| Geneva Study Bible Now {1} concerning the things {a} whereof ye wrote unto me: It is {b} good for a man not to touch a woman. (1) He teaches concerning marriage that although a single life has its advantages, which he will declare afterwards, yet that marriage is necessary for the avoiding of fornication. But so that neither one man may have many wives, nor any wife many husbands. (a) Concerning those matters about which you wrote to me. (b) Commodious, and (as we say) expedient. For marriage brings many griefs with it, and that by reason of the corruption of our first estate. People's New Testament 7:1 Marriage SUMMARY OF I CORINTHIANS 7: Marriage the Resource Against Social Sins. Not to Be Lightly Dissolved. The Mutual Obligations. The Unmarried State Freest from Trouble in Times of Persecution. But Neither Husband Nor Wife to Leave Each Other. If They Should, to Remain Unmarried. Not to Abandon an Unbelieving Husband or Wife Because of Their. Unbelief. To Rest Content with the Secular State in Which One Is. Converted. The Treatment of Virgin Daughters. Let Them Marry Under Certain Conditions. Under Others, Best Not to Marry in Those Critical Times. The Remarriage of Widows. Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me. In the preceding chapters Paul has mainly treated of irregularities in the Corinthian church, of which he had learned through the household of Chloe (1Co 1:11) and other private sources. Now he begins to answer various questions asked in a letter from the church. If we had that letter, it would aid much in understanding what follows by revealing more clearly the state of the church and the discussions going on within. It is good for a man not to touch a woman. An Old-Testament phrase which means not to marry. He does not mean that marriage is wrong, but that on account of the present distress it was a good think not to be bound by family ties. See 1Co 7:26. Forbidding to marry is one of the signs of apostasy (1Ti 4:3). See Heb 13:4. Wesley's Notes 7:1 It is good for a man - Who is master of himself. Not to touch a women - That is, not to marry. So great and many are the advantages of a single life. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary CHAPTER 7 1Co 7:1-40. Reply to Their Inquiries as to Marriage; the General Principle in Other Things Is, Abide in Your Station, for the Time Is Short. 1. The Corinthians in their letter had probably asked questions which tended to disparage marriage, and had implied that it was better to break it off when contracted with an unbeliever. good-that is, "expedient," because of "the present distress"; that is, the unsettled state of the world, and the likelihood of persecutions tearing rudely asunder those bound by marriage ties. Heb 13:4, in opposition to ascetic and Romish notions of superior sanctity in celibacy, declares, "Marriage is HONORABLE IN ALL." Another reason why in some cases celibacy may be a matter of Christian expediency is stated in 1Co 7:34, 35, "that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction." But these are exceptional cases, and in exceptional times, such as those of Paul. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 7:1-9 The apostle tells the Corinthians that it was good, in that juncture of time, for Christians to keep themselves single. Yet he says that marriage, and the comforts of that state, are settled by Divine wisdom. Though none may break the law of God, yet that perfect rule leaves men at liberty to serve him in the way most suited to their powers and circumstances, of which others often are very unfit judges. All must determine for themselves, seeking counsel from God how they ought to act. | 
