1 Cor. 7:32. But I want you to be without cares.
And in what way could we be without cares? If we were to remain unmarried. Therefore he adds the following.
1 Cor. 7:32-33. The unmarried man cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man cares about the things of the world, how to please his wife.
How is it, Paul, that while desiring us to be free from care and for this reason commending celibacy to us, you again say: "the unmarried man cares for the things of the Lord"? For behold, here too there are cares. But not such cares, he says, as are joined with marriage: cares for the things of the Lord are salvific and sweet, whereas cares for the things of the world are harmful and burdensome. Indeed, is it not a burden and a grief to strive to please a wife, and especially one who loves adornment and demands gold and pearls and other vain things? This is what disposes wretched husbands to injustice and soul-harming management of affairs.
1 Cor. 7:33. There is a difference between a married woman and a virgin.
That is, they differ among themselves, and do not have one and the same concern, but are divided in their cares: one is concerned with such matters, and the other with others. Since their concerns are different, one must choose those among them which are better and easier.
1 Cor. 7:34. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but the married woman cares about the things of the world, how to please her husband.
It is not enough to be holy in body; one must also be holy in spirit, for in this—that is, in purity of soul—true virginity consists. In practice, many who are pure and blameless in body are defiled in soul. Beyond this, note also that she who is concerned with worldly things is no virgin. Therefore, when you see a woman who presents herself as a virgin yet is occupied with worldly matters, know that she differs in no way from a married woman. Paul established definite marks for both by which they may be recognized—not marriage and continence, but on the one hand, great and anxious activity, and on the other, quiet attention to one's own affairs. Consequently, she is no virgin who burdens herself with a multitude of vain occupations. And the married woman continues to care about how to please her husband, and therefore devotes special attention to her appearance, or, so that she may be regarded as a good housewife, shows herself to be thrifty and frugal.
1 Cor. 7:35. I say this for your own benefit, not to place a restraint upon you.
I spoke, he says, about virginity, knowing that this state is beneficial for you, since it is free from sorrow and cares, and provides more advantages to the soul; I did not speak about this in order to compel you against your will to remain in virginity (for by "bonds" he meant compulsion).
1 Cor. 7:35. But that you may serve the Lord with propriety and constant devotion without distraction.
For this reason, he says, so that you may live becomingly and in purity; for what can be more becoming and purer than virginity? And also so that you, being free from the unpleasantries of marriage, may serve the Lord without distraction and stand before Him always, casting all your cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7).
1 Cor. 7:36. But if anyone considers it improper for his virgin that she, being of mature age, should remain so, let him do as he wishes: he does not sin.
If anyone, he says, being truly weak in soul, considers it dishonorable to leave his daughter a virgin, especially if she has passed the mature age, then let it be so, he says. How so? "Let him do as he wishes," that is, if he wants to give her in marriage, let him give her, for he will not sin. However, it is better to keep the virgin, as he says further.
1 Cor. 7:36-38. Let such ones marry. But whoever stands firm in his heart, not being constrained by necessity, but having authority over his own will, and has resolved in his heart to keep his virgin, does well. Therefore he who gives his virgin in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
Notice how he first marvels at the one who keeps his virgin: he calls him firm and steadfast and one who acts with deliberation; for he says, "standing firm in his heart." So then, the one who gives his virgin in marriage is not firm. By the words "having no necessity" he shows that the father has the authority to give his daughter a husband, and no one can compel him not to give her in marriage. So it is to his honor if he keeps his daughter unmarried; therefore the apostle also praises him, for "he does well," he says. But the one who gives his daughter in marriage also "does well"; for giving in marriage is not a sin, and everything that is not a sin is good. But it is far better not to give in marriage, for this is perfection in what is good.
1 Cor. 7:39-40. A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is free to marry whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But she is more blessed if she remains as she is, according to my counsel; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
Here he teaches about second marriage, and although he permits it, nevertheless he considers more blessed the one who does not enter into a second marriage; for as virginity is higher than the first marriage, so the first marriage is higher than the second. "The wife is bound by the law," that is, she is restrained by the precaution of the law from adultery, from being an adulteress through union with another while the husband is alive, but if the husband dies, she becomes free from the bonds and law of the first marriage and receives permission. "Only in the Lord," that is, only with chastity, with honor may she enter into a second marriage, for bearing and raising children, and not from the impulse of lust. "According to my counsel" he adds, so that you would not regard this as a commandment, but only as counsel, Divine counsel. "I think," he says, "that I also have the Spirit of God." In these words there is more humility; for he did not say: I have, but: "I think" that "I have," that is, I suppose, I surmise.