Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
To guard against sexual immorality, each man is to have his own wife and each woman her own husband, with marriage given as the lawful safeguard against fornication. Its singular wording means one wife for each man and one husband for each woman, ruling out having more than one spouse. Marrying is not sin and singleness is not required, though singleness may be chosen to serve God without the cares of married life. Within that union husband and wife owe each other mutual love, protection, regard and reverent submission, with duty to God first yet without stirring up strife at home. Consecration to God must therefore extend into married life, keeping faithfulness to one's own spouse and opposing selfish indulgence of appetite.
Context and Meaning
Paul's direct teaching on home relations was given in answer to inquiries that perplexed the Corinthian church and still perplex the church today. It belongs to the first of three phases of the marriage question in the chapter, the expediency of marriage in the church, together with the propriety of separation from unbelieving partners and the duty of heads of families regarding giving in marriage their daughters, wards, or other virgins under their charge. It was written to guard against sexual immorality in a licentious setting such as Corinth, ruling out the loose marriage customs common among Gentiles and calling for complete abstention from fornication.
It gives the counsel that marriage is the safeguard against fornication. That same counsel is merely repeated and pressed in verses 8 and 9 with unmarried men and widows specifically in view, while instruction for virgins is left to a later part of the chapter. Its singular wording, each man his own wife and each woman her own husband, rules out having more than one spouse. The following verses establish the unity of the marriage relationship, the mutual respect owed by spouses, and that marriage need not hinder devotion. It shows that marriage remains necessary in a world overspread by sin, for marriage was created in Eden for a wise purpose, and those who live single by circumstance, constitution, or a special vow for the kingdom of heaven are different, not better than others.
Marriage Duties and Application
Each man is to have his own wife and each woman her own husband, with reciprocal obligations binding them together: the wife owes her husband due regard and proper submission, and the husband owes his wife love and protection. This mutual bond cannot be reconciled with treating people as property to be bought and sold, because that places spouses under the control of someone other than each other and prevents them from fulfilling their marital obligations. Applied consistently, therefore, it overturns slavery.
It belongs to the instruction in 1 Corinthians 7:1-17 that explains the wife's reverence for her husband spoken of in Ephesians 5:33. Reverence means fear in the sense of being in subjection to her husband and regarding him as the head, as is fit in the Lord. Duty to God comes first, but duty to God does not stir up strife at home. A believing wife with an unconverted husband must not be a conscience for her husband or compel him to obey, but must serve his needs in food and indulgence even when they are contrary to health and purity. When she is compelled to cook and provide what she would never use for herself, her self-sacrifice and loyalty is accepted by God, so what would be sin if done for herself is counted as obedience and righteousness because of the motive of her heart.
Consecration to God must extend into married life to guard against sexual sin, opposing selfish yielding to appetite within the marriage relationship. The instruction was especially needed then because of the immoral customs of the heathen on every side, and it is needed now because of the tendency to looseness on all moral questions. Marriage is a lawful safeguard against fornication rather than forced celibacy. Singleness may be chosen to serve God without the distractions and cares of married life, but it is not required, and marrying is not a sin. An absolute ban on marriage can bring ruin when a person's desires do not accord with the rule, leading him to violate others' rights.
Each man is to have one wife and each woman one husband as God's command against having multiple wives. Obeying God, rather than following local custom or imitating another people, requires a man with several wives to keep only one, despite the quarrels, demands, and danger that may accompany having many wives. It teaches faithfulness to one's own spouse and rejects treating marriage as a mere civil contract that can be set aside for incompatibility or disagreement, including disagreement over faith, in search of a different uniquely destined spiritual partner. Fornication or adultery by either spouse leaves the innocent spouse free to marry again, with legal separation also necessary.
To guard against sexual immorality, each man is to have his own wife and each woman her own husband, with marriage given as the lawful safeguard against fornication. Its singular wording means one wife for each man and one husband for each woman, ruling out having more than one spouse. Marrying is not sin and singleness is not required, though singleness may be chosen to serve God without the cares of married life. Within that union husband and wife owe each other mutual love, protection, regard and reverent submission, with duty to God first yet without stirring up strife at home. Consecration to God must therefore extend into married life, keeping faithfulness to one's own spouse and opposing selfish indulgence of appetite.
Context and Meaning
Paul's direct teaching on home relations was given in answer to inquiries that perplexed the Corinthian church and still perplex the church today. It belongs to the first of three phases of the marriage question in the chapter, the expediency of marriage in the church, together with the propriety of separation from unbelieving partners and the duty of heads of families regarding giving in marriage their daughters, wards, or other virgins under their charge. It was written to guard against sexual immorality in a licentious setting such as Corinth, ruling out the loose marriage customs common among Gentiles and calling for complete abstention from fornication.
It gives the counsel that marriage is the safeguard against fornication. That same counsel is merely repeated and pressed in verses 8 and 9 with unmarried men and widows specifically in view, while instruction for virgins is left to a later part of the chapter. Its singular wording, each man his own wife and each woman her own husband, rules out having more than one spouse. The following verses establish the unity of the marriage relationship, the mutual respect owed by spouses, and that marriage need not hinder devotion. It shows that marriage remains necessary in a world overspread by sin, for marriage was created in Eden for a wise purpose, and those who live single by circumstance, constitution, or a special vow for the kingdom of heaven are different, not better than others.
Marriage Duties and Application
Each man is to have his own wife and each woman her own husband, with reciprocal obligations binding them together: the wife owes her husband due regard and proper submission, and the husband owes his wife love and protection. This mutual bond cannot be reconciled with treating people as property to be bought and sold, because that places spouses under the control of someone other than each other and prevents them from fulfilling their marital obligations. Applied consistently, therefore, it overturns slavery.
It belongs to the instruction in 1 Corinthians 7:1-17 that explains the wife's reverence for her husband spoken of in Ephesians 5:33. Reverence means fear in the sense of being in subjection to her husband and regarding him as the head, as is fit in the Lord. Duty to God comes first, but duty to God does not stir up strife at home. A believing wife with an unconverted husband must not be a conscience for her husband or compel him to obey, but must serve his needs in food and indulgence even when they are contrary to health and purity. When she is compelled to cook and provide what she would never use for herself, her self-sacrifice and loyalty is accepted by God, so what would be sin if done for herself is counted as obedience and righteousness because of the motive of her heart.
Consecration to God must extend into married life to guard against sexual sin, opposing selfish yielding to appetite within the marriage relationship. The instruction was especially needed then because of the immoral customs of the heathen on every side, and it is needed now because of the tendency to looseness on all moral questions. Marriage is a lawful safeguard against fornication rather than forced celibacy. Singleness may be chosen to serve God without the distractions and cares of married life, but it is not required, and marrying is not a sin. An absolute ban on marriage can bring ruin when a person's desires do not accord with the rule, leading him to violate others' rights.
Each man is to have one wife and each woman one husband as God's command against having multiple wives. Obeying God, rather than following local custom or imitating another people, requires a man with several wives to keep only one, despite the quarrels, demands, and danger that may accompany having many wives. It teaches faithfulness to one's own spouse and rejects treating marriage as a mere civil contract that can be set aside for incompatibility or disagreement, including disagreement over faith, in search of a different uniquely destined spiritual partner. Fornication or adultery by either spouse leaves the innocent spouse free to marry again, with legal separation also necessary.