What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 7:6? I say this • Paul’s voice in 1 Corinthians 7:6 is personal, yet Spirit–guided. He has just advised married couples that “Do not deprive one another, except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (7:5). • The “this” points back to everything from verse 2 (“because of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife…”) through verse 5. • Though phrased personally, Paul speaks with apostolic authority—“For you welcomed the word… not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). See also 2 Peter 1:21 and 1 Corinthians 14:37. as a concession • A concession is permission, not obligation. Paul allows marriage and allows temporary marital abstinence for prayer. Neither is forced; both are gracious options. • Verse 35 clarifies his heart: “I am saying this for your own benefit, not to place a restriction on you, but to promote proper order and secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” • Similar permissions appear elsewhere: “But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:9); Jesus acknowledges some are “eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom” while others marry (Matthew 19:11-12). • Scripture never treats marriage as spiritually inferior, nor celibacy as mandatory. Paul counters teachers who would “forbid marriage” (1 Timothy 4:3). • This concession respects individual gifting (7:7) and conscience (Romans 14:5-6). not as a command • Commands are binding on every believer; concessions are situational. Paul later distinguishes: “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord)…” (1 Corinthians 7:10), and again, “To the rest I say (I, not the Lord)…” (7:12). • By labeling verse 6 a non-command, Paul guards against legalism—no one may demand lifelong singleness or compulsory prayer-fasting separations from spouses. • Yet inspired concession still carries weight; “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful” (2 Timothy 3:16). Wise believers heed the counsel even when it is not a universal mandate. • Paul uses the same approach in another setting: “I am not giving you an order, but testing the sincerity of your love” (2 Corinthians 8:8). True obedience springs from willing hearts (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). summary Paul, under the Spirit, offers practical, pastoral permission regarding marriage and temporary abstinence for prayer. He makes clear these instructions are optional, not compulsory, protecting Christian liberty while guiding believers toward purity and undistracted devotion. |
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