Sex and Marriage: God’s Purpose and Design
Is sex important to God?
Is sex important in a marrage?
Some may have a hard time having this subject discussed within a church service
Some may view sex as a dirty word or a dirty thing
I believe this shows a misunderstanding concerning sex and concerning God
The enemy is the author of confusion
There is incredible confusion surrounding both sex and marriage in our culture
Many today have the belief that I can have sex with whoever I want and whenever I want
But what about God
It is important for us to see that God is the one who created all things
Genesis tells us that He created them male and female
God created men and women view differently
Emotionally, Physically, Mentally, and even Spiritually men and women are very different
But God has created both to perfectly compliment one another in marriage
God’s design for marriage was always between one man and one woman
To say that today would be considered hate speech and closed minded
Genesis 1:28 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
God says to be fruitful and increase in number
God placed a desire within men and women for sexual desire
It is through that desire that men and women are able to be fruitful and multiply
God even formed and bodies of men and women to compliment one another
Song of Solomon 4:9-16
9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! 11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. 13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. 15 You are[b] a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.
She
16 Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.
God’s purpose with sex is not only so humanity could be fruitful and multiply but that they would enjoy one another
That pleasure and passion would take place within the covenant of marriage and through sex and physical intimacy that husband and wife would become one in heart, mind, and body
During sex Oxytocin is released
Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter that is involved in childbirth and breast-feeding. It is also associated with empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building.
Because of the way God has designed sex one of the major purposes is connection and intimacy between husband and wife
Even the Hebrew word Yada that speaks of a husband knowing his wife is also used when it speaks of man knowing God
We must remember that God has created us for relationship and intimacy
But the devil will always try to take the very things God has created and to bring forth a counterfeit to kill, steal, and destroy
Today the devil has weaponized sex in our culture to bring forth confusion and destruction
Lest we believe this is a problem that has only taken place today Paul wrote these words in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”[b] 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.[c]
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
There was a major problem in Corinth in the early church concerning sexual immorality
Many of those who were coming to Christ were coming out of paganism and sexual immorality was a major part of their worship practices
As Paul writes these words they began to believe that sex in itself is wicked and evil and therefore if we abstain from sex it means we can live in holiness and righteousness
The only problem is that this line of thinking was wrong
Sex in itself is not wicked or wrong
It is actually beautiful and it is God Himself who has created it
The issue is not that sex is wicked, but how it is practiced and when
Paul shows us truly how important sex is in marriage
The Holy Spirit through Paul shows us God’s purpose and design for Sex and marriage
1 Corinthians 7:1-7
Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
1. Correcting Confusion
a. Paul states in the matters you wrote me about
b. As an apostle Paul carried kingdom authority to establish as sound foundation for the beginning of the church
c. Ephesians 2:20 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
d. Paul is bringing understanding to confusion
e. The Phrase It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” is a phrase by the culture of the day
f. The Greek states it is not good to touch a woman
g. Often people believed that to truly be godly or holy one must abstain from marriage
h. In a decadent society where sex was so connected to pagan worship practice that the abstaining of sex would protect a man or woman from wickedness
i. But Paul is going to bring correction and understanding to confusion
2. Sex is important and vital in marriage
a. 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.
b. To protect against sexual immorality Paul states that a husband is to have sex with his wife and the wife with her husband
c. The Greek word translated sexual immorality is pornia and it can mean both sexual immorality and fornication
d. The root of this word means harlot for hire
e. Paul states that a husband is to fulfill his marital duty, marital responsibilities, or give conjugal rights
f. Marital duty is the Greek word Opheile and it means what is owed to another
g. Paul states that not only is a husband to fulfill his martial duty to his wife, but the wife is to fulfill her marital duties to her husband
h. This was revolutionary in Paul’s day
i. Because often within Roman culture of Paul’s day the husband would view his wife as the one he would produce children with but then would have sexual relations with prostitutes to experience sexual pleasure
j. But here Paul states something revolutionary
k. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife
l. In making this statement Paul is showing that in marriage the power or authority of our bodies no longer belong to us
m. We cannot use our bodies sexually with whomever we choose
n. Our bodies belong to our spouse
o. It doesn’t mean that we are forced to do things sexually that will either hurt us or we don’t want to engage in
p. But we must understand the importance of sex in marrage
q. Not only to guard against sexual immorality but also to develop intimacy between both husband and wife
3. Do not deprive each other
a. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.
b. The word deprive in the Greek is apostero and means to defraud, steal, to cheat out of — to deprive somebody of something by deceit
c. Paul states that his words in verse six are a concession and not a command
d. The only reason a couple would have to deprive one another of sex in marriage is to commit themselves to prayer
e. But again it is only for a short time because Paul makes a very important point
f. That they would come together to not be tempted by the enemy because of the lack of self-control
g. When a husband and wife go long periods without sexual activity it will open the door to sexual temptation
h. Paul had the gift of celibacy
i. Many scholars believe at one point in Paul’s life before he came to Christ because he was a pharisee and Jewish culture of his day that most likely he would have been married
j. But either Paul’s wife may had left him or he may have become widowed
k. But God enabled Paul to live a life in singleness in which he was fully committed to the work of God
l. But this is not the case for every believer
m. Paul had a very high view of marriage
n.1 Cor 7:28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
o. Ephesians 5:22-33
God desires that we would have healthy strong marriages
Marriages that not only are built upon Him and His word
But marriage in which deep intimacy is developed between husband and wife
God has created sex
He has created it to be enjoyed in marriage between a man and a woman
He has created the physical bodies of men and women to compliment one another
To perfectly fit together to not only produce children, but also to enjoy the pleasure and excitement of sex
Komentarze