Sacred Sex & Ritual Marriage

So I have been spending a lot of time looking at mythology and ancient religions. Most of this was research for my "Bible Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll" post that I am adding to as I find new information. What I began to notice is how big a role the ancient fertility cults played in the world at that time. Also how under the guise of "sexual freedom" the devil was destroying sexuality and intimacy. Seeing that we have been discussing sexuality I thought it would be interesting to see how the devil has blurred the lines of sexuality from the very beginning. I believe it is part of the reason that he was in the garden.

Yesterday I read an interesting description of alchemy. Alchemy was known throughout the ancient world. But it really had a large following through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Alchemy on one hand was the study of chemistry and paved the road for our modern day chemists. That side of it I think is wonderful...I have nothing against science! :D But the dark side of alchemy was the quest for a sacred elixir. A potion that would cure all diseases and give eternal youth. So in that sense it was more along the lines of the occult. Here is the definition I read.

Relationships: The One

Relationship Series...Click here to read the overview.

Fulfilling***Married***Passion***Ardent***Secret***Intimacy***Private***Unity

So we have made it to the very top of the list for loving relationships. This is when you and your beloved become one. Now I have already talked about "Why Marriage ?" in other posts so in this post I want to focus on the sexual side of marriage. It seems like the Bible is fairly silent as to what is to take place within the marriage. It tells us what NOT to do, but not real what we should do. In the new testament it basically just says to love and submit. Therefore I believe that even in Christian married circles the act of sex still seems a little un-spiritual. Even though...GOD INVENTED SEX FOR PLEASURE AS WELL AS PROCREATION!

So let go back to the Song of Solomon. Some say that this book is to be an allegory of God and the church in hopes to "spiritualize" the book. Look guys...this is a book about the courting, marriage and expression of two human people in love. This is a book that show the celebration of the two sexes becoming one in spirit and body. Intimate, sensual, passionate, steamy yet totally holy and ordained by God!

Song of Solomon Outline

This is by far the best outline I have found for the "Song of Solomon". It is from the Ryrie Study Bible. Although I do not agree with all of Ryrie's commentary, his outline for this book is spot on!

It is different than the breakdown in most NIV bibles, but to me it flows much better. It paints a wonderful picture of a righteous courtship, wedding and marriage that is full of passion, sex and pleasure! Just the way God created it to be!  {photos by Punam Bean}

Damage Control

So we have been talking about why sex isn't a good idea outside of marriage. So far we have discussed two reasons why. 1} the lack of commitment. 2} the lack of protection from the enemy. The third reason that I want to discuss is damage. The damage that premarital sex has on your spirit. Remember the verse from the other post.

"Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial...All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." 1 Cor 6:12, 18

The Greek word for body here is soma. Meaning the whole being, not just the flesh. Obviously having sex does not damage your physical body. We were created by God for sex. Moreover the act of sex was created by God to be pleasurable. But what happens when we have sex is that not only involves our physical body, it involves our heart, mind and will; that is our spirit.

We have the common misconception in our society that there is such a thing as casual sex or sex with no strings attached. The sort of evolutionary thought that sex is just a part of our animal instincts. That we can preform the act with no emotions being involved. There is no such thing! Every sexual act involves your heart, mind and will. How do we know this? Because God created sex to be the ultimate expression of intimacy between two married people. It is two people coming together as one flesh and spirit. Therefore it is impossible to have sex without every part of you being involved.

Is Your Sex Protected?

So building off of the last post...sex outside of marriage isn't right because you have not been joined and sealed by God in marriage. The next reason sex outside of marriage isn't a good idea is because you are not protected. As with every other rule God has, He is not tying to give you a hard time He is trying to protect you. Protect you from who? The devil!

I wrote a post a week or so back about identity. How the devil from the beginning has been trying to slander the name of God and slander the image of God in us. Now when it comes to sex the devil has the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Sex is the only act that brings to people together as one flesh and spirit. An act that was meant to be the celebration of the two God had created in His image becoming one. Both for pleasure and to multiply humans.

So there is no doubt that the devil jumped on this one as soon as he could. Because sex is a spiritual act that means the spirit world is involved. When you have sex with the person you are married to it brings glory to God's truth. When you have sex with someone you are not married to it brings glory to the slander of God's truth, that is the devil. The devil has never missed an act of un-marital sex yet!

Only God Can Join Together

So in the last post we discussed that sex outside of marriage wasn't a good idea because there is usually no commitment from the other person. Even when there is commitment of some kind you are not united or joined by God. The only way to do that is to get married to that person. Then God is able to unite and seal the relationship. Remember the red wax seals of times past? Like the one I have shown. The red wax seal was most often used by the kings and priests to authenticate that what was in the document or agreement was true. So in placing the seal the king was saying that it was true and binding. Here are a couple of examples from the Bible.

Let's Talk About Sex

So now that we have discussed a bit about what marriage should look like; I would like to move on to the notion of "Why Bother". Meaning why should I bother to get married? Does it really change anything? In most single people's minds marriage seems to be a nice, wholesome, religious practice that will take place sometime in the future. More associated with starting a family.

Until that time "sexing" seems to be the norm. See we don't call it "dating" anymore. Dating is what our grandparents or parents used to do. They used to just go to a movie or go out to dinner then give each other a quick kiss goodnight...end of story. Nice wholesome stuff.{which by the way wasn't always the case. Sex outside of marriage is by no means a new invention}. But now we go to the movie and then have sex. Go out to dinner then have sex. Go to a party...find someone to have sex. Go to college...because there's lots of sex! Oh yeah, college is the best because now you don't have to try to hide from the parents. Right? Anyways I think you get the picture.

Love and Submission

As we continue into the new testament with regards to the basis of a Godly marriage; I would like you to read a quote. This quote was one that I choose to have read at my own wedding almost eight years ago. It goes beyond the lovey dovey and to the heart of what sustains love in marriage. To me it was a refreshing message of what a husband and wife should also be.

"The basis of marriage is not mutual affection or feelings of emotions and passions that we associate with love, but a vocation, a being elected to build together a house for God in this world, to be like the cherubs whose outstretched wings sheltered the ark of the covenant and created a space where Yahweh could be present...The real mystery of marriage is not that a husband and wife love each other so much that they can find God in each others lives, but that God loves them so much that they can discover each other more and more as living reminders of His divine presence. They are brought together, indeed, as two prayerful hands extended toward God and forming in this way a home for Him in this world." Henri Nouwen from Clowning in Rome

Separate In Form but Equal In Image {Part 2}

continued from previous post...click here.

So now we know what God intended for sex and marriage to be before the fall. How does this change after the fall? Or does it change at all? Before we get to the eating of the sin fruit I want to clear up a few things.

In the last blog we talked about the male and female aspect of God. That both male and female were created in his image. That I believed the female aspect of God is the Holy Spirit. {You may want to read the last blog if you are confused.} What I want to be clear on is that when we worship God we worship God. That is to say we do not worship His male or female aspect in body but in spirit. God is not part god and part goddess. God is God. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. None of which now have a bodily form. They are spirit. That is why God was and still is against graven images or idols. It is making gods or goddesses into bodily form and then worshipping them. It is not right. So take comfort in knowing that God has both male and female aspects but worship God; not male or female.

Separate In Form but Equal In Image {Part One}

Since February is known commercially as the month of love, I thought it may be a good time to discuss my thoughts on the subject.

Relationships are a part of every one's lives. More importantly romantic relationships seem to be the longing of the human race. Everyone wants to feel loved, right? But what is happening in the name of love? Sex is huge and is in our face constantly. Sex outside of marriage is the norm. Marriage is disposable, if attempted at all. Marriage is no longer the celebration of two people's love and commitment but instead the demand for legal recognition of a particular relationship. Within those who actually do marry the incidence of abuse, infidelity and divorce is sky high. There is also confusion over what roles gender plays. So what's the deal? What is marriage suppose to be? What did God intend it to be? What does it mean to be male or female? Have we interpreted what the Bible says about marriage and gender in respect to the glory and character of God?