Original Intent

Much has been debated about the morality of sexuality, but I don’t often see much about the intention of sexuality. God had a purpose in creating us as male and female beings and in calling this unique union “good.” So what was it?

In the beginning, God acknowledges the solitary state of man and creates a helper for him from his very flesh and bone. In Genesis 1:27-28 and 2:18-24, we read that God blessed this union and commissioned Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. One might submit that these verses in Genesis do not forbid homosexuality simply because it doesn’t refer to it. True, but it would be impossible for a homosexual couple to fulfill God’s charge to populate the earth.  Again, one might submit that numerous heterosexual couples are unable to fulfill this mission as they are unable to procreate. That’s true as well.  Still, another point could be made that the present crisis of the earth is not underpopulation but overpopulation; therefore, the normalcy of heterosexual pairing is a helpful attempt to “regulate the earth.”  

None of these points, however, address the fact that God’s initial model for sexuality was expressed in the creation of Adam and Eve and the blessing of their union. In reference to the Genesis account, Thomas Schmidt states:

So while it is true that the Genesis creation story does not provide explicit commands about sexuality, it provides a basis for biblical commands and for subsequent reflection on the part of those who wish to construct a sexual ethic to meet changing situations.  Applying this principle to our subject, it is fair to say that the human author of Genesis was not consciously prohibiting same-sex relations when he wrote the creation account, but it is appropriate for us to explore the relevance of biblical commands about marriage and to evaluate modern homosexuality in light of Genesis. (Straight and Narrow? InterVarsity Press, 1995)

We see that the remedy for a suitable helper for Adam was found not in the creation of another man, but the formation of a complimentary being from Adam’s own flesh.  This unique companionship is emphasized in Genesis and is stressed in Adam’s response to seeing woman for the first time in Genesis 2:23 when he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”  The name given as ‘woman’ is the Hebrew ishshah meaning “for from man.”  The man shall leave his father and mother and become attached to the woman and this sexual union will then take precedence over the relationship with the parents that produced them.  This union is the only model of sexual behavior that is consistently exalted in the Old and New Testaments in the midst of other forms of sexual expression.

In this creation of gendered beings, God’s objective for human sexuality is not altered or compromised by global population. It is in this account and throughout Scripture that we see that God created male and female not only as a model for human sexuality, but to reflect the fullness of His own image.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

God’s image is reflected in both the distinctness of male and female and the union of man and woman in marriage.  Also, it is the marriage relationship that models God’s relationship with His people.  The picture of the Church as the bride and Christ as the bridegroom clearly demonstrates the exclusivity of the male-female martial union.  Amid the theological and even political debate surrounding this issue, we must not loose sight of God’s original intent for sexuality and relationships.