In the beginning, God created the earth.
Told you I was getting my faith on for this one.
So, God created the earth and all the animals and then He made a man. You can read all about it here, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
Now, before I lose all the atheists here, some Christians believe that this is not a literal, linear history of the creation of earth and all it contains. Some believe it is metaphorical. For example, many do not see a conflict between evolution and the seven days of creation. 2 Peter 3:8 says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." I say this because even if you do not look at Genesis as a literal history, the lessons it teaches are paramount. This being simple things like:
1) God created the earth and all it contains.
2) We as humanity messed up His perfect creation by engaging in sin and bringing about the fall of man/losing our immortality on this earth (eating the "apple"), and therefore requiring a Savior to rectify our relationship with God so that we may regain our immortality in heaven.
3) The creation of the marriage relationship.
There are other points that are important surely but I'm really interested in number 3 here. So anyways, the point is- I am going to talk about Adam and Eve. Please think of them as either literally Adam and Eve or as in a metaphor for God's first created people- what ever you choose. It doesn't change the meaning of the story. I'm just saying, go with me on this.
So, God made Adam, and Adam was excited to name all the animals and hang out with them, but he was lonely. Lions and aardvarks and beluga whales and etc, all make rad friends but they don't come anywhere near approaching a "soul mate" type relationship.
Genesis 2:18 "The Lord God said, it is not good for man to be alone."
It does not say:
It is not good for man to be childless!
And so, God made a woman so that man could procreate.
It does not say:
It is not good for man to be horny!
And so, God made a women so that man could satisfy his desires.
It says:
It is not good for man to be alone.
And so, God made a women so that man would not be alone.
We were made to complete each other.
God did not make a dozen women and parade them in front of Adam and give Adam a rose he could bestow upon the one he deemed most fit to satisfy his needs and desires like a Biblical Bachelor TV show. NO. God created Eve as a perfect fit FOR ADAM. Adam didn't date around or have his parents pick out a wife for him. He was just chilling in the garden and BAM! the woman God intended for him appeared.
You know the bit about God taking a rib out of the side of Adam and forming Eve from it and etc so let me skip ahead to the verse that this entire post is based on.
Genesis 2:24 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
Now, from the translation of the Hebrew that is here you could try to argue that this verse is describing the solely physical phenomena of copulation. However, the Hebrew word that is translated into "one flesh" is "echad". The Hebrew script of this word can be see in red on the right margin of the background on this blog (not visible on mobile devices). "Echad" means "unified one". A term that implies a multiple of things coming together to form one entity. The word "yachid" is used as the numerical one.
Ok, ok so physically one? Right? No.
"Echad" is also the word used to describe the spiritual oneness of the Trinity.
Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."
Echad.
One.
Jesus even echoed this verse, which is important to note. Jesus only preached for three years before being crucified. He didn't waste time repeating previously established scripture that wasn't vital.
Mark 12:28, 29
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
Surely, there is nothing "physical" about the spiritual union of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the Trinity. Is there?
Oh, and guess what other scripture Jesus found important enough to repeat.
Matthew 19:4-9
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that in the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female', and for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."
"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man could give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way in the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
And it gets better! After hearing these rigid and unyielding words, the disciples balked (as our "sexually liberated" society does). Their comeback was to say it was better to never marry than to be stuck with one person forever!
Matthew 19:10
The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
And it gets BETTER! Jesus' response was basically to say that either you marry one person and unite with them entirely (spiritually, mentally, physically) with them ONLY for your WHOLE LIFE, or you live your life as though you don't have genitals.
Matthew 19:11-12
Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs (Those who are castrated. No sexy-time parts.) who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others- and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
Could He be clearer?
Marriage or abstinence. Pick one.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus.
Sex is meant to facilitate a spiritual oneness so complete it is to be reserved for that one person with whom you partake of the covenant of marriage and you are not to separate in this lifetime unless your spouse is sexually immoral, commits adultery.
*Note: else where in the Bible other types of difficult marriage situations are discussed like not being married to a Christian etc- this isn't the ONLY "ok" reason to end a marriage.
Are you beginning to see the huge significance sex inherently has according to the Lord God? I am not saying that every marriage that suffers a spouse's infidelity should end in divorce. Miraculously, with the love of Christ, marriages can be healed from infidelity. However, it shows how deep the significance of sex is, that Jesus (who campaigns for the forgiveness of all sins) should sanction it as the only truly acceptable reason for divorce. Just, food for thought.
So, um what exactly happens spiritually when you have sex with people who aren't the person God intends for you, your "soulmate" if you will, what happens spiritually?
The answer is, I'm not entirely sure. I haven't had the pleasure. (Haha, get it? Pleasure? Sorry, at least one corny virgin joke per blog.)
It would be nice to say, nothing. Nothing happens to your soul, if you make love to people who aren't your husband or wife. They aren't your soul mate so the sex really is just physical. I'ld like to say that, but thats not true.
So, I love Paul, the apostle Paul. Wrote quite a few books of the New Testament, a real stand up guy. Paul was first known by the name "Saul" and actually worked for the pharisees persecuting and executing Christians in the early church- super early church; Jesus's disciples were still living. Then Jesus actually came down from heaven to be like "Hey you, jerk face, stop killing my people and follow me", except way more epically- striking him blind and all. Its a pretty cool experience to read about in Acts 9:1-19. Anyways, so even though Paul wasn't a disciple, he did have a face-to-face experience with Christ and was clearly super blessed with the Holy Spirit and wrote some of the most moving and convicting scripture in the Bible. Here is one of my favorite passages from Corinthians. Corinthians is the letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in Greece. The congregation of Corinth had a lot of issues with sexual sin due to the members of the church engaging in sexual lifestyles common in Greek culture. So Paul writes to them:
1 Corinthians 6: 15-20
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? (We as Christians make up the "body" of Christ) Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For "the two," God says, "shall become one flesh" (he is quoting the "echad" verse here! Remember it means complete oneness including spiritual oneness!) But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (Christians are spiritually one with God through the Holy Spirit). Flee sexual immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's.
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you; when you sin against your body you are sinning against the temple of the Holy Spirit. As with any sin, there are spiritual consequences; but this scripture clearly states that there are special consequences for sexual sin.
Think about the example Paul uses here. The example is sexual sin with a prostitute. So with a prostitute, it truly is just physical...right? You pay money to have someone get you off and give you sexual pleasure- there is no emotionally intimacy right? So even in a situation when there is NO emotional intimacy, only physical- you are still damaging your soul. So what is happening to your soul when you are entangling it with someone you are actually living in sin with and sharing all types of intimacy with? Maybe even having kids?
One more point.
Throughout the Bible, from Isaiah to Revelation, marriage is used as a metaphor for Christ and the Church. Christ is the "bridegroom" and the Church is his "bride". Obviously there is NOTHING physical/sexual about our relationship to Christ, so this metaphor is used to describe the perfect spiritual oneness and the covenant of unending love that we have with Christ (which will be revealed in its fullness once Christ comes again or we die whichever comes first). Lets look at my favorite passage in the New Testament about this metaphor (My favorite in the Old Testament is all of the book Hosea). In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul reminds them as well of Genesis 2:24 and "echad".
Ephesians 5:25-33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way husbands aught to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church- for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (echad). This is a profound mystery- but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Bottom line.
Sex is spiritual. Not just "should be".
It is.
Either you unite as God intended or you join and tear apart and damage your soul in the process.
End of story.
Unyielding words, I know.
For making it to the end of this blog and because I don't want you to hate me here is a picture of cute cats dressed as bride and groom. Huzzah for the internet.
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