"Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that."
In this quote, Paul had evidently been asked questions about how Christian men and women are to contain their sexual behavion. Paul advised that in order to avoid fornication men and women should commit themselves to the bonds of marriage. He went further to suggest that sexual consent was to be continually afforded by both partners in a marriage so as to control natural temptation.
Paul also made it clear that the rules, as laid out above, were not the explicit commandment of God but rather that he (Paul) had God's permission to make them.
Paul said further that he would personally prefer that all men were celibate as himself.~
No comments:
Post a Comment