1 Corinthians Chapter 7
Showing all 40 verses for 1 Corinthians Chapter 7.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. "
"Paul turns to answer questions the Corinthian church wrote to him about. One idea circulating there was that it's good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman at all - Paul is about to respond to that idea, not simply endorse it outright."
I'm not asking you to suppress who you are as a physical, relational being to prove your devotion to me. Don't let anyone's extreme rule become the standard you measure your worth by - listen to the fuller answer, not the slogan.
"Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. "
"But because sexual immorality is a real danger, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."
I made you with real desires - don't be ashamed of them, and don't try to white-knuckle your way through life pretending you don't have needs. Build committed relationships that honour those needs honestly instead of hiding from them or exploiting them.
"Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. "
"The husband should meet his wife's needs in the marriage, and the wife should do the same for her husband."
Love isn't about getting what you're owed - it's about giving generously to the person you've committed to, expecting the same in return, not as a transaction but as a partnership. Check that you're as attentive to your partner's needs as you are to your own.
"The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. "
"In marriage, a wife's body isn't hers alone to decide about - it belongs to her husband too, and equally, a husband's body isn't his alone - it belongs to his wife too."
Real intimacy means genuinely belonging to each other, not keeping score of who owes what. If you've committed to someone, let that commitment be full and mutual, never one-sided control dressed up as devotion.
"Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. "
"Don't withhold intimacy from each other - unless you both agree to a temporary break for a season of focused prayer, and then come back together, so that you aren't tempted through lack of self-control."
I know your body and your struggles better than anyone, and I'm not asking you to be a hero by starving yourself of intimacy to prove spirituality. Talk openly with your partner, agree together, and don't let silence or resentment become a weapon.
"But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. "
"I'm saying this as a suggestion, not as a strict order."
Not everything wise is a rigid rule - I want you to grow in discernment, not just obedience. Learn to tell the difference between firm boundaries and wise suggestions, and give yourself grace on the latter.
"For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. "
"I wish everyone could live single like I do, but each person has been given their own particular gift from God - one person this way, another person that way."
Don't measure your life against someone else's calling. What works beautifully for one person isn't a universal standard - I've given each of you your own path, and there's no shame in yours looking different from anyone else's.
"I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. "
"So my advice to those who aren't married and to widows is that it's good for them to stay single, as I am."
Your life isn't incomplete without a partner. I see full, meaningful lives lived single, and I don't want you rushing into commitment out of fear of being alone or judged.
"But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. "
"But if they can't control themselves, they should get married - it's better to marry than to be consumed by desire."
I'm not interested in you suffering silently to appear more disciplined than you are. If singleness is burning you up inside, that's not a moral failure - it's information. Build a life, and a relationship, that actually fits how you're made.
"And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: "
"To married people I give this instruction - not from me but from the Lord himself - a wife should not leave her husband."
When I speak about commitment, it's because I know how much stability and trust matter for real love to grow. This isn't about trapping you - it's about taking your promises seriously, for your own sake and your family's.
"But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. "
"But if she does leave, she should either stay unmarried or make peace and go back to her husband - and a husband shouldn't divorce his wife either."
Even when things fall apart, I don't want you closing every door in anger. Leave room for healing and reconciliation where it's genuinely possible, and hold yourself to the same standard you'd expect from anyone else.
"But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. "
"To everyone else I'm speaking for myself, not repeating a direct command from Jesus - if a believing man has a wife who doesn't believe, and she's willing to stay with him, he shouldn't divorce her."
Difference in belief within a family doesn't have to mean division. I want you to stay committed to the people you love where you can, rather than assuming distance is the only answer to disagreement.
"And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. "
"And if a woman has a husband who doesn't believe, and he's willing to stay with her, she shouldn't leave him either."
The standard I hold you to doesn't change depending on your gender or which side of a situation you're on. Fairness means applying the same grace and the same expectations to everyone equally.
"For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. "
"Because the unbelieving husband is made holy through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her believing husband - otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy."
Don't be afraid that the people you love who don't share your convictions will drag you down or make your home somehow lesser. Love has a way of covering and blessing a household - trust that more than you trust fear.
"But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. "
"But if the unbelieving spouse decides to leave, let them go. In a case like that, the believing husband or wife isn't bound - because God has called us to live in peace."
I never ask you to cling to something that's actively breaking you, and I never trap you in guilt for someone else's choice to walk away. You are free to find peace, not obligated to fight a battle that isn't yours to win alone.
"For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? "
"How do you know, wife, whether you might be the reason your husband comes to faith? Or how do you know, husband, whether you might be the reason your wife does?"
Your quiet, consistent love can shape someone's life in ways you'll never fully see. Don't stay out of obligation, but don't underestimate the difference your patience and character can make either.
"But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. "
"Everyone should just live out the situation God has placed them in, the calling they were given - that's the rule I set in every church."
You don't need to wait for a perfect set of circumstances to start living well and living fully. Wherever you find yourself right now, that's where real growth and purpose can begin.
"Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. "
"Were you already circumcised when you came to faith? Don't try to undo it. Were you uncircumcised? Don't get circumcised now."
You don't have to erase where you came from, or alter yourself to look like everyone else, to belong. I care about your heart and how you live, not your background, culture, or the boxes society tries to put you in.
"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. "
"Being circumcised or not means nothing - what matters is keeping God's commands."
Don't get distracted by the outward badges people use to sort who's 'in' and who's 'out.' What I care about is whether you're actually living with love and integrity, day to day.
"Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. "
"Everyone should remain in the situation they were in when they were called to faith."
Wherever life has placed you today, that place has value. You don't need a dramatic change in status or setting before your life can matter or before you can grow.
"Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. "
"Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let that trouble you - but if you get the chance to become free, take it."
Your circumstances, even hard or unjust ones, don't define your worth or block you from a meaningful life right now. But if a door to freedom and a better situation opens for you, walk through it - I'm not asking you to stay in chains you could leave.
"For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. "
"Because a slave who is called by the Lord is actually the Lord's free person, and in the same way, a free person who is called becomes Christ's servant."
However society labels you - boss or employee, powerful or powerless - none of that determines your true value or your true freedom. I see past every label to who you actually are.
"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. "
"You were bought at a price - so don't become slaves to what other people want from you."
Don't spend your life trying to please people or bending to whoever has power over you. You matter too much for that - live according to your own conscience and convictions, not the crowd's demands.
"Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. "
"So, friends, whatever situation you were in when you were called, stay there - with God."
Don't put your life on hold waiting for the 'right' conditions. Bring your full presence and your relationship with me into exactly where you are today - that's where real life happens.
"Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. "
"Now about unmarried young people, I don't have a direct command from the Lord - but I'll give you my own judgement, as someone God has shown mercy to and made trustworthy."
Not every piece of good advice needs to claim absolute authority to be worth listening to. I want you to be able to tell the difference between firm truth and wise counsel, and weigh both honestly.
"I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. "
"Given the pressures of the present situation, I think it's good for a person to stay as they are (unmarried)."
Sometimes the wisest choice depends on the season you're actually in, not a fixed formula. I want you to read your own circumstances honestly and make decisions that fit your real life, not someone else's ideal.
"Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. "
"Are you married? Don't try to get out of it. Are you unmarried? Don't go looking for a spouse."
Not every itch to change your situation needs to be acted on right away. Sometimes staying steady through a difficult season is wiser than chasing a change that might just add more instability.
"But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. "
"But if you do marry, that's not a sin, and if an unmarried woman marries, that's not a sin either - though those who marry will face extra practical difficulties, and I'd rather spare you that."
I never want you to hear caution as condemnation. Choosing marriage is never wrong - I just want you to walk into it with your eyes open to what it will really cost and choose it anyway, because it's worth it to you.
"But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; "
"Here's what I mean, friends - time is short, so from now on those who have wives should live as if that relationship weren't their main focus."
Hold what you love with open hands, not a white-knuckle grip. Loving people well doesn't mean making them your entire identity - keep your deepest anchor somewhere sturdier than any one relationship or possession.
"And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; "
"Those who cry should not be overwhelmed by their grief, those who celebrate shouldn't be swept away by their joy, and those who buy things shouldn't cling to them as if they owned them forever."
Feel your feelings fully - grieve, celebrate, enjoy what you have - but don't let any of it own you. Real freedom means nothing outside yourself gets to hold the final grip on your peace.
"And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. "
"And those who use the things of this world should do so without overindulging in them, because the way things currently are is passing away."
Enjoy what this life offers, but don't let it swallow you whole. Nothing you can buy, chase, or achieve here is permanent - so keep your grip loose and your perspective wide.
"But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: "
"I want you to be free from anxiety. An unmarried person can focus their attention on the things of the Lord, on how to please him."
I don't measure your devotion by your relationship status. But I do want you thinking honestly about what your current season of life actually gives you room to focus on, and using that space well.
"But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. "
"But a married man's focus is on the practical matters of life, on how to please his wife."
Caring well for the people who depend on you is never a distraction from a meaningful life - it is one. Don't feel guilty that your love for your family takes up your time and attention; that care matters deeply.
"There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. "
"There's a difference between a married woman and an unmarried one too - the unmarried woman can focus on the things of the Lord, on being wholly devoted in body and spirit, while the married woman focuses on the practical matters of pleasing her husband."
Whatever your season - single or partnered - your capacity to live purposefully is real and worth honouring, and I don't rank one path above the other by gender or status. Live fully into whichever one is genuinely yours right now.
"And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. "
"I'm saying all this for your own good - not to trap you with rules, but to help you live well and stay focused on the Lord without needless distraction."
Everything I ask of you is for your flourishing, never to control or trap you. If any teaching ever feels like a snare rather than a genuine help, question it - that's not the spirit I speak in.
"But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry. "
"But if a man feels he's not treating his fiancée fairly by delaying, and she's past the usual age for marrying, and circumstances call for it, let him do as he thinks best - it's not a sin - let them marry."
When you've genuinely wrestled with a decision and reached a fair, honest conclusion, trust it. I'm not going to condemn you for a thoughtful choice just because someone else might have chosen differently.
"Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. "
"But the man who is firmly settled in his own mind, who isn't under any pressure, who has control over his own decision, and has resolved not to marry - he also does well."
What matters most isn't which choice you make, but whether you're making it freely, with a clear head, and true to yourself. A decision made under pressure or fear rarely serves you well - wait until you can choose from a settled heart.
"So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. "
"So the one who marries her off does well, but the one who doesn't marry her off does even better."
Even when I point out that one path may be easier in your current circumstances, I never call the other path wrong. Make peace with your choice rather than treating every decision as a competition for who did the more 'spiritual' thing.
"The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. "
"A wife is bound to her husband for as long as he's alive, but if he dies, she's free to marry whoever she wants - only it should be someone who shares her faith."
When a chapter of your life closes, you're free to open a new one - I don't want you living under guilt about moving forward. Just choose your next steps wisely, with someone whose values genuinely align with yours.
"But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. "
"But in my judgement, she'll be happier if she stays as she is (unmarried) - and I believe I have the Spirit of God guiding this opinion too."
I want your happiness genuinely considered, not just your duty. Weigh good advice seriously, including the parts aimed simply at what will make your life better and more content, not only what looks most impressive to others.