Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What wider purpose can the love of wife and husband for each other,
Next Session expressed supremely in sexual intimacy and delight,
Having Children possibly serve in God’s world,
except the obvious one of creating a family of “gardeners”?
Assumption:
The purpose of having male and female, the reason for the existence of sex Marriage & Sex
and the essential goal of marriage, is the creation of children. Genesis 2:18-25
True? Or not?
Marriage is instituted by God
and sexual attraction has been built into us by God.
2 7
Genesis 2:18, 22-25 Marriage & Sex Love
The Lord God said,
“It is not good for the man to be alone.
The thought moves The task as set out in the Great Commission
I will make a helper suitable for him.”…. from can only be achieved through
The Lord made a woman A: Marriage a faithful love for God and for your fellow man.
from the rib he had taken out of the man, (companion This love for the world can only flow from
and he brought her to the man. The man said, to help him) a life which lives out this love
“This is now bone of my bones, through
and flesh of my flesh; B: Physical identity God’s Purpose for Sex
she shall be called ‘woman’ (bone of my bones,
for she was taken out of man.” flesh of my flesh), A marriage of a husband and wife, who both live out this love
For this reason and physical union as part of their private experience,
a man will leave his father and mother
(united… one flesh) fulfils the purpose God when He made man and women
and to desire each other in the intimacy of sexual delight.
be united to his wife. to positive
and C: Sexual awareness The Purpose of Sex: not to meet needs, nor to create children;
they will become one flesh. (naked and no shame) rather it is to nurture love between husband and wife.
The man and the woman were both naked, “Sex created in order to build intimacy and love between the couple
and they felt no shame. that then ‘explode’ onto the world
with the security and experience of a private bliss.
Adam & Eve’s Response to Sex
The strengthening of relationship, the joy in the midst of life
Adam and Eve were not ashamed,
is vital for the effectiveness of the couple…
because they were not aware of evil and had no sinful thoughts.
There is a mutual delight in each other, an intimacy
The “knowledge of good and evil” had not entered into their lives,
in the midst of life and household responsibilities.
though the potential danger was there, (see Gen.2:17)¨
To refresh and restore one another, to strengthen the relationship
A Pro-creational View of Sex - An Ancient Misconception which is then able to take on the task given to it.” (IH)
The early Church Fathers, including Augustine,
The faithful intimate love of a committed couple
thought sex could only serve God when it led to a pregnancy.
can provide a centre of stable security, so that
Otherwise it was essentially sinful!!
this safe home becomes a refuge into which others can be welcomed.
To Discuss:
Sex In the Service of God
• What is wrong with this interpretation of Genesis 2?
Look up Gen 26;8, Is 62:5, Pro 5:18-19 The Song of Songs is best known for its celebration of
the intimacies of love as experienced by two lovers.
Corinth’s Degradation of sex But how does it fit the context of the service of God?
Corinth was well known for its sexual immorality. Gardens in the Bible are not primarily there to provide a beautiful place
So some people were reacting by encouraging married couples to sit and enjoy the pleasures of its colourful flowers and lovely fragrances.
to avoid sex altogether (“Don’t touch! - 1 Cor 7:1) A garden is there to produce fruit
So the lovers revel in the springtime of love
Paul’s High View of sex because it gives hope for the autumn of fruitfulness.
Paul, however, told them it was much better for a couple to be married Fruitfulness is a great Bible picture, not only of children,
and enjoy equal “conjugal rights” over each other. but more significantly,
They owe it to each other to do all they can to satisfy each other’s sexual desires. of a world properly ordered and cultivated :the Kingdom of Heaven itself.
6
Public Acknowledgement of a Calling 3
Marriage is not just a private matter of two lovers making a covenant
together. Before Marrying…
Rather it is a calling to which husband and wife are Note: On your wedding day
called by God by virtue of being married. you surrender authority over your body to your wife or husband.
The Public Nature of Marriage So you had better make sure before you agree to marry
Further it is a relationship initiated, hedged and bounded by that you trust that person!
public recognition and support. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4
Hence it should never be totally private, least of all secret. The husband should fulfil his marital duty to his wife,
and likewise the wife to her husband.
Public Feast – Private Intimacy The wife’s body does not belong to her alone
Placing bride and bridegroom on the marriage bed in front of the cameras but also to her husband.
has sound biblical justification. [The wife does not have authority over her own body,
The married state is thus publicly recorded. but the husband does. – NKJV]
There can be no doubt of their new sexual relationship as married couple. In the same way, also,
the husband’s body does not belong to him alone
What happens subsequently is privately conducted. but also to his wife.
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time;
To Discuss so that you may devote* yourselves to prayer.
Modern secular portrayals of marriage and sex Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you
give the idea that it is “cool” to have a private wedding because of your lack of self-control.
(say, on a remote exotic beach) * Devote give time, energy and attention
and that sex can be a public (adult) affair.
•Discuss the comparisons between a traditional Shadi in the East Conjugal Rights
and the above scenario often portrayed in the West. •We need to avoid anything that diverts our sexual energies
What has Scripture to say about such practices away from the one to whom we owe them
(Eastern and Western)? e.g.
5
The Creation of Woman – Overwork leading to neglect of the spouse
The purpose of sex is not primarily the satisfaction of a need – Pornography leading to loss of interest in the marriage
(to experience a relationship), That would cheapen sex.
For married couples:
God’s Purpose We need to pay attention to, and guard, those life-style factors that
Our view of sex changes radically when we stop seeing it in terms of cause sexual delight in marriage to flourish.
meeting man’s needs e.g.
and start to see it as expressing God’s purposes, –Making regular times for being together
which began with
A. a garden to be worked and cared for, –Having time to attend to each other’s needs and interests
continued with a people called to be Cf. “devote” time, energy and attention
B. light to the nations, In marriage each owes his or her body to the other,
and proceeds now with to give the other all the love and intimacy of which they are capable.
C. a Kingdom to be extended Sometimes there will be sheer delight for both.
through the carrying out of the Great Commission.
At other times, for one partner this will be more of a costly giving not “sexuality”, (merely an added comment),
when, for whatever reason, he or she has little or no desire to be intimate. that is “the culminating high point in the story of Genesis 2”.
4 5
Genesis 2:24
For married couples: For this reason WHY?
Remember on your wedding day you committed yourself sexually a man will leave his father and mother WHO? WHAT?
to your wife or husband for life. and
Make space for it as marriage goes on; nurture it and nourish it in love be united to his wife, WHAT? WHO?
and
A Marital Duty
they will become one flesh. WHO? WHAT?
The Bible forbids sex outside marriage, But it commands sex within marriage! The man and the woman were both naked,
Guard the fires of your heart so that the warmth of your love and
can spread outwards to others! they felt no shame.