1 Corinthians 7:1

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman (KJV)

Then: Those aren't Paul's words. He leaves off his comments about sexual immorality and moves to a calmer discussion of marital issues and draws upon questions (possibly testy) in a letter from the Corinthians. Both Thiselton (p. 495) and Fee (p. 269) believe the above statement is a quote from the Corinthians' prevailing view. Paul may have agreed with them, but as the Corinthians read on, they discovered he was not adamant about the sentiment.


Now: For awhile this phrase was thought to be Paul's own; however, more recent scholars go back to Origen (Thiselton, p. 493) who attributed it to the Corninthians. Whether or not it is a quotation impacts the interpretation and application to today's understanding. Verses in this chapter all relate to being married or being single. Magness' class notes separated them according to
Verses 1-7, Marital sexual relations
Verses 8-9, Widowhood and remarriage
Verses 10-16, Marriage and Divorce
Verses 17-24, Social status
Verses 25-38, Singles and Marriage
Verses 39-49 Widowed and remarriage

Extra source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text by Anthony C. Thiselton (Authentic Media, c2000) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=aNkcqC9bdAMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Thiselton+Corinthians&source=bl&ots=eobtOWdRIT&sig=Q2FNicuf6E99p3pfLxhyTf6KYGs&hl=en&ei=SsxpS_2VGtDU8Aa5pvnEBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false
The First Epistle to the Corinthians by Gordon D. Fee (Eerdman's 1987) online http://books.google.com/books?id=XlBp10nUTXAC&dq=Gordon+Fee+Bible+commentator&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=SwLNSu3nA4v6Mf2XlDo&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12#v=onepage&q=&f=false