1 Corinthians 7:25

The "virgins" (Gr. parthenoi) were a group within the "unmarried" (agamoi) of 1 Corinthians 7:8. Paul used the feminine gender in five out of the six uses of this noun in 1 Corinthians 7:25-38. Consequently it seems clear that he was speaking of female virgins in particular.

There are three major views about the identity of these virgins. One view is that they were the virgin daughters of men in the Corinthian church and that these fathers had questions about giving their daughters in marriage. A second view is that the virgins were both men and women who were living together in a "spiritual marriage" (i.e., without sexual relations). A third view is that the virgins were females who were engaged, or thinking of becoming engaged, but were experiencing pressure from the "spiritual" in the church to forgo marriage. I believe the text supports the third view best.

The Lord Jesus had not addressed this problem during His earthly ministry as far as Paul knew (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:12). Paul gave his inspired opinion as a trustworthy (wise) steward of the Lord who had received mercy to be such (1 Corinthians 4:2). Note that Paul appealed to the Lord’s mercy, not His command. As in the first part of this chapter, Paul was offering good advice, but he was not commanding that everyone do the same thing. Thus to choose not to follow Paul’s advice did not amount to sinning.