New Testament in a Year

Celibacy, Self-Control, and Marriage

7 Now concerning the things you wrote: It is good for a man not to touch^[a] a woman. ² But because of sexual sins, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. ³ The husband is to fulfill his obligation to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body—her husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body—his wife does. ⁵ Do not deprive one another, unless you both agree to do so for a time, in order to devote yourselves to^[b] prayer and then come together again, so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ However, I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷ For^[c] I wish all people were like me, but each person has his own gift from God. One person is blessed in this way, another in a different way.

⁸ I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain as I am. ⁹ But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, because it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

¹⁰ Next I command the married (it is the Lord’s command not mine): A wife is not to leave her husband ¹¹ (but if she does leave, she is to remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband is not to divorce^[d] his wife.

¹² But I, not the Lord, say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is willing to go on living with him, he is not to divorce her. ¹³ If any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to go on living with her, she is not to divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified in connection with his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified in connection with her husband.^[e] Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. ¹⁵ But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases, and God has called us^[f] 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 However, each person is to live in the situation the Lord assigned to him—the situation he was in when God called him to faith. I give this same command in all the churches. ¹⁸ If a man was circumcised when he was called, he should not become uncircumcised. If a man was uncircumcised when he was called, he should not get circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping God’s commands is important.