THE KING’S BUSINESS
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able, for the Lord’s sake, and when certain existing conditions may call for such action (vii. 26; cf. Matthew xix. 10-12). But good as celibacy is for some people under certain circumstances, for the majority mar riage is more natural and, indeed, may be a positive duty. A$ a general rule, mar riage, more than celibacy, tends to morality. We are not to understand from these verses that Paul by any means disparages the marriage relationship. He is here speaking in the relative not the absolute sense, as we can see from ix. 15 (cf. Mat thew xv. 26; Romans xiv. 21), where such limitations are mentioned as almost reverse it. How could Paul speak disparagingly of the marriage relationship when in other of- his epistles he enforces its glory, beauty, and divine ordination (cf. Ephesians v. 24, 31, 32; 1 Timothy ii. 11) and looks upon “forbidding to marry” as a sign of apos tasy (T Timothy iv. 3; Hebrews xiii. 4; cf. Daniel xi. 37). Paul’s teaching here is “by permission, and not of commandment” (vii. 6). It is for the “good by reason of the present dis tress,” “that it is good for a man to be as he is” (vii. 26; cf. Luke xxi. 23). Paul recognizes marriage to be a divine insti tution and of God’s ordaining and the divine means for the propagation of the race (cf. Genesis i. 28; ii. 18, 24). Our Lord Himself graced the marriage at Cana of Galilee by His presence (John ii. 1, 2). Paul here recognizes the influence of local conditions as created by the asceti cism and antinomianism of Gnosticism and heathenism. Verse five seems particularly aimed at the asceticism practiced in the Corinthian church, and the very fact that Paul urges mutual consideration and tem poral separation between husband and wife (vii. 3-5) indicates that marriage is more natural and in accordance with the divine purpose. Paul’s expressions “Yet I would that all men were even as I myself” and “It is good for them that they abide even as I” (vii. 7, 8) may indicate that Paul was married, or a widower, or master of his own body:
celibate, widower, content, or master. It is doubtful if the question whether Paul was a widower or a bachelor can ever be settled conclusively. There is much to say on both sides of the question. Verse nine, however, throws some light on the subject. (a) Paul’s Reference to Our Lord’s Teaching Regarding the Marriage Estate (vii. 10-17, 39; cf. Romans vii. 1-7); also Our Lord’s Teaching (Matthew v. 31, 32; xix. 3-12; Mark x. 2-12; Luke xvi. 18). Separation between husband and wife may be permitted only as a last resort. It would seem that the apostle forbids remarriage during the lifetime of either partner, death alone dissolving the bond (vii. 11, 39). Separation must not take place, however, unless every effort at peace has failed. Doubtless the apostle has in mind the case of a wife who had been converted to Christianity whose husband still remained a heathen, or of a husband who had been thus converted and whose wife still remained a heathen. Incompatibility would, of course, naturally follow. If the uncon verted husband, for example, should deter mine to leave the Christian wife, she must not unnecessarily worry over that matter as long as she has done her best to maintain peace and to win him to Christ. The same would be true in case the heathen wife left the Christian husband. Verse sixteen is difficult of interpretation : “For how know- est thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O husband, whether thou shalt save thy wife? Some commentators take it as a reason for separation, thereby implying that it is folly for the Christian to remain with the heathen in the hope of converting such. Other commentators look upon this verse as a reason for no separation, implying the probability of the heathen wife or hus band being won by the conduct of the Christian wife or husband. Of course, we must remember the pecu liar conditions existing at that time in the church of Corinth, conditions which do not exist today; and our application of the teaching of this verse to the present time
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