31 and those using this world, as not using `it' up; for passing away is the fashion of this world.
and the world doth pass away, and the desire of it, and he who is doing the will of God, he doth remain -- to the age.
And of all things the end hath come nigh; be sober-minded, then, and watch unto the prayers,
who do not know the thing of the morrow; for what is your life? for it is a vapour that is appearing for a little, and then is vanishing;
What, then, is my reward? -- that proclaiming good news, without charge I shall make the good news of the Christ, not to abuse my authority in the good news;
And he said also unto his disciples, `A certain man was rich, who had a steward, and he was accused to him as scattering his goods; and having called him, he said to him, What `is' this I hear about thee? render the account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest not any longer be steward.
Go, now, ye rich! weep, howling over your miseries that are coming upon `you'; your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten; your gold and silver have rotted, and the rust of them for a testimony shall be to you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye made treasure in the last days! lo, the reward of the workmen, of those who in-gathered your fields, which hath been fraudulently kept back by you -- doth cry out, and the exclamations of those who did reap into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth have entered; ye did live in luxury upon the earth, and were wanton; ye did nourish your hearts, as in a day of slaughter;
and the rich in his becoming low, because as a flower of grass he shall pass away; for the sun did rise with the burning heat, and did wither the grass, and the flower of it fell, and the grace of its appearance did perish, so also the rich in his way shall fade away!
Those rich in the present age charge thou not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who is giving to us all things richly for enjoyment; -- to do good, to be rich in good works, to be ready to impart, willing to communicate,
`And take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts may be weighed down with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day may come on you,
and he said to him, Well done, good servant, because in a very little thou didst become faithful, be having authority over ten cities. `And the second came, saying, Sir, thy pound made five pounds; and he said also to this one, And thou, become thou over five cities. `And another came, saying, Sir, lo, thy pound, that I had lying away in a napkin; for I was afraid of thee, because thou art an austere man; thou takest up what thou didst not lay down, and reapest what thou didst not sow. `And he saith to him, Out of thy mouth I will judge thee, evil servant: thou knewest that I am an austere man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow! and wherefore didst thou not give my money to the bank, and I, having come, with interest might have received it? `And to those standing by he said, Take from him the pound, and give to him having the ten pounds -- (and they said to him, Sir, he hath ten pounds) -- for I say to you, that to every one having shall be given, and from him not having, also what he hath shall be taken from him,
As a dream from awakening, O Lord, In awaking, their image Thou despisest.
And he said unto them, `Observe, and beware of the covetousness, because not in the abundance of one's goods is his life.' And he spake a simile unto them, saying, `Of a certain rich man the field brought forth well; and he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where I shall gather together my fruits? and he said, This I will do, I will take down my storehouses, and greater ones I will build, and I will gather together there all my products and my good things, and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry. `And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare -- to whom shall they be? so `is' he who is treasuring up to himself, and is not rich toward God.'
`For -- as a man going abroad did call his own servants, and did deliver to them his substance, and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his several ability, went abroad immediately. `And he who did receive the five talents, having gone, wrought with them, and made other five talents; in like manner also he who `received' the two, he gained, also he, other two; and he who did receive the one, having gone away, digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. `And after a long time cometh the lord of those servants, and taketh reckoning with them; and he who did receive the five talents having come, brought other five talents, saying, `Sir, five talents thou didst deliver to me; lo, other five talents did I gain besides them. `And his lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou wast faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord. `And he who also did receive the two talents having come, said, Sir, two talents thou didst deliver to me; lo, other two talents I did gain besides them. `His lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou wast faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord. `And he also who hath received the one talent having come, said, Sir, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering from whence thou didst not scatter; and having been afraid, having gone away, I hid thy talent in the earth; lo, thou hast thine own! `And his lord answering said to him, Evil servant, and slothful, thou hadst known that I reap where I did not sow, and I gather whence I did not scatter! it behoved thee then to put my money to the money-lenders, and having come I had received mine own with increase. `Take therefore from him the talent, and give to him having the ten talents, for to every one having shall be given, and he shall have overabundance, and from him who is not having, even that which he hath shall be taken from him;
`And, if that evil servant may say in his heart, My Lord doth delay to come, and may begin to beat the fellow-servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken, the lord of that servant will arrive in a day when he doth not expect, and in an hour of which he doth not know,
Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood, And let thy heart gladden thee in days of thy youth, And walk in the ways of thy heart, And in the sight of thine eyes, And know thou that for all these, Doth God bring thee into judgment. And turn aside anger from thy heart, And cause evil to pass from thy flesh, For the childhood and the age `are' vanity!
Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a glad heart thy wine, for already hath God been pleased with thy works. At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head. See life with the wife whom thou hast loved, all the days of the life of thy vanity, that He hath given to thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, for it `is' thy portion in life, even of thy labour that thou art labouring at under the sun. All that thy hand findeth to do, with thy power do, for there is no work, and device, and knowledge, and wisdom in Sheol whither thou art going.
Lo, that which I have seen: `It is' good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one's labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it `is' his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God. For he doth not much remember the days of his life, for God is answering through the joy of his heart.
There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it `is' from the hand of God. For who eateth and who hasteth out more than I?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
1Co 7:1-40. Reply to Their Inquiries as to Marriage; the General Principle in Other Things Is, Abide in Your Station, for the Time Is Short.
1. The Corinthians in their letter had probably asked questions which tended to disparage marriage, and had implied that it was better to break it off when contracted with an unbeliever.
good—that is, "expedient," because of "the present distress"; that is, the unsettled state of the world, and the likelihood of persecutions tearing rudely asunder those bound by marriage ties. Heb 13:4, in opposition to ascetic and Romish notions of superior sanctity in celibacy, declares, "Marriage is HONORABLE IN ALL." Another reason why in some cases celibacy may be a matter of Christian expediency is stated in 1Co 7:34, 35, "that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction." But these are exceptional cases, and in exceptional times, such as those of Paul.
2. Here the general rule is given
to avoid fornication—More literally, "on account of fornications," to which as being very prevalent at Corinth, and not even counted sins among the heathen, unmarried persons might be tempted. The plural, "fornications," marks irregular lusts, as contrasted with the unity of the marriage relation [Bengel].
let every man have—a positive command to all who have not the gift of continency, in fact to the great majority of the world (1Co 7:5). The dignity of marriage is set forth by Paul (Eph 5:25-32), in the fact that it signifies the mystical union between Christ and the Church.
3, 4. The duty of cohabitation on the part of the married.
due benevolence—The oldest manuscripts read simply, "her due"; that is, the conjugal cohabitation due by the marriage contract (compare 1Co 7:4).
4. A paradox. She hath not power over her body, and yet it is her own. The oneness of body in which marriage places husband and wife explains this. The one complements the other. Neither without the other realizes the perfect ideal of man.
5. Defraud … not—namely, of the conjugal duty "due" (1Co 7:3; compare the Septuagint, Ex 21:10).
except it be—"unless perchance" [Alford].
give yourselves to—literally, "be at leisure for"; be free from interruptions for; namely, on some special "season," as the Greek for "time" means (compare Ex 19:15; Joe 2:16; Zec 7:3).
fasting and prayer—The oldest manuscripts omit "fasting and"; an interpolation, evidently, of ascetics.
come together—The oldest manuscripts read, "be together," namely, in the regular state of the married.
Satan—who often thrusts in his temptations to unholy thoughts amidst the holiest exercises.
for your incontinency—because of your inability to "contain" (1Co 7:9) your natural propensities, which Satan would take advantage of.
6. by permission … not of commandment—not by God's permission to me to say it: but, "by way of permission to you, not as a commandment." "This" refers to the directions, 1Co 7:2-5.
7. even as I—having tile gift of continence (Mt 19:11, 12). This wish does not hold good absolutely, else the extension of mankind and of the Church would cease; but relatively to "the present distress" (1Co 7:26).
8. to the unmarried—in general, of both sexes (1Co 7:10, 11).
and widows—in particular.
even as I—unmarried (1Co 9:5).
9. if they cannot contain—that is, "have not continency."
burn—with the secret flame of lust, which lays waste the whole inner man. (Compare Augustine [Holy Virginity]). The dew of God's grace is needed to stifle the flame, which otherwise would thrust men at last into hell-fire.
10. not I, but the Lord—(Compare 1Co 7:12, 25, 40). In ordinary cases he writes on inspired apostolic authority (1Co 14:37); but here on the direct authority of the Lord Himself (Mr 10:11, 12). In both cases alike the things written are inspired by the Spirit of God "but not all for all time, nor all on the primary truths of the faith" [Alford].
Let not the wife depart—literally, "be separated from." Probably the separation on either side, whether owing to the husband or to the wife, is forbidden.
11. But and if she depart—or "be separated." If the sin of separation has been committed, that of a new marriage is not to be added (Mt 5:32).
be reconciled—by appeasing her husband's displeasure, and recovering his good will.
let not … husband put away … wife—In Mt 5:32 the only exception allowed is, "saving for the cause of fornication."
12. to the rest—the other classes (besides "the married," 1Co 7:10, where both husband and wife are believers) about whom the Corinthians had inquired, namely, those involved in mixed marriages with unbelievers.
not the Lord—by any direct command spoken by Him.
she be pleased—Greek, "consents": implying his wish in the first instance, with which hers concurs.
13. the woman—a believer.
let her not leave him—"her husband," instead of "him," is the reading of the oldest manuscripts The Greek for "leave" is the same as in 1Co 7:12, "put away"; translate, "Let her not put away [that is, part with] her husband." The wife had the power of effecting a divorce by Greek and Roman law.
14. sanctified—Those inseparably connected with the people of God are hallowed thereby, so that the latter may retain the connection without impairing their own sanctity (compare 1Ti 4:5); nay, rather imparting to the former externally some degree of their own hallowed character, and so preparing the way for the unbeliever becoming at last sanctified inwardly by faith.
by … by—rather, "in … in"; that is, in virtue of the marriage tie between them.
by the husband—The oldest manuscripts read, "by the brother." It is the fact of the husband being a "brother," that is, a Christian, though the wife is not so, that sanctifies or hallows the union.
else … children unclean—that is, beyond the hallowed pale of God's people: in contrast to "holy," that is, all that is within the consecrated limits [Conybeare and Howson]. The phraseology accords with that of the Jews, who regarded the heathen as "unclean," and all of the elect nation as "holy," that is, partakers of the holy covenant. Children were included in the covenant, as God made it not only with Abraham, but with his "seed after" him (Ge 17:7). So the faith of one Christian parent gives to the children a near relationship to the Church, just as if both parents were Christians (compare Ro 11:16). Timothy, the bearer of this Epistle, is an instance in point (Ac 16:1). Paul appeals to the Corinthians as recognizing the principle, that the infants of heathen parents would not be admissible to Christian baptism, because there is no faith on the part of the parents; but where one parent is a believer, the children are regarded as not aliens from, but admissible even in infancy as sharers in, the Christian covenant: for the Church presumes that the believing parent will rear the child in the Christian faith. Infant baptism tacitly superseded infant circumcision, just as the Christian Lord's day gradually superseded the Jewish sabbath, without our having any express command for, or record of, transference. The setting aside of circumcision and of sabbaths in the case of the Gentiles was indeed expressly commanded by the apostles and Paul, but the substitution of infant baptism and of the Lord's day were tacitly adopted, not expressly enacted. No explicit mention of it occurs till Irenæus in the third century; but no society of Christians that we read of disputed its propriety till fifteen hundred years after Christ. Anabaptists would have us defer baptism till maturity as the child cannot understand the nature of it. But a child may be made heir of an estate: it is his, though incapable at the time of using or comprehending its advantage; he is not hereafter to acquire the title and claim to it: he will hereafter understand his claim, and be capable of employing his wealth: he will then, moreover, become responsible for the use he makes of it [Archbishop Whately].
15. if … depart—that is, wishes for separation. Translate, "separateth himself": offended with her Christianity, and refusing to live with her unless she renounce it.
brother or a sister is not under bondage—is not bound to renounce the faith for the sake of retaining her unbelieving husband [Hammond]. So De 13:6; Mt 10:35-37; Lu 14:26. The believer does not lie under the same obligation in the case of a union with an unbeliever, as in the case of one with a believer. In the former case he is not bound not to separate, if the unbeliever separate or "depart," in the latter nothing but "fornication" justifies separation [Photius in Æcumenius].
but God hath called us to peace—Our Christian calling is one that tends to "peace" (Ro 12:18), not quarrelling; therefore the believer should not ordinarily depart from the unbelieving consort (1Co 7:12-14), on the one hand; and on the other, in the exceptional case of the unbeliever desiring to depart, the believer is not bound to force the other party to stay in a state of continual discord (Mt 5:32). Better still it would be not to enter into such unequal alliances at all (1Co 7:40; 2Co 6:14).
16. What knowest thou but that by staying with thy unbelieving partner thou mayest save him or her? Enforcing the precept to stay with the unbelieving consort (1Co 7:12-14). So Ruth the Moabitess became a convert to her husband's faith: and Joseph and Moses probably gained over their wives. So conversely the unbelieving husband may be won by the believing wife (1Pe 3:1) [Calvin]. Or else (1Co 7:15), if thy unbelieving consort wishes to depart, let him go, so that thou mayest live "in peace": for thou canst not be sure of converting him, so as to make it obligatory on thee at all costs to stay with him against his will [Menochius and Alford].
save—be the instrument of salvation to (Jas 5:20).
17. But—Greek, "If not." "Only." Caution that believers should not make this direction (1Co 7:16; as Alford explains it) a ground for separating "of themselves" (1Co 7:12-14). Or, But if there be no hope of gaining over the unbeliever, still let the general principle be maintained, "As the Lord hath allotted to each, as God hath called each, so let him walk" (so the Greek in the oldest reading); let him walk in the path allotted to him and wherein he was called. The heavenly calling does not set aside our earthly callings.
so ordain I in all churches—Ye also therefore should obey.
18. not become uncircumcised—by surgical operation (1 Maccabees 1:15; Josephus [Antiquities, 12.5.1]). Some Christians in excess of anti-Jewish feeling might be tempted to this.
let him not be circumcised—as the Judaizing Christians would have him (Ac 15:1, 5, 24; Ga 5:2).
19. Circumcision … nothing, but … keeping of … commandments of God—namely, is all in all. In Ga 5:6 this "keeping of the commandments of God" is defined to be "faith which worketh by love"; and in Ga 6:15, "a new creature." Circumcision was a commandment of God: but not for ever, as "love."
20. the same calling—that is, the condition from which he is called a Jew, a Greek, a slave, or a freeman.
21. care not for it—Let it not be a trouble to thee that thou art a servant or slave.
use it rather—Continue rather in thy state as a servant (1Co 7:20; Ga 3:28; 1Ti 6:2). The Greek, "But if even thou mayest be made free, use it," and the context (1Co 7:20, 22) favors this view [Chrysostom, Bengel, and Alford]. This advice (if this translation be right) is not absolute, as the spirit of the Gospel is against slavery. What is advised here is, contentment under one's existing condition (1Co 7:24), though an undesirable one, since in our union with Christ all outward disparities of condition are compensated (1Co 7:22). Be not unduly impatient to cast off "even" thy condition as a servant by unlawful means (1Pe 2:13-18); as, for example, Onesimus did by fleeing (Phm 10-18). The precept (1Co 7:23), "Become not (so the Greek) the servants of men," implies plainly that slavery is abnormal (compare Le 25:42). "Men stealers," or slave dealers, are classed in 1Ti 1:10, with "murderers" and "perjurers." Neander, Grotius, &c., explain, "If called, being a slave, to Christianity, be content—but yet, if also thou canst be free (as a still additional good, which if thou canst not attain, be satisfied without it; but which, if offered to thee, is not to be despised), make use of the opportunity of becoming free, rather than by neglecting it to remain a slave." I prefer this latter view, as more according to the tenor of the Gospel, and fully justified by the Greek.
22. the Lord's freeman—(Phm 16)—rather, "freedman." Though a slave externally, spiritually made free by the Lord: from sin, Joh 8:36; from the law, Ro 8:2; from "circumcision," 1Co 7:19; Ga 5:1.
Christ's servant—(1Co 9:21). Love makes Christ's service perfect freedom (Mt 11:29, 30; Ga 5:13; 1Pe 2:16).
23. be not ye—Greek, "become not ye." Paul here changes from "thou" (1Co 7:21) to "ye." Ye all are "bought" with the blood of Christ, whatever be your earthly state (1Co 6:20). "Become not servants to men," either externally, or spiritually; the former sense applying to the free alone: the latter to Christian freemen and slaves alike, that they should not be servile adherents to their party leaders at Corinth (1Co 3:21, 22; Mt 23:8-10; 2Co 11:20); nor indeed slaves to men generally, so far as their condition admits. The external and internal conditions, so far as is attainable, should correspond, and the former be subservient to the latter (compare 1Co 7:21, 32-35).
24. abide with God—being chiefly careful of the footing on which he stands towards God rather than that towards men. This clause, "with God," limits the similar precept in 1Co 7:20. A man may cease to "abide in the calling wherein he was called," and yet not violate the precept here. If a man's calling be not favorable to his "abiding with God" (retaining holy fellowship with Him), he may use lawful means to change from it (compare Note, see on 1Co 7:21).
25. no commandment of the Lord: yet … my judgment—I have no express revelation from the Lord commanding it, but I give my judgment (opinion); namely, under the ordinary inspiration which accompanied the apostles in all their canonical writings (compare 1Co 7:40; 1Co 14:37; 1Th 4:15). The Lord inspires me in this case to give you only a recommendation, which you are free to adopt or reject—not a positive command. In the second case (1Co 7:10, 11) it was a positive command; for the Lord had already made known His will (Mal 2:14, 15; Mt 5:31, 32). In the third case (1Co 7:12), the Old Testament commandment of God to put away strange wives (Ezr 10:3), Paul by the Spirit revokes.
mercy of the Lord—(1Ti 1:13). He attributes his apostleship and the gifts accompanying it (including inspiration) to God's grace alone.
faithful—in dispensing to you the inspired directions received by me from the Lord.
26. I suppose—"I consider."
this—namely, "for a man so to be," that is, in the same state in which he is (1Co 7:27).
for—by reason of.
the present distress—the distresses to which believers were then beginning to be subjected, making the married state less desirable than the single; and which would prevail throughout the world before the destruction of Jerusalem, according to Christ's prophecy (Mt 24:8-21; compare Ac 11:28).
27. Illustrating the meaning of "so to be," 1Co 7:26. Neither the married (those "bound to a wife") nor the unmarried (those "loosed from a wife") are to "seek" a change of state (compare 1Co 7:20, 24).
28. trouble in the flesh—Those who marry, he says, shall incur "trouble in the flesh" (that is, in their outward state, by reason of the present distress), not sin, which is the trouble of the spirit.
but I spare you—The emphasis in the Greek is on "I." My motive in advising you so is, to "spare you" such trouble in the flesh. So Alford after Calvin, Bengel, and others. Estius from Augustine explains it, "I spare you further details of the inconveniences of matrimony, lest even the incontinent may at the peril of lust be deterred from matrimony: thus I have regard for your infirmity." The antithesis in the Greek of "I … you" and "such" favors the former.
29. this I say—A summing up of the whole, wherein he draws the practical inference from what precedes (1Co 15:50).
the time—the season (so the Greek) of this present dispensation up to the coming of the Lord (Ro 13:11). He uses the Greek expression which the Lord used in Lu 21:8; Mr 13:33.
short—literally, "contracted."
it remaineth—The oldest manuscripts read, "The time (season) is shortened as to what remains, in order that both they," &c.; that is, the effect which the shortening of the time ought to have is, "that for the remaining time (henceforth), both they," &c. The clause, "as to what remains," though in construction belonging to the previous clause, in sense belongs to the following. However, Cyprian and Vulgate support English Version.
as though they had none—We ought to consider nothing as our own in real or permanent possession.
30. they that weep … wept not—(Compare 2Co 6:10).
they that buy … possessed not—(Compare Isa 24:1, 2). Christ specifies as the condemning sin of the men of Sodom not merely their open profligacy, but that "they bought, they sold," &c., as men whose all was in this world (Lu 17:28). "Possessed" in the Greek implies a holding fast of a possession; this the Christian will not do, for his "enduring substance" is elsewhere (Heb 10:34).
31. not abusing it—not abusing it by an overmuch using of it. The meaning of "abusing" here is, not so much perverting, as using it to the full [Bengel]. We are to use it, "not to take our fill" of its pursuits as our chief aim (compare Lu 10:40-42). As the planets while turning on their own axis, yet revolve round the sun; so while we do our part in our own worldly sphere, God is to be the center of all our desires.
fashion—the present fleeting form. Compare Ps 39:6, "vain show"; Ps 73:20, "a dream"; Jas 4:14, "a vapor."
passeth away—not merely shall pass away, but is now actually passing away. The image is drawn from a shifting scene in a play represented on the stage (1Jo 2:17). Paul inculcates not so much the outward denial of earthly things, as the inward spirit whereby the married and the rich, as well as the unmarried and the poor, would be ready to sacrifice all for Christ's sake.
32. without carefulness—I would have you to be not merely "without trouble," but "without distracting cares" (so the Greek).
careth—if he uses aright the advantages of his condition.
34. difference also—Not merely the unmarried and the married man differ in their respective duties, but also the wife and the virgin. Indeed a woman undergoes a greater change of condition than a man in contracting marriage.
35. for your own profit—not to display my apostolic authority.
not … cast a snare upon you—image from throwing a noose over an animal in hunting. Not that by hard injunctions I may entangle you with the fear of committing sin where there is no sin.
comely—befitting under present circumstances.
attend upon—literally, "assiduously wait on"; sitting down to the duty. Compare Lu 10:39, Mary; Lu 2:37, "Anna … a widow, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (1Ti 5:5).
distraction—the same Greek as "cumbered" (Lu 10:40, Martha).
36. behaveth … uncomely—is not treating his daughter well in leaving her unmarried beyond the flower of her age, and thus debarring her from the lawful gratification of her natural feeling as a marriageable woman.
need so require—if the exigencies of the case require it; namely, regard to the feelings and welfare of his daughter. Opposed to "having no necessity" (1Co 7:37).
let them marry—the daughter and her suitor.
37. steadfast—not to be turned from his purpose by the obloquy of the world.
having no necessity—arising from the natural inclinations of the daughter.
power over his … will—when, owing to his daughter's will not opposing his will, he has power to carry into effect his will or wish.
decreed—determined.
38. her—The oldest manuscripts have "his own virgin daughter."
but—The oldest manuscripts have "and."
39. bound by the law—The oldest manuscripts omit "by the law."
only in the Lord—Let her marry only a Christian (2Co 6:14).
40. happier—(1Co 7:1, 28, 34, 35).
I think also—"I also think"; just as you Corinthians and your teachers think much of your opinions, so I also give my opinion by inspiration; so in 1Co 7:25, "my judgment" or opinion. Think does not imply doubt, but often a matter of well-grounded assurance (Joh 5:39).