1 Corinthians 7:35Meaning & 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).

"I say this for your own profit, not to put a restraint upon you." I have spoken, he says, about virginity, knowing that this state is useful for you, since it is free from grief and cares and provides the soul with greater benefits. I did not speak of it in order to force you, against your will, to remain in virginity, for he called compulsion a restraint.

"But so that you may serve the Lord decorously and continually, without distraction." This is so, he says, that you may live becomingly and in purity. For what can be more becoming and pure than virginity? And it is also so that, being free from the difficulties of marriage, you may serve the Lord without distraction and always stand before Him, casting all your cares upon Him (1 Pet. 5:7).

So that no one might think that he imposes the very heavy burden of chastity against their will, he immediately adds the reasons for his exhortation and says: "I say this for your own profit, not to put a restraint upon you. But to move you toward what is honorable and enables you to serve the Lord with diligence, without any distraction." In this verse, as in the preceding ones, Jerome's translation differs from the Slavonic.

The Latin language does not express the nuances of the Greek words. For with what words could one translate πρὸς τὸ εὔσχημον καὶ εὐπρόσεδρον τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀπερισπάστως? Therefore, because of the difficulty of translation, these words are almost absent from the Latin codices.

Thus it is evident that what is honorable is useful, and what is useful is honorable. The useful is just, and the just is useful. I address my word to my children, not to greedy merchants seized by thirst for profit. The discussion concerns those duties which I wish to impress as firmly as possible upon you, whom I have chosen for the service of the Lord. By constant practice in them, may they be sealed in your minds and conduct, and be revealed in your words and instructions.

Since what is more useful and better from the standpoint of practice and habit formed over time may seem harsh and burdensome to someone, the apostle, at the close of his thought, gently and warmly urges the Corinthians to receive what has been said as a useful and virtuous word.

I do not, he says, draw you to this wealth by necessity, as though putting a "snare" upon you and forcibly catching you. Rather, I show the benefit that flows from it. For we cannot remain constantly in the service of God in any other way than by escaping the bonds of life.

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).

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."

"I do not draw you to this wealth by necessity," he says, "as though casting a snare upon you and catching you by force. I show the benefit that flows from it. For it is impossible for us to remain constantly in the service of God except by escaping the bonds of life" (Theodoret).

He has already said more than once that he gives not a commandment, but counsel. Yet by repeating this so often, he lets it be understood how desirable it would be that his counsel be fulfilled voluntarily by as many as possible. This is evident from the reason for which he introduces virginity. He says it is for comeliness and for undistracted attendance upon the Lord.