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1 Corinthians 7:1. What did you write to me about? Having corrected the disorder of divisions, fornication, covetousness, he now makes rules about marriage and virginity. For the Corinthians in a letter to him asked: Should he abstain from his wife or not? 1 Corinthians 7:1. It is good for a man not to touch a woman. It would be good, excellent, he says, if every man, and not just a priest (as some poorly understand this), would not touch his wife at all and remain a virgin. But it is safer and closer to our weakness to marry. Therefore he adds the following. 1 Corinthians 7:2. But, in order to avoid fornication, each have his own wife, and each have his own husband. Talks about both sides. For it may happen that the husband loves chastity, but the wife does not, or vice versa. The words “to avoid fornication” encourage abstinence. For if marriage is permitted in order to avoid fornication, then those united in marriage should no longer copulate with each other without any moderation, but chastely. 1 Corinthians 7:3. The husband show his wife due favor; likewise is a wife to her husband. As a duty, he says, honor love for each other; and since it is a duty, you are necessarily obliged to provide it to each other. 1 Corinthians 7:4. The wife has no power over her body, but the husband does; Likewise, the husband has no power over his body, but the wife does. Now it proves that loving each other is indeed a necessary duty. For, he says, spouses have no power over their bodies, but the wife is a slave and at the same time the mistress of her husband: a slave, since she has no power over her body to sell it to whomever she wants, but the husband owns it; and the mistress because the husband’s body is her body, and he does not have the power to give it to harlots. Likewise, the husband is the slave and at the same time the master of his wife. 1 Corinthians 7:5. Do not deviate from each other, except by consent, for a while. That is, a wife should not abstain against the will of her husband, and equally, a husband should not abstain against the wishes of his wife. For to abstain to one against the will of another means to deprive oneself, just as it is said about money; but to abstain at will is a completely different matter, when, for example, both (husband and wife) by agreement determine a certain time for mutual abstinence. 1 Corinthians 7:5. For exercise in fasting and prayer. He explains what his expression means: “for a while,” that is, when the time comes to remain in prayer, that is, to pray especially fervently. For he did not simply say: for prayer, but: “for exercise in prayer.” In fact, if the apostle had found in marital cohabitation an obstacle to ordinary daily prayer, then how would he have said elsewhere: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17)? So, in order for your prayer to be more ardent, refrain, he says, from each other, because copulation, although it does not defile, does interfere with pious pursuits. 1 Corinthians 7:5. And then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with your intemperance. “I,” the apostle reasons, “say that you should unite again; But I do not make this a law, but I prescribe it “so that Satan does not tempt you,” that is, inducing you to commit fornication. Since it is not the devil himself who is the culprit of fornication, but primarily our intemperance, the apostle added: “by your intemperance,” for this is the reason why the devil tempts us. 1 Cor.7:6. However, I said this as permission, and not as a command. So that you do not deprive yourself of each other for a time, I said this, says the apostle, “as permission” (κατά συγγνώμην), that is, out of condescension for your weakness, “and not as an immutable command.” 1 Cor.7:7. For I wish that all people were like me. Wherever the apostle prescribes any difficult feat, he usually sets himself as an example. Therefore, here he says: I wish everyone to abstain always. 1 Cor.7:7. But everyone has his own gift from God, one this way, the other another. Staying in virginity, he says, is a gift from God; however, this feat also requires our strength. How does he call it a gift? To console the Corinthians, whom he dealt a painful blow with the words “your intemperance” (v. 5). Meanwhile, note that he considers marriage itself a gift; for he said: “Everyone has his own gift from God, one is like this,” that is, the gift to remain in virginity, “the other is different,” that is, the gift to live in marriage. 1 Cor.7:8–9. To the unmarried and widows I say: it is good for them to remain as I do. But if they cannot abstain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to become inflamed. Do you see the wisdom of Paul, how he shows the superiority of virginity, and at the same time does not force someone who is unable to abstain to abstain from marriage, lest he otherwise suffer a more serious fall? If, he says, you experience great violence and inflammation (for the power of lust is strong), then free yourself from those labors and sweats, so that, having taken on them, you do not fall into greater evil. 1 Cor.7:10. But to those who marry, I do not command, but the Lord. Since the Lord in clear words gave the law not to divorce, except on the grounds of adultery (Matthew 5:32), the apostle says: “Not I, but the Lord.” What was said before was not literally legitimized by the Lord. However, Paul’s words are the words of the Lord, and not human ones, for below he says this about himself: “I think that I also have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 7:40). 1 Cor.7:10–11. A wife must not divorce her husband; if she does, she must remain celibate or be reconciled with her husband; and the husband must not leave his wife. Divorces, he says, happen for the love of abstinence, or for cowardice, or for other reasons; but it would be better if there were no division at all. If it does follow, then the wife must remain with her husband, if not for intercourse, then so as not to bring anyone else. If she cannot abstain, then let her reconcile with her husband. 1 Cor.7:12–13. To the rest I say, not the Lord: if a brother has an unbelieving wife, and she agrees to live with him, then he should not leave her; and a wife who has an unbelieving husband, and he agrees to live with her, should not leave him. What are you saying? If the husband is an unbeliever, then let him remain with his wife; and if he is a fornicator, then he should not stay with her? But is unbelief worse than fornication? Definitely worse; but God punishes more for sins against others than against Himself. For it is said: “Leave your gift there before the altar and go first, be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:24). And He forgave the ten thousand talents that were owed to Him: but for the one who owed a hundred denarii, He did not leave the offense without vengeance (Matthew 18:34). So it is in the present case: He ignores the sin of unbelief, which offends God Himself, but punishes the sin of adultery as a sin against a wife. Some, however, explain this: a person, they say, remains in unbelief out of ignorance, which, perhaps, will end, just as the apostle himself (1 Cor. 7:16) says: “Why do you know, wife, whether you will not save your husband?” - and fornication is committed as a result of obvious corruption. Moreover, the fornicator had already separated himself before, for, having taken his members from his wife, he made them members of a harlot; Meanwhile, the unbeliever has not committed any sin against carnal unity, or better to say, through this unity he may perhaps be united by faith. Not to mention the fact that the order of life will be distorted and the Gospel will be reproached if the faithful half is separated from the unfaithful. Meanwhile, the apostle’s commandment in question applies only to the case if a husband and wife were united in marriage, when both were still in unbelief, but after one or the other side turned to faith. For, if previously only one husband was an unbeliever, or only one wife, then the believing half was not allowed to marry an unbeliever at all: this is clear from the words of the apostle, for he did not say: if anyone wants to take an unbeliever, but: “if any brother has.” Again, it does not simply prescribe that the believing half should live with the non-believing half, but only if the latter wishes it; for this means: “I agree,” that is, if he wishes. 1 Corinthians 7:14. For an unbelieving husband is sanctified by a believing wife, and an unbelieving wife is sanctified by a believing husband. That is, the abundance of purity of the believing half overcomes the impurity of the unbelieving half. This is what the apostle’s words mean, and not that a pagan is made a saint. For the apostle did not say: he is holy, but: “he is sanctified,” that is, he is overcome by the holiness of the faithful half. And he says this so that a believing wife will not be afraid of becoming unclean if she has cohabitation with such a husband. But the question is: he who has sex with a harlot, becoming one body with her, becomes unclean (cf. 1 Cor. 6:16); Obviously, the one who copulates with a pagan becomes one body with her. If the first is unclean, then how is the last not made unclean? As for fornication, this is exactly what happens. When fornicators have fellowship with each other, their mixing has uncleanness, and therefore they are both unclean. But this is different when the believing half cohabits with the non-believing half. An unbelieving husband is unclean because of his unbelief. But the wife has fellowship with him not in unbelief, but in the bed. There is no impurity in this communication. For it is a legal marriage. That is why the believing half does not become unclean. 1 Corinthians 7:14. Otherwise your children would be unclean. If the unfaithful half were not overcome by the purity of the right half, then their children would be unclean, or only half pure. 1 Corinthians 7:14. And now they are holy. That is, they are not unclean. By the excessive expression “holy,” the apostle banishes the fear of such suspicion. 1 Corinthians 7:15. If an unbeliever wants to get a divorce, let him get a divorce. For example, if he commands you to either participate in his unbelief or renounce the rights of marriage, then get a divorce. For it is better to loose the bonds of marriage than to violate piety. 1 Corinthians 7:15. The brother or sister is not related in such cases; The Lord has called us to peace. If your husband quarrels with you because you do not take part in his unbelief, then divorce him. For you are not enslaved to him in this case, that is, you are not forced to follow him in such matters. It is better to separate with him than to quarrel; because God doesn’t want this either: “The Lord has called us to peace.” So, if your husband quarrels with you, then he himself has given the reason for divorce. 1 Corinthians 7:16. Why do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Turning again to the admonition that a wife “should not forsake” her husband, the real question is proposed. For if, he says, he does not quarrel with you, then stay with him and admonish him: maybe you will do something. He makes success doubtful, on the one hand, so as not to think that he is making it an indispensable duty for the wife to completely convince her husband, and on the other, in order to support her hope for her husband’s conversion and prevent despair. 1 Cor.7:16–17. Or do you, husband, why do you know if you won’t save your wife? Only (εί μ) each act as God has determined for him, and each as the Lord has called. Some read it this way: “or you, husband, why do you know whether you will save your wife or not” (ή μ)? Then they began another sentence in this way: “everyone do as God has determined for him,” that is, how do you know whether you will save her or not? This is completely unknown. But if it is unknown, then you should not dissolve the marriage, because if you do not save her, you will not harm yourself, and if you save, then you will benefit both yourself and others. But Saint John did not read this way, but this way: “everyone do as God has determined for him, and everyone as the Lord has called.” And this reading is incomparably better. The Apostle seemed to say this: there should be no divorce under the pretext of unbelief, but each act as God has favored him. You are called, having a wife from among the unbelievers. Keep her with you, and do not cast her out for unbelief. 1 Corinthians 7:17. This is what I command in all churches. He said this so that the Corinthians would obey him all the more readily when he commanded others along with them to do the same. 1 Cor.7:18. If anyone is called to be circumcised, do not hide (μη έπισπάσθω). Probably many, ashamed of circumcision, used some kind of medicine to restore the circumcised penis to its original form, growing skin on it. 1 Cor.7:18. If anyone is called uncircumcised, do not be circumcised. On the other hand, some, finding something important in circumcision, were circumcised after converting to faith. Therefore, he says that this does not contribute to faith at all. 1 Corinthians 7:19. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is everything. Everywhere, he says, along with faith, the fulfillment of virtue is required, and everything else is either little or not required at all. 1 Cor.7:20–21. Everyone remain in the rank in which they are called. Whether you are called to be a slave, do not be embarrassed; but if you can become free, then use the best. “In the rank in which you were called,” that is, in what kind of life, and in what rank and state you believed, remain in that; for by calling we mean bringing to faith. Did you accept the faith as a slave? do not worry or be embarrassed; for slavery does not harm you at all, so that if you could become free, “then make the best use of it,” sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others. 1 Corinthians 7:22. For the servant who is called in the Lord is the freeman of the Lord; likewise, he who is called free is a servant of Christ. One who is freed from slavery is called free. So, he says: you who believed in a state of slavery, you are free of the Lord; for Christ has freed you both from sin and from this external slavery, although you are a slave. He who does not submit to passions, having a noble soul, is not a slave, although he seems to be one. On the other hand, others are freely called to faith; such is the servant of Christ. So, if the name of slavery outrages the slave, then let him understand that he has become free in Christ, and this freedom is much more important than human freedom. Again, if the name of freedom puffs up a free man, then let him understand that he is a slave of Christ and humble himself, imagining that he is subordinate to such a Master and must please Him. Do you see the wisdom with which the apostle gives instructions to slaves and free? 1 Cor.7:23–24. You are bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. In whatever rank one is called, brethren, in that each one shall remain before God. This speaks not only to slaves, but also to freemen, exhorting all Christians not to do anything to please people and not to obey them if their commands are unlawful. This is what it means: bought from God to be slaves of men. He is not trying to persuade slaves to fall away from their masters - no; this is evident from his subsequent words: “in what rank is someone called,” etc., that is, if someone is called and is in a state of slavery, let him remain in that state. “Before God” was added so that through obedience to lawless rulers one would not fall away from God. He takes care of both, that is, so that, on the one hand, under the pretext of obedience to God, the slaves do not fall away from their masters, and on the other, by showing superfluous obedience to their masters, they do not fall away from God. 1 Corinthians 7:25. Regarding virginity, I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give advice as someone who has received the grace from the Lord to be faithful to Him. Above, he occupied us with a conversation about chastity, and now he turns to a more important subject, namely, virginity, and says that the Lord did not lay down a law or give a command regarding virginity, but only said: “Whoever can accommodate, let him accommodate” (Matthew 19:12). Therefore, I do not dare to prescribe anything regarding this subject; this is an important matter, but at the same time dangerous; however, I give my opinion, that is, advice, since I myself, by the grace of God, have been honored to be faithful, that is, close to Him and one to whom one can entrust secrets. 1 Corinthians 7:26. Out of real need, I recognize for the best that it is good for a person to remain like this. In my opinion, he says, it is best for a person to abstain from marriage because of the inconveniences and troubles associated with it, and not because the marriage is unclean. 1 Cor.7:27–28. Are you connected to your wife? don't look for a divorce. Are you left without a wife? don't look for a wife. However, even if you get married, you will not sin. With the words “Are you united with your wife?” showed that marriage, as a bond, brings with it troubles. “Divorce” does not mean abstinence by consent, but divorce without sufficient cause; for if the spouses abstain by consent, then this is not a divorce. Having said “do not look for a wife,” so as not to think that celibacy is commanded, he adds: “however, even if you marry, you will not sin.” Look, how inconspicuously he encourages virginity, calling marriage a bond, and virginity permission and freedom. 1 Corinthians 7:28. And if the girl gets married, she will not sin. By virgin here he means not one who is dedicated to God (for if she gets married, she will undoubtedly sin, since through this, in addition to her Bridegroom, Christ, she will introduce an adulterer to herself), but also a celibate young woman. So, if she marries, she will not sin; because marriage does not contain anything unclean. 1 Corinthians 7:28. But such will have tribulations according to the flesh; and I feel sorry for you. Sorrows refers to the worries and sorrows associated with marriage. “And I,” he continues, “feel sorry for you,” like children, and I wish you to be free and carefree. Marriage is a bond; and those who are under his yoke have no power over themselves, as stated above. 1 Corinthians 7:29. I tell you, brothers: the time is already short. Lest someone add to his words “they will have sorrows in the flesh”: “but at the same time there will be pleasure,” he suppresses any hope of pleasure, making it seem like time is tight. For everything is hastening towards destruction, and the Kingdom of Christ has drawn near, and at last we must appear to Christ. So, if there is any pleasure in married life, then it is fragile and short-lived. 1 Cor.7:29–31. So those who have wives must be as if they had not; and those who weep as if they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as if they did not acquire; and those who use this world, as if they do not use it. If those who have wives should be like those who do not have them, then what is the use of getting married and putting burdens on themselves? What does it mean: “as those who have not”? This means: not clinging to marriage and wife and not exhausting all care for them. In the same way, no one should be too preoccupied with anything else: neither the sad circumstances that were hinted at by the word “weeping,” nor the joyful ones that were meant by the word “rejoice,” nor the contracts that were expressed by the word “buy.” And why, he says, list this and that? Simply, those who use this world should not abuse it, that is, cling to it with all zeal and passion; for excessive use and beyond the bounds of what is proper is abuse. 1 Corinthians 7:31. For the image of this world is passing away. That is, it passes and is destroyed. Why get attached to something that is being destroyed? The title of the image showed that the things of the real world only flicker before the eyes, are extremely light and have nothing solid and significant in themselves. 1 Corinthians 7:32. And I want you to be worry-free. How could we be without worries? If only they had remained celibate. Therefore he adds the following. 1 Cor.7:32–33. An unmarried man cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord; But a married man worries about worldly things, how to please his wife. How is it, Paul, wanting us to be carefree and for this purpose inspiring us to be celibate, you again say: “He who is unmarried cares for the Lord”? For behold, here too there are worries. But not the kind, he says, that are associated with marriage: concerns about the Lord are saving and delightful, but concerns about the world are harmful and painful. In fact, isn’t it a burden and sorrow to try to please a wife, and especially one who loves jewelry and demands gold and pearls and other empty things? This predisposes pitiful husbands to injustice and harmful disposal of things. 1 Cor.7:33. There is a difference between a married woman and a girl. That is, they differ from each other, and do not have the same concern, but are divided in their cares: one cares about such objects, and the other about others. Since their concerns are different, then they must choose those that are better and easier. 1 Corinthians 7:34. An unmarried woman cares about the Lord, how to please the Lord, in order to be holy in both body and spirit; but a married woman worries about worldly things, how to please her husband. It is not enough to be holy in body, but one must also be holy in spirit, for in this, that is, in the purity of the soul, true virginity consists. In experience, many, although pure and blameless in body, are unclean in soul. Moreover, pay attention to the fact that she is not a virgin who cares about the world. Therefore, when you see a woman who pretends to be a virgin, and yet cares about worldly things, then know that she is no different from a married woman. Paul laid down for both certain signs by which they can be recognized - not marriage and abstinence, but, on the one hand, great and restless activity, and on the other, calm minding of their own affairs. Therefore, she is not a virgin who burdens herself with many vain activities. But the married woman continues to worry about how to please her husband, and therefore takes special care of her beauty, or, in order to be considered a good housewife, she shows herself to be wasteful and thrifty. 1 Cor.7:35. I say this for your own benefit, not in order to impose bonds on you. I talked, he says, about virginity, knowing that this state is useful for you, since it is free from sadness and worries, and brings more benefits to the soul; I did not talk about this in order to force you to remain in virginity against your will (for he called coercion “bonds”). 1 Cor.7:35. But so that you serve the Lord decently and unceasingly without distraction. In order, he says, for you to live decently and in cleanliness; for what could be more decent and purer than virginity? And also so that you, being free from the troubles of marriage, serve the Lord without distraction and stand before Him always, casting all your worries on Him (1 Peter 5:7). 1 Corinthians 7:36. If anyone considers it indecent for his maiden to remain like this when she is of mature age, let him do as he wants: he will not sin. If anyone, he says, being truly weak at heart, considers it dishonorable to leave his daughter a virgin, especially if she has passed adulthood, then let him say, so be it. How? “Let him do as he wants,” that is, if he wants to give her away in marriage, let him give it away, for he will not sin. However, it is better to guard the virgin, as he says further. 1 Cor.7:36–38. Let them get married. But whoever is unshakably firm in his heart and, not being constrained by need, but being powerful in his own will, decides in his heart to keep his virgin, he does well. Therefore, he who gives his maiden in marriage does well; and the one who does not issue does better. Notice how at first he is surprised at the one who respects his maiden: he calls him firm and steadfast and does his work with reasoning; for he says: “unshakably firm in heart.” This means that whoever gives his maiden in marriage is not firm. The words “not being constrained by need” shows that the father has the power to give his daughter a husband, and no one can force him not to give her in marriage. So, it is an honor for him if he leaves his daughter unmarried; That’s why the apostle praises him: for “he does well,” he says. But the one who gives his daughter in marriage also “does well”; for it is not a sin to give in marriage; and everything that is not sin is good. But it is much better not to get married; for this is perfection in good. 1 Cor.7:39–40. A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; if her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wants, only in the Lord. But she will be happier if she remains like this, according to my advice; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God. Here he teaches about second marriage, and although he allows it, he considers the one who does not enter into a second marriage to be most blessed; for just as virginity is higher than the first marriage, so the first marriage is higher than the second. “The wife is bound by the law,” that is, by the warning of the law she is kept from adultery, from being an adulteress through union with another during her husband’s life, but if the husband dies, she becomes free from the bonds and law of the first marriage and receives permission. “Only in the Lord,” that is, only with chastity, with honesty, can she enter into a second marriage, for the purpose of producing and raising children, and not out of lust. “According to my advice” he adds so that you do not consider this a necessity, but only advice, Divine advice. “I think,” he says, “and I have the Spirit of God.” There is more humility in these words; for he did not say: I have, but: “I think” that “I have”, that is, I believe, I guess. 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