Monday, August 15, 2011

sex as part of all things

In Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Justin Taylor suggests we do a Bible word search on all things rather than sex to see what the Bible tells us about sex ... because sex is a subset of all things. I like it.
  • Sex is created by God (“by him all things were created”—Col. 1:16).
  • Sex continues to exist by the will of Christ (“in him all things hold together”—Col. 1:17).
  • Sex is caused by God (he “works all things according to the counsel of his will”—Eph. 1:11).
  • Sex is subject to Christ (“he put all things under his feet”— Eph. 1:22). • Christ is making sex new (“Behold, I am making all things new”—Rev. 21:5).
  • Sex is good (“everything created by God is good”—1 Tim. 4:4).
  • Sex is lawful in the context of marriage (“all things are lawful”— 1 Cor. 10:23).
  • When we have sex, we are to do it for the glory of God (“whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”—1 Cor. 10:31).
  • Sex works together for the good of God’s children (“for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”—Rom. 8:28).
  • We are to thank God for sex (“nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving”—1 Tim. 4:4).
  • Sex is to be sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (“everything . . . is made holy by the word of God and prayer”— 1 Tim. 4:4-5).
  • We must be on guard not to be enslaved by sex (“I will not be enslaved by anything”—1 Cor. 6:12).
  • We are not to grumble about sex (“do all things without grumbling”—Phil. 2:14).
  • We are to rejoice in the Lord during sex (“rejoice in the Lord always”—Phil. 4:4).
  • We are to be content in sex (“having all contentment in all things at all times”—2 Cor. 9:8 mg.).
  • We are to practice and pursue sexual relations in holiness and honor (“each one of you [is to] know how to control his own body [KJV: “possess his vessel”; RSV: “take a wife for himself”] in holiness and honor”—1 Thess. 4:4).
  • Spouses are not to “deprive one another [sexually], except perhaps by agreement for a limited time,” that they might devote themselves to prayer (1 Cor. 7:5).
  • But then they are commanded to “come together again [sexually], so that Satan may not tempt [them] because of [their] lack of self-control” (1 Cor. 7:5).
  • In this fallen age, sex is both pure and impure—“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled” (Titus 1:15).

1 comment:

Stoned-Campbell Disciple said...

Rick excellent material and we Christians need to think this through biblically. Richard Davidson's Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament is outstanding ... his 200+ pages on the Song of Songs as the "culmination" of the book are rich beyond belief.

Another fascinating work, that i disagree with some of its interpretations but still very profound, is David Carr's The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spirituality and the Bible. I could not put the book down.

Thanks for stirring the pot.

Shalom,
Bobby Valentine

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