1 Corinthians 7:1-3

Scripture: 1 Cor. 7:1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

1 Cor. 7:2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

1 Cor. 7:3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.

Teaching: The tone of Paul’s letter begins to change in chapter 7; after the first six chapters admonishing the Corinthians – expressing disapproval of their ways while correcting them – Paul now does more teaching. What’s more, this chapter will be very balanced (alternating between teachings for men and women), delegating (offering teaching that leaves room for variations of practice), and open to tradeoffs and concessions (not hard absolutes). In this chapter, we can see Paul responding to a question from Chloe that must have been concerning the general practices of a Christian marriage.

In verse 1, Paul says it is “good for a man not to touch a woman.” By this, he means that it is commendable for a man to forgo marriage and live his life in service to the Lord. However, this is not a call for celibacy or singleness as the true Christian ideal; as we will see Paul qualify this statement later in verses 8-9. Rather, Paul is teaching that Christians who live a single life are not to be looked down upon nor held up higher as a standard. Like all gifts of the Lord, contentment in singleness comes from Him.

In verses 2-3, Paul gives teaching for those who are not gifted with contentment in singleness – for whom marriage is the better option. To prevent the raging of sin in sexual immortality, these men and women should marry – one man and one woman – and enjoy a sexual component to their marriage. It is not a good thing to be married but deny one’s spouse sexual intimacy, as Paul says here, because it will lead to temptation and sexual immorality. Essentially, in these verses, Paul is teaching the Corinthians to avoid sexual immorality – whether by contentment in singleness or sexually intimacy in marriage.

Takeaway: How each of us experiences sexual desire is different. God is not the author of sin, the Bible says, so it is not from Him that we experience temptation nor immoral desires. Rather, God saves us from these temptations by giving us His Holy Spirit to live within us – as Paul mentioned a few verses ago in chapter 6. When we are born again in the Spirit, we have the counsel and help of God always with us that is ever working in us to make us more like Christ. For some, this outworking, or fruit, of the Spirit is contentment in being single; it is the taming of one’s sexual desires and an abiding in the Lord and contentment in platonic relationships. For others, it is a wise and godly counsel to navigate both our days in search of a spouse and our days in service of our spouse. Paul, in chapters 6 and 7 teaches on the dangers of sexual immorality and best practices to avoid it because it is so damaging to us. It is particularly pernicious in the unbelieving world, leading many astray; amongst believers, it is a particularly potent obstruction to a Spirit-led life.