What should we do
about sex_______________________________________
Sex in the Beginning:
1) God’s original command to
Adam was, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
and subdue it… (Genesis 1:28). After
Eve was created, Adam said, This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken
out of man (Genesis
Sex after sin:
2) After their sin, we read, then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves loin coverings (Genesis 3:21). For the first time, Now the man had relations with his wife Eve,
and she conceived and gave birth to Cain (Genesis 4:1).
Sex today:
3) For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you
abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own
vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles
who do not know God, and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the
matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also
told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the
purpose of impurity but in sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).
…it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But
because of immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman
have her own husband. Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and
likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over
her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have
authority over his own body, but he wife does. Stop depriving one another,
except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and
come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control (1 Corinthians 7:1-7).
____________________________________________________________________________________
1. What is the command God
gave Adam and what does sex have to do with that in Genesis 1:28?
INTERPRETATION: God’s command was___________________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
2. What did Adam express
about Eve in Genesis
INTERPRETATION: Adam expressed appreciation____________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
3. What can we say about the
sexual nature of Adam and Eve from Genesis 2:25?
INTERPRETATION: Both Adam and Eve were_______________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
4. What is different about
their sexual nature after their sin in Genesis 3:21 & 4:1?
INTERPRETATION: The change is seen____________________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
5. What characterizes the sex
drive according to 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8?
INTERPRETATION: The sex drive is characterized
as_________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
6. What has God called us to
and how has he told us to manage our sex drive in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8?
INTERPRETATION: God has called us to___________________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
7. What is the solution God
gives to express our sex drive in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7?
INTERPRETATION: The solution is________________________________________________________
APPLICATION: Therefore,
I should________________________________________________________
8. What can happen if we do
not use this solution in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7?
INTERPRETATION: We can______________________________________________________________
APPLICATON: Therefore,
I should_________________________________________________________
TO SUMMARIZE:
What principles have you
learned about what we should do about sex from these passages?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What should we do
about sex_______________________________________
1. INTERPRETATION: In the beginning, sex
was not the command of God. God’s command was (1) Be
fruitful, (2) multiply, (3) fill the earth, and (4) subdue it. While sex would
be necessary to do that, sex was not the focus of this command. It is not even
clear that there was a sex drive before the fall. The focus is upon filling the
earth. A man and woman can produce a living soul.
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should plan on having children if and
when I get married as the way of continuing God’s image representing Him here
on earth.
2. INTERPRETATION:
Adam expressed his appreciation for and acceptance of Eve, but once again,
sex is not the focus. There most likely was no need for a command to have sex
with Eve since living with a perfect partner in the middle of a secluded garden
was enough to do that. It is obvious that Adam is very satisfied with what he
sees.
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should expect
to be attracted to the opposite sex. That attraction will motivate me to want
to have her/him as a sexual partner.
3. INTERPRETATION:
Both Adam and Eve were given their sexual natures by God. Yet, there is
little evidence that they had sex before the fall or had made it the focus of
their relationship wit each other. While they may have had some sort of sex
drive, it could not be described with the kind of intensity that it has been
influenced by today. They were simply naked and not ashamed meaning, they were
at ease with each other without fear of being exploited for evil.
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should
express my sexuality in the context of a shared relationship with my life
partner bringing joy and ease with one another resulting in pleasure and not
fear.
4. INTERPRETATION:
It was not until after they had sinned, were thrown out of the garden, and
were too ashamed to not wear clothes, that we read for the first time that they
had sexual relations. Adam and Eve tried to hide the consequences of their sin
with fig leaves because their conscience was aroused by their sin. They were
trying to relieve their conscience which had convicted them. It was in this
context that they first had sexual relations.
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should
recognize that my sex drive as I experience it is part of the curse not a gift
from God.
5. INTERPRETATION:
The sex drive is characterized as sexual immorality, lustful passion,
transgression and defrauding, impurity—all of which is negative about sex. In
other words, the sex drive is perverted by sin and we are warned that it must
be kept under control. To do that we must avoid and not engage in any sexual
activity like premarital sex, extramarital sex, homosexuality, incest,
prostitution. Uncontrolled sexual passions involve other people in behavior
that is sinful and also makes them accountable to God.
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should
understand that I will experience sinful sexual urges that if uncontrolled will
dishonor God, and harm people and my relationship with them for which I will be
accountable to God.
6. INTERPRETATION: God has called us to
sanctification, abstinence, self-control, and discipline of our sinful sexual
passions. So we control these urges because we belong to God who has set us
apart as His own possession. We should not mimic the people who do not know
God-like
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should control my sexual urges because
God has called me to do that and not indulge my sex drive like the world does.
7. INTERPRETATION: The solution God gives
to express my sex drive is in life-long marriage. Again, everything about sex
is negative. A man should not touch a woman—a touch that leads to sexual
desires. The solution to these sexually immoral tendencies we have is to
express them in the context of marriage/sex. The command to have marriage/sex
is to keep us from immorality. So a husband and a wife are free to enjoy a
sexual relationship in the context of a marriage. This is the only safe sex
there is. Sex is a drive that needs to be controlled and the limit of that
control is within marriage.
APPLICATION: Therefore, I should enjoy sexual relations only in a
lifelong marriage of a man and a woman.
8. INTERPRETATION: One warning even in
marriage/sex is not depriving each other sexually because that opens you up to
the temptation of not controlling your sexual sinful urges. The only time you
should set aside sexual relations in marriage is to devote yourself to prayer
for a time. It is for spiritual reasons only and only for a specified thing for
a specified time. Otherwise, your partner is susceptible to the sexual urges of
a sinful sex drive. Sex in marriage is God’s way of controlling our perverted
sexual urges.
INTERPRETATION: Therefore, I should determine to fulfill my marriage partners sexual urges as a way of helping avoid the
temptation of an uncontrolled sex drive.