Neville Goddard on 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Corinthians 7 in context

Scripture Focus

3Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

4The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

5Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5

Biblical Context

The passage commands mutual care: husband and wife owe each other benevolence and protect each other's bodies, avoid defrauding one another, and only for a time may they separate for fasting and prayer.

Neville's Inner Vision

Interpret this text as a description of states of consciousness, not a rule about externals. The husband and wife are symbols of the I AM in its expressions: benevolence is the energy you invest in every inner state, and to withhold is to withhold from your own divine life. When you render unto your inner partner due benevolence, you are simply choosing to treat your inner world as a beloved community of states that desire harmony. The line that neither has power over the other's body becomes a statement of alignment: you own only your own response to life, and in that response you invite the other aspect to respond with equal honesty. Defrauding one another is a defrauding of your own unity; thus, even during times of fasting and prayer, you affirm that you are not trading contact for control, but returning to the fullness of union. If you sincerely assume that this harmony already exists in your I AM, you will not fight outer conditions; you will feel temptation dissolve as you rest in the sure reality that all parts of you are one, already complete.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Sit quietly and assume the state of unity with your partner, saying to yourself 'I and my beloved are one in the I AM.' Feel that oneness as a felt reality; whenever you sense separation or temptation, revise the scene, return to the inner union, and let the day be governed by the peace of one life.