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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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SEX, SEXUALITY*

Unlike some religious and philosophical systems, the Bible takes a positive view of human sexuality. According to the OT’s account of Creation, it was God himself who made people sexual beings. Being male or female is part of what it means to be created in the image of God (Gn 1:26-28). Above everything else, therefore, sexuality is a precious aspect of what a person is, not merely a description of what he or she does.

In line with this positive approach, the OT sees nothing embarrassing in the bodily differences between the sexes (Gn 2:25) and nothing shameful in physical expressions of lovemaking (Prv 5:18-19; Eccl 9:9). The Song of Songs, in particular, is a most beautiful love poem. Its powerful language should not be so spiritualized that the physical passion it describes is stripped of its delight and candor.

Paul strikes the same positive note in his letters to Corinth and to Timothy at Ephesus. Sexual vice was rampant in both these cities. Partly as a reaction to this, a negative, ascetic attitude was threatening to take control in the life of Christians. Marriage was being forbidden (1 Tm 4:3) and married couples were abstaining from sexual intercourse in the belief that this would help them to become more spiritually mature (cf. 1 Cor 7:5).

Paul had no hesitation in branding such attitudes as heretical. Recalling his readers to the message of Genesis, he encouraged them to receive God’s gifts thankfully (1 Tm 4:3-5). Husbands and wives, he writes, are mutually obliged to satisfy each other’s sexual needs (1 Cor 7:3-4).

Most obviously, God made sex for procreation (Gn 1:28). But sex is for relationship as well as procreation. Genesis 2 describes how God made woman to fill man’s relationship vacuum (2:18-24). The relational purpose of human sexuality embraces far more than physical intercourse. In this broad sense, being male or being female is a God-given aid to making all sorts of relationships, including some not normally thought of as sexual at all.

The Bible does not, of course, ignore the darker side of human nature. Having described the goodness of sex in the Creator’s perfect plan, Genesis goes on to explain how man’s disobedience to God spoiled sex, just as it spoiled every other aspect of human life.

Nudity became a matter of embarrassment and fear, as men and women eyed each other as sex objects instead of as people with physical differences (Gn 3:7-10). On the relational side, trust and tenderness gave way to betrayal and harshness. Here lies the root cause of all the discrimination and abuse that fuel modern feminist protests. And procreation was spoiled, too, as the marvelous experience of childbirth was marred by unnecessary pain and distress.

This is the context in which the Bible’s ban on extramarital intercourse should be read; it prohibits adultery (Ex 20:14) and any kind of extramarital or premarital sex (1 Cor 6:18; 1 Thes 4:3). The Bible does not usually pause to back up its prohibitions with arguments, but on the rare occasions when it does expand its veto on extramarital intercourse, the reasons given are highly instructive. There is no appeal to consequences (these things are wrong because they result in disease and unwanted babies) or even to motives (these things are wrong if they are done in an unloving spirit). All extramarital sex is wrong in itself, simply because the body is not meant for sexual immorality and those who commit sexual sins sin against their own bodies (1 Cor 6:13, 18 OET CO1 6:13 · OET CO1 6:18). Sexual intercourse is a unique kind of body language that the Creator has designed to express and seal that special, exclusive, life-long relationship between a man and a woman which the Bible labels “marriage.”

The Bible also prohibits homosexuality (Lv 18:22; Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tm 1:9-10). The only verses that provide an explanation for this prohibition are Romans 1:24-27. Essentially, these verses indicate that God gave up on those who gave up on him when they turned from worshiping the Creator to worshiping things God made—that is, when they became idolaters. As such, God abandoned them, as they abandoned themselves to their own sinful and sexual desires, especially practicing homosexuality. Thus, homosexuality is seen as a violation of the natural created order and thereby an offense to God the Creator who created men and women, male and female, for procreation.

The Bible’s advice to anyone caught up in sexual temptation is practical: flee from temptation. When Joseph was invited by another man’s wife to go to bed with her, he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house (Gn 39:12). And Paul tells his Christian readers to follow Joseph’s good example (1 Cor 6:18; 2 Tm 2:22). This is an acknowledgment of the power of the normal person’s sex drive, not a counsel of despair. The power of the Holy Spirit, Paul taught, gives any believer the strength to win the war against sexual temptation. He knew Christians who had found the Spirit’s power to gain self-control and conquer the most deeply ingrained habits (1 Cor 6:9-11; Gal 5:22-23; 2 Tm 1:7).

Finally, there is a strong hint in the NT that God is going to end human sexuality just as he began it. There will be no marriage, Jesus taught, in heaven (Mt 22:30). That is an unlikely but fitting climax to the Bible’s teaching on sex and sexuality. When there is no more death, the need to procreate will be over. And when relationships are perfectly loving, there will no longer be any need for a sexual prop to support them. So both of God’s main purposes for human sexuality will be perfectly fulfilled in eternity.

See also Divorce; Family Life and Relations; Man; Marriage, Marriage Customs; Virgin; Woman.