1 Corinthians 7:1-24 - Concerning Christian Marriage

¹ Now I take up the matters about which you wrote me. It may be good thing for a man to remain unmarried; ² but because of so much sexual immorality every man should have a wife of his own, and every woman a husband of her own. ³ The husband must always give his wife what is due her, and the wife too must do so for her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have the right to do as she pleases with her own body; the husband has his right to it. In the same way the husband does not have the right to do as he pleases with his own body; the wife has her right to it. ⁵ You husbands and wives must stop refusing each other what is due, unless you agree to do so just for awhile, so as to have plenty of time for prayer, and then to be together again, so as to keep Satan from tempting you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ But I say this by way of concession, not by way of command. ⁷ However, I should like for everyone to be just as I am myself, yet each of us has his own special gift from God, one for one way, another for another.

⁸ To unmarried people and to widows I would say this: It would be a fine thing for them to remain single, as I am. ⁹ But if they do not practice self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to be burning in the fire of passion.

¹⁰ To the people already married I give this instruction -- no, not I but the Lord -- that a wife is not to leave her husband. ¹¹ But if she does leave him, she must remain single, or better, be reconciled to her husband. I instruct the husband too not to divorce his wife. ¹² To the rest of the people I myself would say -- though the Lord Himself has said nothing about it -- if a Christian has a wife that is not a believer and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her; ¹³ and a woman who has a husband that is not a believer, but he consents to live with her, must not divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is consecrated by union with his wife and the unbelieving wife by union with her Christian husband, for otherwise your children would be unblessed, but in this way they are consecrated. ¹⁵ But if the unbelieving consort actually leaves, let the separation stand. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is not morally bound; God has called us to live in peace. ¹⁶ For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

¹⁷ Only, everybody must continue to live in the station which the Lord assigned to him, in that in which God called him. These are my orders in all the churches. ¹⁸ Has a man been called after he was circumcised? He must not try to change it. Has a man been called without being circumcised? He must not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Being circumcised or not being circumcised has no value, but keeping God's commands is important. ²⁰ Everybody must remain in the station in which he was called. ²¹ Were you called while a slave? Stop letting that annoy you. Yet, if you can win your freedom, take advantage of such an opportunity. ²² For the slave who has been called to union with the Lord is the Lord's freedman; in the same way the freeman who has been called is a slave of Christ. ²³ You have been bought and actually paid for; stop becoming slaves to men. ²⁴ Brothers, each one must continue close to God in the very station in which he was called.