Paul advised married people not to abstain from normal sexual relations.
7:1 Again Paul began what he had to say by citing a general truth. Then he proceeded to qualify it (cf. 6:12-13). The use of the Greek word anthropos(man generically, people) rather than aner(man as distinguished from woman) indicates that the statement pertains to human beings generally. To "touch a woman"(NASB) is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.165Evidently the Corinthians' question was something like this. Isn't it preferable for a Christian man to abstain from sexual relations with a woman? This would reflect the "spiritual"viewpoint of the Corinthians that held a negative attitude toward the material world and the body (cf. 6:13; 15:12).
"Some difficulty is alleviated if these words are regarded as a quotation from the Corinthian letter, and this is a hypothesis that may very probably be accepted [cf. 6:12-13] . . ."166
Another view is that "touch a woman"is a euphemism for marrying.167However this meaning is difficult to prove, and I do not prefer it. If this is what he meant, Paul's advice was to abstain from marrying. Paul wrote later that because of the present distress his readers would do well to remain in their present marital state (v. 26). Nevertheless throughout the passage Paul viewed marriage as God-ordained and perfectly proper for Christians.
7:2 This verse probably begins Paul's extended qualification of the Corinthians' view of marriage. He proceeded to urge them strongly that the type of abstinence that they were arguing for within marriage was totally wrong. Notice the three sets of balanced pairs in this verse and in the two that follow. In this verse Paul urged married couples to have sexual relations with one another because of the prevalence of temptations to satisfy sexual desire inappropriately.
The view of verse 1 that understands Paul to be saying that it is better to avoid marrying sees Paul making a concession to that statement here. Those who hold this view believe that Paul was saying that it is better to marry since many single people cannot live in the single state without eventually committing "immoralities"(fornication, Gr. porneias). This is obviously not the only reason to marry (cf. Gen. 2:18-24), but it appears to have been an important consideration in Corinth where temptations to fornicate abounded. As noted above, I do not favor this interpretation.
"This [i.e., "each . . . each"] forbids polygamy, which was advocated by some Jewish teachers."168
7:3 In view of the temptation to commit fornication, each partner in marriage needs to fulfill his or her sexual duty to the spouse. Part of the responsibility of marriage is to meet the various needs of the partner (Gen. 2:18) including sexual needs.
7:4 Moreover in marriage each partner relinquishes certain personal rights, including the exclusive right to his or her own body, to which he or she gives the mate a claim. Neither person has completeauthority over his or her own body in marriage. Note that Paul was careful to give both husband and wife equal rights in these verses. He did not regard the man as having sexual rights or needs that the woman does not have or vice versa.
7:5 Evidently the Corinthians had concluded that since they were "spiritual"they did not need to continue to have sexual relations as husband and wife. Another less probable situation, I think, is that there were some married Christians in the church who were overreacting to the immorality in Corinth by abstaining from sexual relations with their mates. For whatever reason Paul viewed this as depriving one another of their normal sexual needs and urged them to stop doing it. Husbands and wives should commit themselves to honoring the spirit of mutual ownership that these verses describe.
There are legitimate reasons for temporary abstinence, but couples should temporarily abstain only with the agreement of both partners. When there are greater needs, spiritual needs, the couple may want to set aside their normal physical needs. However they should only do so temporarily.
"Three conditions are required for lawful abstention: it must be by mutual consent, for a good object, and temporary."169
Normally we think of sexual activity as an indication of lack of self-control, but Paul also viewed the failure to engage in sex as a lack of self-control for a married person.
7:6 Paul's concession was allowing temporary abstinence from sex. The concession was not having sex. He did not command abstinence. He viewed regular marital relations as the norm. Paul was no ascetic who favored as little sex as possible. Abstinence was the exception to what was normal in his view.
7:7 Paul evidently was not a married man when he wrote this epistle (v. 8). We do not have enough information about his life to know whether he had never married, had become a widower, or if his wife had left him.
To Paul the single state had certain advantages for a servant of the Lord such as himself. He had to put up with many hardships in his ministry that it would have been difficult for a wife to share. Moreover God had given him grace to live as a single person without feeling consumed by the fires of lust (cf. v. 9).
He wished everyone could live as he did, but he realized that most could not. Each person has his or her own special gift (Gr. charisma) from God, some to live single and some to live married (cf. Matt. 19:12). These are spiritual gifts just as those gifts listed in chapters 12-14 are. The gift of celibacy is a special ability that God gives only some people to feel free from the desire or need of sexual fulfillment in marriage.170
