1Co 7:1-40 NASB

(1) Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

(2) But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.

(3) The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

(4) The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

(5) Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

(6) But this I say by way of concession, not of command.

(7) Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.

(8) But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I.

(9) But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

(10) But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband

(11) (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.

(12) But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.

(13) And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away.

(14) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

(15) Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.

(16) For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

(17) Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.

(18) Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised.

(19) Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

(20) Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.

(21) Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that.

(22) For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord's freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ's slave.

(23) You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

(24) Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

(25) Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy.

(26) I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

(27) Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

(28) But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

(29) But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none;

(30) and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess;

(31) and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.

(32) But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;

(33) but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife,

(34) and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

(35) This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.

(36) But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let her marry.

(37) But he who stands firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well.

(38) So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.

(39) A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

40. But in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

Quoted from, “The New American Standard Bible”, The Lockman Foundation

1Co 7:1-40 MSG

(1) Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?

(2) Certainly--but only within a certain context. It's good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder.

(3) The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality--the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband.

(4) Marriage is not a place to "stand up for your rights." Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out.

(5) Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it's for the purposes of prayer and fasting--but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it.

(6) I'm not, understand, commanding these periods of abstinence--only providing my best counsel if you should choose them.

(7) Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me--a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of the single life to some, the gift of the married life to others.

(8) I do, though, tell the unmarried and widows that singleness might well be the best thing for them, as it has been for me.

(9) But if they can't manage their desires and emotions, they should by all means go ahead and get married. The difficulties of marriage are preferable by far to a sexually tortured life as a single.

(10) And if you are married, stay married. This is the Master's command, not mine.

(11) If a wife should leave her husband, she must either remain single or else come back and make things right with him. And a husband has no right to get rid of his wife.

(12) For the rest of you who are in mixed marriages--Christian married to nonChristian--we have no explicit command from the Master. So this is what you must do. If you are a man with a wife who is not a believer but who still wants to live with you, hold on to her.

(13) If you are a woman with a husband who is not a believer but he wants to live with you, hold on to him.

(14) The unbelieving husband shares to an extent in the holiness of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is likewise touched by the holiness of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be left out; as it is, they also are included in the spiritual purposes of God.

(15) On the other hand, if the unbelieving spouse walks out, you've got to let him or her go. You don't have to hold on desperately. God has called us to make the best of it, as peacefully as we can.

(16) You never know, wife: The way you handle this might bring your husband not only back to you but to God. You never know, husband: The way you handle this might bring your wife not only back to you but to God.

(17) And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life. Don't think I'm being harder on you than on the others. I give this same counsel in all the churches.

(18) Were you Jewish at the time God called you? Don't try to remove the evidence. Were you non-Jewish at the time of your call? Don't become a Jew.

(19) Being Jewish isn't the point. The really important thing is obeying God's call, following his commands.

(20) Stay where you were when God called your name.

(21) Were you a slave? Slavery is no roadblock to obeying and believing. I don't mean you're stuck and can't leave. If you have a chance at freedom, go ahead and take it.

(22) I'm simply trying to point out that under your new Master you're going to experience a marvelous freedom you would never have dreamed of. On the other hand, if you were free when Christ called you, you'll experience a delightful "enslavement to God" you would never have dreamed of.

(23) All of you, slave and free both, were once held hostage in a sinful society. Then a huge sum was paid out for your ransom. So please don't, out of old habit, slip back into being or doing what everyone else tells you.

(24) Friends, stay where you were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him at your side.

(25) The Master did not give explicit direction regarding virgins, but as one much experienced in the mercy of the Master and loyal to him all the way, you can trust my counsel.

(26) Because of the current pressures on us from all sides, I think it would probably be best to stay just as you are.

(27) Are you married? Stay married. Are you unmarried? Don't get married.

(28) But there's certainly no sin in getting married, whether you're a virgin or not. All I am saying is that when you marry, you take on additional stress in an already stressful time, and I want to spare you if possible.

(29) I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple--in marriage,

(30) grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things--your daily routines of shopping, and so on.

(31) Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.

(32) I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master.

(33) Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse,

(34) leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God.

(35) I'm trying to be helpful and make it as easy as possible for you, not make things harder. All I want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions.

(36) If a man has a woman friend to whom he is loyal but never intended to marry, having decided to serve God as a "single," and then changes his mind, deciding he should marry her, he should go ahead and marry. It's no sin; it's not even a "step down" from celibacy, as some say.

(37) On the other hand, if a man is comfortable in his decision for a single life in service to God and it's entirely his own conviction and not imposed on him by others, he ought to stick with it.

(38) Marriage is spiritually and morally right and not inferior to singleness in any way, although as I indicated earlier, because of the times we live in, I do have pastoral reasons for encouraging singleness.

(39) A wife must stay with her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she chooses. She will, of course, want to marry a believer and have the blessing of the Master

(40) . By now you know that I think she'll be better off staying single. The Master, in my opinion, thinks so, too.

Quoted from, “The Message”, By Eugene H. Peterson