In passing here Paul refers to the rising threat of Roman persecution for Christians. It was the same warning Christ issued to His disciples in Matthew 24-25, the same events, which eventually took Paul’s life. It persisted for another two centuries before it stopped. This warrants Paul’s rather extreme position that the church did not need to grow by physical birth, but grew quite strongly merely by spiritual birth. What follows is my previous commentary on this chapter…
The Corinthian church forced Paul to write in terms of God’s Laws because they could not handle grace — they still needed milk. God’s Laws are the path to grace and spiritual understanding. Once you internalize the demands of the Laws (specifically the Covenant of Noah here), you are in a position to reach a more spiritual understanding that transcends mere principles of Laws. It should surprise no one that marriage and sex is a major issue for the still carnal Gentile Christians, particularly in a place such as Corinth, the imperial capital of sensual pleasure.
It would seem their letter to Paul suggested he declare sex itself a sin on some level. This heresy was already ancient in Paul’s time, so he clarified the issue. Sure, it’s great if a man can do without sex. But humans weren’t designed for that. Sex is a gift from God, and mere procreation was not the only purpose, else the wiring in our bodies would not make it so irresistible. The Fall did not create sex, merely ruined it. There’s nothing wrong with getting married, because it provides the one valid sexual outlet ordained by God.
Paul goes on to explain a vital principle ignored in almost every culture throughout history: husband and wife in marriage equally own each other. That is, each has full legitimate claims on the body of the other. Paul teaches from the unspoken assumptions that appear in almost no other culture except the Ancient Hebrew. Sexual passion does not rule, but is merely icing on the cake, and will most certainly follow your commitments. If you are committed to obeying God, then you can take just about anyone suitable in marriage, sight unseen, and the heat of passion will naturally follow. But once awakened, passion tends to be rather indiscriminate. God smiles if you keep it within the marriage bed. Otherwise, it can destroy your loyalty to Him. No one should be surprised that Satan uses that passion to break our loyalty to God, so prepare your mind to keep the marriage bed busy or Satan will offer sinful substitutes. This much comes from the Laws of God on the matter.
However, Paul’s personal preference is total abstinence. Realizing that is actually a minority calling, he cannot pretend it’s what God requires of all. Everyone has to find their own peace with God on such things. If one has never married, or the spouse has died, Paul encourages them to stay single, if they can bear it. Prostitution and even rare casual sex are sinful. If you must have it, make it lawful in God’s eyes.
Carrying on in terms of God’s Laws, Paul reminds them that marriage is sacred, even when it was entered before spiritual birth. Your spouse may be dead spiritually, but divorce is not an option in this life. If they find your faith intolerable, let them go. If they aren’t bothered by it, let them stay. But by no means can you now seek to drive them away as an excuse to replace them. You only get one shot at this until God calls them away from this world. To our undying shame, we find this very harsh in our modern world, but we see Gentile Christians of Paul’s day struggling no less with it. Within the context of God’s Laws, we find the blessings of the Laws attach directly to lawful conduct. Thus, in this context, Paul’s use of the terms “sanctified” and “clean” refer to purity under the Laws. The spiritual element comes in the possibility that your lawful conduct may draw your unbelieving spouse to repentance.
So, Paul’s teaching is that we can’t throw away everything from our previous life when we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. God calls us as we are, and it remains His alone to require changes. Using the figurative language of circumcision, Paul notes that a Jew in Christ should not go pagan and a Gentile should not attempt to ape Judaism. We are entering the Realm of the Spirit, where the details of this life are simply the circumstances in which we reveal Him. Slaves can live in the freedom of the Spirit, and freemen can act as slaves of Christ. If you can get out of your earthly slavery legitimately, do so, but don’t obsess over it. There is no spiritual gain in struggling to fix your circumstances as men measure such things, since this fallen world cannot be made somehow good by reforming.
In the Gentile world, a great deal of superstition is attached to virginity. It’s not magical; there’s no particular power in a physical artifact either way. Paul says there were no Laws from God, nor deep spiritual principles on virginity, only pragmatic suggestions from a man whom God had called and used. Given the difficult circumstances of Corinth in that day, and at that time in the Roman Empire generally, it was a good idea to remain a bachelor. If a man is married then let him prepare to face the days ahead in that condition. If she leaves him, he shouldn’t seek a successor. But going through with a planned marriage is fine, though the costs could be high. It’s not as if Paul is deluded in thinking Christ was coming during those days, but he states something hard to put in any language: God was moving in ways that would bring sudden changes. Keep your eyes on Heaven, and on the God who granted marriage among humans, and who can take it away from anyone He chooses. His words paint a picture of keeping a very light hold on every part of this life, because nothing is permanent. This whole fallen existence is actually a delusion, from which all Creation will awaken quite suddenly, and not even the Son knows when that shall be.
Marriage, while terribly important in God’s plans for this world, enough so that He places very high demands on it, can still be an impediment to serving Him. Unmarried people only have to worry about pleasing God directly, but married people have to consider the spouse in everything. Even without children, marriage looms quite large on your mental horizon, and naturally comes with tons of frustration even for the most spiritually minded believers. Still, marriage is a covenant, and God takes a dim view of covenant breakers. Keep this in mind when you consider whether to go through with a planned marriage. Again, Paul emphasizes that it’s not a sin for guys to grab the bride before she gives up on him and marries another. But if he’s strong enough he can afford to keep his own virginity, it’s not about magic, but simple pragmatism.
The same can be said for the father of the bride. If he can’t afford to keep her at home let him give her hand in marriage. But never forget such decisions are binding for life in the eyes of God. If a widow can shed the burden of a husband, she would be wise to consider staying a widow, never mind the fragile position such women maintain in this world. We too quickly let ourselves be managed by common secular assumptions about things in this life, instead of looking to God and questioning in our hearts those assumptions. Paul has found God faithful against the sorrows of this world, so his opinion should count for something.
