Biblical Theology and the Crisis of Sexuality

Today, Western society is experiencing what might be called a moral revolution. The moral code and the collective ethical assessment of certain issues have undergone more than just minor changes—a complete rethinking has taken place. What was once condemned is now glorified, and the refusal to support it is now condemned.

The peculiarity of the modern moral and sexual revolution is its unprecedented speed. Previous generations experienced moral shifts over decades, and in some cases centuries. The modern revolution is happening at breakneck speed.

The church must recognize that the contemporary debate over sexuality is a crisis that is both inevitable and deeply theological. It is similar in significance to the challenges that Gnosticism posed to the early church or Pelagianism to the church of Augustine. In other words, the issue of sexuality challenges the church’s understanding of the gospel, sin, salvation, and sanctification. Advocates of new ideas about sexuality are calling for a complete rewriting of the main plot of Scripture, a rethinking of theology, and a fundamental shift in views on the role of the church.

Is "transgender" in the dictionary?

The use of proof texts is the first reaction of conservative Protestants seeking a strategy of theological inquiry and restatement. This hermeneutical reflex naturally arises among evangelical Christians because we believe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. We understand that, as B. B. Warfield said, «When Scripture speaks, God speaks.» I should clarify that this reflex is not entirely wrong, but it is not entirely right either. It is not entirely wrong, because certain texts of Scripture (so-called «proof texts») directly and clearly address specific issues.

However, there are obvious limitations to this type of theological method—what I call the «concordance reflex.» What happens when you try to solve a theological problem for which there is no corresponding word in the Bible dictionary? Many of the most important theological questions cannot be reduced to a simple lookup of words and relevant verses in a Bible dictionary. Try looking up the word «transgender.» What about «lesbian» or «in vitro fertilization»? They probably aren’t at the back of my Bible.

It is not that Scripture is inadequate. The problem is not that Scripture fails here; the problem is the shortcomings of our approach to it. The dictionary approach to theology produces a simplistic view of the Bible, deprived context, covenant, or main idea—the three hermeneutical foundations necessary for a correct understanding of Scripture.

Biblical theology of the body

Biblical theology is absolutely essential for the church to formulate an appropriate response to the contemporary sexual crisis. The church must learn to read Scripture in its context, focusing on the central theme that is progressively revealed within the covenant. We must interpret every theological question through the major themes of Scripture—creation, the fall, salvation, and the new creation. Evangelical Christians in particular need a theology of the body that is rooted in the unfolding drama of salvation presented in the Bible.

Creation

Genesis 1:26–28 indicates that God created man—unlike the rest of creation—in His own image and likeness. This passage also demonstrates that God’s purpose for humanity is embodied existence. Genesis 2:7 reinforces this idea: God forms man from the dust of the ground and breathes into him the breath of life. This indicates that we were bodies before we became individuals. As it turns out, bodies are not an accident of our identity. Adam and Eve were commissioned to multiply and subdue the earth. Their bodies enable them, by God’s design and sovereign plan, to fulfill this task as image-bearers of God.

The Genesis account also indicates that the body has needs. Adam would feel hungry, so God gave him the fruits of the garden. These needs are an expression of Adam's finite, dependent, and derivative nature in the created order.

Adam also needed companionship, so God gave him a wife, Eve. Adam and Eve were to fulfill the command to multiply and fill the earth in God’s image, using the reproductive capacity with which they were created properly. Along with this, there is the physical pleasure that each of them will experience as they become one body—one flesh.

The Genesis account also demonstrates that gender is part of God’s good creation. Gender is not simply a sociological construct imposed on humans who might otherwise have agreed to any variation. Genesis teaches us that gender was created by God for our good and His glory. It is intended for human flourishing and is determined by God’s will—just as He determined when, where, and how we should exist.

So, God created His image and likeness in the form of an incarnate person. As incarnate, we have received from God the gift and responsibility of sexuality. We are designed in such a way that we bear witness to God's purposes in this.

Genesis also frames this entire discussion in a covenantal perspective. Human reproduction is not simply a way to propagate the family; rather, it emphasizes the fact that Adam and Eve were to multiply in order to fill the earth with the glory of God, reflected in His image and likeness.

The Fall

The Fall, the second stage in salvation history, distorts the good gift of the body that God gave. The entry of sin brings mortality to the body. In terms of sexuality, the Fall undermines God’s good plans for sexual complementarity. Eve’s desire will be to dominate her husband (Gen. 3:16). Adam’s leadership will be harsh (Gen. 3:17-19). Eve will experience pain during childbirth (Gen. 3:16).

The following accounts demonstrate the development of deviant sexual practices, from polygamy to rape, to which Scripture responds with astonishing frankness. These Genesis accounts are accompanied by the giving of the Law, which is intended to restrain abnormal sexual behavior. The Law regulates sexuality and gender expression, clearly stating moral norms regarding sex, cross-dressing, marriage, divorce, and a host of other bodily and sexual matters.

The Old Testament also links sexual sin with idolatry. Orgiastic worship, temple prostitution, and other horrific perversions of the good gift of the body are seen as integral to idolatrous worship. Paul makes the same connection in Romans. After «they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things» (Rom. 1:23), and «they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator» (Rom. 1:25), men and women change their natural relationship to one another (Rom. 1:26-27).

Salvation

Regarding salvation, it is worth noting that one of the most important aspects of our redemption is that it was accomplished through a Savior with flesh. «And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us» (John 1:14; cf. Phil. 2:5-11). The redemption of man was accomplished by the incarnate Son of God, who remains incarnate forever.

Paul points out that this salvation includes not only our souls but also our bodies. Romans 6:12 speaks of sin reigning in our «mortal bodies,» which emphasizes the hope of a future bodily redemption. Romans 8:23 indicates that part of our eschatological hope is «the redemption of our bodies.» Even now, in our lives of sanctification, we are called to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God in worship (Rom. 12:2). Furthermore, Paul describes the redeemed body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and we must be clear about the effect that sanctification has on the body.

Sexual ethics in the New Testament, as in the Old, regulate our expressions of gender and sexuality. «Porneia» (sexual immorality of any kind) is categorically condemned by Jesus and the apostles. Similarly, Paul makes it clear to the church in Corinth that sexual sin—sins committed in the flesh (1 Cor. 6:18)—is something that dishonors the church and the gospel, because it proclaims to the watching world that the gospel is of no effect (1 Cor. 5–6).

New creation

Finally, we come to the fourth and final act of the drama of redemption—the new creation. In 1 Corinthians 15:42-57, Paul points not only to the resurrection of our bodies in the new creation, but also to the fact that the bodily resurrection of Christ is the promise and power of this future hope. Our resurrection will be an experience of eternal glory in the body. This body will be transformed, a complete continuation of our present incarnate existence, just as Jesus’ body will remain the same body He had on earth, but fully glorified.

The new creation will not simply be a throwback of old realities. It will be better than Eden. As Calvin pointed out, in the new creation we will know God not only as Creator but also as Redeemer—and this redemption includes our bodies. We will reign with Christ in the incarnate form, for He is also the incarnate and reigning Lord of the universe.

As for our sexuality, while gender will remain in the new creation, sexual activity will have no place. This does not mean that sex will be abolished in the resurrection; rather, it will be fulfilled. The eschatological wedding feast of the Lamb, to which marriage and sexuality point, will finally take place. There will no longer be a need to fill the earth with images of God, as was the case in Genesis 1. Instead, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

The need for biblical theology

The sexuality crisis has exposed the failures of theological method on the part of many pastors. The «reflex of agreement» simply cannot provide the kind of rigorous theological thinking needed in pulpits today. Pastors and churches must recognize the need for biblical theology and practice reading Scripture according to its internal logic—the logic of history moving from creation to the new creation. We face a great hermeneutical task, but it is also necessary for faithful evangelical engagement with culture.