1 Corinthians 7:25 - Meaning and Application

The apostle now returns to his discussion and gives advice to virgins, that is, unmarried people. He says, “Now concerning virgins I have no command from the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:25). He does not mean that Christ left no guidance at all, but that there was no direct, general law spoken by the Lord Jesus on this exact point. So Paul gives his judgment as one who has “obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful,” meaning faithful in his apostleship.

Paul was faithful in his ministry, and for that reason his advice was to be received as Christ’s rule for them. Even though Christ had not earlier given a universal command about this matter, he now speaks through an inspired apostle. Faithfulness in ministry comes from the grace and mercy of Christ. Paul himself was always ready to admit this: “I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). It is a great mercy when God makes someone faithful in his word, whether that person serves in an ordinary way or by special calling.

Paul’s conclusion, in view of the present distress, was that remaining single was better. “It is good for a man so to be,” that is, to remain unmarried. He speaks gently, saying in effect, “I think this is best,” but he still speaks with apostolic authority. This is not merely a private opinion. It is the Spirit of God’s judgment given through an apostle, though Paul states it modestly. He does this to give his words more weight. Those who were already suspicious of Paul might have rejected this counsel if he had spoken in a harsh or overbearing way. Ministers do not lose authority when they speak wisely and with flexibility. They must become all things to all people, so they may do the greater good.

Paul says this is good “for the present distress.” At the beginning of the Christian faith, believers were under heavy persecution. Their enemies were fierce and often treated them very harshly. Christians were always in danger of being dragged into suffering. Because of that situation, Paul did not think it wise for single believers to change their condition if they could remain as they were. Marriage would bring more care and burdens (1 Corinthians 7:33-34), and those extra concerns could make persecution feel heavier and harder to bear. Christians, when deciding how to live, should not ask only what is lawful. They should also ask what is wise and helpful for them.

Even so, Paul is careful not to condemn marriage or call it sinful. If someone is free from a wife, whether a bachelor, widower, virgin, or widow, Paul says not to rush into marriage. But if someone is already bound to a wife, he must not try to break that bond. It is his duty to remain in marriage and carry out its responsibilities. A believer may face special hardships if persecution comes, but that does not give permission to throw off duty. Duty must be done, and God must be trusted with the outcome. If duty is neglected, we place ourselves outside the shelter of God’s care.

Paul says plainly, “If you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned” (1 Corinthians 7:28). Marriage is not sinful in itself. But in that time, marriage could add trouble and make the hardships of the age worse. So Paul thought it wise for those who could remain single to do so. Yet he would not lay celibacy, the unmarried state, on them as a burden or trap them with it. He therefore says, “But I spare you.” In this, Paul is very unlike later Roman Catholic teachers who forbid marriage to many and bind people with vows of celibacy, whether they can bear them or not.

Paul uses this occasion to give a wider lesson for all Christians: they should hold the things of this world loosely and with holy detachment. Those with wives should be as though they had none. That does not mean they should neglect marriage duties. It means they should not cling too tightly to the comforts of that relation. They do not know how soon that comfort may be taken away. The same advice applies to every other relationship. Those who have children should be as though they had none, because even those who are now a comfort may later become a grief. The sweetest earthly joys can quickly fade.

He says the same about afflictions. Those who weep should be as though they wept not. We must not be crushed by trouble or give ourselves over to worldly sorrow. Instead, we should keep a holy joy in God even in hardship, so that the heart remains glad in the middle of grief. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” If we reach heaven in the end, every tear will be wiped away. The hope of that future should now make us more moderate in our sorrow and less eager to give way to tears.

Paul also speaks about worldly joy: those who rejoice should be as though they rejoiced not. We should not become too satisfied with earthly comforts. Our joy should be measured, and our hearts should remain loose from the things we enjoy most. This world is not our rest, and these things are not our share forever. Therefore our hearts should not be fixed on them, and we should not make them our main source of peace or happiness.

He adds a word about business and buying: those who buy should be as though they possessed not. People who do well in trade, gain wealth, or acquire property should hold those things lightly. To do otherwise is to set the heart on what does not last (Proverbs 23:5). Buying and owning should not take over our minds. For many people, those concerns keep them from giving attention to the better part. The people invited to the wedding feast were kept away by land and oxen they had just acquired (Luke 14:18-19). Even when such things do not fully stop people, they often distract them greatly from pressing on in their true calling. Those who want to run well and win the prize are helped when they free their minds from outside burdens.

Finally, Paul gives a broad rule for all worldly concerns: those who use this world should do so as not abusing it (1 Corinthians 7:31). The world may be used, but it must not be misused. It is misused when it is not used for the purpose God gave it, which is to honor him and do good to others. It is misused when it becomes fuel for sinful desires instead of a help for obedience. It is misused when it becomes our master, our idol, and takes the place in our hearts that belongs to God alone. There is great danger of abusing the world in all these ways if our hearts are too strongly fixed on it.

We should keep the world as much as possible out of our hearts, so we do not misuse it when we have it in our hands. Paul backs up this advice with two reasons. First, the time is short (1 Corinthians 7:29). We have only a little while in this world, and only a brief season to possess and enjoy earthly things. It is contracted, cut down to a narrow span. It will soon be gone and be folded up into eternity. So do not set your heart on worldly pleasures, and do not let worldly worries crush you. Hold what you must soon leave, without letting it hold you.

Why should our hearts be deeply set on what we must quickly give up? Second, the fashion of this world passes away (1 Corinthians 7:31). That is, the shape, form, and outward look of the world is always changing. It is in constant motion. It is not so much a solid world as the appearance of one. Everything in it is show, and even that show does not last long. How fitting and strong this reason is for the earlier advice. It is unreasonable to be carried away by the fading pictures of a dream. Surely man walks in a vain show (Psalm 39:6), among weak and vanishing appearances. Should he be deeply moved or greatly troubled by such a scene?

Paul also strengthens his general counsel by warning against being weighed down with worldly cares: “I would have you free from anxieties” (1 Corinthians 7:32). To be careless is wrong, since wise attention to earthly matters is a duty. But to be full of anxious, troubling care about them is a sin. Any care that unsettles the mind and distracts it from worshiping God is harmful, because God must be served without distraction (1 Corinthians 7:35). The whole mind should be fixed on worship when we draw near to God. That work is interrupted when the heart is pulled in other directions by outside concerns.

So it is wise for a Christian to order his outward life, and choose his way of living, so that he is free from distracting cares. Then he can attend on the Lord with a mind that is open and free. This is the main rule the apostle gives for Christian living. Christian wisdom must apply it to each person’s situation. The best condition for any person is the one that is best for his soul and keeps him most free from the world’s cares and traps.

By this rule Paul answers the Corinthians’ question about whether it was wise to marry. Because of the present distress, and perhaps also because, at that time, Christians might be married to unbelievers, or even feel forced into such marriages if they married at all, remaining unmarried would often be better. It would free them from extra cares and burdens and leave more time for serving God. Usually, the less care we have about the world, the more freedom we have for God’s service.

At that time, and perhaps not only then, marriage brought more worldly care with it. A married man is concerned about worldly things, how he may please his wife (1 Corinthians 7:33). A married woman is concerned about worldly things, how she may please her husband. But the unmarried man and woman are concerned about the things of the Lord, so that they may please the Lord and be holy in body and spirit (1 Corinthians 7:32, 1 Corinthians 7:34). This does not mean married people cannot be holy in body and spirit too. Celibacy, the unmarried state, is not in itself purer or holier than marriage. But at that time the unmarried were more able to make religion their main work, because they had fewer worldly distractions.

Marriage always brings some care with it, though sometimes more than at other times. Those in marriage must constantly think about pleasing one another, even if that is harder in some seasons and situations. So at that time Paul advised single people not to marry, if they were under no need to change their condition. Where the same reason applies at other times, the same rule is fitting there too. The same rule must also guide people toward marriage when the reason points that way, that is, if the unmarried state would likely distract them more from God’s service than marriage would. That can happen in many cases.

This is the general rule, and each person’s wisdom must apply it to his own case. By it, a Christian should try to decide whether marriage or remaining single will give him the best help and the fewest hindrances in serving God and caring for his own salvation.