Editing Christian views on marriage (section)

=== New Testament beyond the Gospels ===
[[File:PaulT.jpg|thumb|left|''Saint Paul Writing His Epistles'', 16th century.]]
The [[Saint Paul|Apostle Paul]] quoted passages from Genesis almost verbatim in two of his New Testament books. He used marriage not only to describe the kingdom of God, as Jesus had done, but to define also the nature of the 1st-century Christian church. His [[theology|theological view]] was a Christian development of the [[Old Testament]] parallel between marriage and the relationship between God and [[Israel]]. He analogized the church as a bride and Christ as the bridegroom─drawing parallels between Christian marriage and the relationship between Christ and the [[Christian Church|Church]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

There is no hint in the New Testament that Jesus was ever married, and no clear evidence that Paul was ever married. However, both Jesus and Paul seem to view marriage as a legitimate calling from God for Christians. Paul elevates singleness to that of the preferable position, but does offer a caveat suggesting this is "because of the impending crisis"—which could itself extend to present times (see also [[Pauline privilege]]).<ref>{{bibleverse|1Corinthians|7:1,7-9,17,26-28,38,40|NET}}</ref> Paul's primary issue was that marriage adds concerns to one's life that detract from their ability to serve God without distraction.<ref>Rubio, Julie Hanlon. ''A Christian Theology of Marriage and Family.'' Paulist Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-8091-4118-3}}.</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|7:32-35|NET}}</ref>

Some scholars have speculated that Paul may have been a widower since prior to his conversion to Christianity he was a [[Pharisees|Pharisee]] and member of the [[Sanhedrin]], positions in which the social norm of the day required the men to be married. But it is just as likely that he never married at all.<ref name="Adams">Adams, Jay E. ''Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible,'' Zondervan, 1986, {{ISBN|0-310-51111-9}}</ref>