1 Corinthians 7:34Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Having said something about the future, he returns again to the present. Spiritually, one woman cares for the things of her husband, while another cares for the things of God (1 Cor. 7:34). In worldly terms, he says, "I want you to be without care" (1 Cor. 7:32).

Yet he leaves even this to their will. Whoever points out what is worthy of choice and then again compels people toward it seems not to trust his own words. But Paul, by his very yielding, urges and inclines them all the more. "I say this," he says, "for your own profit, not to put a restraint upon you, but so that you may serve decorously and continually" (1 Cor. 7:35).

It is not enough to be holy in body. One must also be so in spirit, for true virginity consists in this, namely, in purity of soul. Experience shows that many, while pure and chaste in body, are defiled in soul.

Moreover, pay attention also to this: she is not a virgin who cares for the world. Therefore, when you see a woman presenting herself as a virgin while caring for worldly things, know that she differs not at all from a married woman.

Paul set definite marks for both, by which they may be recognized. These are not marriage and continence, but on the one side great and restless activity, and on the other a quiet attending to one's own affairs. Therefore she is not a virgin who burdens herself with many vain occupations.

The married woman continues to care how to please her husband. For this reason she gives special attention to her beauty, or, in order to be regarded as a good housekeeper, she shows herself frugal and careful.

This should not mean that a married woman ought not to be holy both in body and in spirit.

The holy Apostle, speaking about virginity to those who have chosen the virginal life, describes the ideal of this life as follows: "The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit." That is, she is to be pure in both soul and body.

By speaking thus, the Apostle commands that every sin be avoided, both open and hidden, whether carried out in deed or committed in thoughts. The aim of this struggle is to honor the soul with virginity, draw it near to God, and make it the bride of Christ.

For whoever wishes to become a friend of someone must, through imitation, take on the way of life of the one to whom he draws near. Therefore the soul that longs to become the bride of Christ must become like His beauty by means of the virtues.

Not every unmarried woman is also a virgin, but a virgin is certainly also unmarried. Either, for elegance of speech, he wished to express this in other words, "the unmarried woman and the virgin," or by these words he wished to define what unmarried means. Thus we would not count prostitutes as unmarried merely because they are not joined to anyone by the bond of marriage.

What, then, does the unmarried woman and the virgin care about? "The things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit." Even if there were nothing else, and if the virgin received no further reward, this one privilege would suffice for her: to think upon the things of the Lord.

For an unmarried woman, her virginity is a wall protecting her from the storms of this world. Strengthened by the enclosure of God's protection, she is not exposed to the blasts of the wind of this world.

Since, in heavenly hope, she is not bound by cares for husband and children, she thinks on the Lord. She guards her intention to dedicate herself to God, if in a pure body the spirit, casting away earthly things, strives toward heavenly things. For the spirit is what either sanctifies or defiles the body. What profit is there in having a pure body and a defiled soul, when the body is honored or condemned according to the worthiness of the soul?

In brief words the Apostle showed the difference between the cares of one who has chosen the yoke of marriage and one who has loved the unmarried life. It is not difficult for anyone who wishes to learn the labors and cares of those who live in the world. We have described them more fully in the discourses we wrote on virginity, in which we urged lovers of the good to acquire this wealth. Continuing his counsel, the divine Apostle added further: verse 35, "This I say for your own profit, not that I may put a snare upon you, but for what is proper and for undistracted attendance upon the Lord."

The Apostle clearly teaches what souls should be like when they have withdrawn from marriage, been freed from the bonds of this world, and desire to struggle in virginity. He says: "The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit."

The Apostle instructs this unmarried woman to be free from every transgression, both those carried out in deed and those committed in thought, that is, from open and hidden sins. For she has desired to become the bride of Christ and to be joined in marriage to the spotless and pure Heavenly King.

Secondly, the unmarried state surpasses the married state also in its very idea: pleasing God (1 Cor. 7:32-35). "The unmarried man cares for the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man cares for the things of the world, how to please his wife. There is the same difference between a married woman and a virgin," and so forth. "Of course, even the unmarried man may fail to care for the things of the Lord. But the married man, even if he wished to care for this, cannot do so as he would wish, because wife, children, and household hinder him. They require care and concern" (Bishop Theophan). The Apostle wants them to "serve the Lord decorously and continually, without distraction" (1 Cor. 7:35).

"The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit." These are truly God-inspired words. In a little he has presented the whole life of the virgin. He has shown the character of her desire, and the aim and end of virginity.

Thus he has shown the first work of the virgin: to care for the things of the Lord. He has shown, secondly, that care for the things of the Lord is the sought-for goal, namely, that the virgin become holy in both body and spirit.

From the purely religious side, for pleasing God, celibacy is more convenient because it frees a person from the many cares of family life. It gives him the possibility of concentrating more on his spiritual state and on constant service to God.

Therefore virginal service to God is more comely and more exalted, since "the features of likeness to God can be imprinted more quickly and fully on a virginal soul than on one that has known the sweetness of marriage." For this reason, as Venerable Theophan observes, "the married can never reach such a degree of spiritual perfection as the unmarried."

"There is a difference between the wife and the virgin," that is, the same difference exists between the married woman and the virgin. The latter cares only for how to please the Lord, keeping both body and soul in holiness. The former cares only for how to please her husband, together with other cares connected with this.

The Apostle distinguishes what is in the attention, the aim, and the heart of each. In one are the Lord and all that is the Lord's. In the other are the husband and other vanities. As far as heaven is from earth, and the Creator from the creature, so far is the soul's state in the first from that in the second.