7:15 desires to separate: Paul's ruling on the separation of a believer and a nonbeliever. • Canon Law later developed this principle into the Pauline privilege, which means that a marriage between two nonbaptized persons can be dissolved when one of the spouses is subsequently baptized. The privilege requires that the unbaptized spouse either desires to separate or refuses to cohabit peaceably without insult to the faith of the baptized partner. Also, the baptized spouse must not have given the other party just cause to desire separation. In virtue of the Pauline privilege a subsequent marriage dissolves the first marriage "in favor of the faith" of the baptized person (see CIC 1143 § 1-2). Back to text.

7:17-24 Paul encourages Christians to be content with their state in life and set aside anxieties over unchangeable circumstances. To illustrate this for the married (7:1-16) and unmarried alike (7:25-35), he draws a lesson from different social situations: the circumcised and uncircumcised should not seek to change their condition (7:18), nor should slaves or freedmen think their position makes one more or less important to Christ (7:21-22). The state in which God calls them is the state in which they should serve him. Back to text.

7:18 remove the marks of circumcision: A procedure associated with apostasy (1 Mac 1:15). For Paul, this surgical option would be pointless, since circumcision is not a sign of Christian faith (1 Cor 7:19). Back to text.

7:19 neither circumcision . . . nor uncircumcision: The sign of circumcision no longer serves as an identity marker for God's people in the New Covenant as it did under the Old (Gal 5:6; 6:15). Along with the entire body of ritual and sacrificial legislation established through Moses, the rite of circumcision came to fulfillment in the messianic age, when God began to circumcise the hearts of the faithful through Baptism (Deut 30:6; Col 2:11-12). Unlike these ceremonial laws, which are now obsolete, the moral commandments given through Moses continue to guide the children of God to spiritual maturity (CCC 1968, 1972). Back to text.

7:21 a slave: Slavery was widespread and accepted in the Roman world. In many instances, slaves suffered maltreatment and hardship; in others, slaves were educated and charged with important administrative tasks. Paul encourages slaves to improve their situation whenever possible, implying that slavery as such is an offense against the dignity of the human person (CCC 2414). Back to text.

7:25 Now concerning the unmarried: Paul addresses other questions posed to him by the Corinthians. See note on 1 Cor 7:1. As in 7:12, he offers his own advice on the topic of marriage and is not presenting them with specific instructions from the teaching of Christ. Back to text.

7:26 impending distress: Or, "the present necessity". It is uncertain whether Paul has something general or specific in mind. (1) If general, Paul recommends celibacy because of the perennial troubles that face married couples. The ordinary pressures of daily life can make an undistracted commitment to Christ a constant struggle. (2) If specific, Paul endorses the single life in light of the hostile and pagan environment of Corinth. He knows that persecutions will multiply hardships for married couples who are concerned for the welfare of each other and their children. Back to text.

7:28 you do not sin: The clarification made here and at 7:36 is aimed at certain Corinthians who either discouraged or denounced marriage. Paul does not want his preference for celibacy to be misunderstood as a rejection of lawful matrimony. See notes on 1 Cor 7:1 and 7:7. Back to text.

7:31 this world is passing away: Both marriage and its daily concerns will expire when the present age comes to an end (Lk 20:34-36). This puts marital struggles and worldly affairs in perspective, since only one's relationship with the Lord endures forever (CCC 1619). Back to text.

7:36-38 Paul counsels men engaged to be married and presents them with two options: a man does "well" to marry his fiancée, but he does even "better" if he remains unmarried (7:38). The decision depends on whether he is disciplined enough to control his passions. Back to text.

7:39 as long as he lives: The marriage bond endures as long as both spouses are living. When one of them dies, the union is dissolved (Rom 7:2-3) and the surviving partner is then allowed to remarry (1 Tim 5:14). See note on 1 Cor 7:10. Back to text.

8:1-11:1 Paul addresses the question of whether Christians are permitted to eat idol food. This was a significant moral challenge for many early believers living in the Roman world, since various foods offered to idols were afterward eaten in pagan temples (8:10) or sold in the marketplace and eaten at home (10:25-29). Paul insists that the Corinthians must never eat idol food if the danger of idolatry or scandal is in any way present (10:14, 27-29). See essay: Paul, Idol Food, and the Jerusalem Council at 1 Cor 8-9. Back to text.

8:1 all of us possess knowledge: A Corinthian motto. Paul qualifies it by stressing that Christian knowledge is not merely factual or intellectual; it is grounded, rather, on a relational bond of love between the Lord and his people (8:3; Gal 4:9). Back to text.

8:4 an idol has no real existence: Another Corinthian motto. It is true in a comparative sense that idols are nothing compared to Yahweh (Is 44:6-11), but it is false in an ontological sense, because Paul insists that demonic forces masquerade behind what appear to be lifeless idol images (1 Cor 10:14-22). Back to text.

8:6 one God . . . one Lord: Paul distinguishes the Christian faith from paganism, which venerated many gods, and from Judaism, which declined to accept the messianic Lordship of Jesus. • Paul alludes to the monotheistic creed of Deut 6:4, but he applies its two divine titles to two distinct Persons. "God" is linked with the Father, the divine Source from whom all creation originates, and "Lord" is linked with Christ, the divine Mediator through whom all things were made. This is one of the clearest Pauline passages to assert both the deity and divine activity of Jesus Christ (Col 1:15-17). Back to text.

8:7-13 The idol food controversy involves two groups of people: the "weak", whose conscience is fragile because of their recent conversion from idolatry (8:7), and "the strong", whose conscience is better informed about idols but whose conduct endangers the weak (8:4, 11). In terms of knowledge, the weak appear to think that idols are associated with real divinities, whereas the strong possess the mature knowledge that there is only one God and Lord (8:6). Paul urges the strong to temper their knowledge and freedom (to eat idol food) with love, which does not assert itself in spite of others but looks out for the good of others (13:5). The strong are warned that eating idol food can destroy a weaker brother by drawing him back into sins of idolatry (8:12-13). Back to text.

8:8 no worse off . . . no better off: Paul is ambivalent toward idol food to the extent that nothing about the food itself is inherently dangerous (10:25). He cautions, however, that although eating idol food is harmless in principle, it can be harmful in practice, because it can lead both the weak (chap. 8) and the strong (chap. 10) into the grip of idolatry (10:14). Back to text.

8:10 might he not be encouraged: Literally, "might he not be built up". Presumably some in Corinth ate in public temples because they hoped to build up weaker Christians by demonstrating that idol food was harmless. Paul rebukes them with sarcasm: eating idol food will not build up the weak to spiritual maturity; it will build them up to violate their conscience and fall into sin (8:13). Only love and consideration for the weak will truly build them up in Christ (8:1; 10:23; CCC 1789). Back to text.

8:13 I will never eat meat: The exercise of Christian love is more important than the exercise of Christian liberty. To assert our freedoms in a way that puts others in danger is to sin against charity (10:24; Rom 14:15). Back to text.

9:1-27 Paul portrays himself as a model for imitation (4:16; 11:1). Just as he waives certain apostolic rights to promote the gospel (9:4-6, 12, 18), so the strong in Corinth are challenged to relinquish certain liberties like the right to eat idol food in order to build up their weaker brethren (9:22). The issue of idol food remains uppermost in Paul's mind here, as suggested by several examples that illustrate the right to eat (9:4, 7, 10, 13). Back to text.

9:1 Am I not an apostle?: A rhetorical question to remind readers of Paul's authority. His credentials are the same as every legitimate apostle, that is, he has seen and been commissioned by the risen Jesus (15:8; Acts 9:3-6; CCC 659, 857). Back to text.

9:5 accompanied by a wife: This statement has been understood in different ways. (1) Paul may be stressing his right to be married to a Christian wife. His right to have and travel with a wife would then have included the right to receive living expenses for both spouses from the missionary churches that hosted them. Paul surrendered these privileges by living a celibate life (7:8) and by working as a tentmaker to support himself, instead of relying on material assistance from the Corinthians (9:6; Acts 18:1-3). (2) According to a prominent tradition among the Church Fathers, Paul speaks, not of marriage, but of his right to be helped by a traveling female assistant (the word translated "wife" can also be translated "woman"). Precedent for such an arrangement can be traced back to the ministry of Jesus (Lk 8:1-3). See note on 1 Cor 7:7. • The discipline of clerical celibacy was highly revered in the early Church and was required by the eleventh century for all men ordained in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The celibacy requirement continues in the Latin Rite for deacons, priests, and bishops, although married men may be ordained to the permanent diaconate. The Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church continue to ordain married men to the priesthood and the diaconate (CCC 1579-80). Vatican II reaffirmed the validity of both traditions in 1965 (Presbyterorum Ordinis 16). the other apostles: Other leaders in the early Church traveled either with their spouses or with a female assistant, including Jesus' kinsmen (brethren, Gal 1:19) and Peter (Cephas, Mk 1:30). See note on Mt 12:46. Back to text.

9:6 Barnabas: One of Paul's earliest associates (Acts 4:36; 13:2). working for a living: Paul often refused financial assistance from missionary churches even though he was entitled to it. He instead supported himself to avoid laying any burden or price on them for his apostolic work (9:18; 1 Thess 2:9). Back to text.

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