1 Corinthians 7:1,2 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me The letter of the Corinthian believers to which the apostle alludes here, and in which it appears they put divers questions to him, hath long been lost; a circumstance to be much regretted; for had it been preserved, it would doubtless have illustrated many passages of the two epistles to the Corinthians, which are now obscure because we are ignorant of the matters to which the apostle alludes in these passages. It is good for a man Who is master of himself, and has his passions and appetites under due control; not to touch a woman That is, not to marry; so great and many are the advantages of a single life, especially in the present calamitous state of the church. Nevertheless Since the God of nature has, for certain wise reasons, implanted in the sexes a mutual inclination to each other; to avoid That is, in order to prevent; fornication And every other species of uncleanness and pollution; let every man Who finds it expedient in order to his living chastely; have his own wife His own, for Christianity allows no polygamy; and every woman her own husband “Here the apostle speaks in the imperative mood, using the style in which superiors give their commands; but although he recommends a single life in certain circumstances, this and the injunction (1Co 7:5) given to all who cannot live chastely unmarried, is a direct prohibition of celibacy to the bulk of mankind. Further, as no person in early life can foresee what his future state of mind will be, or what temptations he may meet with, he cannot certainly know whether it will be in his power to live chastely unmarried. Wherefore, as that is the only case in which the apostle allows persons to live unmarried, vows of celibacy and virginity, taken in early life, must in both sexes be sinful.” Macknight.