1 Corinthians 7:6 - Exposition

I speak this. The "this" applies to his advice in general, but especially to the last verse. By permission. This phrase is generally misunderstood. It does not mean that St. Paul was permitted though not commanded to give this advice, but that his gentle advice was given "by way of permission" to Christians, not "by way of injunction." He means to say that he leaves the details of their lives, whether celibate or married, to their individual consciences, though with large hearted wisdom and charity he would emancipate them from human and unauthorized restrictions. The clause is not, therefore, a parallel to the restrictions on the authority of his utterances, such as we find in 1 Corinthians 7:12 , 1 Corinthians 7:29 , 1 Corinthians 7:40 , and in 2 Corinthians 8:10 ; 2 Corinthians 11:17 .