1 Corinthians 7:3

Let the husband render unto the wife her due: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

One might ask, what do verses 3-6 have to do with the previous points? 'In verse. he has said that celibacy is honorable and advantageous, but, come what may, fornication must be avoided. The lawful channel for sexual satisfaction is the marriage. But what's the point of choosing marriage (in part) to avoid fornication if the partner's sexual needs are not being met?. (McGuiggan p. 93)

From looking at verses 5-6, it seems to be. fair deduction that some in Corinth were advocating and practicing "celibacy" in the marriage relationship.

'render unto the wife her due' -'to give what one owes or is under obligation to render.' (Lenski p. 275) 'The language of obligation, literally, "the payment of what is due.", implies that married couples are indebted to one another sexually.' (Fee p. 279)

'likewise also the wife unto the husband' -in the area of sexual relations, we find equally among the sexes in marriage. No double standard here.

Points to Note:

1. In. time when everyone likes to say or think, 'I don't owe you anything and you don't owe me anything'. Paul says that "indebtedness" exists in marriage. Both partners owe. debt to the other partner that they can never repay.

2. To marry someone, and then withhold sexual intimacy from them, is to deliberately deceive them, it's false advertizing, it's fraud and it's sin. Paul didn't believe in "sexless marriages". If you have no desire for sexual relations, then don't get married! Some may argue, "but. just want some companionship". Paul would tell us, "you can find companionship with good friends (he had many), but marriage is much more than companionship".

4. 'Failure to fulfill one's obligation in marriage might cause the partner to seek sexual gratification outside the martial relationship..in the event that this happens, the one who withheld sexual intercourse is not an innocent party!' [Note:. Willis p. 211]

5. Fee even speculates that this may have been the reason why some of the men at Corinth were or were being tempted to seek out the services of the temple prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:15-18).