1 Corinthians 7:1-24 - Concerning Christian Marriage

¹ As to the matters of which you wrote me, it is an excellent thing for a man to remain unmarried. ² But there is so much immorality that every man had better have a wife of his own, and every woman a husband of her own. ³ The husband must give his wife what is due her, and the wife must do the same by her husband. ⁴ A wife cannot do as she likes with her own person; it is her husband's; and in the same way a husband cannot do as he likes with his own person; it is his wife's. ⁵ You must not refuse each other what is due, unless you agree to do so for a while, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then to come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control. ⁶ But I mean this as a concession, not a command. ⁷ I should like to have everyone be just as I am myself; but each one has his own special gift from God, one of one kind, and one of another.

⁸ To all who are unmarried and to widows, I would say this: It is an excellent thing if they can remain single as I am. ⁹ But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to be on fire with passion.

¹⁰ To those already married my instructions are??nd they are not mine, but the Lord's??hat a wife is not to separate from her husband. ¹¹ If she does separate, she must remain single or else become reconciled to him. And a husband must not divorce his wife. ¹² To other people I would say, though not as Christ's command, if a Christian has a wife who is not a believer, and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her, ¹³ and a woman who has a husband who is not a believer, but is willing to live with her, must not divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For the husband who is not a believer is consecrated through union with his wife, and the woman who is not a believer is consecrated through union with her Christian husband, for otherwise your children would be unblessed, but, as it is, they are consecrated. ¹⁵ But if the one who is not a believer wishes to separate, let the separation take place. In such cases the brother or sister is not a slave; God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶ For how do you wives know whether you will save your husbands? Or how do you husbands know whether you will save your wives?

¹⁷ Only, everyone must continue in the station which the Lord has appointed for him, and in which he was when God's call came to him. This is the rule I make in all the churches. ¹⁸ If a man was circumcised when he was called, he must not try to alter it. If a man was uncircumcised when he was called, he must not have himself circumcised. ¹⁹ Being circumcised or being uncircumcised does not make any difference; all that matters is keeping God's commands. ²⁰ Everyone ought to remain in the station in which he was called. ²¹ If you were a slave when you were called, never mind. Even if you can gain your freedom, make the most of your present condition instead. ²² For a slave who has been called to union with the Lord is a freedman of the Lord, just as a free man who has been called is a slave of Christ. ²³ You have been bought and paid for; you must not let yourselves become slaves to men. ²⁴ Brothers, everyone must remain in fellowship with God in the station in which he was called.