We find an unusual reference to Satan, if not so unusual given the concerns against sexual immorality that are so common among contemporary believers, in 1 Corinthians 7:1-9.  While it is not my intent here to discuss the context and meaning and layers of this chapter as a whole, given Paul’s mention of Satan in the context of relations between believers, it is worthwhile to speak at least somewhat briefly about this passage:  “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:  It is good for a man not to touch a woman.  Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.  Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.  Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.  But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.  For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.  But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”

It does not surprise any contemporary readers that the Bible would connect the temptation of Satan with sexual immorality.  The Bible has a great deal to say about sexuality, most of it in the context of regulating heterosexual conduct so as to condemn adultery (whether in the context of ritual prostitution or a more ordinary kind) as well as fornication and encourage marriage.  Less often, but no less forcefully, the Bible strongly condemns all sexuality that is outside of the union between men and women who are not close relatives by blood or marriage, whether it involves the same sex or other species.  Readers who are aware of the general pro-family bias of the Bible (especially the Hebrew scriptures, but not only there) may find Paul’s endorsement of marriage rather tepid, and unfortunately this passage helped inspire a pro-celibacy culture within Hellenistic Christianity that was far beyond what Paul himself would have wished.  It is not my intention here to discuss Paul’s view of sexuality in detail, but rather to examine how it is that Paul’s frequent concern with the devices of Satan is related to the matter of godly sexuality and its boundaries, which is sufficient for our present concern.

As far as it relates to Satan, what Paul states is a prudential reason for husbands and wives not to deny their partners the sexual activity that the other would expect.  While Paul appears to endorse, also for prudential reasons, the decision to remain single, he also recognizes that the power of sexual desire makes it preferable to marry than to burn with lust.  It is often insufficiently recognized that Paul’s preference for singlehood likely springs from a variety of reasons.  For one, Paul does not appear to be the sort of person who was deeply consumed with sexual desire, at least so far as the Bible indicates.  Nevertheless, he does understand that others might burn with passion and find it necessary to marry in order to have a proper outlet for such desires.  This is certainly a problem that our age, with our focus on sexual matters, would well understand.  If the gift of self-control and restraint in sexual matters is something that our age does not appreciate to any great degree, it is certainly something that Paul commends, demonstrating the wide gulf that often exists between our own thoughts and the biblical advice.

It should not take very much imagination to see how it is that Satan could tempt people to sin when husbands and/or wives refused to sexually satisfy their spouse.  Such a temptation could take place on several different levels at once.  It is most obvious that the refusal of a husband or wife to gratify the sexual longings of their spouse could lead to resentment about a failure to fulfill the obligations to cherish and love one’s partner that are made at marriage.  Likewise, those who are not getting their needs satisfied by their spouses will often feel justified in satisfying themselves outside of marriage, which was clearly a problem in an area as sexually immoral as Corinth (a society whose lack of sexual restraint approached modern levels of immorality).  There are even additional problems that are worthy of mentioning at least briefly, not least the way that Paul was subtly condemning the tendency of people to feel proud about their own restraint while showing a lack of compassion about the needs of partners.  In the ancient world, for example, at least one stoic Roman emperor gloried in his own sexual restraint while not recognizing the emotional needs of his poor wife who bore 15 children before her death despite his lack of interest in sexual pleasure.  Paul clearly did not praise this sort of prideful disregard of the concerns of others.  All of these problems are part of Satan’s temptation, whether it is the temptation to be unloving, proud, or sexually immoral because of the failures of others.