SPECIAL TOPIC: CELIBACY AND MARRIAGE

SPECIAL TOPIC: CELIBACY AND MARRIAGE (from 1
Corinthians 7)

A. 1 Corinthians 7 is Paul’s most extensive discussion of domestic relationships. He
deals with

1. sexual immorality, 1 Cor. 6:9-20; 7:2

2. marriage, 1 Cor. 7:2-5, 10-16, 28

3. singles, 1 Cor. 7:6-9, 25-26, 29-35

4. virgins, 1 Cor. 7:36-38

5. remarriage of widows and widowers, 1 Cor. 7:39-40

6. the recurrent theme is, “stay as you are,” 1 Cor. 7:1, 6-7, 8, 10, 17-24,
26-35, 37, 40; because of the current crisis and the expected parousia,
although he allows for exceptions

B. There seem to be two inappropriate attitudes/factions in Corinth that were
causing great strife. The first were those people who tended toward asceticism
(cf. 1 Cor. 7:1). The other group were those who tended toward moral looseness
or antinomianism (cf. 1 Cor. 6:12; 10:23). All truth is attacked by the
extremes. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul is trying to walk a practical and theological
tightrope between these excesses, while still speaking to both groups.

C. There is a recurrent theme running through 1Corinthians 7. It is
characterized by 1 Cor. 7:17, 20, 24,26,40 and made allusion to in 7:8. That
theme is “stay as you are” because the time is short. This cannot be a universal
principle because

1. this is related to a period of persecution

2. marriage is God’s will for mankind (cf. Gen. 1:28)

3. this church faced internal problems with false teachers

One wonders to which category (i.e., never married, once married, or married to
an unbeliever) Paul himself belonged. Maybe he existentially knew them all.
Most Jews married because of rabbinical interpretation of Gen.1:28 as well as
tradition. Paul’s wife either died (i.e., he was a widower) or she left him
because of his new faith (i.e., he was a divorcee). At the point of his call to
salvation and ministry (i.e., the Damascus road) he personally chose celibacy,
as did Barnabas, but he never condemned Peter’s marriage (cf. 1 Cor. 9:5).

D. Marriage in the Bible is the expected norm (cf. Gen. 1:28; 2:18). Paul was
probably married at one time (i.e., the implication of Acts 26:10, if Paul was a
member of the Sanhedrin, then he had to be married). He asserts that marriage is
an honorable state for the believer (cf. 1 Cor. 6:16; 7:14; 2 Cor. 11:2 and Eph.
5:22-31). We must remember that Paul is addressing a local first century,
Gentile, factious, cosmopolitan situation.

E. See full notes on I Corinthians 7 online.

F. A book that has helped me in texts such as this is F. F.
Bruce, Answers to Questions. For this subject
see pages 91-93.