in his discussion, and to the never-married, he now makes it clear marriage is no sin. This was likely meant as a countermand to the pressure being exerted by the ascetic
camp of believers, in Corinth.
What was needed was for the whole assembly in Corinth to have the proper perspective on the issue - the
heavenly perspective - and so thats where Paul took them next. For the brethren, Paul says, the time is
short - meaning time has been shortened; shrunken; contracted.
What Paul means is that for those who have believed into Christ, the future, unseen realities have been
brought so near, as if to be their next step. If time itself has been shortened for the believer, this present
world, which is passing away, is about to be left behind him. He is about to step into eternity.
Pauls point is, how important does that make the things of the world, to the believer? Not very important.
All of the things of time will be left behind him - the relationships of this life; the circumstances, happy and
sad; as well as all the things acquired here.
So since this is the reality for the believer - already in possession of the life of eternity - how should that
cause him to live, in the here and now? Not detached - but always with a stronger attachment to what lies
ahead. Not disinterested - but always with heavenly interests foremost in mind - the interests of his Lord.
Not without feeling - but moved through this present life by the love of God, and strengthened in the course
of this life by His joy.
Having shown the eternal perspective for believers on the things of this world, Paul now returns to address
the never-married in Corinth, to show how this should influence their thinking concerning marriage.
We begin in verse 32.
[First Corinthians 7:32-40]

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Paul had just finished saying that the form of this world - the ever-changing world system - is in the process
of passing away - so believers are not to be overly attached or concerned with the things of it.
So now, to the never-married, Paul says, I want you to be without care - without anxious concern. They
are not to be overly attached or concerned with the world, and so they are not to be anxious about - what?
About whether they should marry or not.
There are those in the assembly who are trying to pressure them into remaining single. Paul has shown
them marriage is certainly an option. But he doesnt want them to worry about the choice.
How can they follow his counsel on this? By trusting the Lord - to show them what is good for them; to
show them what He has graced them with, celibacy or marriage.
It takes the Lord to be without a care - whether the issue is marriage or any other circumstance. It takes
practice to trust Him - and to do so with every person and every circumstance of our lives.
Trust is a building process - but that process can only begin if there is a firm foundation, for that trust. No
other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid - which is Jesus Christ (3:11). And as we build by
faith on that firm foundation, we are not moved, by the circumstances of life - and we can be without care,
concerning them.
Paul engages in a little word-play, here, off of being without care. Ill reread verses 32-34 to see this.
v. 32-34 In the Greek, the word for without care is a negative compound of the word for care in the
rest of these verses. The word in its absolute sense means anxious care, as in worry, but it is also used to
mean concern, with the idea of caring or being concerned about someone or something. So Paul uses the
word both ways, to make his point - a point of loving counsel, for these never-married believers.
Although Paul has made it clear to them that they are absolutely free to choose marriage, he wants them to
understand that, although marriage brings many blessings, it can also bring some things that are - shall we
say - not a blessing.
Paul has already mentioned that those who marry will have trouble in the flesh (v. 28) - the additional
pressures that inevitably come when there are two wills which must be submitted to the Lord - and not just
one. This stresses the aspect of conflict, in marriage. But here, Paul is contrasting the married with the
unmarried to show another potential difficulty, that marriage poses.
Looking at verse 32, Pauls point is obviously not that an unmarried believer concerns himself ONLY with
the things of the Lord. Do single believers have some concerns in this life? Of course! Everyone has to
live in this world, and experiences the circumstances of it.
But the cares of the unmarried man only have to do with himself, as an individual. And he can approach
the Lord with his concerns, and the Lord can show him - directly - how to deal with them. And that leaves
the unmarried man free from many cares; and free to serve the Lord.
Now as we look ahead to verse 33, does a believer who is married ONLY care about the things of the
world; is that all he is concerned about? No. Does he live to please his wife? Hopefully not! Hopefully,
he lives to please the Lord.

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So the married believer also cares about the things of the Lord - but since he is married, and his life is
joined to another, there is the additional consideration, beyond just himself, for his wife - and family, if he
is so blessed.
And this is a right kind of concern; the Lord expects the married man to love his wife; to give her what she
needs, for her own good (Eph 5:25). Meeting his wifes needs requires the married man to submit himself
to the Lord; for how else would the man know whats good for his wife?
And meanwhile, this caring for his wife involves time on the part of the married man, and more
involvement with the world. There is of necessity less spontaneity and less flexibility in such a life; but
does the Lord know that? Yes; and for the married man who is willing to submit to the Lord in the process,
the Lord can use him - and his marriage - as a light to draw others to Himself - as the caring love of God is
reflected through the marriage.
So if Paul does not mean these two verses in an absolute sense - the unmarried man cares only for the
things of the Lord; the married man cares only about the things of the world - how does he mean them?
Paul means them in a relative sense. The unmarried man has less additional concerns, and therefore more
time, energy and availability to devote directly to the Lord.
And this is where we see the potential difficulty that marriage poses. If the married man did not submit
himself to the Lord concerning his wife, but simply lived to please her - then he could become overly
concerned with the cares of the world, instead of the concerns of God.
Both the unmarried man and the married man have the full potential to devote their lives to God; but Paul
recognizes that the married man will have the greater tendency to be distracted from his devotion to God if he becomes devoted to pleasing his wife.
And as we continue in verse 34, we see that Paul states the case for women to be the same. The wording is
slightly different, but whats remarkable is the equality with which Paul sees men and women in this - as
throughout this passage.
First, Paul says there is a difference between a wife - a married woman - and a virgin - an unmarried
woman. And its the same difference as found with men. The unmarried woman has less worldly concerns,
and so can concern herself with the things of the Lord more readily.
But what does Paul mean by the phrase that she may be holy both in body and in spirit? Paul means
holy in the sense that he used it back in verse 14. The idea is simply set apart to God. And what Paul
means here by in body and in spirit is simply, completely; in every respect.
An unmarried woman can be completely devoted to serving the Lord - she has less cares in the world. So
this is the same case that Paul made for unmarried men, just worded a little differently.
And the married woman has similar circumstances as the married man. As equals in the marriage
relationship, the Lord requires that believing wives submit themselves to their own husbands in everything
(Eph 5:22, 24), which of course would be pleasing to their husbands - for then, their husbands will is done!
This necessitates that much of the wifes time and energy is spent on worldly concerns; and again, this is
expected by the Lord, and He uses it as an example of His love, to the world.

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But for the married woman also, there is the potential for difficulty here, if she places her husbands wishes
over the Lords will, causing her to be overly involved in the cares of the world, which have supplanted her
devotion to the Lord. The unmarried woman does not have to face this challenge of her devotion to the
Lord.
So we see that Paul is spelling out some genuine pitfalls, of marriage. Those who get married will have
trouble in the flesh; marriage brings added pressure into the lives of believers; and devotion to ones spouse
can supplant devotion to the Lord. Now as Paul continues, he clarifies why he has told them this.
v. 35 This is like when your mother says to you, as an adult, Im telling you this for your own good.
Does she have your best interest at heart? Yes; even as she understands you have the freedom to make your
own choice.
And thats what Paul is saying, here. He wants whats best for these never-married believers. Hes sharing
with them some of the realities of married life, but hes not telling them what to do; he recognizes it is their
own choice.
Unlike the ascetic camp in Corinth, Paul has no intention of putting a leash on these never-married
believers, to yank them into a certain decision. Paul wants them to make the choice that is best suited to
them; that is appropriate and fitting for how the Lord has graced them, personally. His desire for these
believers is that they serve the Lord without distraction.
Marriage has the built-in possibility of distraction due to worldly concerns. But celibacy does not provide
insulation from distraction, either. The celibate believer can still be distracted by his own strong desires,
from doing the will of the Lord. And if the believer hasnt been graced by the Spirit for celibacy, burning
passion will be a continual distraction.
Having stated his heartfelt wish for what is fitting and appropriate for those never married, Paul now
addresses the believers in Corinth who were inquiring about their virgins, in the first place.
v. 36-38 Depending on what version of the Bible you are looking at, these three verses are translated in a
variety of ways.
The nearly universal tradition up to the twentieth century was that Paul was addressing the specific
question of the Corinthian believers, concerning fathers keeping their daughters as virgins (as reflected in
the KJV, the NKJKV, and the NASB).
But in more recent time, some translators have reconsidered this, believing that Paul is referring to men not
marrying virgins they are engaged to, and in that way, keeping them virgins (as reflected in the NIV); or
even of men keeping not their virgins, but their own virginity (Interlinear, Jay Green).
The different translations are derived from some challenging phrasing of Paul in these verses. Paul speaks
of a man and his virgin; but he never states what relationship this man has to the virgin. He speaks of the
man behaving improperly toward her, but doesnt say in what way. And Paul speaks of the man keeping
his virgin, but doesnt explain what he means by keeping. These things account for most of the
inconsistencies in the translations.

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But if we consider carefully what Paul is saying here in its context, the historical context, the culture of
Corinth, the situation in the Corinthian church, the question Paul is answering, and the flow of words in
these verses, I think we have a case where the traditional interpretation is the correct interpretation; in this
case, new is not improved. Paul is speaking of fathers keeping their daughters as virgins. So lets take
a closer look at it, and consider exactly what he is saying.
Remember that the new city of Corinth was a Roman colony; it had a large population of Romans,
especially freedmen - former slaves; and though inclined toward Greek philosophy, it was also strongly
influenced by Roman culture.
In Pauls day, the Roman family was still dominated by the father as it ruling authority, but his authority
was less absolute than in the past. The father had the right and duty to find a husband for his daughter marriage was considered the norm - but the daughter had the freedom to refuse the match - just as a son
could. And in Pauls day, the consent of both the prospective bride and the groom was required for a
marriage.
Remember that the questions concerning celibacy were coming from those with ascetic thinking in Corinth
- and Pauls lengthy answer has suggested several times that this group might have been predominantly the
believing women, in Corinth (v. 4, 10, 11, 16). Now, if we consider the language in this passage to see what
it would most naturally mean, lets see what Paul was saying.
In verse 36, Paul is introducing a contrast to what he has just said. In verse 35, Paul indicated he was
saying what he said so that the never-marrieds had the freedom to do what is proper; what is most fitting
and appropriate for themselves, concerning marriage.
Then in verse 36, he uses a negative compound of this same word for proper - speaking of any man who
thinks he is behaving improperly - doing what is unfitting, or inappropriate - toward his virgin. Virgin is
in the feminine; this most naturally would refer to a virgin woman.
If Paul was giving the never-marrieds the freedom to do what was fitting for them, this is the contrast to that
- a man who is not giving the freedom to do what is fitting - to a virgin woman - literally, his virgin - its a
possessive, in the Greek.
Does this not speak of a father, who has recently bought into the ascetic idea of celibacy being a spiritual
virtue, but who is now reconsidering a certain aspect - thinking perhaps he is wrong, in not giving his
daughter the freedom to marry?
Time is going by; his virgin daughter is getting older; soon she will be past the flower of youth - that is, the
typical age for marriage - which was still quite young, in that day. Remember that marriage was considered
the custom in their culture - although contrary to the recent ascetic thinking of some in the Corinthian
church.
Pauls phrase and thus it must be simply means if it cannot be otherwise; if it must be that she should
marry. Now, the father is indecisive about her getting married; so why must it be? It must be suggests
the daughter desires to be married - it must be because she has a customary say in the matter, and she has
a will in the matter. She has made her wishes known; she does not want to be celibate; she wants to marry.

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So Paul is saying, if the father thinks he is taking away his daughters freedom to choose, because she is
determined to be married, then the father is also free - to change his mind, and to pursue a match for his
daughter, as was the custom of his society. Its no sin, on the fathers part to do so - contrary to the ascetic
thinking - and might this have been perhaps his wifes thinking?
So Paul is affirming the role of the father and the daughter to have the say in the marriage - upholding
freedom and customary practices against the pressure of the ascetics, with their false sense of what is
spiritual.
But as Paul continues in verse 37, he speaks of the case where both father and daughter are on the same
page. The father is resolute in his heart, concerning his daughter remaining celibate. There is no necessity
for the daughter to marry; that is, she doesnt desire it for herself; she is choosing to remain celibate.
So both father and daughter are in agreement, in the matter. In this case, Paul says that this father, keeping
back his virgin daughter from marriage, does well; its appropriate, in this case. Each has freely concurred,
in this choice. And celibacy - for the Lord, not for asceticism - is affirmed.
So we might think, why is this all such a big deal? Its a big deal, because it was not the custom of that
society. An unmarried daughter was actually considered to be a disgrace. Being unmarried subjected her
and her family to shame, in her culture. The norm of society was to marry. So we see the pressure of the
ascetics on one side, to stay single; and the pressure of the culture on the other side, to marry.
What Paul is doing here is taking the pressure off of all involved - by showing them the freedom they have,
in Christ. The Lord can reveal to those who have not married whether they should remain single or marry;
and in the case of a father and his daughter, where both have a say in marriage, they can be of one accord in
their decision, as each seeks the Lords will, in the matter.
The statement Paul makes in verse 38 is meant to provide balance to his affirmation of marriage. Its an
affirmation of celibacy - not on the grounds of asceticism, but simply as a way of serving the Lord without
the distractions of this world - for those who have been so graced.
But the statement is actually addressed to the fathers. The Greek word for give in marriage is used
exclusively in the NT for fathers giving their daughters in marriage (Mt 22:30, 24:38; Luke 17:27); nothing
else is ever meant.
Paul intends this as an encouragement to fathers who have agreed with their daughters that they remain
celibate. The way Paul states this shows that both marriage and singleness are viable options; theyre both
good; but he also says that staying celibate is the better of the two options. Of course it is; if one is so
graced, there is the greater potential for undivided devotion and service to the Lord. And Paul knows this
from personal experience.
It was kind of Paul to point out that this is better, to the father; for if the father did not arrange a marriage
for his daughter, not only would his culture look down on his daughter and his family, but the father would
be responsible for continuing to support that daughter financially, for as long as he lived.
So there was a personal cost for a father keeping his daughter from marriage; but to know that his loss was
the Lords gain would be quite encouraging.

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So Paul has answered the parental question of celibacy, not only for their virgin daughters, but for their
unmarried sons - and he has done so from the perspective of both those who might be doing the giving in
marriage, and well as those who might be getting married - showing them how free they are, in Christ.
But next we see Paul concluding his thoughts with something that seems, at first take, unrelated to all of
this.
v. 39-40 Now, Paul has already covered the case of the widow, earlier in this chapter (v. 8-9); why would
he be bringing it up again here? It is actually his concluding remarks on the subject of virgins and celibacy.
Although marriage was customary, staying married in a Roman culture such as the one in Corinth was
another story. In Pauls day, women of the Roman culture enjoyed a degree of independence unsurpassed
in the ancient world. So-called free marriage was in vogue, where there was no change in personal status
for either wife or husband, and they maintained a separation of their property.
A man or woman could end a marriage simply because he or she wished to, and for no other reason. Since
property was kept separate during marriage, divorce from a free marriage was a very easy procedure.
Sounds a little like our culture today, doesnt it?
But free marriage is not the Lords perspective on marriage, which Paul ends with here - for the believing
virgin, who intended to marry. A woman who marries is bound to her husband for as long as he lives - not
by Roman Law, but by a higher Law - the righteous requirement of God, which is the standard for all
believers.
Since marriage is for this life, it is only by death that the bond of marriage is broken, according to God.
Paul wants those who would consider marriage to consider it from Gods perspective - not from how their
culture sees it. It is not to be entered into lightly; its for life.
But if death brings the marriage to an end, Paul indicates the woman is free to remarry. Notice that here,
Paul qualifies this by saying only in the Lord. Paul is saying she should of course marry another believer
- for how else would they ever be like-minded?
Yet Paul cannot help but counsel that he thinks the woman who has been widowed would be happier if she
remained unmarried. And this counsel comes not only because of Pauls personal experience, but because
the Spirit has shown him the value - to the Lord - of being celibate.
And that is what Paul is bringing out, throughout this entire chapter - that both marriage and celibacy are
valuable to the Lord.
Paul recognizes that whether married or celibate, believers have all been bought with a price (v. 23) - the
precious blood of Jesus Christ. By that blood, they have been cleansed from all dishonor, so that now their
bodies are vessels of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work ( 2 Tim
2:20-21) - in whatever walk of life the Lord has chosen for them.
Reading: 1 Cor 8-11:1, Romans 14, 15:1-4.