God’s Word Translation
1 Corinthians 7:20
20All people should stay as they were when they were called.
1 Corinthians 7:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
- New International Version (NIV)Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.
Context of 1 Corinthians 7:20
18Any man who was already circumcised when he was called to be a Christian shouldn’t undo his circumcision. Any man who was uncircumcised when he was called to be a Christian shouldn’t get circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing, and the lack of it is nothing. But keeping what God commands is everything. All people should stay as they were when they were called. 21Were you a slave when you were called? That shouldn’t bother you. However, if you have a chance to become free, take it. 22If the Lord called you when you were a slave, you are the Lord’s free person. In the same way, if you were free when you were called, you are Christ’s slave.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 71 Corinthians 7:20 word by word
ἕκαστος ἐν τῇ κλήσει ᾗ ἐκλήθη, ἐν ταύτῃ μενέτω.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:20
- 1 Corinthians 7:17Everyone should live the life that the Lord gave him when God called him. This is the guideline I use in every church.
- Proverbs 27:8Like a bird wandering from its nest, so is a husband wandering from his home.
- Luke 3:10The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:11Also, make it your goal to live quietly, do your work, and earn your own living, as we ordered you.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:12We order and encourage such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to pay attention to their own work so they can support themselves.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Let every man abide in the same calling - As both the circumcised and uncircumcised, in Christ, have the same advantages, and to their believing the same facilities; so any situation of life is equally friendly to the salvation of the soul, if a man be faithful to the grace he has received. Therefore, in all situations a Christian should be content, for all things work together for good to him who loves God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Let every man abide - Let him remain or continue. In the same calling - The same occupation, profession, rank of life. We use the word “calling” in the same sense to denote the occupation or profession of a man. Probably the original idea which led people to designate a profession as a CallinG was the belief that God called every man to the profession and rank which he occupies; that is, that it is by his “arrangement, or providence,” that he occupies…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-24Verses 17-24 The rules of Christianity reach every condition; and in every state a man may live so as to be a credit to it. It is the duty of every Christian to be content with his lot, and to conduct himself in his rank and place as becomes a Christian. Our comfort and happiness depend on what we are to Christ, not what we are in the world. No man should think to make his faith or religion, an argument to break through any natural or civil obligations…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-24Paul says Christians should accept the life God has given them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. the same calling--that is, the condition from which he is called a Jew, a Greek, a slave, or a freeman.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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