Let’s read those verses from the New King James Version: “A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirt of God.” Before we break these verses down, it is vital to see that the apostle Paul is “giving spiritual counsel to WIDOWS.” He had already given them his advice in verses 8-9 which reads, “But I say to the unmarried and to the WIDOWS: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” In those verses he is encouraging them to REMAIN SINGLE “unless they have passionate sexual desires that can’t be controlled.” These desires would especially be understandable if a widow is in view, for after having had sexual intimacy with their husband during their marriage, there could still be a burning desire for physical intimacy that can’t be controlled. But Paul ends the chapter with additional advice to the widows, which we will now consider.

“A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” Paul is reminding Christian widows that God’s desire has always been for a marriage to last UNTIL the death of one’s spouse; in other words, MARRIAGE IS FOR LIFE. Matthew 19:5-6, 9 make this perfectly clear, for Jesus said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate…. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Paul is also informing widows that once her husband dies, she is free to remarry, which goes along with his teaching to the saints at Rome in Romans 7:2-3, “For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, SHE IS RELEASED FROM THE LAW OF HER HUSBAND. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, SHE IS FREE FROM THAT LAW, so that she is not adulteress, though she married another man.” This “freedom to marry again” has one condition, she can marry “whom she wishes, only IN THE LORD.” This means she must marry “another BELIEVER” (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-15) and that believer must be THE ONE the Lord has willed for her to marry, which would include him being a “godly man who is submitting to the LORDSHIP of Christ.”

But then Paul adds one more piece of godly advice, “But she is happier if she remains as she is,” which means to “remain single.” We already saw this same counsel in verse 8 where Paul said, “It is good to remain even as I am.” Paul was a “single man” and you can read in verses 25-35 his reasons for encouraging one to remain single. His main reasons are given in verses 29-35. Here are some excerpts from that passage: “The time is short…For the form of this world is passing away. But I WANT YOU TO BE  WITHOUT CARE. HE WHO IS UNMARRIED CARES FOR THE THINGS OF THE LORD—how he may please the Lord. But he who is MARRIED CARES FOR THE THINGS OF THE WORLD—how he may please his wife…But SHE WHO IS MARRIED CARES ABOUT THE THINGS OF THE WORLD—HOW SHE MAY PLEASE HER HUSBAND. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and THAT YOU MAY SERVE THE LORD WITHOUT DISTRACTION.”  (DO)  (686.3)