Sexuality in Light of the Resurrection I. Introduction A. Genesis 1:26-29, 2:24: God made man and woman in His image, commanded them to be fruitful and multiply B. In the old covenant, marriage and procreation were normative; to be unmarried or to be without children was considered a curse (Genesis 50:23, Ruth 1:1-5, 19-21, 2 Samuel 13:19-20, 1 Kings 4:25, Psalms 127:3-5, 128:1-6) C. Not only is marriage and procreation normative in the old covenant, but one can establish a very strong theology of sexuality 1. God as one in relational unity (perichoresis; John 17:20-23) 2. What relationship most closely approximates that level of unity? When a man and a woman, being two, yet become one flesh (Matthew 19:4-6) 3. The analogy of sexual intimacy and spiritual intimacy is made explicit in Ephesians 5:31-32 in terms of Christ and the church D. And yet Jesus of Nazareth, God in the flesh, the Word of God and God the Son, did not take a wife and did not procreate (John 1:1-18)! E. Jesus’ Resurrection, and the hope of resurrection, is the game-changer 1. Explained in greater depth in Romans 8:17-25, 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, 2 Corinthians 4:1-5:21 2. In the resurrection the body will be raised and transformed for immortality, incorruption, and imperishability (1 Corinthians 15:51-58) 3. Sin and death will be defeated and no more (1 Corinthians 15:20-28); the creation will be set free from its bondage to corruption (Romans 8:17-25) 4. This is not merely a future hope; those of us who are in Christ are reckoned as part of the new creation, having obtained the reconciliation with God which will allow for resurrection and life (2 Corinthians 5:14-21) C. The resurrection has many implications for sexuality as well! 1. Matthew 22:29-31 / Mark 12:24-25 / Luke 20:34-36: Jesus is able to brush aside the fantastic scenario of the Sadducees because in the resurrection people do not marry nor are given in marriage 2. The multitudes were astonished at this teaching (Matthew 22:33); the Sadducees' “gotcha” question would probably have vexed many a Pharisee, but it presumes the continued role of sexuality in the resurrection 3. In one verse Jesus forces us to reconsider much: marriage and procreation are for this life; we will have no need to be fruitful and multiply in the resurrection, for such multiplication takes place here and now in the proving grounds D. Jesus’ answer, in turn, provides explanation for some of His teachings 1. Matthew 19:12: becoming a eunuch for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, to renounce sexuality and reproduction in the name of Jesus, as a means of obtaining the resurrection 2. It also can explain His own behavior: He will obtain eternal life in the resurrection, His “wife” will be the church, and will commune with “her” for eternity (Ephesians 5:22-33, Revelation 21:1-22:6) E. The resurrection transforms everything, even sexuality; we do well to explore sexuality in light of the resurrection II. Sexuality in the New Covenant A. Christian witness regarding sexuality has been rather schizophrenic over the centuries 1. The early centuries manifested one extreme: a great celebration of celibacy and virginity; wives refusing to participate in sex with their (often pagan) husbands; virgin martyrs celebrated as heroes; prevalence of vows of celibacy and religious fanaticism from monks and nuns 2. As a consequence, requirement for bishops to be married with children ignored; sexuality and the body diminished in value, and expected to be suppressed; sexuality tainted by association with original sin; too “dirty” to be holy 3. Yet today, for the most part, we see the opposite extreme: a great celebration of marital sex and procreation; continual teaching and cultural expectation and pressure for all young people to get married and have children; among those influenced by the Quiverfull movement, great pressure imposed to have many children; great emphasis placed particularly on procreation 4. As a consequence, Paul’s teachings prizing singleness as a greater good than marriage in 1 Corinthians 7:1-40 are suppressed, marginalized, or even denied and rejected; Christians who are not married are looked upon with suspicion and marginalized in the community of saints; no place or space is given to the single or divorced; the infertile are left to feel incomplete and as moral failures B. The difficulty is that the ground upon which both extremes are based are found in the New Testament! 1. Matthew 19:4-6, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, 9, Hebrews 13:4: in marriage two become one flesh, and this is good, and honorable 2. 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-8: Paul expects elders and deacons to be married and to have children 3. Matthew 19:12, 1 Corinthians 7:6-9, 24-38: some will be eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven; marriage may be good, but it is better if one could remain single as Paul, devote self fully to the Kingdom C. So what is the new covenant teaching about sexuality in light of the resurrection? 1. All of the Scriptures we have discussed can be harmonized! 2. As before, marriage remains something good, rooted not just in the Law but actually from the beginning in creation; sex still remains the closest type of perichoretic relational unity humans can experience in the flesh; children are to be born from such unions and raised in the Lord’s discipline and admonition (Ephesians 6:1-4) 3. Paul knows that many will not be able to exercise the self-control of not burning with passion, and recognizes that most Christians will get married and most of those Christians will have children; thus elders and deacons are to be married and to have children, even if that means neither Jesus nor Paul would have met those particular qualifications (1 Corinthians 7:6-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-13) 4. And yet those who can exercise that self-control and live as eunuchs for the Kingdom, renouncing marriage to advance the Kingdom, are to be valued and honored, for their hope is fully set in the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 7:24-38)! D. If we can harmonize these disparate teachings about sexuality in the new covenant, why does the issue pose such a problem? Why the constant running to extremes? III. Revising Expectations in Light of the Resurrection A. As New Testament Christians, the resurrection forces us to revise some understandings and expectations that were normative in the old covenant and often find voice today B. Manifestation of Hope 1. From the beginning until the resurrection, what did God’s people see as the best case scenario? a. A given person is blessed when they have a fruitful harvest, a wife, children, and grandchildren (Genesis 50:23, 1 Kings 4:25, Psalms 127:3-5, 128:1-6) b. Consider Job: he is recognized as blessed because he has a wife, children, and animals and property; he is later even more blessed by having even more children, animals, and property (Job 1:1-5, 42:12-17) c. In past times the afterlife was understood in terms of Sheol, a place of shades, not very pleasant nor something for which to yearn (Isaiah 38:18) d. A man without a wife and/or children was reckoned as cursed, for his lineage would be extinguished and his name stricken from the land (e.g. Amos 7:15-17); a spinster or childless woman was reckoned as cursed, for she did not perpetuate the people of God on the land (Ruth 1:1-20, 2 Samuel 13:19-20) 2. This view has returned with resurgence in our modern era: when hope in God and the resurrection is lost, all hope becomes centered on DNA and passing on one’s genetic legacy 3. For the Christian, our hope is in the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:7-14)! a. As Paul establishes, we Christians must subject all things to the hope of the resurrection, and make sure nothing hinders us from obtaining it b. Sexuality and procreation are not going to be our salvation or the ultimate blessing; obtaining the resurrection is c. Exercising sexuality and procreating can be good, but is no longer to be considered the goal and purpose of our existence! d. Our hope for the future is in the resurrection; this is true for the singled, divorced, married, infertile! 4. This is a radical departure from all expectations, and demonstrates how much of a game changer the resurrection really is in terms of the Christian life and understanding! C. Limitations of Marriage and Sexuality 1. As Matthew 22:29-31, etc., make clear, there is no marrying or giving in marriage in the resurrection 2. Thus there can be no expectation of sexual behavior in the resurrection 3. A disappointing thought to some a. Not a few “heaven question and answer books” exist out there b. Well-meaning but misinformed, many such authors speculate that since sex is a good and positive thing here it should exist in heaven 4. And yet, in the resurrection, the fullness of intimacy and relational unity with God in Christ will be manifest! a. 1 Corinthians 13:12: without a doubt we will be fully known and know b. Revelation 19:5-9, 21:1-22:6: why would the consummation of all things be spoken of in terms of the marriage supper of the Lamb and the Bride? Once the Lamb and Bride get married, will they not share in relational unity? 5. Marriage and sexuality are not part of the resurrection because God is no fun or is trying to be a killjoy, but because we will experience the fullness of which sexuality is a dim part! 6. As C.S. Lewis said: “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (“The Weight of Glory”) 7. This is important to keep in mind in our sex-obsessed culture for whom the moment of transcendent euphoria in sex is the closest to a divine experience they enjoy; it is not designed to be the end purpose of life, but a glimpse into something even greater which we could enjoy if we would keep our priorities straight (Matthew 6:33)! 8. Thus marriage is a temporary institution; full satisfaction is not going to be found in a husband or a wife, or in children, but in God in Christ (Acts 17:26-27, Revelation 21:22-23) D. Affirmation of the Body 1. While the resurrection demonstrates the limitations of sexuality it nevertheless affirms the importance of the body 2. The body will be raised and transformed for immortality and incorruptibility; our existence in the resurrection remains body and soul (1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5) 3. Christians and the church are always in danger of the Gnostic heresy, attempting to denigrate the body as intrinsically corrupt and deficient; when people want to denounce the fleshiness of the body, sexuality is always the go-to issue 4. When God denounces worldly things, it is the corruption of the world because of sin and death that is condemned, not the good things He created (1 John 2:15-17); the problem with the body is not its physicality but its subjection to and corruption by sin and death (Romans 8:17-25) 5. While we recognize God does not have a physical body but is spirit (John 4:24), God has made us in His image and even in the flesh He has made us to reflect His divine nature, and we should be able to affirm the typology of sexual intimacy and perichoretic relational unity without revulsion or thinking that somehow we cannot understand anything about God in our bodies (Romans 1:20)! 6. This is made evident in the resurrection: Jesus remains human in His resurrection body and yet is God the Son and God the Word (John 1:1, Colossians 2:9, 1 Timothy 2:5); the bodily resurrection proves that God is not giving up on His creation, does not affirm a body-soul duality, but intends for His people to dwell with Him, body and soul, for eternity (1 Corinthians 15:44)! E. So what does all of this mean in practice? IV. Sexuality in Light of the Resurrection A. The resurrection of Jesus and the hope of the resurrection of all must be taken into account as we explore God’s purposes for sexuality B. Temperance of Exuberance for Sexuality 1. It would be easy to take the reality of the perichoretic relational unity present in human sexuality and get exuberant about it 2. We have spoken of how both man and woman are made in God’s image and complement each other; each is necessary for procreation and for two to become one flesh, and in that sense, each is insufficient in and of themselves or even together in the same gender (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6) 3. And yet, on account of the resurrection, it is wrong to suggest that a given individual Christian is incomplete if not married; sexual union is not the ultimate goal of life, and an individual Christian is to be made complete in Christ (Acts 17:26-27)! 4. On account of the resurrection sexuality cannot be the goal of life, ought not be our obsession, and its pursuit should never consume us (Philippians 3:7-15) 5. Our hope cannot be in marriage, the sexual union, or in children; those things remain good but are to be made subject to the goal of obtaining the resurrection (Ephesians 5:22-6:4) 6. Marriage and childbearing are still acceptable (1 Corinthians 7:1-9), perhaps even “expected” and “normal” (Ephesians 5:22-6:4, 1 Timothy 3:1-13), but have no right to be considered mandated Christian behavior; one is not cursed by not participating in such things, and they do not automatically mark off a person for faithfulness to God! C. Honoring the Unmarried 1. 1 Corinthians 7:6-9, 24-38 only makes sense in light of the resurrection! 2. Those who are single in the Lord can be devoted to His purposes fully, and they will have eternal life in the resurrection 3. They are to be honored, not despised or held in suspicion, for that commitment! 4. The Body of Christ is to contain the single, the widow, the childless, and the divorced, and they are to be honored members who find their connections and relationships in life among their fellow Christians (1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 39-40, 12:12-28)! 5. Getting everyone into a “proper sexual relationship,” after all, is not the goal; the resurrection is the goal (Philippians 3:7-15)! D. The Type and the Reality 1. Above all the resurrection reminds us regarding the difference between type and reality 2. The intimacy of the sexual union between a man and a woman may be great, the nearest glimpse we get in this life of the experience of perichoretic relational unity, but it is only a glimpse (Matthew 19:4-6) 3. Jesus has already prayed for us to be one in relational unity as the Father and Son are in relational unity, and for us to be “in” them as they are “in” each other (John 17:20-23) 4. The church presently is to participate in the divine mystery of the great intimate union between Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:32-33) 5. If the glimpse is so great, how much greater will be the fullness and reality (Romans 8:17-18, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Revelation 21:22-23)? V. Conclusion A. We have seen how our understanding of sexuality must reflect the transformation inherent in the hope of resurrection B. Marriage and childbearing remain good but do not represent the pinnacle of blessedness; the resurrection is the goal for all Christians C. All Christians, married or unmarried, have full standing in Christ and ought to pursue the resurrection and the fullness of intimacy of which sex is only a glimpse D. Thus, as Christians, we look forward to the resurrection, the day on which we will know as we are known, share in relational unity with God and with one another, and dwell together for all eternity in the glorified resurrection body and soul E. Let us strive so as to obtain it! F. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Jesus devastated the Sadducees’ “gotcha” scenario when He declares that marriage is not seen in the resurrection. In so doing He also forces us to radically revise our expectation about sexuality. Sexuality is for the here and now; it will not be necessary in the resurrection. The resurrection extends the hope of something greater to come. May we strive to obtain it! 2: Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife (1 Corinthians 7:27). Paul does not encourage divorce, and he concedes marriage as good and necessary for those who cannot maintain self-control, but considers celibacy to be better. Such a view makes sense only in light of the resurrection: Paul’s blessings are not in children but in the resurrection which he strives to obtain. Single Christians are not deficient but are to be honored for their commitment to the Lord and their manifest hope in the resurrection! 3: Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready (Revelation 19:7). The consummation of all things is portrayed in terms of the marriage of the Lamb and His bride, the church. The metaphor is suitable; in the resurrection, Christ and the church will experience the ultimate fullness of their unity in relationship of which sexual union on earth is but a glimpse (Ephesians 5:32-33). May we be blessed and enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb! 4: And there shall be no curse any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads (Revelation 22:3-4). Eternity is portrayed in terms of God dwelling in the midst of His people in full communion. Christians are to look forward to eternity in the resurrection body, experiencing the fullness of relational unity with God and each other. May we lay aside every hindrance and seek to obtain the resurrection of life!