1 Corinthians 7:29 – Married as being unmarried

Now this I am averring, brethren, the era is limited that, furthermore, those also having wives may be as not having them.

Now Paul arrives at his deeper motivation. Why does Paul encourage the unmarried state? He summarizes it here: “the era is limited”. Often represented as: the time is short. As discussed earlier (:26), he could refer to the return of the Lord, which Paul still took into account in the time of Acts. An argument that is becoming topical again in our days. Because in a few years we will pass the milestone of two millennia since Christ’s ascension. These are the “two days” about which Hosea 6:1-3 prophesied and of which Peter said “one day with the Lord as a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8).

Even if this term of “two days” is a rounded number, then the time is near, no matter how you look at it. We therefore have every reason not to dig the pins of our tents too deeply into the earth. This also applies to married people. Paul means: marriage is only temporary and your partner is not a permanent possession. That may sound condescending, but it is not. What he wants to say is: What is permanent has top priority!

Delen: