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1 Corinthians 7:5 (ESV),

5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

The injunction against deprivation is clear. Even spouses agreeing to restrain from conjugal experiences for a short time in order to be more religiously devout--as a type of fasting, perhaps--makes sense (at least to me).

What doesn't make sense to me is, what role or place does Satan play or have in all of this? What's the temptation here? And what about self-control or, rather, a lack thereof, among the Corinthians, is Paul worried about?

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This is a simple matter, not of Satan's temptations, but the ordinary natural sexual drives in most of us.

Paul is simply saying in 1 Cor 7 that spouses depriving each other of conjugal privileges would create a need to have these natural human sexual functions fulfilled. (Yes I understand that not everyone is like this but Paul was practical and did not want people to sin because a person found themselves with a spouse who would not participate.)

Now, Satan cannot create what does not exist in us. Therefore, Satan can only operate on what already exists to either amplify something out of proportion or distort or degrade it. Thus, a person with a disinterested spouse may be subject to Satan's attacks by temptations to be unfaithful.

Paul's instruction here is consistent with his instruction in Rom 13:14:

Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

That is, do not place yourself in unnecessary temptation but avoid it wherever practical.

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  • Thanks for responding, Dottard. I had previously read the verse to mean, that married couples needed to refrain from sexual activity in order to pray because otherwise they would be tempted toward things like perversion in the marriage bed, or over-engagement to the neglect of other important priorities, or perhaps constant pregnancies, and etc. So, they needed to pray apart for awhile on a regular basis, to fight against such temptations.
    – The Votive Soul
    Commented Dec 29, 2020 at 4:16

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