John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 7:29

"But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none;" — 1 Corinthians 7:29 (ASV)

Because the time is short, etc. Again he speaks about the holy use of marriage, for the purpose of repressing the licentiousness of those who, when they have married, think of nothing but the delights of the flesh. They have no remembrance of God. Therefore, he exhorts believers not to give way to unbridled desire in such a way that marriage has the effect of plunging them into the world.

Marriage is a remedy for incontinence. It truly has this effect if it is used with moderation. He therefore exhorts married persons to live together chastely in the fear of the Lord. This will be achieved if they use marriage like other aids in this earthly life, having their hearts directed upward to meditation on the heavenly life.

Now, he draws his argument from the shortness of human life: “This life,” he says, “which we are now spending is frail and of short duration. Let us not therefore be held entangled by it. Let those accordingly who have wives, be as though they had none.” Everyone, it is true, pays lip service to this philosophy, but few have it truly and earnestly impressed upon their minds. In my first translation, I had followed a manuscript which, as I later discovered, was not supported by any of the many other manuscripts. I have therefore considered it proper to insert the particle because to make the meaning more apparent, and also in accordance with the reading in some ancient copies. For since, in those cases where we are deliberating about anything, we look to the future rather than to the past, he admonishes us about the shortness of the time that is to come.

As though they had none. All things that are connected with the enjoyment of the present life are sacred gifts of God, but we pollute them when we abuse them. If the reason is asked, we will find it to be this: we always dream of continuance in the world, for it is due to this that those things which ought to be aids in passing through it become hindrances that hold us fast.

Therefore, it is not without good reason that the Apostle, to arouse us from this stupidity, calls us to consider the shortness of this life, and infers from this that we ought to use all the things of this world as if we did not use them. For the man who considers that he is a stranger in the world uses the things of this world as if they were another person’s—that is, as things that are lent to us for a single day. The main point is this: the mind of a Christian should not be preoccupied with earthly things or find its rest in them, for we should live as if we were about to depart from this life at any moment.

By weeping and rejoicing, he means adversity and prosperity, for it is customary to denote causes by their effects. The Apostle, however, does not here command Christians to part with their possessions, but simply requires that their minds not be engrossed by their possessions.