Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 7:5

"Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency." — 1 Corinthians 7:5 (ASV)

The present tense of the verb “deprive” (GK 691) in the prohibition in v.5 indicates that some at Corinth were practicing a kind of celibacy within marriage. This sentence may be translated, “Stop depriving one another.” Through the word “time” (GK 2789), the apostle impresses on Christians that a time limitation should apply for marriage partners to agree to be parted from one another.

In Paul’s comment that “this” comes not by direct command (i.e., from the Lord) but by permission or concession, it is not clear what the “this” refers to. Perhaps it is best to understand it as referring to v.2, indicating that though marriage is desirable and is according to God’s creation plan, it is not mandatory. That this is Paul’s meaning is evident from v.7, where he says he really wishes everyone was single like him. However, he recognizes that God gives each one his or her own gracious “gift” (charisma; GK 5922). Some are given the desire or the inclination to be married, and some have the power to refrain from marriage.