 So yeah, so let's start from chapter seven, right? So we looked at chapter six, chapter six, apologizing some important issues about illegal court cases and also about sexual immorality, morality, the seriousness of it. Now in chapter seven is continuing to talk about another topic. If you notice, he says now concerning things of which you wrote to me. That's how he starts, right? Chapter seven. And several times you will see now concerning things, now concerning things offered to idols. Chapter eight, if you see, eight verse one, he says, now concerning things offered to idols. So he's referring to what the people actually brought, they wrote to him and obviously Chloe's household and others who wrote to him and asked him these questions. Now we want answers, right? We have come to Christ and we want to live for him. And these are some challenges, these are some things that we are facing in society, in our own lives. So we want some answers, we need your help in sorting through these things, right? So they wrote to him and obviously he's writing back, right? So several things. So he's saying now concerning this, now concerning spiritual gifts, he'll say in verse chapter 12 and so on. So, and finally, chapter 16 also, he'll say now concerning the collection for the saints and so on. So addressing different topics in the letter, in this episode, right? So now concerning things of which you wrote to me, okay? So let's read chapter seven, let's read the first few verses. Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexually morality, 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 myself, but each one has his own gift from God, one in this matter 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. So here he's talking about marriage. He's addressing an important aspect of marriage. So you see that in the Bible, there are no topics which are considered taboo to talk about, to discuss. So he's talking about marriage. He's talking about a physical relationship between a husband and a wife in marriage. And so we see that it's not something that is, the problem happens when the church does not address this, the church does not discuss it or teach about it. Then what happens is whatever the media is teaching or whatever the media is shouting or whatever the popular culture is demonstrating is what the, not necessarily the young people, but everyone is what they learn unconsciously or subconsciously, that is what they learn. That's the information that they see and that's the information that they take in and say, okay, marriage should be like this. Then they say, okay, this is how marriage is, or this is how, for example, if you see in the media, marriage is not really in most of the, like let's say serials or movies or whatever. Marriage is not given importance or marriage is, like you program made fun of, right? It is, if you look at most of the programs or serials or whatever, it is like living together, even without a covenant of marriage is considered okay. And slowly it's creeping into even the, some of the Indian serials and Indian, that living together is fine, living together is okay. So that's the message that popular media and popular culture is actually showing the actual, telling the young people, hey, this is okay, this is fine. So if the church does not teach and not really condemn, but teach, this is what is given in scripture and this is how scripture, is this how God looks at marriage? He designed it. So if the church does not teach it, then obviously people will have wrong ideas, will continue to have wrong ideas about marriage, will continue to have wrong ideas about the physical relationship within marriage, because the church is not teaching it, right? So here Paul, very clearly he is talking about certain aspects of marriage, the physical aspect of it and so on with great clarity. He doesn't hold back any information, he's talking about it so that the people will know and get an idea about what marriage is all about. And also the place that sex has within marriage and it's not something that need not be talked about, but the right place for it in marriage, okay? So he's saying, it starts by saying, now concerning things of which he wrote to me, it is good for a man to touch a woman in the sense he's saying, it is good that a man does not have a physical relationship or a sexual relationship with a woman. He's talking obviously about, about people who are unmarried and so on, unmarried. So he's saying, it is good not to have sexual relationship, nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, okay? So he's saying, there is sexual immorality rampant in the culture, let a man have his own wife, let each woman have her own husband, okay? So marriage is after all designed by God. So there is sexual immorality in the culture. So let them be married. And verse three says, let the husband render to his wife the affection that is due her and likewise the wife to her husband. So he's talking about the physical relationship in marriage. He's talking about sex in marriage. And he's saying that first of all, we understand that from this verse, we see that it's an expression of affection, okay? So sex within marriage is an expression of affection. There's nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to look at it as something that is ill or sinful within marriage. So that is first thing that we see. Second thing that we see is it is a responsibility as well. It's an expression of affection. It is a responsibility. It's almost like a moral duty, right? And it's mutual. It's not like only the husband towards the wife or only the wife towards the husband. It's a mutual expression of affection. It's a mutual responsibility even. And that is how God has designed it, right? So he's saying, this is what it is. You know, it's an act of affection. It's an act of kindness. And it is also, you know, because we owe the other person, you owe your spouse that responsibility of affection. Okay, so that's the thing. So it's an, you know, the media will paint it as something, you know, that's something different, right? Something that you, maybe as a selfish act, but the thing is that it's an expression of affection. Okay, so then verse four says the wife does not have authority over her own body or the husband does. And the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife has. Here, again, in the context of the physical relationship of sex, he's saying that, you know, this is that the whole act of marriage or the whole physical aspect of marriage is, you know, it's something that is done willingly and not out of compulsion. Okay, so, so, you know, look at the way verse four. You know, what he says, the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does, which means that, and the other way also, right? So which means that the person does not, one person does not abuse this particular authority, right? So I do not have authority over my own body, but my wife does, but you know, that's what he's saying. And the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does, which means that it is something that is willing, this whole act of physical relationship within marriage is something that is willing, done willingly and not abused. Okay, something that is forced, something that is, you know, there's no abuse and so on, because Paul writes, right, in 1 Thessalonians 4, that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. So he's giving this picture in marriage that it is good, it is an expression of affection, it is a mutual responsibility, and also that it's not something that you force on the other person, but it's something that is willing because it's not something to be abused or something to be forced on the other person, right, but it's something to be done willingly, right? So that's what we see in verse four. Verse five, that 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 and not as a commandment. So he's suggesting this, something, whatever he's stating, he's saying this not as a commandment, but as a concession, you know, as a suggestion, he's suggesting this. Now, what is he saying? No, let there be not too many times of abstinence, okay, this physical relationship called sex, which is within marriage, is God designed, and so it is to be enjoyed within marriage. And so he's saying, you know, let no one deprive one another. Now, I'm sure you've studied in, you know, marriage and family more about this, but the fact is that one person can manipulate or deprive the other person, like as an act of revenge, you know, and as an act of unforgiveness. So he's saying, do not deprive one another, do not hold back from one another, except by mutual consent in the sense, except with consent for a time, okay, you're saying, okay, this season, maybe, you know, whatever timeframe you're going to spend some time and fasting and prayer and focus on that and that alone. So except for, you know, with consent for a time, he says, and the reason is this, that when you, when this is used as a weapon and when this is used as a, you know, as a revenge against the other person, depriving other person of the physical relationship, then we are actually giving Satan a foothold, okay? So he says that very clearly, that so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. Okay, now, Satan, we don't want that in marriage. Satan coming and tempting and creating, you know, some kind of a confusion there. So, you know, sometimes even this whole thing of abstinence of sex, you know, it can be seen as a very noble thing, right? As a, if you want to be more spiritual, then a person should not indulge in, you know, in sex within marriage, okay? But the thing is the opposite is what Paul is teaching, he's saying, you know, this is a gift from God. So, you know, if you want to spend some time apart because of whatever reason, maybe you want to pray about fasting, prayer, et cetera, that's fine, but then you get back because you don't want Satan to tempt you. You don't want Satan to, you know, come between you. Right? So, he says that, so we understand, okay. Verse seven, 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. So, but I say to the unmarried and to the widow, it is good for them if they remain even as I am. Okay, so, and then verse nine says, if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Now, Paul actually is giving a recommendation, right? You know, at the time of writing of first Corinthians, all these episodes, you know, that Paul in his ministry, he was single, okay? Now, he was not married. So, he is, he's writing and he's selling them, you know, my recommendation is that you be single like how I am, okay? And even later, he goes on to explain about that, you know, why and so on, he gives some reasons. So, like even in the, I think even in the second episode, does he write like that? No, here, yeah, when he's writing about later about marriage again, he talks about this. Okay, so, so he's saying, you know, it's, it's, it'll be, it'll, it is best if somebody's like this, single like me, but then he says, if somebody, you know, if they do not exercise, if they cannot exercise self-control, they feel that they are not strong enough, then it is better that they marry, okay? So, he says, and he, you know, he says that, but each one has his own gift from God. We're saying like this singleness even is a gift from God. It's gifted for singleness to be celibate. So, so that he can just focus on ministry and focus on God and not really get involved with the domestic kind of, you know, the other responsibilities and so on. But that was, he's saying, you know, he recognizes that as a gift from God, right? And so, so he says, I understand that, that, you know, one people can be gifted in these kinds of things. So, so that they can remain unmarried and it does not bother them. They can continue to live their lives and, you know, focus on what they need to do, right? But then, you know, he's saying to the unmarried and to the widows, he's saying, you know, it is good that if they cannot exercise self control, then let them get married, okay? If they cannot remain pure in this area of sexual, you know, if they cannot be sexually pure, then it is better that they get married, okay? So, now the thing is we need to understand that that is not the only reason for getting married, okay? Because, you know, some, let's say a person is saying, okay, I cannot control myself, therefore I need to get married or, you know, we know when we study about marriage and from several other, you know, places in scripture, we see that like Ephesians five and so on. So it is not the only reason, right, for getting married. So then if that is the reason we are getting married, then, you know, then all kinds of other problems come up in marriage. So that is not the thing. So a misapplication of this particular verse would be people saying that, okay, this is what scripture says, you know, it is better to marry than to burn with passion. So therefore I'll get married. See, that is not the only reason. And also somebody who is in, maybe in some kind of a bondage of sexual sin, like pornography or, you know, things, they should not think, okay, if I get married, then, you know, all these things will go away. That's a wrong thing because the bondage is because of a stronghold in the mind, maybe it's because of some demonic stronghold, demonically energized, right? So therefore a person should not come to a conclusion that marriage will fix this, okay? So that is a misapplication of that particular verse, right? So this is what he says, you know, if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry, okay? Now verse 10, now to the married I command, okay? Yet not I, but the Lord. So till now he was talking about, you know, how a person need not be, you know, need not really, if they are single, it's good for them to remain single and so on. And now, and also, you know, within marriage, the importance of sexual relationship and all that. Now he's talking to the married people, the believers, and he's saying, now to the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord. Okay, so let's read the first few verses here. Now to the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, a wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband, and her husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest, I, not the Lord, let's say, if any brother has a wife who is not, sorry, if any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if she is willing, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you not know a wife, whether you will save your husband, or how do you not know a husband, whether you will save your wife? Now, this are some very important things that he's again sharing about those who are married. Okay, those who are married, and specifically he's referring to believers, at least one of them is a believer, right? So he's referring to believers. So this is what he says, you know, specifically to the believers where, so where both the husband and wife are believers, sorry, where both the husband and wife are believers, now to the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, a wife is not to depart from her husband. So that is the thing, you know? So don't leave, don't abandon, don't divorce. The wife is not supposed to depart from the husband. And if that happens for some reason, okay? So now the thing is, you know, this instruction is both for the wife and for the husband, right, we need to understand that because marriage is between the husband and the wife, right? So marriage is to two people. So the instruction is that one should not depart from the other. And even if that happens, okay? By chance, you know, if that happens, if they are separate or if they, you know, it's not, you know, he's saying that this is not God's best, but even if that happens, he's saying that, you know, let them be reconciled or remain unmarried, right? So that's one thing, let them remain unmarried or be reconciled, husband is not to divorce his wife. Okay, very clear. So the, you know, in the Jewish custom, the popular, this thing of, you know, Deuteronomy 24-1, the, for any reason, you know, the Lord Jesus also talks about it in Matthew 19. So they would issue a certificate of divorce for, so it was, they were not happy. They were not, they would issue a certificate of divorce. Let's look at Matthew 19, where the Lord Jesus also talks about, you know, separation and divorce and so on, right? Matthew 19, it came to pass when Jesus finished these sayings that he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan and great multitudes followed him and he healed them there. The Pharisees also came to him, testing him and saying to him, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason? Okay, so the Lord's response to that is this, and he answered and said to them, have you not read that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. Then they ask the question, you know, why did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce? So because that was the Jewish culture, custom that you give a certificate of divorce and then the marriage is dissolved. So the Lord says, because of the hardness of your heart, Moses, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another commits adultery and whoever marries her who was divorced commits adultery. And that's when they say, if such is the case, then it's better not to marry. So here, you know, what is the Lord saying? The Lord's saying that, you know, this is God's plan. This is the Father's plan, original intent from the beginning that separation, divorce, et cetera are not part of God's purpose and plan. But does it happen? Yes, it happens. And the Lord is saying that, you know, there are certain scenarios where it is permitted, separation, divorce is permitted, but that is not God's plan from the beginning. So what is the thing he's saying, you know, except for sexually immorality, that's what the Lord says, right? If a person divorces except sexually, verse nine, Matthew 19, verse nine, then the person actually is committing adultery. So he's talking about the seriousness of marriage and the seriousness of divorce, saying that you can't know just because you cannot get along or you feel that, okay, you found someone else who's better looking, better, you know, better than your husband or better than your wife, you know, that's no reason to divorce and remarry, right? And Paul, when he's writing to the believers here, he's writing to them because the culture of Corinth was, first of all, you know, because of immorality and so on, you know, the church felt that they needed some clarity about this, about marriage, about, you know, divorce and so on. So he's writing very clearly that this is what marriage is and this is what God's heart is. And he, you know, if you look at verse 10, chapter seven, verse 10, he's saying, this is the command, now to the marriage, I command yet not I, but the Lord, okay? So he's saying it's not just my command. I'm writing this, but it's not my, just my command, but it's actually the Lord's, okay? That husband is not to depart from the, the wife is not to depart from her husband and so on, right? And then he goes on to say something verse 12, but to the rest I, not the Lord say, okay? So he's saying as per, as a person who has the wisdom of God, who has walked with God with all this experience and God has trusted to write two thirds of the, you know, of the New Testament. So the rest I, you know, I'm writing this, I'm giving my suggestion, but it's not a direct command from the Lord, okay? So this is what he says, if any brother has a wife who does not believe and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce. Okay, so here is the scenario, what is it? Here one person is a believer, the other person is not, okay? And this is people who are already married. No, we need to understand that. People who are already married, okay? And one of them becomes a believer, okay? It's not otherwise, it's not like they are not married and then, you know, one of them is a believer, other one is not, this instruction is not for them, okay? This instruction is for those who are married and after marriage, like both of them were unbelievers when they got married, after marriage, one of them became a, becomes a believer, okay? So for such scenario, he's writing, okay? For such a scenario, he's writing. Let him, like if a brother has a wife, right? So if a brother, you become a believer, you have a wife and who does not believe and she is willing to live, do not divorce, okay? So the scenario, the challenge was that, okay, the wife is not believing, the husband is a believer now, they're having these problems because of that and saying, okay, divorce is not the answer. And the same way, the unbelieving husband, okay? The husband does not believe, but the wife is, wife has become a believer. So he's saying, you know, that is also not the case for divorce and verse 14, okay? If they are willing to live with them, let them live. But, you know, if he's saying, you know, verse 14, for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, okay? So in which case it does this happen when one of them, you know, becomes a believer, they're already married, it becomes a believer and they're willing to live, you know, the person who's not a believer, who's an unbeliever is willing to live with the believer. Then he says that the unbelieving husband or the unbelieving wife is sanctified, okay? Is coming under the sanctification of the believing wife or the husband. So what does that mean? That doesn't mean that the person becomes saved, okay? So it doesn't mean the person becomes saved. And he also goes on to say, you know, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. So it doesn't mean that they automatically become saved or righteous, right? It doesn't in any way teach that, right? So the fact is that they need to make a choice for themselves, like every person, they need to make a decision for themselves in order to be born again, in order to be saved. But the fact is that because they are in this marriage relationship, they are in this covenant relationship, they are in a position, they are being sanctified, they are being set apart because of the believing husband or the believing wife, right? They are being set apart because of the values of the believing husband and the believing wife. And he goes on to say that verse 16, how do you know whether you will save your husband? How do you know husband whether you will save your wife? Now you've given opportunity for them to see your life, you're giving an opportunity for them to, you know, see it closely, how you live life as a believer and also to hear the reason for your life, the reason why you live such a life. So you're giving an opportunity for them to hear the gospel as well and to see the gospel at work in your life. So here is an opportunity for them to be saved. That is why he says, you know, that you will save your husband through your life, through the opportunity to share the gospel, you will save your husband, you will save your wife. Now verse 15, if the unbeliever departs, okay, let them depart. Now, if the husband is saying, you know, unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife, they're saying, I cannot live with this person who's a believer and they want to go, then he's saying, you know, let them depart. You're not under bondage, right? Let them depart. In such cases, but God has called us to peace, which means that you try your best, but if they want to go, you know, stating all these reasons then, but then from the beginning, we know that God's best is that it is not a command for people to be separate or to be divorced, but it's a permission and permission is one sexual immorality, the other one is abandonment, right? So that is the only permission for divorce or separation, right? So we see this here. So the thing is that we should not misapply that verse. That verse, verse 16, how will you not know a wife whether you will save your husband and how will you not know your husband whether you will save your wife? So sometimes people misapply that saying, okay, I'm a believer, I'm not yet married, I'm a believer and I want to marry a person who's not a believer. So then we forget that other thing that we should not be unequally yoked to a believer, a unbeliever, and so people say, okay, based on this verse, you know, because of who I am, because of the fact that I'm a believer, my unbelieving, you know, the person whom I'm marrying, unbelieving husband or wife will become a believer, okay? Now that is not what this verse is suggesting, okay? That is not what this verse is recommending. It is for people who are already in a marriage relationship. It is not for people who are going to get married, right? And this is not definitely a verse to use, to justify getting married to a unbeliever, okay? So this is not a scripture that you say, it says in 1 Corinthians 7, 16, that a wife will save the husband, the husband will save the wife. Therefore, you know, I'll get married to this person. I know that he or she is an unbeliever, but they'll come to know through my life, they'll come to know the Jesus. You cannot guarantee that because it's an individual decision. It's a person's will. They can go through their entire lifetime, not receiving Jesus, right? And it'll be a lifetime, a marriage should be extremely, extremely difficult and painful, right? Because painful because you know that, okay, you're trying your best, they're not wanting to come to Jesus and so on, right? So it's not suggesting that at all. Okay, okay, before we go further, any questions or any doubts on this? You know, we talked about marriage, we talked about, you know, just a touch upon divorce, et cetera. So any questions on this? Any further questions on this before we go further? Okay, so based on this, we should be able to understand, you know, we should be able to clear a picture of marriage and divorce and, you know, we know that maybe you might know of people who are, who have divorced and remarried and so on, or maybe even in church, you know, right? So we should have clarity, okay? This is what the Bible says, you know, no matter what happens, this is what the Bible says. Well, yes, so this is what, you know, you hold on to, you and I hold on to, and this is what you and I can share with others as well, right? So this is, these are the exhortation from scripture, about marriage, the rightful place of physical relationship in marriage, and, you know, the rightful place for, you know, how if one person is a believer in a marriage, the other person is not, then, you know, how do you handle that? You know, yes, obviously the marriage will be difficult, but, you know, how do you respond to it? And what decisions do you take beyond that? You know, all that is very clear in these verses, right? Okay, so let's look at verse 17, okay? 17 onwards, right? But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk, and so I ordain in all the churches, was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised, was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised, circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called, were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it, but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise, he who is called while free is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price, do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. Okay, so here Paul is, so he's just finished talking about husbands and wives of which one was a believer, the other one was not, and so on. So here he's presenting in verse 17, as God has distributed each one, let each one walk, and he's saying, this is what I ordain in all the churches, okay? So what has God distributed? Okay, what has God given and bestowed upon you? You walk accepting that, okay? Verse 20 says, let each one remain in the same calling in which you was called, okay? So you apply that in the context of what he's talking about in this whole passage. What is he talking about? He's talking about being single, being married, and so on, and also he goes on to explain about social status, whether they were slaves, whether they were free, and so on. So in putting that together, you see that if you're married, then don't try to become, don't try to divorce, just because you became a believer and your wife is not, or you as a wife, you're a believer and your husband is not. Don't be concerned about changing that, right? So, or if you are, like in those days they had slaves and then, so he's saying, don't be concerned about becoming free, but if you can be made free, that's fine. But because you were bought by his precious blood, you belong to Jesus anyway, and you are free in Christ. So don't be concerned about that. So what he's saying is that you remain in that same thing, and he's also talking about the importance of, what is circumcision, what is uncircumcision? He's saying, it's nothing, but when it comes to Christ, keeping the commandments of God is what it is. What does it matter? Circumcision is, it was a practice among the Jews, and it referred to the old covenant, and it is nothing. And, but keeping the commandments of God, that is most important. That is what really matters. So in other words, he was saying, whether you're single, whether you're married, whether you're a slave or free, circumcised, uncircumcised, honour God or obey the commandments of God, just by being who you are. Don't say, okay, if I was not married, then I would have served God better. We hear so many people saying, I have so much free time if I was not married, and so much of, and out too much responsibilities. I wish I was like that. Like he's saying, no, there's no point in talking like that. So you remain in the calling in which you are called, in the state in which you are called. And so it is in that context that he's writing that, he's saying, you serve God, you obey the commandments of, I'm so sorry, you obey the commandments of God, okay? And he says, let each one remain with God in the state in which he was called. So the thing is to remain with him. The thing is to obey him, obey his commandments. That's the higher thing. Okay, so then God would lead you and God would guide you. So you remain in the same calling. You remain with God. Okay, you continue with God, right? So verse 23, very important, you were bought at a price. You were bought at a price. Now remember that you were purchased, you belong to Christ, you were bought at a price. The payment was his precious blood, the payment was that sacrifice on the cross. So, you know, so do not bring yourself to be a slave of men, okay? To be controlled by people, to be, you know, manipulated by people, don't, right? You are a slave of Christ. Now, the thing is that, you know, yes, there is divine order and structure. Like, for example, marriage is designed by God. There's a divine order. And he says, okay, husband be the head of the wife and so on. And also in church, there's a divine order. Like there are spiritual leadership, elders and so on. So God is not saying, you know, you don't honor that, right? He's saying, don't become slaves of men in the sense that you live under the leadership of God. However, don't allow yourself to be wrongly manipulated, controlled by people, okay? So, yeah, so that is what he says, yeah? Okay, so that brings us to the end of this particular section, you know, to verse 24. So any questions here on this section? Any questions, okay? Okay, so otherwise we'll move on to the next section, which is verse 25. There he says, you know, let's read through that. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy. I suppose, therefore, that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But even if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless, such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time is short so that from now on, even those who have wives should remain as though they have none. Those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice. Those who buy as though they did not possess and those who use this world as not misusing it for the form of this world is passing away. And then he goes on to say, but I do not want you to, I want you to be without care and so on. So we'll look at that a little later now. So he's talking about unmarried people. He's addressing unmarried people now concerning virgins. So a virgin is an unmarried young woman is what is referring to. So this is his recommendation. So he's saying, this is what I give judgment, meaning this is what I have considered various things. And I'm with the discernment and I give judgment and I'm giving my recommendation. Now, the thing is, it's based on he's saying, as one who has been made trustworthy because the Lord in his mercy has made me trustworthy. So I'm giving this suggestion. I he's saying, he's very clear. He's distinguishing between what is a commandment of the Lord and what is his recommendation. So he's really sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit in doing this and that's something admirable. So he's saying, okay, this is what I'm saying. This is what I'm suggesting. It is good because of the present distress. So he's talking about the persecution that was happening in those times, persecution of those times, persecution against the church, against those who are believers. So he's saying, because of the present distress is good for a person. It's good for a man to remain as he is, okay? If you're married, don't seek to be loose. Don't seek to be separate. If you're separate, if you are not married, then you don't try to seek a wife, right? So he's, however, he says, even if you do marry, you have not sinned, okay? Understand that, okay? So the present distress, of course, he's saying, because of the persecution against Christians and so on. And then he says, nevertheless, verse 28, this last part, such will have trouble in the flesh, meaning there will be pressures of daily life, okay? So that is what he's referring to, no? There'll be pressures, there'll be responsibilities, which you don't have to necessarily carry if you are single. But I want you to know that there will be. Be prepared to face these things. There will be pressures, there will be responsibilities of domestic life, responsibilities of marriage that you need to carry and you cannot do away with it, okay? Okay, I think we'll stop here and then continue with the, yeah, verse 29, I guess. We'll continue with chapter seven, verse 29, and then we'll also do chapter eight in the next class, okay? So we'll stop here and we'll continue next class, okay? So thank you, have a great weekend, God bless. Thank you, Prasad. Bye, bye.