Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 7:32
But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
32. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord ] One great reason why the Apostle recommends celibacy is the freedom that it gives from anxiety about worldly matters, the opportunity it offers of “attending upon the Lord without distraction.” But the Apostle does not desire his advice to be a snare to entangle those who feel that they can serve God with less distraction in the married state. He leaves it to all to decide for themselves according to their sense of what is most desirable and becoming in their own case. The words translated here ‘care,’ ‘carefulness,’ have the idea, as in St Mat 6:25; Mat 6:27-28; Mat 6:31; Mat 6:34 (where our translation has ‘take thought’), of trouble, anxiety.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But I would have you – I would advise you to such a course of life as should leave you without carefulness My advice is regulated by that wish, and that wish guides me in giving it.
Without carefulness – ( amerimnous). Without anxiety, solicitude, care; without such a necessary attention to the things of this life as to take off your thoughts and affections from heavenly objects; see the notes on Mat 6:25-31.
careth for the things that belong to the Lord – Margin, The things of the Lord; the things of religion. His attention is not distracted by the cares of this life; his time is not engrossed, and his affections alienated by an attendance on the concerns of a family, and especially by solicitude for them in times of trial and persecution. He can give his main attention to the things of religion. He is at leisure to give his chief thoughts and anxieties to the advancement of the Redeemers kingdom. Pauls own example showed that this was the course which he preferred; and showed also that in some instances it was lawful and proper for a man to remain unmarried, and to give himself entirely to the work of the Lord. But the divine commandment Gen 1:28, and the commendation everywhere bestowed upon marriage in the Scriptures, as well as the nature of the case, show that it was not designed that celibacy should be general.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Co 7:32-40
But I would have you without carefulness.
Without carefulness
I. By avoiding those states which involve carefulness. Take, e.g.
1. The question of marriage. Paul bids Christians, in the first place, not to marry.
(1) But that was a time of persecution. The Christian man who had no family could flee in a moment if it was right to flee, and if caught he had not to think about his wife and fatherless children. Paul wished the Church to be like an army which is not encumbered with baggage; his own consisted of half a dozen needles and a reel of thread. He was thus without carefulness.
(2) But to-day the circumstances are decidedly different, and we are to follow the principle rather than the particular instance. I have known brethren who had a great deal more care before than after marriage, and who served God better in the married estate. That is the rule to judge by. But numbers of you never judge at all in this way. Many men and women rush into marriage when they know that it must involve them in all sorts of care and hinder them in the Masters service.
2. Increased worldly business. Now, if you can serve God better by having a dozen shops, have a dozen; but I have known persons whom God blessed in one shop, and they lost the blessing when they opened two or three. When invited to take their part in the Lords work, they replied–You see, I cannot get out, or I am so tied. But as the disability is entirely of your own creation, how can it excuse you? Do not fill your pocket at the expense of your soul. God can prosper you and make you happy with a more manageable business, and he can make you miserable if you wilfully increase your cares. Remember how Napoleon tried to do too much, and did it, and did for himself.
3. Public engagements. Everything which concerns man concerns a Christian, and God never wished His servants to leave the government of this realm to all the place-hunters who look for a seat in Parliament. To abandon law-making to the worst of men would be infamous. So with everything which concerns the public weal. But let the rule be–first God, and then our fellow-men. Ye are the servants of God; do not make yourselves the Slaves of men.
4. Occupations prevent attendance at the house of God. When a young man with a moderate salary, and the whole Sabbath and some week-evenings to himself, is offered twice as much in a place Where he must be shut out from worship and service, I hope he will look long before he makes the bargain. For Christians, the best place is where they can do most for Jesus.
II. By keeping away from those pursuits which naturally foster it:
1. When a man makes the gaining of riches the first thing in life he cannot be without carefulness. Where his treasure is, there will his heart be also.
2. If you live with the view of gaining honour among men, you will be full of cares. To please everybody is as impossible as to make ice and bake bread at the same moment in one oven.
3. Those who are ambitions to be very respectable will never be without carefulness; they have a pound coming in, but they spend a guinea. Some have a favourite object in life–not God; and these cannot be without carefulness. Dear mother, love your children by all means, but if that little one has become an idol, you cannot be without carefulness. Lots of children have suffered a martyrdom from too much nursing, and excessive carefulness has created cause for care. If anything else becomes the hobby of life, a horse, a dog, a flower, a painting, it will entangle you in nets of care.
III. By exercising a childlike faith in God. He sends you troubles and trials, but be without carefulness–
1. By never trying to anticipate them. Never meet them half-way. Commit your way unto the Lord, and then be without carefulness.
2. By being quite content with the Lords will. Do your best and leave business, health, friends, &c., in the hands of God.
3. By being quite sure about the love of God. He cannot make a mistake, and He cannot fail His people. If the worst thing, as it seems to us, should happen, it must be the right thing, because God has sent it.
4. By believing in the power of prayer, and in the fact that God does actually answer it.
5. By giving all our thought and care to this one object–How can I live as Christ would have lived? You never find Jesus worrying. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Against carefulness
I. The evil and danger of carefulness. Every kind of care is not evil; but only that care which is attended with anxiety. And this is evil–
1. As distracting our mind.
2. As impeding our progress.
3. As tending, to turn us from the path of strict integrity.
II. How we may most effectually divest ourselves of it. We must get–
1. A deep sense of the obligations which God has laid upon us.
2. A lively sense of the obligations which He has laid upon Himself also respecting us. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
Free from cares
I. Why should we be free from cares?–
1. The approach of the end.
(1) The time is shortened, between now and the Lords coming; or–
(2) Between now and our last hour.
2. The transiency of all earthly things. The fashion of this world passeth away. Do not many of the circumstances of past life, that were then subjects of absorbing anxiety, look now like so many shifting scenes of a stage play?
II. How should we be free from cares?
1. By contentment with our present lot. This is the lesson of 1Co 7:10-11; 1Co 7:27; 1Co 7:18; 1Co 7:21, &c. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called (1Co 7:20).
2. By using all temporal relations without worldly absorption in them.
(1) All relative duties–husband and-wife an example.
(2) All sorrowful and joyous events.
(3) All acquisitions.
3. By using all temporal relations with a view of pleasing God (1Co 7:32; 1Co 7:34-35). (Clerical World.)
Torment of little cares
One of the most cruel torments of the Inquisition was to place a poor victim beneath a tap, and let the cold water fall upon the head drop by drop. This was not felt at first, but at last the monotony of the water dropping always on one spot became almost unendurable; the agony was too great to be expressed. It is just so with little cares. When they keep constantly falling drop by drop upon one individual they tend to produce irritation, calculated to make life well-nigh insupportable. (Clerical Library.)
He that is unmarried but he that is married.–
The cares of married life
I. Are unavoidable. Marriage involves not merely new anxieties and troubles, but new claims which may interfere with our duty to God.
II. May be moderated.
1. By considering the sinfulness of excessive care.
2. By a supreme aim to please God.
3. By pleasing the partner of our life for good to edification. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
This I speak for your own profit.—
Advice should be given
I. With a pure motive–for anothers profit.
II. In a Christian spirit–So as not to overrule conscience and bring a snare.
III. For a wise end–to secure what is honourable and subservient to piety. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Characteristics of Christianity
The apostle here specifies in dealing with one particular subject some of the grand features which commend the Christian life. The expansion of the text is not unwarrantable, for religion is–
I. True profit. This I speak for your profit might preface nearly every Biblical injunction; for godliness in its widest scope and minutest details is profitable unto all things. This fact appeals to the practical side of our nature, and should have some force in this utilitarian age.
II. Perfect freedom. The last thing Paul had in view was to cast a noose over the Corinthians, or to lay a restraint on them. The very key note of his teaching, as of the whole gospel, is liberty. This appeals to the volitional side of our nature, and should arrest the attention of an age one of whose loudest watchwords is freedom–of thought, trade, &c. Religion fetters us in nothing, but in that which would restrict our true liberty. Hence it is a perfect law of liberty.
III. Real beauty. That which is comely. Much which goes by the name is unreal because unsubstantial and fading. One of the synonyms of Christianity is grace–what is becoming the uncreated beauty of God, and what becomes the creature made in His image. By the common consent of all who are entitled to judge, the most beautiful characters are those who are formed on the model of Him who is the altogether lovely. Religion thus appeals to the aesthetic side of nature, and should gain an hearing in an age which has witnessed a wonderful revival of art.
IV. Happy service. That ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. To attend upon anything with- out distraction is a desideratum in this busy age. The lowest and simplest services bring their cares, and men and women are overwhelmed with them. Religion sanctifies these and would have us at home, and in the world, without carefulness. But in the highest and most difficult service–work for God, and for the eternal interests of man–here anxiety is often the acutest. Pauls contention is that this should not, must not be. And when we consider the nature of the work, its issues, and its helps, we shall say with our Master I delight to do Thy will, O My God. Conclusion: What more can be added to commend religion? Seemingly two things. The great questions yet remain–Is it reasonable? Is it right? But these are answered already practically. A thing that is profitable, liberating, beautiful, useful and blessed cannot be irrational and wrong. (J. W. Burn.)
Power over his own will—
Will-power
What is your conception of the best manhood? Clearly, there may be various conceptions of it, each with much to say for itself. One may think to discover it in the domain of mind, where the mellow and perfect culture of a vigorous understanding claims and wins homage. Another detects it in physical beauty and vigour, and in that delightful condition of body which makes it the obedient and ready organ of the spirit. Another, again, finds it in the moral nature of man. The best is the manliest. The purest, gentlest, kindest, truest, tenderest; he is the most worthy, and therefore the most admirable. But surely our text has the real key to the question. It is in the quality, and use, and dominance of the will that the test of manhood is to be discovered. It has been well said that every act is made up of a purpose, a method, and a power. But the purpose comes first. Also, what is true of an act is doubly true of a life. If the will is the mechanical force of the soul, before all things let it be strong. Only a strong will can make a strong man. If the will initiates action in purposing it, it must persevere in it for the accomplishing of the purpose; and, perhaps, even more needful than the volition that starts an act is the firmness that stays. What we all want in life is staying power. The beginning of the race is brisk, facile, and pleasant; but it needs more than high spirits and a vivid fancy to go on to the far end. See, oh, clearly see, that it is not from force of will, so much as from weakness of it, that the world breeds its miseries and its failures. Of course a strong will misdirected is bad. The apostle, you observe, is careful to add his own will. Perhaps in nothing is a real mans individuality so marked as in his own will. Each man, as says Shelley, must be himself alone, and he is most specifically himself by his will. If it deserves the name, your will differs from mine, and every other mans, in its surroundings, its flexibility, and original force; and we have to do the best with it that we can. For if you say, as well you may, is not will an inheritance by birth, Gods original gift, as much as brain, or animal strength, or those surroundings which make such a difference in our start–I say, in a degree, yes: but not so as to justify us in a base despair because our pound is but one, when our neighbour has five. Like memory, like reason, like the brain itself, which they say grows all through a mans life with the steady work that does it honour, it is made stronger by regular, definite, and repeated use. Then there is the control of the will, which St. Paul describes as power over it, or as the Revised Version gives it, power touching it. To rule the will, we must first consecrate it, in surrendering it with the entire being which it both commands and energises at the footstool of the most high God. You remember of Him, who lived as no other man lived, and died as no other man died, what He said about His will–His human will–a will like yours and mine, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. To give our will back, up to Him who has bestowed it upon us, with its terrible honourable freedom, is at once our dignity and our blessedness. Our dignity, because thereby we recognise the Divine Fatherhood, and plead our own sonship, as the children of God. Our blessedness, for sometimes the noblest use of liberty is to surrender it: and what St. James calls the perfect law of liberty, is only learnt in the school of love. Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price. Wherefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods. To rule it, again, implies that we use it. By using it I mean giving it a first place in the continuous activities of life; not only about plans, but about details; not only for what gets credit, but for what no one sees but God; not only for the problems of the thinker, but for the homely plodding tasks of the honest student, who wanting but his degree, sees Alps that he must climb before he can reach it, yes means to reach it. Not for any one department, or corner, or phase, or period of life, but for the whole. A strong man resolves, sometimes it must be admitted with precipitateness, and an incomplete knowledge of resources. Then he suffers, and perhaps others as well. But is it not far better in the end to suffer for over-much doing–a rare fault, and one which has a knack of taking its own cure with it–than to suffer for too little doing, which usually results, if not in a paralysis of our finer powers, certainly in a deterioration of them? and it is deterioration, so subtle, so easy, so rapid, so hidden, that we all of us, but especially those who are in the autumn of our years, have so much to dread. Power over the will also means the regulating it, in its impulses, prejudices and resolves. By impulse I mean its first ideas and stirrings, which if not watched and restrained will sometimes land us in inextricable disaster. Prejudice it must examine and allow for; neither ignore, nor too much dread. Every intelligent human being is constantly and inevitably storing up in his mind those final and essential and condensed results of his past, which tend, and ought to tend, to bias him in this direction rather than that; and which swaying conduct with an invisible but potent influence, a wise man will recognise and make allowance for, just as the navigator of an iron vessel is careful to have his compasses verified before he goes to sea; then goes, and feels safe. Intention, too, needs regulating, sometimes in the way not only of modifying it, but even of surrendering it, should altered circumstances make it expedient. Self-will has nothing strong about it, though it affects, and even caricatures, firmness. But what is the area of this will over which we are to claim and exercise power? First, it moves about faith; for if St. Paul be correct, both the will in God and the will in man have a concurrent share in what touches our salvation–salvation being a condition of the entire being, and not only one part of it; as much of the intellect which ponders and accepts truth, as of the conscience that feels after righteousness. Let us instantly admit that the will must not be suffered an undue preponderance in the dealings of the mind, with what we call revelation. Our first question is not what do I wish truth to be, but what truth is actually found to be; not what I hope can be proved, but what by the evidence suitable to the question is capable of proof. Keep your will set on truth; still seek it, desire it, wait for it, pray for it, more than for your necessary food. Do not despise it as if it was not worth waiting for; do not despair about it, as if it would never come. Then for culture is not the will required to keep men from dreaming, instead of thinking; to stir this one to study, that one to ambition? Surely will has its place here, with its function of selection, and its duty of application, with its aim in concentration, and with its reward in power. Once more, see what the will has to do with character. An apostle of culture, who describes Salvation as a harmonious perfection only to be won by unreservedly cultivating many sides in us, admits that conduct, not culture, is three parts of human life. If there is one rule more than another that I wish to leave in your minds it is the will for goodness. The one sentence that I impress on you about it is to keep yourselves unspotted from the world. Remember how all grossness and self-indulgence go to weaken the physical powers, and degrade your personal dignity, and wait for their implacable revenge, when the autumn of life arrives, and, almost worst of all, spoil that fine instinctive sense of goodness which is the reward of a soul that has never stained its whiteness, which goes, never quite to come back even after years of devotedness and sanctity: and so with all the power of your will, and with all the passion of your heart, and with all the conviction of your reason, and with all the weight of your conscience, say, when the tempter comes–I may not, I must not, I will not, I cannot, for am not I the child of God, the brother of Jesus Christ? Lastly, the will of the Father, the will of the Son, the will of the Holy Ghost are all for you. The will of the Father about you and your life in front will open out in the way of His providence as the years go on. Trust it. The will of His Son, Jesus Christ; is for you. From His place of glory He looks down and thinks of you all, some with fear, some with delight–all with unspeakable love. His will is to bless you. Is it your will to be blessed? And the will of the Holy Ghost is to give you strength, to sanctify you in body, soul, and spirit, and dignify and irradiate your studies with His divine presence, to stir your thirst for knowledge–all knowledge–but supremely that which manifests the face of God. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And then this power over your own will shall mean in a perfect and joyous freedom the service of men and the fruition of God. (Bishop Thorold.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 32. Without carefulness.] Though all these things will shortly come to pass, yet do not be anxious about them. Every occurrence is under the direction and management of God. The wrath of man shall praise him, and the remainder of it he shall restrain, and none can harm you if ye be followers of that which is good. We should all take the advice of the poet:-
“With patient mind thy course of duty run;
God nothing does, nor suffers to be done,
But thou wouldst do thyself, couldst thou but see
The end of all events as well as He.” – BYROM.
He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord] He has nothing to do with a family, and therefore can give his whole time to the service of his Maker, having him alone to please.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But I would have you without carefulness; the reason why I have advised (during the present distressed estate of the church) a single rather than a married life, for those to whom God hath given the gift of continency, is, that those who are Christians might live as free from such cares as divide and distract mens and womens minds, as they possibly can.
He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: the single person that hath a spiritual heart, disposed to pious performances, being free from other distractions and cares, caused by worldly occasions, will spend all his thoughts about his duty toward God, and how to please him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32. without carefulnessIwould have you to be not merely “without trouble,” but”without distracting cares” (so the Greek).
carethif he usesaright the advantages of his condition.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But I would have you without carefulness,…. This is another reason, by which the apostle confirms the advice he gives to virgins to remain such, because the married state is full of cares, whereas the single life is no more free from them; and therefore he wishes them to continue in such a state, that they might be without anxious and distracting cares of temporal things, things relating to the good decorum and sustenance of a family, and so be more free and at leisure for the service of God; which he illustrates, by showing the different cares that married and unmarried persons are involved in:
he that is unmarried, careth for the things that belong to the Lord; such as hearing the word, reading it, meditating upon it, praying to God and attending upon all ordinances, taking every opportunity to glorify God, and do good to others; but this is not to be understood as matter of fact, that unmarried persons are so studiously concerned for these things, or that this is the case of all of them; there are many unmarried persons think nothing about them; and are not at all concerned with them; but the meaning is, that such persons are more at leisure, and can more conveniently attend to these things, and ought so to do; and they that have the grace of God will be more or less solicitous to observe them:
how he may please the Lord; for when these things are attended to in faith and fear, from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God, the good of their own souls and others, they are well pleasing to the Lord; and though they are not meritorious of eternal life, yet they are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, and will be taken notice of with approbation, and followed with a reward of grace another day.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Free from cares (). Old compound adjective ( privative and , anxiety). In N.T. only here and Mt 28:14 which see.
The things of the Lord ( ). The ideal state (so as to the widow and the virgin in verse 33), but even the unmarried do let the cares of the world choke the word (Mr 4:19).
How he may please the Lord ( ). Deliberative subjunctive with retained in an indirect question. Dative case of . Same construction in verse 33 with (his wife) and in 34 (her husband).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Without carefulness [] . Not a good translation, because carefulness has lost its earlier sense of anxiety. So Latimer : “This wicked carefulness of men, when they seek how to live – like as if there were no God at all.” See on take no thought, Mt 6:25. Rev., free from cares. Ignatius uses the phrase ejn ajmerimnia Qeou in godly carelessness (Polycarp, 7.).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) But I would have you without carefulness. (thelo humas amerimnous einai) But I strongly desire (that) you all be free from anxious care. As a parent yearns for the best for his children, so Paul desired the best for the Corinthians.
2) He that is unmarried. (ho agamos) The unmarried man, this is the man without a marital pledge of care for a wife.
3) Careth for the things that belong to the Lord. (merima ta tau kuriou) Anxiously cares for the things of the Lord – gives to them preeminence of his attention, time, means and devotion. Mar 8:34; Luk 9:23.
4) How he may please the Lord. (pos arese to kurio) how or by what means he may please the Master. His first commitment of obedience to Christ is less impeded as an unmarried man.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
32. But I would wish you. He returns to the advice which he had spoken of, (1Co 7:25,) but had not as yet fully explained, and in the outset he pronounces, as he is wont, a commendation upon celibacy, and then afterwards allows every one the liberty of choosing what he may consider to suit him best. It is not, however, without good reason that he returns so frequently to proclaim the advantages of celibacy, for he saw that the burdens of matrimony were far from light. The man who can exempt himself from them, ought not to refuse such a benefit, and it is of advantage for those who resolve to marry, to be forewarned of those inconveniences, that they may not afterwards, on meeting with them unexpectedly, give way to despondency. This we see happens to many, for having promised themselves unmixed honey, on being disappointed in that expectation, they are very readily cast down by the slightest mishap. (429) Let them know, therefore, in good time, what they have to expect, that they may be prepared to endure everything patiently. The meaning is this: “Marriage brings along with it hindrances, from which I should wish you to be free and exempt.”
As, however, he has previously made use of the term trouble, (1Co 7:28,) and now makes mention of cares or anxieties, it may admit of doubt whether they have a different signification, or not. I am of opinion that the trouble referred to is what arises from things of a distressing nature, such as loss of children, widowhood, quarrels, and little differences, (as lawyers speak,) (430) many occasions of dislike, faults of children, difficulty in bringing up a family, and the like. The anxieties, on the other hand, are, in my opinion, connected with things that are joyful, as for example marriage fooleries, jests, and other things with which married persons are taken up. (431)
He that is unmarried careth for the things of the Lord. Mark the kind of exemption from anxieties that he desires in behalf of Christians — that they may devote to the Lord all their thoughts and aims. This, he says, belongs to celibacy; and therefore he desires all to enjoy this liberty. He does not mean, however, that it is invariably so in unmarried life, as experience shows it to be quite otherwise in priests, monks, and nuns, than whose celibacy nothing can be conceived to be farther from God. Add to this the many base fornicators who abstain from marriage for the very purpose of having greater liberty for the indulgence of lust, and that their vice may not appear. Where there is burning, (1Co 7:9,) no love of God can exist. But Paul’s meaning is this — that an unmarried person is free, and is not hindered from thinking of the things of God. The pious make use of this liberty. Others turn everything to their own destruction.
(429) “ Qu’ils puissent rencontrer;” — “That they may meet with.”
(430) “ Qui sourdent entre le man et la femme;” — “that arise between a husband and wife.”
(431) Our Author’s meaning is, that while θλιψις (trouble) invariably relates to what is of a distressing nature, μεριμνα (care) is applied to anything that takes up the attention of the mind. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(32) But I would have you.These words seem to take up again the form of expression in 1Co. 7:28. I would spare you trouble; I also wish to have you free from anxious care. That is my reason for so advising you. And here the Apostle returns to the subject immediately under consideration, and shows here what he has been saying bears upon it. This element of anxious care must be borne in mind in considering the desirability or otherwise of marriage.
There are some important variations in the readings of these verses (1Co. 7:32-34) in the Greek MSS. The emendations required in the Greek text, from which the Authorised version is translated, are, I think, as follows:Omit the full-stop after 1Co. 7:33, connecting it with 1Co. 7:34 by the insertion of the word and. Insert and in 1Co. 7:34 before a wife, and the word unmarried after a wife. The whole passage will then stand thus (rendering the Greek verb as it is in 1Co. 1:13, divided, and, not, as in the English version here, a difference between): The unmarried man careth for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But the married man careth for the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is divided in his interests (i.e., distracted). Also the wife that is unmarried (i.e., a widow, or divorced), and the unmarried virgin (i.e., the maid who is free from any contract of marriage), cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
The whole force of the passage is that married persons have, in the fulfilment of their obligations to each other, an additional interest and concern from which the unmarried are free. It must ever be distinctly borne in mind that this advice was given solely under the impression that the end of all earthly things was impending, and that the great trial and desolation was beginning to darken over the world. The Apostle who wrote these words of warning himself expressly condemns those who applied them as involving general moral obligations, and not as suited merely to temporary requirements (1Ti. 4:1; 1Ti. 4:3). He had himself at this time a strong personal inclination for a celibate life; but still he could enjoy and show a preference for the companionship of those who were evidently otherwise mindedhe abode and wrought with Aquila and Priscilla his wife, at Corinth (Act. 18:3). We can still imagine circumstances arising in individual cases to which the principle enforced by the Apostle would apply. A man might feel it his duty to devote his life to some missionary enterprise, in which marriage would hamper his movements and impede his usefulness. Such an exceptional case would hence only establish the general rule. It may not be out of place to recall (writes Stanley, in his Exposition of St. Pauls View of Celibacy) a celebrated instance of a similarly emphatic preference for celibacy on precisely similar groundsnot of abstract right, but of special expediencyin the well-known speech of our great Protestant Queen, when she declared that England was her husband and all Englishmen her children, and that she desired no higher character or fairer remembrance of her to be transmitted to posterity than this inscription engraved upon her tombstone: Here lies Elizabeth, who lived and died a maiden queen.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. But Rather, and, as he states a wish in accordance with the previous context.
You This pronoun is emphatic. The Thessalonians (2Th 3:6-12) who were neglecting their temporal affairs in false expectation, perhaps, of the approaching advent, he ordered to attend to their own business; but to the overworldly Corinthians he gives directions that they, in view of impending trouble, present distress, should remember the transitoriness of the world, and keep from too deeply involving themselves in its complex cares.
Without carefulness With that freedom from care which celibacy affords. Paul does not, by this, favour a mere contemplative, inactive piety, dwelling in the luxury of its own motions. That is the truest inner life which produces the purest, and most energetic outer life. He desired for his Corinthians an exemption from secular cares, that they might consecrate themselves to a life of holy welldoing.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But I would have you free from cares. He who is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he who is married is careful for the things of the world, how he may please his wife.’
Here Paul comes to the crux of the matter. His recommendation of celibacy has nothing to do with the fact that the flesh is thought of as sinful, or that asceticism is seen as making a man spiritual, it has to do with practical reality. He wants them, in view of the emergency times, to be free from other cares. The married person has cares and responsibilities that a single person knows nothing about. His wife will expect not to be neglected and will need her wants seeing to. This will partly depend on whether he has married a wife as dedicated as himself, but even if he has, life is such that problems can arise that take up his time and attention that would not have arisen if he had been single. He must provide a home for his children. He must watch over them and care for their needs and wants. And we could go on.
But it is clear that a married man will have certain distractions which may well prevent his hundred-per-cent attention on what would please the Lord given no distractions. Of course his proper attention to his wife and family pleases the Lord, and in return they provide him with support, joys and experiences beneficial to his spiritual life. He may well be a stronger Christian because of them, and if he is a man of strong sexual desires he almost certainly will be. But compared with the single man he has a considerable number of things that he must watch and control in order to be the best he can for the Lord that the single man knows nothing about. His full dedication to God’s service is therefore all the more difficult. He has so many distractions.
On the other hand we can argue that in the long term it is Christian families who have been the mainstay of the church through the ages. And we would be right. But if we are honest we can see that Paul’s point is valid. There will always need to be those who are so free from distractions that they can go anywhere, and do anything, without fear of the consequences for loved ones. And married men who have sought to behave as though they were as free as single men have often thereby brought great distress on those whom they should have been caring for. How difficult it is to tread the fine line between obedience to the Lord in service and obedience to the Lord in family responsibilities. And this the single man knows nothing about (except with regard to close relatives).
But we must note here two things. Firstly that Paul knew very well that a large proportion of men would, in the light of his advice given earlier, need to marry. No one would have been more surprised than he if all the Corinthians had become celibate. What he was seeking was the select band of those who would be available for service of any kind. And secondly that he does not in any way indicate that such people are more spiritual or more deserving than those who are married. His point is practical and not judgmental.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
A comparison of the married and unmarried state:
v. 32. But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord;
v. 33. but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
v. 34. There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
v. 35. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. The apostle here presents his reasons for advising as he does, his aim being that his readers should be without cares and worries which tended to distract their attention from the one thing needful, worries of all kinds, but especially marriage worries. For the unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. That is the ideal state which Paul would fain see, that the unmarried man devote his abilities and energies to the service of the Lord, with the object of doing that which pleases Him alone. There is an admonition here for the unmarried men of our times, many of whom refrain from marrying because they dread the inconveniences and tribulations of the married state, and yet are also too selfish to devote themselves to the Lord and to the work of the Church. But he that is married, the apostle says, is anxious about the things of this world, how he may please his wife. This is, of course, a danger connected with the matrimonial state, that the husband be so engrossed with his love for his wife and with the care of the household as to forget the duty which he owes to the Lord. Paul sets forth here what is usually found in actual experience, and altogether too often in our days, when the idea of a partnership in the Biblical sense and of a home and family has been abandoned for that of a life of voluptuous ease and of social ambition. In either case the service of the Lord suffers, but that is not a necessary concomitant of marriage.
Paul considers also the side of the woman: And a difference is also between the wife and the virgin; there is a diversity between them with regard to care; they are separated, divided, in their interests. If the unmarried woman realizes and makes use of her opportunities properly, she will be anxious about the things of the Lord. This she does by being holy according to her body as well as according to her spirit, that is, she devotes herself entirely to the Lord, serving Him with her whole person and all her powers. This is an ideal which should be held before the eyes of all Christian young women; for at the present time there is far too much attention paid to pleasure and service of the flesh, as the world is making inroads upon the Church, and far too little to the service of the Lord and His Church, although there are so many ways in which an earnest Christian may help in the spreading of the Kingdom. On the other hand, the married woman is anxious about the things of this world, the care of so many things in the family and household naturally falling upon her; and she is concerned about pleasing her husband. This, again, does not imply that this is the only sphere which the Christian wife will know, and that it is impossible for her not to be active in the work of the Church. On the contrary, many a married woman has put the young women to shame with her zeal for progress in the congregation. But Paul is speaking of the average case, stating the facts as they are usually found.
At the same time the apostle realized fully that his personal recommendation of the unmarried state, even under the conditions then obtaining, was connected with certain perils. He therefore adds: But this I say to your own advantage, not that I throw a snare upon you, put a noose around your neck. He does not want to catch his readers and shut them up in an unwilling unmarried state; nor does he want to rule their consciences and force them to think as he himself does. His argument is only that he speaks for that which is proper, seeming, fitting, that which at the present time is befitting the behavior of Christians, and that which amounts to an assiduous and undisturbed waiting for the Lord and His coming. Paul wanted all distractions and diversions of earthly influences removed, in order to offer to the Lord the most unselfish and unhindered service. If a person can and may remain unmarried, these words of the apostle should always be borne in mind. There would be little or no difficulty about carrying on the external business of the Church if all those that are footloose would devote their free time to the Lord, with an energy corresponding to the importance of the work.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
DISCOURSE: 1963
AGAINST CAREFULNESS
1Co 7:32. I would have you without carefulness.
THERE were, as might be expected, subjects of great difficulty and delicacy submitted, from time to time, to the Apostle Paul, for his decision. In matters of expediency was he consulted, no less than of duty. Of that nature was the question which was proposed to him from Corinth, on the subject of marriage. Of the lawfulness of that holy ordinance there could be no doubt, since it was instituted by God himself, even in the time of mans innocency in Paradise. But of the expediency of embarking in the engagements of matrimony, under the circumstances of the Church in that day of trial and persecution, reasonable doubts might well be entertained. His opinion upon it therefore was asked; and he gave his judgment with all the tenderness that the occasion required. In that season of distress [Note: ver. 26.], he thought that persons of either sex would do well to keep themselves unmarried; since they would be more at liberty to act, or suffer, for the Lord, than if they were involved in the cares and duties of a family. And as to the general question, whilst he left all to judge and act for themselves, he thought that, where no very urgent reason existed for engaging in the matrimonial contract, it would be found more easy to serve the Lord fully in a single state, than in a state which must necessarily be attended with some distraction and embarrassment.
Upon this particular question I have no design to enter. But the basis upon which the Apostle framed his decision, is alike applicable to all cases, and in all ages: I would have you without carefulness. Dismissing, therefore, from our minds the subject proposed to him, and which, in fact, must depend altogether upon the personal feelings and peculiar circumstances of every distinct individual, I will proceed to shew you,
I.
The evil and danger of carefulness
Every kind of care is not evil; but only that care which is attended with anxiety. And this is evil,
1.
As distracting our mind
[It is surprising how even a small matter, upon which we set our hearts, will incapacitate us for attending to our spiritual concerns. Some object to be attained, or some trial to be avoided, or some difficulty to be overcome, though in itself of very trifling moment, will so dwell upon the mind as to indispose us for reading the word of God; and will even so disturb our repose by night, as to unfit us for any mental exertion The injury which this must do to the soul is obvious ]
2.
As impeding our progress
[The eastern dress is calculated to impede the movements of him that wears it: and hence Elijah girded up his robes, when he ran before Ahab [Note: 1Ki 18:46.]. To this the Apostle refers, when he speaks of our laying aside every weight, and the sin that more easily besets us [Note: Heb 12:1.]. Any care operates in this way, as a weight upon the feet, and an obstacle to our progress, even in temporal duties, and much more in those which are of a spiritual nature. Our blessed Lord illustrates this by another image, taken from agriculture; and tells us, that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the good seed that has been sown within us, and prevent it from growing up to perfection [Note: Mat 13:22.] ]
3.
As tending to turn us from the path of strict integrity
[Whatever engages the affections strongly, will warp the judgment, and produce a strong bias upon the mind. Duties, which would interfere with the prosecution of our object, will be neglected; and measures, which may facilitate the attainment of it, will be adopted, without any scrupulous attention to their exact legality. Truth, honour, probity, will be sacrificed, rather than the favourite object be lost. And what need I say more, to mark the evil and danger of inordinate desire? To whatever it have respect, it is a root and source of evil, which, if not corrected, will destroy the soul [Note: 1Ti 6:9-10.].]
You will then, of course, desire to be informed,
II.
How we may most effectually divest ourselves of it
Much might be spoken upon this subject: but two hints only shall suffice:
1.
Get a deep sense of the obligations which God has laid on us
[See what your God has already given you in the blessings of creation in the care of his providence and, above all, in the wonders of redemption What can you wish for more? Should not a reflection on these things fill you with unutterable joy? What can any thing else be in comparison of these stupendous mercies? Verily, whatever it be that is the object of your desire, it can be no more than the dust upon the balance, when weighed against the inconceivable blessings already conferred upon you ]
2.
Get a lively sense of the obligations which he has laid upon himself also respecting us
[He has bound himself to us by covenant and by oath, that we shall want no manner of thing that is good. If only we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, every earthly blessing shall be added unto us. We have only to make our requests known to him, and all that we want shall be done unto us [Note: Php 4:6.]. We have no more real occasion for carefulness than the birds of the air [Note: Mat 6:25-34.], or than the child in the mothers arms. The clouds, the rock, the very ravens, should supply our wants, and for forty years together, rather than we should be destitute of any thing that is good. Only call to mind how the Almighty God cares for you, and you will feel no difficulty in casting your care on him [Note: 1Pe 5:7.] ]
Application
[Dear brethren, I would have you all like Mary; who, when her sister Martha was careful and cumbered about many things, was intent only on the one thing needful, In relation to the concerns of eternity, be as careful as ye will. In reference to these things, the Apostle approves of, and applauds, our care [Note: He uses the same word in reference to both, and no less than five times: ver. 3234.] And, if only in this matter ye will be as wise as the children of this world, ye shall never fail of obtaining all that your souls can desire ]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
Ver. 32. Without carefulness ] That unavoidably attendeth the marriage state,Gen 30:30Gen 30:30 ; 1Ti 5:8 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
32 34 .] Application of what has been just said to the question of marriage .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
32. ] But (i.e. since this is so since the time is short, and that , in order that we Christians may sit loose to the world) I wish you to be without wordly cares (undistracted). Then he explains how this touches on the subject.
how he may please : ‘how he shall please.’ The variety being not in reality a various reading, but only an itacism, I retain the form found in the most ancient MSS.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 7:32-34 . . . . ( cf. 1Co 7:7 ): “But I want you to be unanxious ( );” cf. , 1Co 7:28 . This is the reason why P. labours the advice of this section; see our Lord’s dehortations from in Mat 6:25-34 ; Mat 13:22 .
1Co 7:32-34 describe, not without a touch of humour, the exemption in this respect of the unmarried: he “is anxious in respect of the things of the Lord” not “of the world, as to how he should please his wife!” After bidding the readers to be , P. writes . , with a certain catechresis in the vb [1178] , for the sake of the antithesis. The accs. are of limitation rather than of transitive obj [1179] is indirect question, retaining the deliberative sbj [1180] “is anxious (asking) how he should please,” etc. For the supreme motive, “pleasing the Lord,” cf. 1Co 4:1-5 , 2Co 5:9 , etc. , aor [1181] of the event (pf. in 1Co 7:10 : cf. note), which brought a new care. Accepting the reading . , with the stop at . (the only possible punctuation with in this position: see txtl. note), then it is added about the married Christian, that “he has been (since his marriage) divided,” parcelled out (see note on 1Co 1:12 ): part of him is assigned to the Lord, part to the world. Lt [1182] says that this rendering (R.V. mg. ) “throws sense and parallelism into confusion, for is not wanted with 1Co 7:33 , which is complete in itself”: nay, the addition is made just because the parl [1183] would be untrue if not so qualified; the married Christian does not care simply for “the things of the world” as the unmarried for “the things of the Lord,” he cares for both “and is divided,” giving but half his mind to Christ (so Ewald, Hf [1184] , Hn [1185] , Ed [1186] ). The attachment of to 1Co 7:34 , with the Western reading (see txtl. note), retained by Mr [1187] , Bt [1188] , El [1189] , Lt [1190] , Sm [1191] , A.V., and R.V. txt. , in accordance with most of the older commentt., gives to a meaning doubtful in itself and without N.T. parl [1192] : “And there is a distinction between the wife and the maiden”. Gd [1193] escapes this objection by reading . as a sentence by itself, “the wife also is divided” then continuing, “And the unwedded maiden cares for,” etc.; an awkward and improbable construction as the text stands (but see Hn [1194] below). Txtl. criticism and exegesis concur in making a further assertion about , revealing his full disadvantage.
[1178] verb
[1179] grammatical object.
[1180] subjunctive mood.
[1181] aorist tense.
[1182] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).
[1183] parallel.
[1184] J. C. K. von Hofmann’s Die heilige Schrift N.T. untersucht , ii. 2 (2te Auflage, 1874).
[1185] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklrung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).
[1186] T. C. Edwards’ Commentary on the First Ep. to the Corinthians . 2
[1187] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).
[1188] J. A. Beet’s St. Paul’s Epp. to the Corinthians (1882).
[1189] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians .
[1190] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).
[1191] P. Schmiedel, in Handcommentar zum N.T. (1893).
[1192] parallel.
[1193] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. p. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).
[1194] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklrung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).
Hn [1195] , by a very tempting conjecture, proposes to insert a second after the first: . , . . . . “He that has married is anxious in regard to the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is divided; divided also is the wife. The unmarried (woman), with the maiden, is anxious as to the things of the Lord.” This would account for the double , which embarrasses the critical text; it gives a fuller and more balanced sense, in harmony moreover with Paul’s principle of putting husband and wife on equal terms (1Co 7:2 ff., 1Co 7:11-16 ); and nothing was easier than for a doubled word, in the unpunctuated and unspaced early copies, to fall out in transcription. Placing the full stop at , without the aid of Hn [1196] ’s emendation, are made the combined subject of (1Co 7:34 ), “the unmarried woman” being the general category, within which “the maiden,” whose case raised this discussion (1Co 7:25 ), is specially noted; the two subjects forming one idea, take a sing [1197] verb.
[1195] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklrung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).
[1196] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklrung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).
[1197]ing. singular number.
The purpose . . . is the subjective counterpart of the question of 1Co 7:32 ; note the similar combination in Rom 12:1 , also 1Th 4:3 ; and see notes on , , 1Co 1:2 . Holiness (dat [1198] of sphere ; see Wr [1199] , p. 270) comes first in this connexion ( cf. 1Co 7:4 ; 1Co 6:20 ), and is added to make up the entire person and to mark the inner region of sanctification; “the spirit” which animates the body, being akin to God (Joh 4:24 ) and communicating with His Spirit (Rom 8:16 ), is the basis and organ of our sanctification ( cf. 1Th 5:23 , 2Th 2:13 ). Of , “she that has married,” on the contrary, the same must be said as of (1Co 7:33 ); she studies to “please her husband” as well as “the Lord”.
[1198] dative case.
[1199] Winer-Moulton’s Grammar of N.T. Greek (8th ed., 1877).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Co 7:32-35
32But 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; 33but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34and 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. 35This 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.
1Co 7:32-34 This describes the mutual commitment of married people to each other as “one flesh” (cf. Eph 5:24-31). This is not evil, it is used to describe the relationship between Christ and His church. It is obvious that single people have more time and energy for ministry.
Paul’s concern throughout this context has been the ability to be an active believer without concern. Paul uses the term merimna, four times in two verses. This term can refer to frivolous concerns (cf. Mat 10:19; Luk 12:25) or genuine concerns (cf. 2Co 11:28; 1Pe 5:7). In this context it refers to the normal affairs of married life which can compete with the time and energy one has to use for the Lord. It may also relate to the unique pressures of being a believer in a pagan society (cf. 1Co 7:26).
Paul wants believers to (1) be active for Christ and (2) live in peace and contentment. Both are valid, but difficult.
1Co 7:34 “The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin” Paul is referring to two different kinds of unmarried Christian women:
1. one is older, one is younger
2. the first was previously married (i.e., widows) and the second never married
3. the second possibly refers to a special group of celibate women or ministry partners (cf. 1Co 7:36-38)
“that she may be holy both in body and spirit” This is not a disparaging comment about human sexuality being evil. This is how Paul’s teachings were interpreted by those influenced by Greek culture (i.e., Stoics, Gnostics, etc.). His point is that individuals focused on the Lord can spend their quality time, energy, and resources on spiritual things, whereas those married must also be concerned with family issues and responsibilities. See SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY at 1Co 3:17.
SPECIAL TOPIC: BODY AND SPIRIT
1Co 7:35 “not to put a restraint upon you” This term was used of an animal halter.
NASB”but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord”
NKJV”but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction”
NRSV”but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord”
TEV”Instead, I want you to do what is right and proper, and to give yourself completely to the Lord’s service without any reservation”
NJB”but so that everything is as it should be, and you are able to give your undivided attention to the Lord”
The Greek phrase is very brief. The two key words are
1. euschma, a compound from “good” and “form.” It denotes that which is proper, pleasing, and appropriate (cf. 1Co 12:23-24; 1Co 14:40; Rom 13:13) similar in meaning to kalos in 1Co 7:1; 1Co 7:8; 1Co 7:26.
2. aperispasts, an alpha privative with a term for turning about and thereby losing focus
Paul wants all believers to be focused on Kingdom issues, on ministry! I certainly concur with this. My “problem” with this context is its seeming depreciation of marriage as an equal ministry model to celibacy. God instituted marriage; it is the norm. I am a stronger person and minister because of my marriage. This chapter has been used and abused by legalists and ascetics. The goal is focused ministry, not a dogmatic rule on whether to marry or stay single. Paul had his immediate Spirit-led purposes, but these cannot be turned into universal principles which negate other inspired texts.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
have you = that you should be.
without carefulness = free from anxiety. Greek. amerimnos. Only here and Mat 28:14.
careth. Gr merimnao. Occurs twelve times in the Gospels translated “take thought”, save Luk 10:41 (be careful); four times in this chapter; 1Co 12:25. Php 1:2, Php 1:20; Php 4:6.
that belong to = of. App-17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
32-34.] Application of what has been just said to the question of marriage.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 7:32. , without carefulness) not only without affliction, 1Co 7:28, but also without any care distracting the mind.- , he that is unmarried) namely if he wishes to use wisely the condition in which he is placed.- , of the Lord) Christ, , may please) by holiness of body and spirit.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 7:32
1Co 7:32
But I would have you to be free from cares.-When persecutions came upon them, he would like to have them without the additional cares which marriage would impose upon them. [It must be borne in mind that this advice was given solely to guide those under the distress that was then upon them (verse 26), and not to be applied in normal times.]
He that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord:-[The unmarried man, having no family to provide for and to protect in times of distress and persecution, is less encumbered with worldly cares than the married man who was compelled to take care of his wife and dependent children; and might be thus kept back from that unswerving courage which in those dark days full loyalty to Christ demanded.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I would: Psa 55:22, Mat 6:25-34, Mat 13:22, Phi 4:6
He that: 1Ti 5:5
that belong to the Lord: Gr. of the Lord, as, 1Co 7:34
Reciprocal: Mat 19:10 – General Mat 19:12 – which have Luk 10:39 – which Luk 10:41 – thou Luk 12:22 – Take Rom 8:8 – please 1Co 7:8 – General 1Co 7:28 – Nevertheless 1Co 7:38 – doeth better
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 7:32-33. Carefulness means anxiety over the handicaps of the present distress. A married man would have to give his attention to the things of the world, such as those necessary to care for his wife. That would really be his duty if he had a wife, but he could avoid such anxiety for the time being if he took Paul’s advice and remained single.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Here our apostle subjoins another reason why a single life is to be preferred before a married life; namely, because single persons are comparatively more free from cares and distractions, and have commonly more time and leisure to attend upon the Lord in religious duties. For the unmarried man has but one care upon him, namely, how he may serve and please God; but the married man has another care upon him, to wit, how he amy oblige and please his wife.
In like manner, a married woman is encumbered with household affairs, disturbed with domestic affairs, and concerned in lawful things to please her husband; and consequently has neither so much time nor freedom for holy exercises. But the virgin that has no family to care for, no husband to seek to please, has more leisure to attend upon God in his holy duties and religious exercises; therefore he advises them to choose that state of life in which they may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
Learn hence, 1. That a married condition is certainly and necessarily attended with many diversions and distractions, from which a single life is free.
Learn, 2. That persons in a conjugal relation may and ought to seek the obliging and pleasing one another with their utmost endeavours, without violating their duty to Almighty God.
Learn, 3. That persons in a single state have great advantages (may they improve them!) of serving God above others, in regard of their freedom from domestic cares, troubles, and temptations; they have time and leisure for pious performances, if the heart be disposed for them.
Learn, 4. That it is the duty, and ought to be the endeavour, of all persons, both married and unmarried, not only to serve God in religious duties, but to attend upon him in them, as much as may be, without distraction.
Distractions are the wanderings of the heart, mind, and thoughts, from God in religious duties. The nature of God requires, that we watch and strive against them; his majesty and greatness, his purity and holiness, his omniscience and all-seeing eye upon us, and within us, do oblige us to this careful endeavour; and the nature of his worship calls for it, which is a reasonable service, and a spiritual service; and the nature of distractions should make us dread them. They divide the heart, they deaden the duty, contract guilt, and provoke displeasure. Lord, help us, in all the services we perform unto thee, to attend upon them without distraction!
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
1Co 7:32-35. But Or now; I would have you During this flying moment; without carefulness Or anxiety, amidst all these uncertainties: without any encumbrance or distraction of your thoughts, about the affairs of this short uncertain life, in order that you may freely and cheerfully wait on God in a due attendance on all his ordinances, and may serve him according to his will; and therefore, for the present, I advise you to remain single as you are. For he that is unmarried If he understand and use the advantage he enjoys; careth chiefly for the things that belong to the Lord Namely, the Lord Christ; how he may please the Lord And is in a great degree at liberty to employ his thoughts, cares, and labours, for the advancement of the Redeemers kingdom among men; and surely there is no other employment so honourable, so delightful, and, when remote consequences are taken into the account, so profitable. But he that is married careth for the things of the world And it is his duty so to do, so far as becomes a Christian; how he may please his wife May accommodate himself to her temper in all lawful things, so as to make her easy and happy, and provide all things needful for her and his family. There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin Whether the church be under persecution or not. The unmarried woman Not burdened with a family, if she know and use her privilege; careth chiefly for the things of the Lord All her time, care, and thoughts, centre in this, how she may be holy both in body and spirit. This is the standing advantage of a single life in all ages and nations, but who makes a suitable use of it? But she that is married, careth how she may please her husband And the diversity of humours both in men and women, and the imperfection of even the best tempers, make this sometimes, on both sides, a difficult task; on which account single persons have always some considerable advantages, and especially in times of public danger. And this Concerning the advantages of a single life; I speak for your profit To show you what is most advantageous for your souls; not that I may cast a snare upon you Who are not able to receive this saying; but for that which is comely , for that which is decent, agreeable to your holy calling and profession: and that you may attend upon the Lord May resolutely and perseveringly wait upon him in the use of all the means of grace, and in a continual attention to the voice of his providence, word, and Spirit. The word , rendered attend upon, signifies sitting close by a person, in a good posture to hear: so Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, Luk 10:39 : without distraction Without having the mind drawn from its centre, from its close attention to God, by any person or thing, care or encumbrance whatsoever.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vers. 32-38: The general suitableness of celibacy.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
But I would have you to be free from cares. He that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
VIRGIN CELIBACY
32. The question extensively prevailed at that time, should not a Christian man, instead of giving his virgin daughter in wedlock to her lover, keep her for the Lord, so that unencumbered she might be a more efficient soul- saver, becoming a vestal virgin, as they had known in the heathen religions for ages, and was perpetuated in Christianity in subsequent ages, developing into the Roman Catholic nunship. Paul here meets all of those complicated questions.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 32
Without carefulness; free from the anxious cares which, in such times as those, must attend the charge of a family.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1Co 7:32-34. Armed now with the great truth of 1Co 7:29-31, viz. that things around are passing away and are therefore of secondary importance, Paul now comes to expound the reason given in 1Co 7:26, viz. the present necessity, for his advice to the unmarried not to marry. In times of persecution family cares increase terribly a man’s anxiety. And from this he wishes to save them. The bearing of this wish upon marriage, he now expands.
1Co 7:32-34. Anxious about the things of the Lord: quite consistent with without anxiety. And with Php 4:6. Cp. 2Co 11:28. The use of the same word in 1Co 7:32 and 1Co 7:33, only reveals to us the total difference, in their nature and spiritual effects, of these two kinds of anxiety. The former, even in the present distress, does not expose to, but guards us against, spiritual peril; and prompts to ceaseless waiting before the Lord, 1Co 7:35.
Anxious about the things of the Lord, of the world: not in all cases, but usually. It notes a natural tendency. The married man was compelled to take account of the disposition and pleasure of his wife; and might thus be kept back from that unswerving, and sometimes reckless, courage which in those dark days full loyalty to Christ demanded. But the unmarried man stood alone before his Master, Christ, and need think of nothing but how, whether by avoiding or incurring peril, he might best please Him.
Also the wife etc.: of the female sex also 1Co 7:33 is true. Marriage has put the wife in a position quite removed from that of the unmarried woman: and has thus divided womankind as well as men in reference to anxiety. On the variations of text here, see Appendix B.
Holy: subjectively so; see note, Rom 1:7 : parallel with, but stronger than, please the Lord. Her anxious purpose is to exist only for God, and to use all her powers and opportunities to work out his purposes.
In her body: by using her body and its powers for God only; Rom 12:1.
And her spirit: so that every pulsation of the principle of life may have God for its one aim. The sanctification of the soul, (1Th 5:23,) the connecting link (see note, 1Co 15:44) of body and spirit, is implied in their sanctification. But the married woman’s obligation to please her husband makes her anxious about the things of the world, which are needed for his necessities or pleasure; and this may induce forgetfulness that she belongs only to God.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
Comparing two equally committed Christians, an unmarried man can give more concentrated attention to the things of the Lord. A married man also needs to think about his family responsibilities. This is true of women, and particularly virgins, as well as men. Queen Elizabeth I said that England was her husband. [Note: Robertson and Plummer, p. 158.] Some interpreters put more emphasis on the negative anxiety feeling while others stress the positive legitimate care that each person needs to show. Both aspects of concern are probably in view. Even though the unmarried state is in one sense preferable, it is not intrinsically better. [Note: Barrett, p. 181.] Unfortunately many single people who have more time to devote to serving the Lord choose to live for themselves.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Paul wanted his readers to be free from concerns about this present life so devotion to the Lord would be consistent (1Co 7:35; cf. Mat 6:25-34; Php 4:11; 1Pe 5:7). He wanted us to live as eschatological people. Our new existence in Christ should determine our lives, not the world in its present form. Buying and marrying should not determine our existence. A clear view of the future should do that.