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Summary
- Paul, who was unmarried, wished others were as he was but wrote that “each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another” (1 Corinthians 7:7).
- The Greek word for that gift, charisma, is the one Paul uses for the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4).
- Jesus said a life without marriage can be received only by “those to whom it is given,” and spoke of some who remain unmarried “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:11–12).
- Scripture does not say that every single person has the gift; Paul told those who “cannot exercise self-control” to marry, and said marrying is no sin (1 Corinthians 7:9, 28, 36).
- Lutherans (Augsburg Confession, Article 23) held that not everyone is fit for single life, while the Council of Trent taught that God gives it to those who ask rightly; Catholic canon law calls clerical celibacy “a special gift of God” (canon 277).
- Jeremiah, Anna the prophetess, Philip’s four daughters and Paul himself served God unmarried.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (1 Corinthians 7:1–9, 28, 32–39; 9:5; 12:4; Matthew 19:10–12; Luke 2:36–37; 20:35; Mark 10:29–30; Genesis 2:18; Jeremiah 16:2–4; Isaiah 56:4–5; Acts 21:9; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Timothy 4:3; Psalm 68:6; Philippians 4:11–12). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+7&version=ESV
- Greek text of 1 Corinthians 7:7 and 12:4, and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, entry 5486, charisma. https://biblehub.com/greek/5486.htm
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1618–1620 and 1658. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
- Code of Canon Law (1983), canon 277. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann208-329_en.html
- Council of Trent, twenty-fourth session (11 November 1563), canons on the sacrament of matrimony, canon 9, trans. J. Waterworth. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fourth-session.htm
- Augsburg Confession (1530), Article 23, “Of the Marriage of Priests.” https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-marriage-of-priests/
- Orthodox Church in America, “What are the clerical offices in the Orthodox Church?” Questions and Answers. https://www.oca.org/questions/priesthoodmonasticism/what-are-the-clerical-offices-in-the-orthodox-church-…and-their-significa
