Biblical Sex
Quick Summary
Biblical sex is presented in Scripture as a good, embodied gift rooted in creation, covenant, and mutual delight. The Bible speaks about sex with moral seriousness, but not with shame. Rather than reducing sexuality to rules alone, Scripture frames sex as relational, purposeful, and deeply connected to love, faithfulness, and human dignity.
Introduction
Few topics generate more anxiety in Christian discourse than sex. For some, the Bible is assumed to be prudish, restrictive, or suspicious of desire. For others, Scripture is invoked selectively to police behavior while ignoring its broader theological vision.
The biblical witness tells a different story. Sex is neither trivial nor taboo. It is treated as powerful, meaningful, and formative. The Bible speaks about sex across many genres and centuries, acknowledging both its beauty and its capacity to harm. Reading Scripture faithfully requires holding these tensions together without flattening them into slogans.
Sex and Creation
The Bible’s first word about sex is blessing. In Genesis, human beings are created as embodied creatures, declared good, and blessed with fruitfulness (Genesis 1:27–28). Sexuality is not an afterthought or a concession to weakness. It is woven into creation itself.
Genesis 2 deepens this vision by linking sexual union with companionship, vulnerability, and shared life. The language of becoming “one flesh” speaks not only to physical union but to relational intimacy. Sex is portrayed as an expression of trust and mutual giving.
Importantly, sex appears before the fall. Desire and embodiment are not introduced as consequences of sin. They belong to God’s good design. Shame enters the story only after trust is broken (Genesis 3:7), suggesting that secrecy and fear distort sexuality rather than define it.
The creation narratives resist both sexual repression and sexual trivialization. Sex matters because bodies matter, and bodies matter because they are created by God.
Sources: Walter Brueggemann, Genesis (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1982), 31–39. John Goldingay, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 2 (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006), 86–94.
Sex, Covenant, and Faithfulness
Throughout Scripture, sex is consistently linked to covenantal faithfulness. Sexual union is not merely physical release but participation in a bond of trust and commitment. This is why adultery is treated with such seriousness. It represents betrayal, not simply rule-breaking.
Prophetic literature regularly uses sexual imagery to describe covenant fidelity and infidelity. While this language can be uncomfortable, its purpose is to underscore how deeply relational unfaithfulness wounds communities. Sex carries moral weight because it is relationally significant.
Within marriage, sex functions as a sign and practice of mutual belonging. It is not portrayed as a duty owed by one partner to another, but as shared participation in a covenantal relationship. Scripture repeatedly resists reducing sex to ownership or entitlement.
This covenantal framing challenges both permissiveness and control. Sex is neither casual nor coercive. It belongs within relationships marked by trust, responsibility, and care for the other.
Sources: Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997), 414–421. Richard B. Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament (New York: HarperOne, 1996), 381–387.
Desire, Delight, and Mutuality
One of the most striking features of the Bible is its unapologetic celebration of desire. The Song of Songs stands as a sustained affirmation of mutual longing, pleasure, and joy. Desire is voiced by both partners. Consent and reciprocity are central.
The poetry of the Song refuses shame-based interpretations of sexuality. Bodies are named, praised, and desired. Love is depicted as powerful, intoxicating, and worthy of celebration. Sex here is not utilitarian. It is joyful.
Elsewhere, Scripture affirms mutual responsibility in sexual relationships. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul emphasizes mutual consent and attentiveness rather than unilateral control. Sexuality is framed as shared life rather than individual entitlement.
These texts collectively challenge readings of the Bible that prioritize dominance or silence desire. Biblical sex is relational, mutual, and attentive to the dignity of both partners.
Sources: Tremper Longman III, Song of Songs (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 55–68. Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 278–285.
Sex, Power, and Harm
While Scripture celebrates sex, it is equally honest about its misuse. Sexual violence, coercion, and exploitation are named as grave injustices. Biblical narratives do not sanitize these realities. They expose them.
Stories of sexual harm are presented without moral ambiguity. Abuse of power is consistently condemned, whether perpetrated by kings, household heads, or communities. Sex divorced from consent and care becomes destructive rather than life-giving.
Biblical law repeatedly prioritizes protection of the vulnerable. Sexual ethics are framed around responsibility and restraint rather than conquest. Desire is never permitted to override dignity.
This emphasis makes clear that biblical sexual ethics are not primarily about purity codes, but about safeguarding human flourishing and preventing harm.
Sources: Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 1–12. Christopher J.H. Wright, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004), 340–348.
Sex in the New Testament
The New Testament continues the Bible’s moral seriousness about sex while reframing it within the life of the church. Jesus speaks about sexual faithfulness in ways that expose the roots of harm rather than merely policing behavior.
Paul addresses sexual ethics within communities marked by inequality, exploitation, and excess. His concern is not repression but transformation. Sexual behavior is evaluated by whether it reflects love, self-giving, and respect for others.
Sexuality is consistently tied to the body’s dignity. Bodies are not disposable. They matter because they belong to God. This theological grounding resists both permissiveness that ignores harm and asceticism that denies embodiment.
The New Testament does not offer exhaustive sexual rules. Instead, it forms communities capable of discernment shaped by love and responsibility.
Sources: N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003), 53–61. Stanley Hauerwas, A Community of Character (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981), 190–199.
Sex as Gift, Not Shame
Taken as a whole, Scripture presents sex as a gift that requires care. It is powerful, meaningful, and capable of deep joy. It is also capable of harm when severed from responsibility and love.
Biblical sexual ethics resist fear-based control and casual permissiveness alike. They call for relationships marked by faithfulness, mutuality, and concern for the other’s good.
To speak biblically about sex is not to deny desire, but to locate it within God’s larger vision for human flourishing. Sex is not opposed to holiness. It is one of the places holiness is practiced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Bible view sex as sinful?
No. The Bible consistently affirms sex as part of God’s good creation.
Is desire itself sinful?
No. Desire is portrayed as natural and, in many texts, celebrated.
Why does the Bible place limits on sexual behavior?
Because Scripture treats sex as powerful and relational, requiring responsibility and care.
Does the Bible only affirm sex within marriage?
Scripture consistently links sex to covenantal faithfulness and mutual responsibility.
Works Consulted
Brueggemann, Walter. Genesis. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1982.
Brueggemann, Walter. Theology of the Old Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997.
Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.
Goldingay, John. Old Testament Theology, Vol. 2. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006.
Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament. New York: HarperOne, 1996.
Longman III, Tremper. Song of Songs. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
Trible, Phyllis. Texts of Terror. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.
Wright, Christopher J.H. Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004.
Wright, N.T. Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003.
