1 Corinthians 7:17

Whether he or she is unmarried or married, married to a believer or to an unbeliever, the Christian should regard his or her condition as what God has placed him or her in for the time being. The concept of "call" is a way of describing Christian conversion (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 1:9). He or she should concentrate on serving the Lord in that condition rather than spending most of one’s time and energy on trying to change it. Paul taught the priority of serving Christ, over trying to change one’s circumstances, in all the churches.

"Paul’s intent is not to lay down a rule that one may not change; rather, by thus hallowing one’s situation in life, he is trying to help the Corinthians see that their social status is ultimately irrelevant as such (i.e., they can live out their Christian life in any of the various options) and therefore their desire to change is equally irrelevant-because it has nothing to do with genuine spirituality as their slogan would infer (1 Corinthians 7:1 b)." [Note: Ibid., p. 311. Cf. Robertson and Plummer, p. 144.]

This is the second of four instances where Paul appealed to what was customary in all the churches (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 11:16; 1 Corinthians 14:33). He never did this in any of his other letters. He was reminding this church that its theology was off track, not his.