1 Corinthians 7:3
“Let the husband give his wife the affection owed her, and likewise also the wife her husband.”
What does 1 Corinthians 7:3 mean?
Paul is writing to a church where some people were arguing that spiritual devotion meant avoiding physical intimacy in marriage. He cuts through that thinking by saying married partners have genuine obligations to each other, including physical affection and sexual connection. This isn't presented as a grudging duty but as something owed, something that matters. What makes this passage beautiful is how it assumes equality: both husband and wife have the same claim on each other's affection. In a culture where women's needs were often overlooked, Paul's symmetrical language is striking. He's saying that a healthy marriage requires both partners to show up for each other, not just spiritually, but in the everyday, embodied ways that marriages actually need to survive and flourish.