New Testament in a Year

About Marriage

7 Now I will discuss the things you wrote me about. It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. ² But because sexual sin is a danger, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. ³ The husband should give his wife all that he owes her as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that she owes him as her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have full rights over her own body; her husband shares them. And the husband does not have full rights over his own body; his wife shares them. ⁵ Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other, unless you both agree to stay away from sexual relations for a time so you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again so Satan cannot tempt you because of a lack of self-control. ⁶ I say this to give you permission to stay away from sexual relations for a time. It is not a command to do so. ⁷ I wish that everyone were like me, but each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.

⁸ Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay unmarried as I am. ⁹ But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

¹⁰ Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband. ¹¹ But if she does leave, she must not marry again, or she should make up with her husband. Also the husband should not divorce his wife.

¹² For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer, and she is happy to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer, and he is happy to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ The husband who is not a believer is made holy through his believing wife. And the wife who is not a believer is made holy through her believing husband. If this were not true, your children would not be clean, but now your children are holy.

¹⁵ But if those who are not believers decide to leave, let them leave. When this happens, the Christian man or woman is free. But God called us^[a] to live in peace. ¹⁶ Wife, you don’t know; maybe you will save your husband. And husband, you don’t know; maybe you will save your wife.

Live as God Called You

¹⁷ But in any case each one of you should continue to live the way God has given you to live—the way you were when God called you. This is a rule I make in all the churches. ¹⁸ If a man was already circumcised when he was called, he should not undo his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was called, he should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ It is not important if a man is circumcised or not. The important thing is obeying God’s commands.