1 Corinthians 7:26 Commentary and Bible Study

He is going right back to chapter 7:1. ‘Now, concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to be married.’ It is a noble state. Then he goes on to say in verse 7, ‘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’ (1 Corinthians 7:7). So the apostle is saying that it is a good and noble thing to remain unmarried, if God has given you that gift. He had given it to the apostle Paul, for he has called to go through hard circumstances and given special strength; that was a very noble thing, and a believer may serve the Lord wonderfully in that condition. But what does he mean by the present distress? Perhaps he means the high level of persecution that existed at that time. ‘So be careful’ – perhaps that is what he is saying – ‘Be careful not to rush into marriage and family life. It is particularly hard at the moment.’ You could almost apply that to the present. Be careful. Bringing up a family today is going to cost even more in terms of protecting the mental programming of children and young people from the moral assaults of this last age world. But many of the old commentators, led by Calvin in this, think ‘the present distress’ does not apply to any particular phase of persecution or moral difficulty which would discourage Christian marriage; but he thinks that ‘present’ stands for the whole of the gospel age. This present dispensation of time is the last dispensation of time on earth, and it is much nearer to the coming of the Lord, and none of us has much time as an individual. So bear that in mind: that it is good that there are people who are called to be unmarried and wholly devoted to the service of God with less to worry and divert their attention. ‘I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress’, either the hard situation of those times, or the demands of marriage and family throughout this gospel age.