V. 26 he expressly states that " the present distress," or the peculiar circumstances of trial and difficulty in which the Christians of that day were placed, was the ground of his advice on this subject. 3. Because in 1 Tim. 4, 3, he specifies "forbidding to marry" as one of the signs of the great apos- tasy which he predicted was to occur. 4. Because marriage is a divine institution, having its foundation in the nature of man, and therefore must be a good. God accordingly de- clared, " It is not good for man to be alone," i. e. to be un- married. Gen. 2, 18. Paul cannot be understood in a sense which would make him directly contradict the word of God. 6. Because throughout the Scriptures marriage is spoken of as honourable, Hcb. 13, 4, and is used to illustrate the relation between God and his people, and between Christ and his church. 6. Because all experience teaches that it is, as a general rule, necessary to the full development of the charac- ter of the individual, and absolutely essential to the virtue and the well-being of society. To depreciate marriage would be to go contrary both to nature and revelation, and such de- preciation has never failed to be attended by the most inju- rious consequences to the church and to the world. If, there- fore, Scripture is to be interpreted by Scripture, we must un- derstand the Apostle as intending to say : ' Considering your peculiar circumstances, it is expedient for you not to marry.»
2. Nevertheless, (to avoid) fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
As a general rule, says the Apostle, let every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband. Whatever exceptions there may be to this rule in particular cases, or in peculiar conditions of society or of the church, the rule itself stands. There is undoubtedly an increase of worldly care and anxiety connected with marriage, and therefore it may be expe- dient for those to remain single to whom freedom from such cares is specially important. This however does not alter the great law of God, that it is not good for man to be alone. Celibacy is to be the exception, not the rule.
3-5. Let the husband render unto the wife due
no I. CORINTHIANS V, 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
benevolence : * and likewise also the wife unto the hus- band. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband : and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except (it be) with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer ; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
There is abundant evidence in the New Testament of the early manifestation of those principles of asceticism which soon produced such wide-spread effects, and which to so great a degree modified the reigning spirit of the church. The idea that marriage was a less holy state than celibacy, naturally led to the conclusion that married persons ought to separate ; and it soon came to be regarded as an evidence of eminent spirituality when such separation was final. The Apostle teaches that neither party has the right to separate from the other ; that no separation is to be allowed which is not with mutual consent, for a limited time, for the purpose of special devotion, and with the definite intention of reunion. Nothing can be more foreign to the mind of the Apostle than the spirit which filled the monasteries and convents of the mediaeval church.
6. 7. But I speak this by permission, (and) not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
The reference of the word this in v. 6, is a matter of doubt. Some refer it to the immediately preceding clause, *Your coming together again I speak of as permitted, not as com- manded.' But that clause is an entirely subordinate one ; and the sense thus given to the passage is not consistent with the
* Instead of cxpuXotxtv-nv idvoiav of the received text, A. B. C. D. E. F. G. have the simpler reading, ocpfiKriv, -which most editors adopt. The same au- thorities omit the words rp i/Tjareiot /ca/, in the latter part of the passage.
I. CORINTHIANS 7, 6. 7. 8. 9. Ill
context. It was not a matter permitted, but commanded that husbands and wives should live together. Others refer it to the whole of v. 5. ' Your separating yourselves only by consent and for a limited time for the purpose of devotion, is a matter of permission, not of command ; you may separate for other purposes and for an unlimited time.' But to this also it is an obvious objection, that it conflicts with the man- datory character of vs. 3. 4, and with the meaning of v. 5 itself; for that verse has not the form of a command. The refer- ence to the 5th verse may be made under a difierent aspect. ' What I have said of your separating by consent for a season, is a matter of permission, not of command.' But this is not consistent with the reason assigned in the next verse. The most natural reference is to v. 2, and to what follows. His saying, ' Let every man have his own wife and every woman her own husband, and let them remember their mutual obli- gations,' was permissive and not a matter of command. Mar- riage, in other words, is permitted, not commanded. For I would that all were as I am. The sense is not materially dif- ferent, if with many editors we read ^eiVw 8e instead of .^cXo) yap. * Marriage is not commanded, but I would,' etc. The Apostle did not take sides with the extreme Jewish party, who regarded marriage as obligatory. He admitted the ex- pediency of all remaining single in those times of persecution to whom God had given the requisite grace.
8. 9. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows. It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry : for it is better to marry than to burn.
This is the application of the principle laid down in v. 1 to the Corinthians. * I say to the unmarried and to the widows among you, it is well not to marry.' The unmarried is not to be limited to widowers^ as is commonly done on account of the word widows following, because the word does not admit of that limitation ; and because the word married in the fol- lowing verse includes all classes. ' To the unmarried, and specially to widows, I say so ; to the married I say so.'
If these verses and others of like import, are to be under- stood of men generally, and not of men in the peculiar cir- cumstances of the early Christians, then it must be admitted that Paul depreciates marriage, and that he represents it as