Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches.
Parallel translations
- WEB Only, as the Lord has distributed to each man, as God has called each, so let him walk. So I command in all the assemblies.
- KJV But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
- NKJV But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.
- NASB Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this way let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches.
- NLT Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Each believer should keep living faithfully in the life-situation God assigned and called them in, rather than scrambling to change their circumstances. This guiding rule applies to all the churches.
Overview
Paul lays down a general principle for the chapter: conversion does not require an upheaval of one's external circumstances. The Lord sovereignly "distributes" and "calls" each person to a particular station, and faithful walking there is what matters. This frees believers to serve Christ wherever they are, and Paul notes he teaches the same rule everywhere, underscoring its consistency across the body of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Cor 4:17That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.
- Rom 12:3–8For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.
- 1 Cor 7:24Brothers, each one should remain in the situation he was in when God called him.
- 1 Cor 7:20–21Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called.
- 2 Cor 8:18Along with Titus we are sending the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in the gospel.
- 1 Cor 7:18Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised.
- 2 Cor 11:28Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
- 1 Cor 7:7I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
- Matt 19:12For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
- 1 Cor 14:33For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.
- 1 Pet 4:10–11As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
- 1 Cor 16:1Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 7:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.