Category: Devotions

The Apostle Paul observed that in the situation where a wife leaves her husband, she should remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband.

The Apostle Paul encouraged the heart of wives who may be contemplating leaving their husband, breaking the marriage covenant, to honour their vows before God. God will bless them in being faithful to the vow they have made.

For the Apostle Paul, God has given him the gift of singlehood whereby his focus was the ministry God entrusted to him as an apostle to the Gentiles. He explained that not everyone is called to the same state of celibacy. He addressed the unmarried and widows that if God gives them the strength to remain single, they may continue as they are.

There are times in a marriage when husband and wife give themselves to fasting and prayer. During those times, they would abstain from their marital rights, refrain from any physical intimacy by mutual consent. But such times are observed only temporarily.

William MacDonald observed well, “In marital union there is a dependence of the wife upon the husband and vice versa. In order to carry out God’s order in this holy union, both husband and wife must recognize their interdependence.”

Marriage with its comfort and satisfaction is God’s prescribed wisdom for preventing fornication. The word “fornication” describes all sorts of lawless lusts. And thus, in the marriage, both husband and wife has given the power over their own body to their better half. Any relationship outside the marriage covenant is a violation of the partner’s rights. [Matthew Henry]

Marriage is a blessed union of mutual dependence between the husband and the wife. With each carrying out their part of the commitment to support, encourage and bless one another in a lifetime of cleaving, comforting and strengthening. “Due benevolence” means demonstrating “kindness, conjugal duty, good will, consideration, thoughtfulness, unselfishness, compassion, kind-heartedness”. Let each fulfil their martial duty! [Hendricksen]

The Apostle Paul highlights the temptation to fall into the the sin of sexual immorality for believers who are single is very real. And he administers the remedy that one finds a spouse in marriage to avoid fornication. Of course, it is not the case that all single believers will face this problem. He tells us that it can happen.

The Apostle Paul speaks of those who remain single and are not married. They are not to be despised for remaining single, for not having any sexual relationship with woman. He says it is good. But it must not be construed as a more desirable spiritual state for a person. And the single man or the single woman should not be pressurised to get married.

The believer is urged to possess his body in holiness. This is his reasonable service. Our Lord paid the price to purchase his salvation, cleansing him for all his sins. The nail pierced hands are testimony of the suffering that the Lord endured. More than that is the weight of human sins that was upon Him when He bore it alone on the cross rescuing the believer from the judgment of hell fire.