Raising Purity

• Entrusted with a Child’s Heart, by Betsy Corning

  December 3, 2009 | 1 Comment

  Over the past number of years my wife and I have greatly benefited from the ministry of Betsy Corning. Betsy and her husband Dave are founding members of Harvest Bible Chapel (my home church). Over the years Betsy has put together a family-targeted curriculum that helps young mothers think through all of the important issues related to marriage and family. This curriculum has been so beneficial to the health and life of my own family, as well as the Harvest family. Many of the women in our church have been through Betsy’s year-long class multiple times. That’s how good this information is.

  “But,” you say, “I live in Toledo; I can’t take Betsy class.” Ahh, but now you can. Betsy has finally pulled all of this rich information into book form: Entrusted with a Child’s Heart: A Biblical Study in Family Life. The book is a veritable “how to” manual for raising kids and navigating the inevitable pitfalls of family relationships. Each chapter is chalked full of godly, biblical, field-tested wisdom, followed by a memory verse, a commitment prayer, and discussion questions for small group use.

  If you’re looking for a a personal or small group study on the family, I highly recommend Betsy’s book. Below is a bit more information from the Entrusted site about Betsy and her ministry.

  Betsy Corning is Founder of Entrusted Ministries. She is the author and teacher of Entrusted with a Child’s Heart parenting curriculum which has been taught to thousands of women. The curriculum was written for her home church of Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois and is now being distributed nationally via DVD. Betsy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy and has extensive experience in Biblical counseling. She and her husband, David, have been involved in ministry from the beginning of their married lives, starting with the Navigators. They are founding members of Harvest Bible Chapel where David serves as Chairman of the Elder Board. They are the parents of three grown children and the grandparents of five.

  Categories: Books/Resources, Entrusted Ministries, Parenting

• Miss Average Student’s View of Propriety

  November 30, 2009 | 0 Comments

  This book originated out of my desire to arrive at a biblical, objective definition of sexual purity—a sexual purity of both body and heart. And though there is much more to purity than how we behave, our behavior is a tangible expression of our inward devotion. And what I’ve found is that many young people today lack clarity about what is appropriate regarding sexual boundaries between “dating” couples. Toward this end, I include in the book a mock (yet I think, realistic) conversation between myself and “Miss Average Student,” a conservative sixteen-year old in the local evangelical youth group.

  Gerald: So I hear you have a new boyfriend.

  Student: Yeah, Tom and I have been going out now for three weeks.

  Gerald: Really? How’s that been going for you?

  Student: It’s been going great. We have so much in common. I can already tell that we’re really going to hit it off.

  Gerald: Well, I certainly hope so. Do you mind if I ask you something a little personal?

  Student: Umm . . . I guess you can.

  Gerald: I was just wondering what your physical relationship is like. I mean, does Tom kiss you?

  Student: I . . . err . . . I don’t know.

  Gerald: You don’t know, or you don’t want to say?

  Student: I don’t want to say.

  Gerald: Why don’t you want to say? Is there something wrong with kissing?

  Student: There’s nothing wrong with kissing. I mean, there could be something wrong with kissing if two people were, like, really kissing. But if you’re just kissing, it’s not that big of a deal.

  Gerald: How do you know that really kissing is bad and “just kissing” is fine?

  Student: Well, you have to be careful, because if you get carried away, you can start doing things you shouldn’t.

  Gerald: But how do you know what kinds of things you shouldn’t do?

  Student: (pauses) I guess I’m not totally sure. I mean, I know you shouldn’t have sex . . .

  Gerald: Well, I’ll mention some other things, and you tell me if you think they’re okay or not. How about holding hands?

  Student: That’s fine.

  Gerald: How about a good-night kiss?

  Student: Fine.

  Gerald: A prolonged good-night kiss, but not a French kiss.

  Student: That’s fine.

  Gerald: How about a lot of kissing, say fifteen minutes worth, but still no French kissing?

  Student: I guess that’s okay.

  Gerald: How about French kissing?

  Student: Maybe, but that’s it.

  Gerald: Why?

  Student: I just wouldn’t feel comfortable doing anything more than that.

  Gerald: So do you determine what is right based on what you feel comfortable with?

  Student: Well, I guess so. Each person has to pray about it and come to his or her own standard of how far is too far. For myself, I just wouldn’t want to do any more than that.

  Gerald: What if you had a friend who felt comfortable with French kissing and caressing. As long as she felt comfortable, would that be okay?

  Student: Well, the guy she’s with might not feel comfortable. Maybe that would be too tempting for him and would make him want to do more than he should.

  Gerald: What do you mean by “more than he should”? How do we know how far is too far for him?

  Student: He needs to know that for himself, I guess.

  Gerald: Okay then. Let’s say that both the guy and the girl feel comfortable with heavy French kissing and caressing. Is it okay, since they both feel comfortable with what they’re doing?

  Student: (pauses) Well, I don’t think that would be right . . .

  Gerald: Neither do I, but how would you convince them that they are doing something inappropriate?

  Student: I guess I’m not really sure.

  Miss Average Student, despite her sincerity, does not realize that the Bible restricts all sexual activity to the marriage relationship, not just sexual intercourse.  If you’re a parent or a pastor, and you couldn’t have done much better, may I recommend a book?

  Categories: From the Book, How Far is Too Far?, Sexual Purity

• What Constitutes Sexual Relations? or How Far Is too Far? Part 3

  November 23, 2009 | 1 Comment

  I’ve had a number of thoughtful responses on the Straight Up blog to my posts on sexual purity, a few of which question my interpretation of 1 Timothy 5:2. So I want to touch on this in a bit more detail. Ultimately, I believe my interpretation of this passage is correct, but in the end, my conclusion is not dependent on it. My interpretation of 1 Timothy 5:2 supports my conclusion, rather than serves as the basis for my conclusion. So leaving aside this contested verse, here’s another run at my basic point. See if my logic makes sense…

  First, sexual relations are to be reserved for the marriage relationship. Second, there’s more to sexual relations than sexual intercourse. Third, any activity that is sexual in nature should be reserved for the marriage relationship. I think most of us agree up to this point.

  But now a question looms… How do we determine if an activity is sexual, or merely physical? Identifying the sexual nature of certain activities is pretty easy. Oral sex, mutual masturbation, fondling, etc., are all clearly sexual activities. But what about kissing?

  Logically, the easiest way to determine the sexual nature of an activity is to consider it against the backdrop of the family relationship. If I would refrain from doing a certain activity with a biological relative because it would be sexually inappropriate, then that activity is of a sexual nature and should be reserved for the marriage relationship.

  But one reader responded, “With all due respect, in regards to the concept of ‘familial treatment,’ would you suggest I stop holding the hand of my girlfriend, or that I instead become OK with the thought of holding hands with my sister?”

  An understandable question, but one that misses the point. The intent of viewing an activity against the backdrop of the biological family is not simply to ask “What activities do I avoid doing with my biological relatives?” but rather “What activities do I avoid doing with my biological relatives because those activities are sexual?” I’ve seen a father hold hands with his young daughter, and an older brother hold hands with his younger sister. This may not be common as we move into the adult world, but there is nothing sexual about holding hands. If holding hands was a sexual activity, we would not permit it between biological relatives at any stage in life. But if we saw a father giving his daughter a prolonged open-mouth kiss, we’d be calling DCFS. And we should. Some activities are physical/affectionate (holding hands, hugging, kissing on the cheek, a quick peck on the lips, etc.), while other activities are sexual and would be deemed completely inappropriate between blood relatives.

  So reducing my logic to it’s simplest form, I assert the following…

  1. Sexual relations should be reserved for marriage.
  2. Sexual relations include more than sexual intercourse.
  3. Some forms of kissing (e.g., open mouth, prolonged, French) move beyond affection and are sexual in nature.

  thus I conclude,

  4. Sexual forms of kissing should be reserved for marriage.

  If you disagree with my conclusion (point 4) , I welcome your thoughts on where my logic breaks down in points 1-3.

  Of course, it’s hard to make a such counter-culture point in a few short posts. The first chapter of my book lays out a theology of human sexuality, drawing on Christ’s relationship with the Church, which helps to provide a theological backdrop against which to understand this standard of sexual purity. And chapter two provides more extensive argumentation than I’ve provided here. If you’re interested, you can download for free the first first two chapters.

  Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

  Categories: About the Book, How Far is Too Far?, Sexual Purity

• How Far is too Far? or What Constitutes Sexual Relations?: Part 2

  November 16, 2009 | 0 Comments

  So how far is too far when it comes to sexual activity between unmarried men and women? In this post, I discussed how sexual propriety between unmarried men and women must conform to a familial standard of purity. Simply put, sexual activity (of any kind) must be reserved for the marriage relationship (1 Corinthians 7:7-9). We can know if an activity is sexual by considering that action within the context of the family relationship (see 1 Timothy 5:2). In other words, if I would not engage in a certain activity with my sister because it would be deemed sexually inappropriate to do so, then that activity is of a sexual nature and to be reserved for the marriage relationship.

  In Raising Purity, I examine the above sexual ethic against the backdrop of the first-century Greco-Roman culture. As is argued below, the New Testament authors are working within, and affirming, a culturally accepted sexual ethic regarding sexual relations between unmarried men and women. Failure to consider this wider context often causes many Christians to redefine purity in a way that would have been foreign to the biblical authors. Two aspects of the ancient culture are particularly noteworthy here. Continuing from the book…

  First, unlike our present day understanding of sex (which tends to be strictly limited to sexual intercourse), the first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman concept of sex was more holistic. A man and woman who repeatedly initiated and then suddenly cut short their sexual relations prior to consummation (as is common in Christian dating relationships today) would have been unusual in Paul’s day. Either one abstained from sexual relations altogether, or carried them out to their full consummation. Thus in the ancient culture the sexual relationship does not appear to have been broken down into a series of distinguishable steps (e.g., kissing, caressing, intercourse), with only the final stage—intercourse—qualifying as “sex.” Intercourse was viewed as the consummation of sex, not the sum total of sex. Thus when the biblical authors warned against sexual immorality, they were understood to be warning against all extra-marital sexual activity.

  Secondly, in both the ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman context, the ability of a respectable young woman to find a suitable marriage partner was, in no small part, contingent upon her father’s ability to prove her chastity. Consequently, a father took great pains to protect the moral integrity of his daughter’s reputation until the day of her marriage. Respectable young women did not leave the house unescorted, and the practice of cloistering (i.e., where a young woman was kept in the home and secluded away from any male non-relatives) was often employed. Needless to say, our contemporary dating practices were completely foreign to the first-century context. Respectable young women did not spend time alone with males who were not part of the household, nor did they engage in even light sexual activity prior to marriage. In fact, respectable, unmarried women in the ancient world were, in many respects, not easily afforded the opportunity to engage in sexual misconduct. (This explains why the commands in the Bible regarding sexual purity are almost all directed toward men, who, unlike young women, would have had more social license to visit prostitutes or take a mistress—practices that were so standard for the culture of that day that even the Christian men at Corinth routinely engaged in such behavior.)

  Consequently, in Paul’s day, premarital sexual activity that intentionally stopped short of sexual intercourse was not common. Either men and respectable women abstained from it altogether, or a man engaged in it fully with a prostitute or mistress. Given this historical and cultural framework, we can understand why the biblical authors did not feel a need to spell out “how far is too far?” It was already understood, even within the wider secular culture; any sexual activity outside the marriage relationship was off limits.

  We must not redefine purity in a way that would have been foreign to the biblical authors. In the first-century context, the concept of purity automatically meant treating members of the opposite sex as family. The New Testament assumes and affirms this standard of sexual purity.

  Categories: From the Book, How Far is Too Far?

• Upcoming “Raising Purity” Workshop for Parents

  November 5, 2009 | 0 Comments

  I’ll be conducting a “Raising Purity” workshop for parents in the Chicago land area at the end of this month. The workshop is a three hour distillation of the major themes of my book. If you live in the area, and are interested, below is the relevant information and the blurb from the registration website.

  Do they know? Do you? Many young people today are confused about the Bible’s perspective on sex, dating and relationships. Should they give dating a chance or kiss it goodbye? What exactly is sexual purity, and how far is too far, anyway? Perhaps our children don’t know the answers to these questions because we as parents are uncertain ourselves. In this ground-breaking workshop, Gerald Hiestand provides objective, biblical answers to these vital questions, and unfolds a paradigm-shifting view of relationships and purity that challenges the basic assumptions of our Christian sub-culture. Touching on a wide range of subjects, this workshop is sure to help parents and children think clearly, biblically and practically about the God-ordained purpose of human sexuality.

  Gerald Hiestand has conducted numerous purity workshops and is the author of Raising Purity: Helping Parents Understand the Bible’s Perspective on Sex, Dating, and Relationships. Gerald is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and serves here at Harvest as an Adult Ministries Pastor; he also oversees Harvest’s Adult Christian Education program.

  Date: November 21, 2009
  Place: Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, IL
  Time: 8:30AM-11:30AM
  Cost: $12 per person, $15 per couple (includes a copy of Raising Purity)
  Registration: Online at harvestrollingmeadows.org/purity

  A recording of the workshop will be posted here for those who can’t make it but are interested. Hope to see you there – bring a friend!.

  Categories: Uncategorized

• Upcoming “Pure Relationships” Workshop for Singles

  November 5, 2009 | 0 Comments

  For those living in the Chicago land area, I will be conducting a workshop for singles on the topic of purity and relationships.  Here’s the relevant information, and the blurb from the registration website:

  In a society that has long ago abandoned any meaningful commitment to chastity and virtue, honoring God with one’s sexuality can be a daunting task. Sadly, for many Christian singles today, absolutes in the realm of sexuality have remained entirely too elusive. What exactly is purity? Can it be defined objectively? How far is too far, anyway? What are we to make of dating–should we kiss it goodbye, embrace it, or find a middle ground? Why did God create human sexuality in the first place? Our failure to find objective, biblical answers to these questions has left the church in a state of moral uncertainty. In this workshop, Pastor Gerald Hiestand offers a biblical theology of human sexuality, and provides an objective definition to the subjective concept of purity. Participants will be challenged to rethink their understanding of human sexuality in light of the image of God.

  Gerald Hiestand is the author of Raising Purity: Helping Parent’s Understand the Bible’s Perspective on Sex, Dating, and Relationships, and has conducted numerous purity workshops. Gerald serves here at Harvest as an Adult Ministries Pastor and the Director of Harvest’s Adult Christian Education. He has degrees from Moody Bible Institute and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is the executive director of the Society for the Advancement of Ecclesial Theology.

  Date: December 5, 2009
  Location: Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, IL
  Time: 6PM-9PM
  Cost: $12
  Registration: harvestrollingmeadows.org/purityworkshop

  This will be recorded and uploaded here, for those who are interested but can’t make the workshop.

  Categories: Uncategorized

• How Far is Too Far? or What Constitutes Sexual Relations?

  November 4, 2009 | 2 Comments

  One of the pressing questions facing parents and pastors (particularly youth pastors, college pastors and sinlges pastors) is the age old question of sexual propriety—specifically, “How far is too far?” In other words, what activities are appropriate for an unmarried man and woman to engage in? I’ve become convinced we parents and pastors have been far too vague in the direction we’ve provided in this matter. We tell sixteen-year old boys to refrain from sexual intercourse, but beyond that it’s pretty much “pray about it and set your own sexual boundaries.” Not a good plan. We give our opinions (keep it above the neck), but we don’t have any hard and fast boundaries—no “thus says the Lord.”

  As a former youth pastor I had to tackle this topic for my students and came away convinced there were some things that needed to be said on this issue that were not being said. The resulting reflection formed the heart of my book Raising Purity: Helping Parents Understand the Bible’s Perspective on Sex, Dating, and Relationships. A big part of what I was trying to do in the book was to find a biblically based, objective standard of sexual conduct, binding for all unmarried people in all circumstances (a tall order, to be sure!). Below is an excerpt from the book where I tackle this question. I’m interested in your thoughts…

  “Nearly all devout Christians who take the Bible seriously will agree that sexual relations should be reserved for marriage. But it is precisely at this point we often fail to think carefully about the full implications of this biblical mandate. Too often we limit our understanding of sexual relations to include only sexual intercourse. But is such a narrow understanding of sexual relations legitimate? One is reminded here of a past president who staunchly asserted, “I did not have sexual relations with that women.” Of course what he really meant was that he did not engage in sexual intercourse. But how many of us (his wife not least) were satisfied with this truncated definition of sexual relations? Clearly sexual relations extend beyond sexual intercourse. Oral sex, fondling, and mutual masturbation, for example, are all sexual activities. Once we embrace the biblical truth that sexual relations must be reserved for marriage, the age old question, “How far is too far?” is easily answered. If an activity is sexual, it is to be abstained from while in the Neighbor Relationship.

  But how are we to determine if an activity is sexual? Achieving such clarity is not as difficult as one might think. In 1 Timothy 5:2 Paul clearly details what constitutes sexual activity, tying together the familial treatment of the opposite sex with absolute purity. In this often over-looked and highly relevant verse he writes, “Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

  Most helpfully, Paul here links together the familial treatment of the opposite sex with sexual purity. In the context of this passage Paul is exhorting Timothy—a young pastor—as to how he should interact with the women of his church (i.e., his neighbors). Paul’s primary concern at this point is Timothy’s sexual conduct, as is seen by his use of the phrase “absolute purity.” Notably, Paul instructs Timothy to interact with the women of his church in a way that parallels his relationship with his biological family. Of course Paul is not asking Timothy to treat the women of his church in every circumstance as though each were his literal mother or sister (think of all the Mother’s Day cards!). Nor is he asking Timothy to think or feel about every woman in exactly the same way. Rather, what Paul has in mind is Timothy’s conduct toward the women in his life. If Timothy is committed to living a life of “absolute purity,” his interaction with the women in his church must be carried out within a familial framework of purity.

  This is immeasurably helpful in clearing up nearly all of the confusion surrounding the question, “How far is too far?” We need only examine a specific activity from within the framework of the nuclear family to determine its appropriateness. If a man would not feel comfortable engaging in a particular action with his sister because doing so would seem sexually inappropriate, then that action is clearly of a sexual nature and to be reserved for the Marriage Relationship.

  That we often fail to identify certain activities (such as passionate kissing) as sexual is seen in how many Christians frequently use the term “physical relationship” to describe such activities. The use of the term “physical” implicitly suggests the couple’s actions are something other than sexual. But passionate kissing is not merely physical—it is sexual. Unlike a hug or holding hands, passionate kissing is certainly not an activity a brother and sister would engage in. When we understand that “physical” activity is really “sexual” activity, the question “How far is too far?” really becomes, “Which sexual activities can I engage in apart from marriage?” The answer is none of them. Sexual activity is to be reserved for marriage.

  Again, simply stated, if an activity is sexual, it is to be reserved for the marriage relationship. How can I know if an activity is sexual? If I wouldn’t do it with a biological relative, then I shouldn’t be doing it with anyone other than my spouse. In sum, the standard of purity for the Neighbor relationship is identical to the standard of purity for the Family Relationship: no sexual activity of any kind is permissible.”

  So what do you think? What are the ways you’ve answered this question for yourself and others? In my next post, I’ll discuss a little bit about the first century Greco-Roman context which forms the backdrop of this familial understanding of purity.

  Categories: From the Book, How Far is Too Far?, Sexual Purity

• Purchasing Raising Purity through Amazon

  November 4, 2009 | 0 Comments

  Raising Purity is available via Amazon, but it’s currently sold out. Amazon purchases books from publishers based upon need, so when a publisher releases a new title through Amazon, Amazon will often only purchase a few copies at the outset (they don’t want to get stuck with a bunch of copies they can’t sell). Once they begin to move a few copies, they start to order from the publisher in higher quantities. So if you’re interested in purchasing through Amazon, just go ahead and order the book and Amazon will send me a purchase order. It might take an extra week for you to get your book,  but you’ll get your copy and it will help encourage Amazon to keep a higher number of copies in stock.

  Otherwise, you can also purchase the book through Entrusted Ministries, or pick up a copy at one of the Harvest Bookstore locations. A 40% discount on bulk orders is also available.

  Categories: Uncategorized

• Free Copy of Raising Purity

  October 31, 2009 | 8 Comments

  Since I’m self-publishing, I could use a little help with the marketing. So here’s my, “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” proposal: I’ll send a free copy of Raising Purity to the first twenty people who send me an e-mail at ghiestand[at]harvestbiblechapel.org (include your address). But here’s the catch: You have to be a regular blogger (not a blogger whose last post was May 1, 2009), and you have to be willing to write a short review (doesn’t have to be a positive review) by Dec 31, 2009, linking back to raisingpurity.com. First come, first served!

  Categories: Uncategorized

• Sex and the Image of Christ and the Church

  October 7, 2009 | 0 Comments

  One of the main theological premises of my book is the idea that an analogous relationship exists between human marriage and Christ’s spiritual marriage to his Church. Even more pointedly, I argue that the sexual relationship within marriage corresponds to the spiritual relationship between Christ and the Church. Paul assumes this theological insight in 1 Corinthians 7:15-17, when he takes up the subject of prostitutes. But he states it plainly in  Ephesians 5:24–32,  where he provides lengthy instruction for husbands and wives.  In short, Paul argues that the true meaning of human marriage is that it points toward the higher marriage of Christ’s and the Church.

  Theologians call this sort of thing “typology.” The word “type” come from the Greek term “tupos” and literally means an “image or shadow of something else.” So in a theological sense, a type is a foreshadowing of God’s redemptive work through Christ. The New Testament authors (Paul in particular) were quick to see types of Christ in the Old Testament (the passover lamb, the ark, the Levitical priest, etc.). From a New Testament perspective, we can see that God has woven prophetic foreshadowings into the fabric of redemptive history, preparing his people for the coming reality of the gospel.

  Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, comes to realize that human marriage is itself a type, a shadow, of a higher gospel reality. In other words, human marriage is an image of a Christ’s marriage to the church. This is seen plainly in Ephesians 5:24-32. As you read the passage, note carefully the significance of the last sentence (verse 32) within its context.

  As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”  This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church [rsv].

  In this passage Paul is discussing the relational dynamics of Christian marriage.  And as he gives instruction to husbands and wives about how they are to treat one other, he draws a tight parallel between human marriage and Christ’s relationship with the church.  The way Christ treats the church, Paul tells us, serves as the pattern for the way in which a husband is to treat his wife.  And the way the church relates to Christ is the way a wife is to relate to her husband. But why is this? By what logic does Paul ask husbands and wive to relate to one another as Christ and the church?  The answer is found in verse 32. Human marriage, Paul tells us, “refers to Christ and the church.”  Drawing upon the ancient marriage formula of Genesis 2:24, Paul reveals a mystery (i.e., a previously hidden truth): sexual oneness within marriage was created by God to serve as an image (or type) of the spiritual oneness between Christ and the church.  As Augustine once wrote, “It is of Christ and the Church that it is most truly said, ‘the two shall be one flesh’.”

  Herein, then, lies the significance of sex and marriage—not what it accomplishes on an earthly plane but what it images forth on a divine plane. It is not an end in itself; it is a type of something higher, pointing to the deeper reality of the gospel.  Just as sex establishes a new union between a man and a woman and explains the shared life that follows, so too the indwelling of the Holy Spirit marks a new union between Christ and the Christian and accounts for the life-change that follows.  Just as a husband and wife “become one” physically, Christ and the Christian “become one” spiritually (1 Corinthians 6:17).  The New Testament’s many references to the church as the “bride” of Christ and to Christ as the “bridegroom” further highlights this parallel between earthly and heavenly union.  Additionally, many of Christ’s parables use the wedding motif as an illustration of his return and consummate union with the church.  And Revelation explicitly refers to the wedding of the Lamb and the church as inaugurating the dawn of the eternal age (see also Matthew 25:1–13; Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9; 22:17).

  It’s important to remember which came first in God’s mind; God did not pattern the divine marriage after human marriage, but rather human marriage is a foreshadowing of the divine marriage.  The fact that the oneness of sex images forth the oneness of our spiritual relationship with Christ is not merely a happy coincidence.  Just as God ordained the Passover lamb of the Old Covenant to prophetically witness to the coming sacrifice of Christ, so too God ordained human marriage to testify to the coming wedding supper of the Lamb.

  Applying this truth becomes the central thrust of Raising Purity. If human marriage and sexuality was created by God as a means of imaging forth Christ’s one-spirit relationship with the Church, then it is paramount that we behave sexually in ways that correspond to the manner in which Christ and the church relate spiritually. Failure to do so is a smearing of the image our sexuality was meant to convey. Our sexually was not created for our sake alone, to be used as we see fit. No, our sexually was created by God as a means of testifying to Christ’s monogamous, single-minded, devotion to his Bride.

  Categories: Christ and the Church, From the Book

Read Previous Posts | Read Next Posts