Sex and the Glory of God (Genesis 2:18-25, Part II)
Here’s the manuscript from my sermon on sex from May 3rd, 2026. You can check out the audio, as well, here.
Earlier this week, NPR’s News Now reported that colorectal cancer is now the most lethal of cancers hitting young adults today. The reason for this is that people in the millennial and Gen Z generations are far less likely to discuss their bowel function with others. Dr. Neil Parikh of Hartford Hospital in Connecticut noticed something with human behavior. He said, and I quote: “So we love talking about pooping until about the age of 12. And then there’s this radio silence.” Parikh explains that this discomfort with discussing bodily functions leads to problems, as many won’t communicate changes in their stools with others. He went on, “We need to normalize this so it comes up at dinner table.”
Today, we’ll look at a topic that’s even more awkward. But one that can be even more dangerous to ignore. And that’s because it’s just that powerful. But unlike that subject I just alluded to there, this is a good thing we’re talking about. A beautiful thing, in fact. But also something that’s so easily corrupted. That can cause so much hurt in ourselves and those around us. This is a theme we need to pause and spend more time on here in Genesis chapter 2. I know this subject can get a little awkward. I know there are biblical teachings we can even struggle to like. But let’s buckle up and talk about sex together, Karis.
Go back, if you missed it, and listen to my message on marriage. It’s difficult to get it right if we don’t know what it’s supposed to look like or what it’s even about. But an important aspect of marriage is sex. And what I want you to hear today is that sex is a good thing. It’s a gift of God, given for our good, and especially for His glory, that reaches beyond itself to point to something greater. And though it can be dangerous and difficult in this fallen world, Jesus wants to redeem it - and restore us - until the day when our bodies - and this broken world - are fully made new. Let’s dive in.
Sex, A Gift for Our Good
Let’s start by talking about what sex is for. Back to verse 24 again. Where God lays out the pattern for marriage. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” If you weren’t here last week: we leave. We cleave. We weave. We leave mom and dad. And start a new family. We cleave - enter a covenant. Make promises in marriage. And we weave. We become one flesh. We intertwine our lives. In marriage, we become one. And that’s certainly more than sex. But it’s also not less than that.
In sex that unity is expressed and deepened. As we weave our lives together. Connect at deeper and deeper levels. As we’re whole persons - body and soul - it only makes sense that in the sexual experience, we would experience deep intimacy - not just physically - but emotionally, as well. Sex forms a bond that’s not meant to be broken. It’s a very powerful bond, for sure. And it’s meant for the safety of covenant.
As we saw last week, we’re meant for community. And also for vulnerability - to be “naked and unashamed” as verse 25 describes. But they’re meant to be experienced within a relationship of security - brought about by the covenant promises of marriage. As we bare ourselves in sexual activity. And open up our hearts to one another.
Sex in marriage accomplishes a couple of different things. It first unites lives, as I’ve been saying. It makes a husband and wife one. It’s unitive. Mind. Heart. Spirit. Body. But it’s second creates lives - back to Genesis 1:28. Where God gives that cultural mandate. To be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over the earth. Sex is meant to be the mechanism for that multiplication. To bring lives into the world. It’s also procreative. This is what sex means. It’s what it’s for. At least in part. Making two one. Making babies. For one man. One woman. In the covenant of marriage. For as long as they both live. And this, friends, is a really good thing.
But hear me: in His kindness, the Lord also made it something pleasurable. Yes, God made it enjoyable. He made sex fun. A reflection of the joy and goodness that’s found in Him. For so many reasons, sex is good. There’s a whole book about it - called the Song of Songs. And hear the words of Proverbs 5:19, addressed to the husband: “Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.” Yes, kids, that’s in the Bible. And a lot more, where that comes from.
Now the church hasn’t always known what to do with sex. Intimidated by the awkwardness, we’ve blushed and changed the subject. We’ve feared sparking curiosity. Or creating intrigue. But we’ve just made it seem bad. We’ve taken a good gift made it seem gross. And we’ve left our kids fumbling in the dark. And kept our struggles out of the light.
We’ve followed the path of old Augustine of Hippo. Delivered out of sexual sin, he overcorrected. And kept it at arms length. And used his other arm to block the way for others. Portraying sex, even within marriage, as something bad and dirty. Too often following his lead, we’ve kept ourselves from receiving God’s gift. And embracing it in the way He intended. As something good. As Ben Patterson puts it:
“The gigantic secret of the joy of sex is this: Sex is good because the God who created sex is good. And God is glorified greatly when we receive his gift with thanksgiving and enjoy it the way he meant for it to be enjoyed.” (Ben Patterson)
There is great glory here, Karis! Hear my first point this morning, friends. God made us to be “one flesh” together. “Naked and… not ashamed” in marriage. This is God’s good gift in creation. Sex is given as a gift by God for our good.
Sex, First About His Glory
But it’s meant to reach beyond itself to something greater. Let’s move to talk now about where sex points. You’re camping with your children. Far out in the country. And you point up to the sky - to a constellation of stars. “Look up there, little kids. Do you see?” And how do they respond? They’re confused. “What, Dad, what?” they start repeating. And they focus and fixate on your extended finger. That’s what we sadly do when it comes to sex. We fail to look beyond to see where it points. It’s about His glory, Karis.
Adam and Eve are made and placed in that garden. And they’re created to have a perfect relationship with God. They’re “naked” and “not ashamed” - not just before each other - but before their Father, as well. They have nothing to hide. They’re fully vulnerable. And nothing holds them back from His love. They were made - we were made - for that kind of union - fellowship - with Him. Something that sex can only hint at. But it certainly does.
But did you also know we were made for pleasure? I’m reading through my favorite book of all time this year - Desiring God by John Piper. And the argument he makes is that our problem isn’t that we pursue pleasure too much. It’s that we try to find it in all the wrong places. We run after lesser, temporary pleasures instead of seeking and finding the joy that’s in our God. In his book Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, he makes two foundational arguments. He writes, “We are made to see and savor with everlasting satisfaction the supremacy of Christ. Our sexuality points to this, and our sexuality is purified by this.”
So, in other words, Karis, the unity - the ecstasy - that we experience in sex in marriage - it’s meant to point beyond itself to the communion - even the pleasure - we’re meant to have in our God.
As Piper puts it elsewhere: “Sex is a shadow, an image, of a greater reality—of a relationship and pleasure that will make sex seem like a yawn.” The gift of sex was given ultimately for this. To give us a way to understand this deeper joy that we’re given in God. “Our sexuality points to this.”
But sex, Piper also says, is “purified by this.” By God’s glory. As sex has been gifted by God, we’re meant to glorify Him, the great Giver, in it. We’re meant to experience it in His way, for His glory. And it may strike you as odd to think of sex as an act of worship, but it’s what it should be. As Romans 12 reads, we present our bodies as living sacrifices to God - and this includes in sex. Or as Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
We commonly use this gospel outline in Karis. Creation - fall - redemption - restoration. But, back in the old days, we’d use a different word for point four: consummation. That word, of course, gets really confused. But I want you to hear that word’s significance today. Yes, we await that day of total restoration. When our relationship with Him will be fully restored. But it’s also the day of consummation. God’s creation will reach its completion. And everything will be fulfilled. The perfect marriage of Christ and His Church will come. And with it the intimacy, the satisfaction, we were made for - in the new creation.
Listen to how another grandpa in the faith, Ray Ortlund, puts it: “Married sex, with its intimacy and desire and pleasure and intensity and adoration and satisfaction and rest, is a glorious metaphor of heaven.” Sex, you see, is a pointer toward - a foretaste of - that new world to come. As Peter Kreeft put it, it’s a sign - it’s an appetizer - of heaven to come.
Karis, hear my second point this morning. Just as marriage points to this relationship between God and His people, sex points to the intimacy, the pleasure, we’re made to experience forever with Him. Sex is first and foremost about the glory of God.
Sex, Abused to Our Agony
I want to move to talk now about how sex harms. Now here’s where your eyes begin to roll. Kevin’s about to get puritanical and prudish. And start laying on the guilt. But here’s a question I want you to consider. How’s our approach to sex working out? How many of us have been hurt by sex gone wrong? Impacted by adultery or divorce? Or didn’t grow up in a two-parent home? Who’ve been victims of sexual abuse? Or suffer from sexually-transmitted diseases? Or are enslaved by porn - and where that always leads? I don’t say this with judgment. I’m sexually broken, too. But it’s tough to argue that things are working out well - or ever have - trying to go against God’s design. Sex, when abused, results in agony. Following our hearts always leads to pain.
And this is what Adam and Eve do - and immediately regret it. The fall happens, we see, in Genesis chapter 3. We’ll look at it in detail in just a few short weeks. They take Satan’s advice. They hear what they want to hear. And they go with their own desires. They doubt God’s word. They doubt God’s heart. They try to do things their way. Try to be God’s themselves. And then they’re scrambling for the fig leaves. And find themselves outside the garden.
The Lord lays out clearly - how sex is meant to work. What it’s for. What it’s about. And we doubt what He is saying is even true. And we buy this lie that He’s holding something back. And we go our own way. Which hurts our relationship with Him. And harms our relationship with others.
Back to those two big purposes in sex. Sex is meant to make us one. It’s unitive. When we deny that - and engage without covenant, we end up using others. And end up contributing to a culture of abuse. And we dehumanize them. God didn’t give us sex so we could just fulfill our desires. But rather a way to serve, to give ourselves to our spouse.
And sex is meant to have reproduction in mind. It’s meant to be procreative. I’m not saying every encounter in marriage has to be an attempt to get pregnant. But, when we deny that purpose for sex, we marginalize kids. We fight against our purpose. To build Christ’s kingdom. To think beyond ourselves. But you might be thinking, I still don’t see the big deal.
In our world today, we tend to make sex either nothing or everything. Look with me at 1 Corinthians 6, verses 12 through 20. You see, sexual confusion really isn’t new. And struggles in churches sure aren’t either. Listen to Paul here:
1Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
1Corinthians 6:13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1Corinthians 6:14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.
1Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!
1Corinthians 6:16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”
1Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
1Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
1Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
1Corinthians 6:20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
We act like sex is nothing. Like the Corinthians here, in verses 12 and 13. It’s just an appetite. A simple craving we have. Our bodies need food. And they need sex, too. No big deal. That’s the logic. But Paul says here, inspired by the Spirit, “Wait a second. Keep that mentality and you’ll be judged. But your logic is faulty. Because in sex, something much deeper goes on.”
There’s so much I could say about this passage today. But just notice a couple of quick things. Sexual sin first goes against God’s good gift in marriage. Did you see Genesis quoted there, in verse 16. That’s Genesis 2:24, “The two will become one flesh.” When we have sex with a prostitute, or engage in any sinful acts, we work against God’s design. And we damage ourselves. And hear me: monogamy makes no difference - if outside of marriage. And we don’t just keep going until marriage fixes it. The Lord above calls us out of our sin. Today. We’re not made to pursue some kind of oneness with others outside of marriage.
Because our bodies - and souls - second are meant for the glory of God. We’re now a part of Christ’s body, we learn in verses 15 and 16. We’re joined, we read in verse 17 - made “one spirit” with the Lord. And we see in verse 19 that our bodies are created to be places of worship. You’ve heard - don’t eat fast food or take drugs. Why? Because “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” That’s actually Paul’s reason for not engaging in sexual sin. Sexual sin goes against God’s purposes in marriage. Our bodies - and souls - are meant for the glory of God.
And hear what the Lord says there in verses 19 and 20. “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” I made you. I bought you. So heed what I say. The Lord takes this pretty seriously. It’s certainly not nothing.
But there is also a way we try to make it our everything. As something we can’t possibly live without. We take this gift and try to turn it into our god. We try to use sex to fill this whole we have inside. The Bible uses some shocking imagery to describe what sin is. Yes, repeatedly, sin is called idolatry. But the book of James refers to it as adultery. And the book of Hosea even calls it whoredom. We seek this joy we’re meant to find in Him - in other places - in the fleeting pleasures of sin. We run after glory, but we don’t realize - or forget - this points beyond itself to Him.
We turn from our faithful spouse. And run off to other lovers. And they’ll never satisfy. Instead of reaching up to Him, we curve in on ourselves. That’s what sin really is. Digging down, below the surface. As Augustine once put it, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Or as it was famously put in a novel by Bruce Marshall, "The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.”
But sex, for sure, makes a really bad idol. We again dishonor Him when we go down that road. But we also deaden ourselves to Him - the One we so desperately want. But we’re also damaging others. And dehumanizing ourselves. In going against His design, we end up destroying the gift. Through the hookups. And the pornography. The premarital sex. And cohabitation. Through same-sex relations. Anything outside of this biblical pattern - one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage. It leads to agony. Because we’re playing with fire. And in the fireplace, it keeps you warm. But get it out of there, and everything burns down. It’s just that dangerous.
And that’s because it’s so powerful again. It’s meant to bind us together as one. And that’s why it hurts us so much. Like you go into a surgery, and you sew your arms together. Separating you two really, really hurts. But it’s even worse. More like surgically attaching your hearts. Tear those apart, and you’ll never be the same.
But what also happens is a bit more like duct tape. We stick to a person. And then we stick to another. And do it again and again. Until the tack of the tape slowly disappears. And building deep oneness, strong connections, feels almost impossible to do. This leads to heartache and pain. And deep shame and guilt. But also loneliness.
Here’s something to think about. We tend to not like constraints. We want our freedom. But maybe within the lines God draws, true joy is found. Maybe the Lord longs to give us both. Constraints for our good. Where freedom can really thrive. Picture a wide river, that flows slowly, but it suddenly goes through a channel, a mountain pass, and the current picks up. It intensifies. It grows in power. Have you considered that’s maybe His desire for our lives? Maybe less like the Mississippi Delta, where water is free to flow everywhere and really end up nowhere, and more like Niagara Falls, where it flows with intensity, with passion, and with joy. Community, in security - within the covenant of marriage - actually allows intimacy to thrive and explode. Have you considered that both in the gift - and in the guidelines - God has in mind our good?
As my mentor in college once put it. Restrictions now, freedom after. Freedom before, restrictions after.
Here’s another thing I want us also to realize. The church has been affirming these teachings about sex ever since the start. They’ve always been difficult. They’ve never been popular. I love this reminder from Tim Keller.
“The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practically gave everybody their body. And the Christians came along and gave practically nobody their body and they gave practically everybody their money.” (Tim Keller)
Karis, let’s not live in fear. Let’s lean into His love. And embrace what He says. And share it with the world. Things work better according to his design. Here’s my third point for today. This is when sex harms. Sex, abused, leads to pain and to grief.
Called From Sin to His Grace
I want to turn now to how Jesus heals. But first, I just said in our culture, sex is nothing or everything. Something like we put in our guts. Or something more like our God.
But I think in the church, we take same approach with sexual sin. Look with me at a few verses above what we read in 1 Corinthians 6, in verses 9-11.
1Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
1Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Sexual sin isn’t nothing - it’s not insignificant - if we read those verses there. Did you catch where the path leads - for all of those sins? “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” We can’t just think, “Hey, it’s just another sin. No big deal. I sin in other ways, too. God promises to forgive.” No. The Lord commands us to repent. We might also ask, “Why all the focus on sex? What about dishonesty, or thievery, or racism, or the like? I can’t get everything right.” But the Lord is clear about how He thinks about this. Hear Hebrews 13:4. “Let the marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” We’re clearly not talking about nothing.
But sexual sin isn’t everything, either. It’s in no way the only thing the Lord cares about. Did you see that list? The “thieves” and the “greedy.” The “revilers” and the “swindlers” are right there, too. None of those leads to the kingdom. All of those send us toward hell. So sexual sin isn’t nothing. And it’s not everything.
Maybe you’ve been raised in a Christian subculture, where virginity is everything. And sex is the unpardonable sin. And if you end up falling along the way, you’re now damaged goods. Where you can sin in all number of ways, but if you slip up like that, you’re completely cooked. And you’ve lived for years carrying guilt and shame. That’s a load of lies. And the Lord wants to take that burden from you. Whatever your sin - sexual or otherwise - Jesus longs to heal and restore.
A few things we must get straight as we talk about our faith. First: the difference between Christians and non-Christians isn’t that Christians are perfect - obviously. As Jesus gathers around Him the last, the least, the lost, often non-believers have it together more than us. The difference is this: Christians continue to repent. They refuse to rebel against their Lord. They battle against their sin. They fight the good fight of faith. Christians don’t flee from their Father in rebellion. They run in repentance to His arms.
Second: Christians don’t obey God to earn His grace. That makes no sense. Grace, karis, by definition, is unearned. No. Christians do it because they’ve experienced God’s love. And they want to please their heavenly Father. We’re thankful. And humble. We should never be judgmental. We don’t deserve this spot at the table. Each of us is broken. But we want to obey God.
Third, your heavenly Father isn’t disgusted by your sin. And stand-offish from you over it. No. Picture that dad in the story of the Prodigal Son. Far off. Coming up that road. And breaking off into a sprint, running after his kid. That’s how the Lord sees you. He stands ready, willing to forgive. He pursued you, excited to make you new.
Jesus pays for our sin. Dying on the cross. And He renews us again. By His Holy Spirit. If we come to Him in faith. This is the hope of redemption. Did you hear those words from Paul there in verse 11? Jesus had changed them. Verse 11. He had “washed” them. Now they were clean. He had “sanctified” them. Set them apart for Himself. He had “justified” them. Declared them righteous. Jesus rescues us out of judgment and hell. But He also transforms us, little by little, to look more like Him. He takes away our guilt. He washes away our shame. There is hope for all of us!
But you maybe noticed I left out some key words just now. And that I’d flipped this passage upside down. “But such were some of you.” Paul says there, we see, in verse 11. That’s who you used to be Christian. But now you’ve been changed. Therefore, verse 12 and beyond - don’t turn away and use your body in sexual sin. Let the good news of the gospel move you to honor Him. See how Jesus heals. That’s my fourth point today. Jesus calls us out of sin to His gospel of grace.
So, to review:
Sex is given as a gift by God for our good.
Sex is first and foremost about the glory of God.
Sex abused leads to pain and to grief.
Jesus calls us out of sin to His gospel of grace.
Into the Situation Room
Well, in the remainder of our time. I want to talk some application. How do we live out these teachings together? How do we receive this good gift of sex? And not turn aside to that which won’t satisfy? I want us to first spend some time in the situation room. I want us then to gather around the dinner table.
First, the situation room. Where you prepare for the battle. And we’re in one, if you forgot Billy’s sermon from a few weeks ago. Or you’re not getting the stakes as we encounter sex here today. Here are four needed strategies, as we go about this war.
Take, note, first of all, of our resources. We don’t have the firepower we need. We have to approach all of this with humility. We need the Lord. And we need His people.
We must, second, build up our defenses. What are ways we protect ourselves from sin? Limiting our access to computers and phones. Accountability partners we can call when in need.
We have to, third, fight fire with fire. You can only defeat a lesser desire through a greater one. This is us spending time in prayer. Getting in God’s word. Being with God’s people. Anything to stoke our hearts with the greater pleasure found in Him. This is offense. Let’s point one another to the joy!
We need to fourth, walk in the light. Practice confession. Sin thrives in darkness. Amy and I have pasts. We’ve screwed up. So have many others in our leadership here. Pretty much anywhere you turn today, there’s someone you can talk to. Someone who won’t judge you. But will receive you in love. And point you to Christ.
Around the Dinner Table
Second, the dinner table. I want to address several groups of people as I wrap up today. And hear me: I’m not saying I’m an expert or have all this figured out.
First, to the youth, the teens. Would you talk to your parents? Share your struggles. Or maybe with other leaders you trust. And would you help them protect you? Trust the Lord to love you through them.
Second, singles. Don’t buy the lie that you must have sex to be whole. Jesus and Paul were never married. And they lived full lives. Jesus was the most fully human being ever. And don’t forget where marriage and sex point. To our relationship - to our intimacy - with Jesus. Marriage and sex will not complete you.
Third, college students. Push against the casual, hook-up culture. Date with intentionality. Pursue a spouse - in community. With others beside you. Don’t give up, as so many are doing. And isolate yourself.
Fourth, dating couples. Don’t try to get as close to the lines you can. And if you fall over, let His grace pull you back. Share your struggles with others in the church. Don’t go to the dark - and try to do this alone.
Fifth, married couples. Don’t underestimate the power of sex in your relationship. How it creates oneness. A sexless marriage is rarely a healthy marriage. But don’t expect it to be perfect in our fallen world. Life is hard. People get sick. You’re married to someone who is a sinner. It’s not going to work like it’s portrayed in Hollywood.
Sixth, parents. Talk about your struggles with your kids. Don’t make this so awkward or freak out when they share.
Seventh, guys. Stop trying to be all tough. Don’t isolate yourself. And hear me: it’s not her fault.
Eighth, ladies. Did you just hear that last line? Please do. But you struggle also. You have sexuality, too. Don’t you struggle alone, either.
Ninth, everyone. Let’s not continue to let our phones dominate and destroy us. They’re there to make us rage against the world, buy stuff we don’t need, and objectify those of the opposite sex. And worst of all, they deaden our desires for God.
And last, to everyone who’s struggling, who has hurt, or been hurt, seek out help. You’ll be received in love. You don’t have to walk through this alone. And Christ redeems.
God’s Good Gift of Sex
Next week, Bobby will dive into the subject of Sabbath. And then the week after, Aaron will take gender. Stay tuned. Come back. Buckle up. And if you end up having to travel, be sure to download the podcast. But the rest of the month, you’ll have plenty to talk about. As you gather around the table. And take excursions in your car.
In Todd Wilson’s great book, Mere Sexuality, he lists three things that should characterize our teaching on sex. We should teach it with joy, tears, and hope. Joy - as we celebrate God’s very good gift. Tears - as we reckon with all the brokenness around us. Hope - as we run to Jesus to renew us by His grace. I’ve tried to do that today. Let’s remind each other of those things. We should gladly, gratefully receive His good gift of sex, letting it drive us to His glory and grace.