Marriage in St.

Pauls
Teachings

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
St. Paul left extensive writing on matters of
sex and marriage but to understand them is
not easy.
His ideas contradictory and seems unable to
distinguish marriage from single life.
He compared marriage to the relationship
between Christ and Church but he also
mentioned about chastity.
In another writings he mentioned marriage as
a gift of vocation from God; and at the same
time recommended it as a lesser evil for
those who cannot be celibate in their life.
The thing is they are all valid.

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
About marriage and sexuality :
It is good for man not to touch a woman
(celibacy)
Since sex is always a danger, let each man
have his own wife and each woman her own
husband (marriage vs. pre-marital / adultery)
do not refuse each other except by mutual
consent (agreement to procreate),
then only for an agreed time (continence)
leave yourselves free for prayer (chastity)
then come together again in case Satan take
advantage of your weakness (extra-marital /
adultery / concubinage)

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
About marriage and sexuality :
Pauls ambivalence was a reaction to
opposite extremes existing in Greek society
Sexual promiscuity vs. Asceticism (reject sex:
marriage)
He counteracted to promiscuity by praising
continence and the second by emphasizing the
value of sexual act in marriage and dignity in
marriage.

Preference for single life is understood in the

perspective of the eschatological reality
He expected the world to end soon
Reason he did not mention the importance of
children

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
Pauls ideas remain even if the end of the world did not
happen.
One of these is the pronouncement on:
The value of sexual act in marriage right of
husband and wife
the husband should give his wife her conjugal
rights and the wife gives her husband his
as marital debt
Stressing further the value of the act Paul
upholds that indulgence can be made if there
was common consent
The value of sexual act is the unique moment
between husband and wife to belong to one
another in a mutual dependence (1Cor.7:4)

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
Highly theological in the context of
marriage is found Ephesians 5:21-25, 2832.
Why this ruling to submit? Paul explains
as Christ is the head of the Church, and
since marriage symbolizes the ChristChurch relationship, it follows that the
husband is the head of the wife.

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
The key points to understanding:
Submission
Leadership
To submit to husband + as they regard
the Lord
The kind of submission expected of
them
Not automatic, not thoughtless but
Submission in love that reflects the
love He pours on us.

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
Women/wives should not be bothered by this
order
Christs headship, leadership is not
Authoritarian
He loved us and gave his life for us
He came to serve not to be served
His leadership of loving and in loving
service which is what expected husbands
to give their wives.
In taking these injunctions:
it can be concluded that the heavier
obligations go to the husbands not the wife
to her husband.

Marriage in St. Pauls

Teachings
St. Pauls ways of teaching have shown some
evidences that He still affirmed the hierarchical
man-woman relationship of his time.
But he brought new perspective by giving it the
Christological explanation
Which is to focus attention on the link between
Christ and the Church,
How this kind of link be the model for the husband
and wife relationship
Paul strengthens further, the unitive (love-element)
of marital relationship that was envisioned and
expressed by the authors of Genesis and
confirmed by Christ.

End of Lesson