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Verse Commentaries:
Chapter Level Commentary:
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five modern translations. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one main subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO 1Co_7:1-40
A. This is Paul's most extensive discussion of domestic relationships. He deals with
1. sexual immorality, 1Co_6:9-20; 1Co_7:2
2. marriage, 1Co_7:2-5; 1Co_7:10-16; 1Co_7:28
3. singles, 1Co_7:6-9; 1Co_7:25-26; 1Co_7:29-35
4. virgins, 1Co_7:36-38
5. remarriage of widows and widowers, 1Co_7:39-40
6. the recurrent theme is, "stay as you are," 1Co_7:1; 1Co_7:6-8; 1Co_7:10; 1Co_7:17-24; 1Co_7:26-35; 1Co_7:37; 1Co_7:40; because of the current crisis and the expected parousia, although he allows for exceptions
B. Chapter 7 is a very good example of how the local and temporal situation must be taken into account before one can accurately interpret the Bible or draw universal principles for application. It is very difficult in the book of 1 Corinthians to know the historical setting because
1. we do not know exactly what the current crisis was in Corinth (possibly famine)
2. we do not know which factious group Paul is addressing and in which verses (i.e., ascetics or libertines)
3. we do not have the letter that the church wrote to Paul asking these questions (cf. 1Co_7:1; 1Co_7:25; 1Co_8:1; 1Co_12:1; 1Co_16:1; 1Co_16:12)
C. 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. 1Co_7:1). The other group were those who tended toward moral looseness or antinomianism (cf. 1Co_6:12; 1Co_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.
D. There is a recurrent theme running through chapter 7. It is characterized by 1Co_7:17; 1Co_7:20; 1Co_7:24; 1Co_7:26; 1Co_7:40 and made allusion to in 1Co_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 which category (i.e., never married, once married, or married to an unbeliever) Paul himself experienced. Maybe he existentially knew them all. Most Jews married out 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. 1Co_9:5).
E. Marriage in the Bible is the expected norm (cf. Gen_1:28; Gen_2:18). Paul was probably married at one time (i.e., the implication of Act_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. 1Co_6:16; 1Co_7:14; 2Co_11:2 and Eph_5:22-31). We must remember that Paul is addressing a local first century, Gentile, factious, cosmopolitan situation.
F. Paul's discussion of circumcision in 1Co_7:19 affirms that for Paul OT rituals and regulations have passed away in the gospel of Jesus Christ for believing Gentiles (cf. Acts 15) and are, therefore, not binding. Theologically speaking it is usually stated that Paul affirms the ethical aspects of the OT, but negates the ceremonial aspects. To some extent this is true.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How do we apply the truth of chapter 7 to today?
2. How much of chapter 7 is cultural and how much is universal?
3. Is celibacy a higher spiritual state for Paul than marriage? If so, why?
4. Does the Bible allow for divorce?
If so, does the Bible allow for remarriage? (1Co_7:28; 1Co_7:39)
5. What was the "present crisis" to which Paul refers in 1Co_7:26?
6. Is the term "virgin" used differently in 1Co_7:25; 1Co_7:36?