Christian Basics Bible - Flipbook - Page 20
1 Corinthians 7 • page 1310
Run from sexual sin! No other sin so
clearly affects the body as this one does.
For sexual immorality is a sin against your
own body. 19Don’t you realize that your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in
you and was given to you by God? You do
not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you
with a high price. So you must honor God
with your body.
18
Instruction on Marriage
Now regarding the questions you asked
in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain
from sexual relations.* 2 But because there
is so much sexual immorality, each man
should have his own wife, and each woman
should have her own husband.
3
The husband should fulfill his wife’s
sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill
her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives au
thority over her body to her husband, and
the husband gives authority over his body
to his wife.
5
Do not deprive each other of sexual re
lations, unless you both agree to refrain
from sexual intimacy for a limited time so
you can give yourselves more completely
to prayer. Afterward, you should come to
gether again so that Satan won’t be able
to tempt you because of your lack of selfcontrol. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a
command. 7But I wish everyone were single,
just as I am. Yet each person has a special
gift from God, of one kind or another.
8
So I say to those who aren’t married and
to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried,
just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control them
selves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s
better to marry than to burn with lust.
10
But for those who are married, I have
a command that comes not from me, but
from the Lord.* A wife must not leave her
husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her
remain single or else be reconciled to him.
And the husband must not leave his wife.
12
Now, I will speak to the rest of you,
though I do not have a direct command
from the Lord. If a fellow believer* has a
wife who is not a believer and she is willing
to continue living with him, he must not
leave her. 13 And if a believing woman has
a husband who is not a believer and he
is willing to continue living with her, she
must not leave him. 14 For the believing
wife brings holiness to her marriage, and
7
the believing husband* brings holiness
to his marriage. Otherwise, your children
would not be holy, but now they are holy.
15
(But if the husband or wife who isn’t a
believer insists on leaving, let them go. In
such cases the believing husband or wife*
is no longer bound to the other, for God has
called you* to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you
wives realize that your husbands might
be saved because of you? And don’t you
husbands realize that your wives might be
saved because of you?
17
Each of you should continue to live in
whatever situation the Lord has placed
you, and remain as you were when God
first called you. This is my rule for all the
churches. 18 For instance, a man who was
circumcised before he became a believer
should not try to reverse it. And the man
who was uncircumcised when he became
a believer should not be circumcised now.
19
For it makes no difference whether or not
a man has been circumcised. The important
thing is to keep God’s commandments.
20
Yes, each of you should remain as you
were when God called you. 21Are you a slave?
Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a
chance to be free, take it. 22 And remember,
if you were a slave when the Lord called you,
you are now free in the Lord. And if you were
free when the Lord called you, you are now
a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for
you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.*
24
Each of you, dear brothers and sisters,*
should remain as you were when God first
called you.
25
Now regarding your question about
the young women who are not yet married.
I do not have a command from the Lord for
them. But the Lord in his mercy has given
me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will
share it with you. 26 Because of the pres
ent crisis,* I think it is best to remain as
you are. 27 If you have a wife, do not seek
to end the marriage. If you do not have a
wife, do not seek to get married. 28 But if
you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a
young woman gets married, it is not a sin.
However, those who get married at this time
will have troubles, and I am trying to spare
you those problems.
29
But let me say this, dear brothers and
sisters: The time that remains is very short.
So from now on, those with wives should
not focus only on their marriage. 30 Those
