A Biblical Understanding of Sex & Marriage
7/11/25 Bible Thought (1 Corinthians 7)
The church in Corinth had some problems with sexual immorality and they were found within a culture steeped in sexual sin.
So, with all the concerns about sinful sexual activity in 1 Corinthians, it almost begs the question, “Should it be tossed out altogether?”
The apostle Paul puts pen to papyrus in 1 Corinthians 7 in order to deal with these issues. What does a biblical understanding of sex look like?
First, the apostle Paul commends marriage. Marriage is the only God-given institution wherein sex is to be enjoyed. As a result, marriage is good (1 Cor. 7:2). Paul would later conclude to those who were single,
“But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Cor. 7:9).
Sex itself isn’t automatically sinful or dirty.
One of the troubles at times with how sexual purity is taught in the church is that it can give young people the idea that sex is inherently sinful, wrong, and an institution of Satan!
We have to remember that God is not only our Redeemer, but our Creator. He was the One that designed the human body and all of its systems. Not only this, let us consider the original creation mandate:
“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:28).
God’s first command to human beings was to be fruitful and multiply and that’s not done by Adam’s farming or naming of the animals! Sex is part of the creation order that God established, and it was given as a gift to humanity.
Yet, while sex was intended to be a blessing to humankind and the means by which humanity fulfilled the creation mandate, it was distorted and made into something evil.
Surely, we’re aware of this today with the rise of pornography and the acceptance of various kinds of sexual sin. Yet just because something can be twisted doesn’t automatically mean it’s evil or impure. The baby needn’t be thrown out with the bathwater.
I once heard a couple that did marriage ministry share a helpful illustration. A fire contained within a fireplace is a beautiful thing: it brings warmth and comfort and joy to the household. However, a fire indoors that is outside of a fireplace is disastrous, dangerous, and oftentimes deadly.
So it is with sex. Sex within the biblical confines of a one-man and one-woman marriage is a gift to be enjoyed just as the fire within the fireplace. Whereas outside of the proper place, marriage, it’s sinful and is deadly.
As a result, marriage is a God-blessed institution to fulfill the first command given to human beings and to be a blessing to His creation. However, marriage and family do result in some limitations on one’s time and service to God (1 Cor. 7:33-34) and Paul would commend singleness for those who are able to live that life.
Yet, all in all, sex isn’t evil, or impure. It’s simply to be enjoyed within the confines of God’s institution of marriage. In the proper setting, it’s a blessing given by a gracious God to us.