1 Corinthians 7:35

And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. FOR YOUR OWN PROFIT - not to display my apostolic authority. NOT ... CAST A SNARE UPON YOU - upon your conscience. Not that, by hard injunctions, I may entangle you with scruples, where there is no sin. COMELY - becoming under present circumstances. ATTEND UPON, [ euparedron (G2137b)] - literally, 'assiduously wait on:' sitting down to the duty (cf. Luke 10:39, Mary; Luke 2:37, Anna; 1 Timothy 5:5)....

35._And this for your benefit. _Observe the Apostle’s moderation. (436) Though he knew the vexations, troubles, and difficulties of the married life, and, on the other hand, the advantages of celibacy, yet he does not venture to prescribe. On the contrary, having commended celibacy, and being afraid that some of his readers might be led away by such commendations, and might straightway say within themselves what the Apostles said in reply to Christ — _It is good_, _therefore_, _so to be_, (Matthew 19:10) (437) — not in the meantime taking into view their ability, he here declares in express terms, that he points out, indeed, what is most advantageous, but does not wish to impose a necessity upon any one. And here you have two things worthy of observation. The _first _is, for what purpose c

25-35 Considering the distress of those times, the unmarried state was best. Notwithstanding, the apostle does not condemn marriage. How opposite are those to the apostle Paul who forbid many to marry, and entangle them with vows to remain single, whether they ought to do so or not! He exhorts all Christians to holy indifference toward the world. As to relations; they must not set their hearts on the comforts of the state. As to afflictions; they must not indulge the sorrow of the world: even in sorrow the heart may be joyful. As to worldly enjoyments; here is not their rest. As to worldly employment; those that prosper in trade, and increase in wealth, should hold their possessions as though they held them not. As to all worldly concerns; they must keep the world out of their hearts, that they may not abuse it when they have it in their hands. All worldly things are show; nothing solid...

Verse 35. _THIS I SPEAK FOR YOUR OWN PROFIT_] The advices belong to yourselves _alone_, because of the peculiar circumstances in which you are placed. Nothing spoken here was ever designed to be of _general_ application; it concerned the Church at Corinth alone, or Churches in similar circumstances. _NOT THAT I MAY CAST A SNARE UPON YOU_] Ουχ ἱνα βροχον ὑμιν επιβαλω - Here is a manifest allusion to the _Retiarius_ among the _Romans_, who carried a small _casting net_, which he endeavoured to throw over the head of his adversary and thus entangle him. Or to a similar custom among the _Persians_, who made use of a noose called the [Arabic] _camand_; which they employed in the same way. One of these lies before me; it is a strong silken cord, one end of which is a loop to be held in the hand, and the rest is in the form of a _common snare_ or _noose_, which, catching hold of any thing,...

FOR YOUR OWN PROFIT - That you may avail yourselves of all your advantages and privileges, and pursue such a course as shall tend most to advance your personal piety and salvation. NOT THAT I MAY CAST A SNARE UPON YOU - The word rendered “snare” (βρόχον brochon) means a cord, a rope, a bond; and the sense is, that Paul would not BinD them by any rule which God had not made; or that he would not restrain them from that which is lawful, and which the welfare of society usually requires. Paul means, that his object in his advice was their welfare; it was not by any means to bind, fetter, or restrain them from any course which would be for their real happiness, but to promote their real and permanent advantage. The idea which is here presented by the word “snare,” is usually conveyed by the use of the word “yoke”...

EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1 _Answers to the inquiries of the Corinthians respecting marriage._ 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1 _The_ _lawfulness of marriage, and its duties._ 1 CORINTHIANS 7:1 NOW CONCERNING. This refers to questions of the Corinthians. It is GOOD FOR A MAN NOT TO TOUCH A WOMAN. The word used is not _agathon, _good, but _kalon, _fair; "an excellent thing." In 1 Corinthians 7:26 he limits the word by the clause, "good for the p

AND THIS I SPEAK FOR YOUR OWN PROFIT,.... The apostle suggests, that in giving the advice he did to unmarried persons to abide single, he had nothing else in view than their temporal and spiritual advantage; that they might be better able to meet and grapple with persecution for the sake of the Gospel; that they might be more free from the cares and encumbrances of life, and more at liberty to serve the Lord; whereby not only his glory, but their spiritual good, might be promoted; not that he thought that marriage was unlawful, or that the single life was a more honest, and a more chaste way of living, or that it was absolutely necessary, and an incumbent duty upon them to remain single, nor would he be so understood: all that he had said was by way of advice; he had very faithfully laid before them the advantages and disadvantages of both states, and now leaves them to their full libert...

4. CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP OF MAN AND WOMAN CHAPTER 7 _ 1. The Single and the Married Life. (1 Corinthians 7:1)._ 2. Separation and Divorce. (1 Corinthians 7:10). 3. Abiding in the Different Callings. (1 Corinthians 7:17). 4. The Unmarried and Married in Contrast. (1 Corinthians 7:25). It is evident from the first verse that the Corinthians had inquired of the Apostle about marriage and the relationship of man and woman. It was an important question in a city of the character of Corinth, so full of immorality. This chapter answers their questi

Paul now passes to the case of virgins, on which the church had invited his judgment. The section is one of peculiar difficulty. It is generally thought that Paul is dealing with the relations of a father (or guardian) to the marriage of his daughter (or ward). The decision whether the maiden should be married, and if so to whom, rested with the father. In that case his general principle holds good that in view of the impending distress it is better for no new ties to be created. But if any father (or guardian) thinks that he is acting _in_ an _unseemly_ way towards his daughter (or ward), she being of an age to marry and her nature imperiously demanding it, he is at liberty to carry out his desire, he does not sin in doing so, let the maiden and her suitor marry. But if there be no such compulsion in the case, and he has made up his mind not to give her in marriage, his decision is to b...

COMPLETE ASCETICISM (1 Corinthians 7:1-2)...