Sex, for good and bad, can be “awe-fully” consequential. As such, it is always provocative and never safe. When Andy Warhol said, “Sex is the biggest nothing of all time,” he was so wrong. Sex is one of the biggest somethings of all time – and for far deeper reasons and in many more fabulous ways than most people appreciate.
For Christians, sex is a big thing because it’s a big thing to God.
Those outside the circle of faith often see followers of Christ as we typically see our parents. They couldn’t possibly be sexual, save for the few obligatory engagements needed to bring offspring into the world. But this is a false understanding. Truth be told, parents and Christians have a very vibrant interest in sexuality (except my parents, I’m sure!). And Christians have a higher view of human sexuality than most people. G. K. Chesterton hinted at this in an odd way when he said, “When once you have got hold of a vulgar joke, you may be certain that you have got hold of a subtle and spiritual idea.”1
And Bruce Marshall is even more startling: “The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.”2
What Chesterton, always the provocateur for truth, is trying to have us understand is that human sexuality comes to us from God, and even when it is sadly perverted in vulgar joke, the teller is unwittingly referring to something that is, at its root, remarkably sacred and godly. (And that’s exactly why the perversion of it is so wrong.)
Marshall would have us know that even the search for intimacy in the wrong places, in the wrong ways, is intimately about seeking what God made us for. (And that’s exactly why it should be sought in the right places in the right ways.) This search drives all of us in many different and powerful ways. Some are simply more aware of what is really behind it.
What these men are saying is that – at its root as God created it – sex is remarkably sacred and ultimately about seeking that which God made us for. We must understand that God’s interest in human sexuality is so much more than merely making sure people behave themselves. God is much more than some supreme Dr. Laura barking out moral directives over a heavenly radio. But it’s not confined to only this. His interest is rooted in something much bigger.
God, and those who follow Him, take sex very seriously, and the Christian picture of sexuality is much more serious, vibrant, and well…sexy…than any other view held in the larger culture. As a result, it’s far more fulfilling.
While it might seem old-fashioned or passé to people outside the faith, the Christian view of sexuality is actually a very radical one. It’s radical because is goes against the culture and holds up human sexuality as nothing less than an icon of the inner life of God. That’s far from “nothing.” Before we address this, let’s understand that place of sexuality in family life.
The gate leading to the house
Regarding the relationship between sex and the family, allow me the indulgence of quoting Chesterton again:
A Christian view of human sexuality is all about context – making sure we don’t separate some part of the thing from all the others that are intended to make it a complete thing. The Message, Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible, states it this way:
What is God’s interest in sex?
…Adam as man and Eve as woman are uniquely created to show forth the image of God in creation. They reflect it as individuals and they reflect it as complements to one another. This image is one of love, intimacy, creativity, cooperation, beauty, glory, and much more. In Adam and Eve’s God-given design, let’s observe how their sexuality is a primary part of their being.
What’s the first statement God makes to Adam and Eve after their creation? “God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth’” (Genesis 1:28).
Think of this in terms of what He doesn’t tell them to do. From the start, God doesn’t tell Adam and Eve to engage in
- learning, as intellectual beings,
- prayer, as spiritual beings,
- economics, as industrious and productive beings,
- politics, as orderly and civil beings, or
- writing stories, performing music or dance, or doing art, as creative beings.
Of course, each of these is part of our God-given humanity and part of God’s command to “subdue” the earth. Each of these is a part of family life that we should practice and celebrate. But these are not what came first. God blesses man and woman and bids them to be fruitful and multiply—exercising and reveling in their nature as sexual beings. This was the first command for humanity, and Adam and Eve were, no doubt, quite happy to obey. God was pleased also.
Likewise, let’s look at the event when Adam and Eve, fresh from the mouth of God, first gaze upon each other. Adam didn’t look at Eve and declare his appreciation for her intellectual brilliance, her sensible outlook on life, or her spiritual piety. Not by a long shot!
Adam and Eve first glory in something else, something some Christian theologies have unfortunately and incorrectly thought of as quite base and ungodly. They marvel at each other’s bodies—their flesh. When Adam sees Eve for the first time, he proclaims with great excitement, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23, NIV).
He can’t help but recognize this aspect of her. God had made Eve beautiful and Adam knew instinctively that this partner was just right for him. Adam was a physical and emotional oddity without Eve, but now it all made sense. Both of them understood the naked truth (sorry!) that Adam was made for Eve and Eve was made for Adam. God revealed it in their flesh, as part of His perfect design.
This helps us understand something very important about Christianity. As C. S. Lewis said, “Christianity is almost the only one of the great religions which thoroughly approves of the body—which believes that matter is good, [where] God Himself once took on a human body.”5
This makes it difficult to sustain the Gnostic view of humanity held by many Christians, who believe “the flesh” is a lower or baser part of our humanity and our soul or spirit is a higher and godlier part. How can this be, when from the beginning our physical bodies are very much a part of God’s perfect picture of humanity—before Satan’s corrupting hand came on the scene?
This gets us back to Chesterton’s quip about the vulgar joke. Satan can corrupt sexuality and the flesh and turn it into something ugly. But it is, at its core, something beautiful and godly. Therefore, the flesh is spiritual and we should appreciate and cherish it under the lordship of Christ.
