ACC ~ 1 Corinthians 7 v32 - 38

OVERVIEW:

The married and unmarried are called to the same holiness of body and soul (AUGUSTINE). Marriage is up to the choice of the individuals and is not a matter of compulsion one way or the other (CHRYSOSTOM, AMBROSIASTER). One who marries without being firmly established in the Lord risks impropriety (OECUMENIUS). It is better to marry publicly than to behave badly in private (AMBROSIASTER). Caring for wife and family tends to elicit anxieties from which the single are spared (BASIL, AMBROSIASTER). If marriage is good, virginity is better (AMBROSE, AMBROSIASTER). Virginity is commended not because of the wrongness of sex but in order to concentrate the mind on the worship of God (SEVERIAN OF GABALA) and to reduce worldly concerns (OECUMENIUS). The wall of virginity protects the unmarried from distraction (AMBROSE). Anyone who tries to have a pure body but a corrupt soul will soon have to choose between them (AMBROSIASTER).

7:32 | Free from Anxieties

READINESS FOR WORSHIP. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: Here Paul explains why virginity is preferable to marriage. It has nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of sex. Rather it is a question of anxieties which prevent the mind from concentrating on the worship of God. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

FREEDOM FROM ANXIETY. OECUMENIUS: To be concerned about the things of the Lord is not anxiety but salvation. Paul has just told them that he wants them to be free of anxiety. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

7:33 | The Concerns of Married Men

THE CONCERNS OF GOD AND MARRIAGE. BASIL: Paul allows marriage and considers it worthy of blessing, but he contrasts it with his own preoccupation with the concerns of God and hints that the two things are incompatible. THE LONG RULES 5.

MARRIAGE AND TEMPTATION. AMBROSIASTER: Looking after a wife and family is a worldly thing. Sometimes, just to keep them happy, it even leads to doing things which ought to be punished. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

7:34a | Holy in Body and Spirit

THE WALL OF VIRGINITY. AMBROSE: The unmarried woman has her wall of virginity, protecting her against the storms of this world. Thus fortified by the enclosure of God’s protection, she is disquieted by no winds of this world. LETTER 59.

THE HUMAN SPIRIT TENDS TO SANCTIFY OR CORRUPT THE BODY. AMBROSIASTER: It is the human spirit which either sanctifies or corrupts the body. If anyone tries to have a pure body but a corrupt soul, he will soon have to choose between them. Either the soul must be honored, or the body will be drawn toward corruption. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

7:34b | The Concerns of Married Women

THE SAME CALL TO HOLINESS IN A MARRIED WOMAN. AUGUSTINE: This should not be interpreted to mean that a married woman is not meant to be holy in body as well as in soul. THE EXCELLENCE OF WIDOWHOOD 6.

7:35 | Undivided Devotion to the Lord

TO PROMOTE GOOD ORDER, NOT TO RESTRAIN. AMBROSIASTER: What Paul has just said may seem harsh to some people, which is why he adds this here. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FREE CHOICE OF INDIVIDUALS. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul makes his case for celibacy, but in the end he leaves it up to the free choice of the individual. If after all this he were to resort to compulsion, it would look as if he did not really believe his own statements. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 19.7.

7:36 | Marriage Not a Sin

BETTER TO MARRY PUBLICLY THAN BEHAVE BADLY IN PRIVATE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul always wants the best out of Christians. If someone really wants to get married, then it is better to marry publicly according to the permission given than to behave badly and be ashamed in private. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

7:37 | Having Desire Under Control

BEING UNDER NO NECESSITY. CHRYSOSTOM: The evil is not in the cohabitation but in the impediment to purity in the life. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 19.7.

BE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED IN THE HEART. OECUMENIUS: It is clear from this that someone who has been overcome by apparent impropriety, even if married, is not yet firmly established in the work of the Lord. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

7:38 | Refraining from Marriage

DOING WELL, DOING BETTER. AMBROSE: The one is bound by marriage bonds, the other is free. One is under the law, the other under grace. Marriage is good because through it the means of human continuity are found. But virginity is better, because through it are attained the inheritance of a heavenly kingdom and a continuity of heavenly rewards. SYNODAL LETTER 44.

DELIVERED FROM WORLDLY CARES. AMBROSIASTER: The one who refrains from marriage does better because he earns merit for her with God and delivers her from the cares of this world. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.