Marriage is God’s gift. Not marrying is also God’s gift. Living in a world filled with sexual immorality and sexual temptation is not a gift but, nonetheless, a reality. The Corinthian Christians may have believed that sexual abstinence in the marriage context was a good spiritual practice (1). In verses 2-6, Paul addresses this issue. A husband and wife should not deprive each other but fulfill their marital duties, except by mutual consent for a time to pray. Although Paul had a gift of sexual abstinence and did not marry, he recognized that God gives many gifts, including the gift of marriage. Are you thanking God and pleasing him with your gift?

Paul also encouraged the unmarried to marry, rather than burn with passion. And if someone was married, they ought not to separate from their spouse under the false belief that it was more spiritual. Finally, Paul addresses those in marriages where one spouse was a believer in Jesus and the other was not. The believing spouse should not seek a divorce, for the believer sanctifies the whole family. This is not sanctification in Jesus but the good influence of a believer who sets the rest of the family apart from the world. But if the unbelieving spouse leaves, then the believer should let it be. God calls us to live in peace.
Application: Father, thank you for your gifts of marriage and abstinence to the church. Help us to please you with whatever gift you have given.
One Word: You have a gift from God