Chapter 6
Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God’s holy ordinance. ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer[1]
Truth Statement: Marriage is one of the seven sacraments, and sex in marriage celebrates that sacrament. In Jesus, the Godhead united with us in flesh. In the covenant of marriage, sex celebrates the rightness of relationships in the Godhead, the rightness of His relationship with His Bride, and the sacrifice required for covenant union. Finally, it celebrates that God invites us into the creative process, and that life is produced in us because of the righteousness He generously shares.
Initially, I gave up on God’s plan. Religion and its rules didn’t make sense with how He made me. There was so much fun and excitement to be enjoyed! Religious taboos made no sense! I came around to believe God’s way is better than the unrestraint of my early years. And I trusted He was “fixing” me, but I doubted He would fix my wife! I believed He COULD do it, but WOULD He? I wasn’t convinced it would happen in this lifetime.
Carlene grew up with high ideals and held to strict religious rules and boundaries that prevented the kind of sex I wanted to enjoy with her. My wife’s ground rules were part of her identity as a Christian. Though I thought she was missing out, her ideas seemed consistent with the church’s standards and rules. Though her behavioristic approach seemed stifling, it was an integral part of her belief system, making it hard to oppose.
As I began to put Carlene’s needs first, God began a change. Slowly, slowly, Carlene and I began to hear one another’s hearts. She trusted me, and I trusted her; there was no doubt. We both were committed to hearing and meeting one another’s needs as best we could. But early in marriage, our physical relationship had reinforced her negative beliefs about sex. I wasn’t hopeful she could erase the past and genuinely enjoy passionate physical love. And living according to the rules of our church, I wasn’t sure God wanted to.
There was a sadness surrounding sex I couldn’t shake. Sexuality reflected the dark side of God. Though I couldn’t understand Him, I’d chosen to trust Him. I wanted to believe He is good, and that all He made is good, even sex. Trusting God is good made sense to me; since Greg applied Ephesians 5:25 to our marriage, our relationship had been getting better. But what about those for whom life is not getting better? In Africa, I didn’t have to look far to see lives broken and abused by unrestrained sexual passion. Is God still good? Why the mystery that surrounds His ways[i] Is He really all-powerful? What holds Him back from making everything right? Will goodness win? If righteousness is right living, why hadn’t it spared me this sadness surrounding sex?
To heal sexually, I needed God to show me three things. Firstly, from the time He created us, God knew that passion created for our unity, unrestrained, would result in confusion created by unbridled sexual expression. And knowing the devastation of unrestrained passion, He chose circumcision to identify His people. Secondly, circumcision is symbolic of sacrifice, something every person is called to do when following Christ. And finally, I needed to recognize that this act, a constant reminder to His people, created a definite link between a man’s penis and God’s greatest gift. In the symbolism of circumcision, the Biblical picture of Christ and the church offers sexual freedom and a means of passionate celebration because the righteousness of Christ placed in the church is life-giving!
Many will have a hard time assimilating this personal revelation. Initially, I doubted I understood God correctly. My husband’s penis as a symbol of righteousness was too far outside the box for my conservative thinking! However, as we identify with those struggling to survive and our healing continues to excel, God compels us to share.
Human perspectives on sexuality begin with messages we internalize before we are old enough to reason. Boys are this way, …girls are like that. This is the good part of you, …the bad part of you looks like this. God created the good things, …the bad parts are your fault. You’re not good enough; you need to change. JUST BE DIFFERENT! These create polarizing concepts of self, others, and God. Loneliness results. Isolation. Unrighteousness. With maturity, many conclude that, though God may have created good things, He has a dark side we can’t understand.[2] If He exists, His dark side created us with sexual tension that strives against the good.
How do we weed out the good from the bad when it comes to sexuality? These uncertainties influence how we approach life, how we relate to one another, and how we relate to God. God patterned our existence after the good relationship the Father, Son, and Spirit have always known. Like Him, you and I experience fulfillment as we connect. The light and dark threads of our lives complement and highlight His Image. As we understand these threads, He draws us into His righteousness and His Trinitarian way of relating: a tapestry with eternal significance.
Threads of Tradition
The Bible contains many rules. God gave us His Law to show our inability to live without sin (Romans 7:7).Living by the rules gives the Christian way of life a certain structure. And structure is good… until it prevents our hearts from connecting meaningfully! Jesus understood this and didn’t hesitate to live beyond the law, walking meaningfully by connecting with others.[ii] He demonstrated healthy relationships. The traditions of the church should do the same.
Structure is good until it prevents our hearts from connecting in meaningful relationships.
Read Matthew 5:17
- Did Jesus come to get rid of the structures put in place by religion?
- What does it mean that He came to fulfill those structures?
Church structures and the Law were intended to point to something: Jesus and God’s purpose for creating man. Jesus’ way of life and relationships demonstrate exactly what God intended from the beginning.
In the following Scriptures, we’ll identify four church traditions. These traditions are activities recognized by the church as holy. They aren’t necessary for salvation. However, understanding them is vital because they keep us accountable to the Gospel. They remind us of who we are, where we’ve come from, and what God has done.
Read the following Passages and answer the questions:
| · Matthew 28:19 | What is the act or church tradition? |
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What is its purpose?
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· 1 Corinthians 11:24-26 Luke 22:19-20 |
Act or church tradition? |
| Purpose? | |
| · Hebrews 10:24-25 | Act or church tradition? |
| Purpose? | |
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· Genesis 2:25 1 Corinthians 7:1-6 Ephesians 5:31&32 |
Act or church tradition? |
| Purpose? |
Baptism
Jewish tradition practiced a ceremonial bath of sorts, called a mikvah. A person was submerged in the mikvah waters to symbolize a new beginning or a spiritual purification. It was practiced by Jews weekly, and at other times that required special cleansing.[3]
John the Baptist built on the practice of mikvah, encouraging people to be baptized to identify that they desired a new beginning. Those baptized by John no longer focused on the law for salvation but looked toward the coming Redeemer whose arrival John said was imminent. [4]
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the early church continued the practice of baptism to identify His followers.
Baptism identifies Jesus’ followers
Communion
Taking communion also originates in a Jewish tradition: The Passover. The Jews first broke bread and drank the wine the night before they fled from slavery in Egypt. At this first Passover, they obeyed God by sacrificing a lamb and painting its blood over their doorways. That evening, those who believed God would do what He said were spared a visit from the Angel of Death when he “passed over” their homes because of the blood-painted doorposts (Exodus 12:1-41). Since that day, Jewish people have continued the Passover meal as a way of remembering how God saved them from death on that first Passover night.
Jesus built on the Passover celebration by furthering the significance of the bread and wine. Indicating the elements were symbolic of more, His body and blood became new Passover elements of the Communion feast (Luke 22:13-20). When Christians celebrate this tradition, we’re reminded that, just as the lamb of the first Passover, Jesus is the Lamb of Sacrifice who saves us from death.
Jesus is the lamb who demonstrated personal sacrifice on behalf of others, ultimately leading to His death and becoming the vehicle of our salvation.
The Fellowship of Believers
In Hebrews, those who trust Jesus are encouraged to live a new way. Part of this new fellowship is to come together regularly to motivate, spur one another on, and help one another follow Christ’s example. This assembling of believers began after Christ’s ascension and is recorded in the book of Acts (2:41-47).
When God’s Spirit became active among Jesus’ followers, they began to experience a unity they had not shared before. This unity with God and one another resulted from their commitment to belief in Jesus as the One who would save. Because of the common union of Jesus’ followers, they became known as the body of Christ; the Church, which Jesus had said He would build (Matthew 16:18). This body is diverse yet unified and created to function “one as He is One.” (John 17:22) When Jesus’ way of life is the place of common ground, an-‘other’ point of view creates a “grace-full” way of living that recognizes the value and purpose behind our diversity.
This body is diverse, created to function “one as He is One.”
The Act of Marriage
The last tradition on our chart is marriage. And becoming one flesh in sexual union is implicit to this tradition. This is not to imply that those who practice sex are believers. Neither is it widely considered a church or Christian practice. Nevertheless, conventionally, the act of sex in marriage is one of “God’s holy ordinances.”[5] Jewish tradition affirmed a marriage by a community celebration. Once a couple consummated the relationship and the physical union was confirmed, the party officially began.[6] The Catholic Church still considers marriage one of the seven sacraments. According to Felix Just S.J., PhD the sacraments “manifest and convey the divine graces that they symbolize. …[and] are not merely intellectual but also speak to us affectively and intuitively….”[raising] our minds and hearts to God.” As he indicated previously, “…they are a special occasion for experiencing God’s saving presence.[7]
Marriage today is frequently considered optional and dispensable. Whether a person is religious or not, the ability to remain married requires a religious commitment to the highest standard. Sex is still the one act that acknowledges and cements the covenant of marriage into place; when a marriage is over, the right to sex is removed.
Christopher West, a known authority on the Theology of the Body, says, “Whenever you hear ‘covenant’ in scripture, you can substitute it with ‘marriage.’ …The covenant God wants to establish between heaven and earth is a marital one. …He has espoused Himself to us forever. …[even the sexual] pleasures of this world are a tiny glimpse of the infinite, pointing to heaven.”[8]
Sex is the one act that acknowledges and cements the covenant of marriage into place.
Threads of Worship
Heaven and paradise are unrealized realities of human being. We’re created to enjoy what is fulling and good. Unified thought and purpose with others is an authenticity of heart and mind we long for since it’s integral to our design. Despite unpleasantness, we’re still privileged to glimpse such fulfillment of our existence when hearts and minds connect. In connection, relationships share a commonality so strong that those who understand are driven to be together and to repeat the times and seasons that brought us close. Such camaraderie makes us a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I’ll always remember a family outing at Wrigley Field in the early ’90s. The Chicago crowd was electric during the 7th Inning Stretch. Harry Carry led the bellowing crowd. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” reverberated, as did joy and hope as the multitude came together in one accord. And I thought, “This is the kind of unity we were made for!” Enjoying the moment, I contemplated worship. Having experienced an almost comparable gathering of Christians at Urbana in 1981 and 1984, I now sat with these like-minded Cub fans; I found myself equally elated, and this time intrigued, at the similar euphoric experience. So many people, with focused heart and mind acting in unison, urging one another, and the players to be moved to enjoy a win, our desire and great conviction. And in the moment, I recognized we’re created to worship something, and will join together to do so, in whatever way makes the most sense at the time of decision.
Whether sports, politics, music, gardening, shopping, or religion, we’re designed to unite, belong, and gather in acts of worship. And somehow sensuality and sexuality play a part: it sells cars and decorates sidelines, becomes the halftime show, and makes its way into even young children’s media entertainment. At many levels, our sexuality motivates unity of thought and purpose.
Author John Eldredge (2008) says that God created sexuality, gender, and marriage to serve as a “living metaphor,” whereby we may relate to Godly intimacy in relationship (p. 132). He also affirms the sanctity of sexuality, stating, “… there is something special, even sacramental, about sex. It requires trust and abandonment, guided by a wholehearted devotion. What else can this be but worship? …We worship sex because we don’t know how to worship God” (p. 136).
The trust and abandonment of that crowd in the early ’90s didn’t make the win. However, despite tanking repeatedly, Cub fans have somehow held onto “maybe this year” for decades. And so are the ways of sex and marriage: knowing it’s something deeply intimate, even though it has the potential to go wrong, it’s integral to our desires and identity. We may let go with a kick and a shove, but emotions are instantly ignited by circumstances that seem right.
When sex points to God, and represents the unity of Christ with His Bride, it doesn’t disappoint. It edifies, grows individuals, and ultimately the Church. And it is characterized by sacrifice. When the focus of sex is on personal gratification, it forgets the other. In a climate of forgetfulness, those who are giving deeply of themselves, or who have been violated by the intimate take, are forgotten and left emotionally to die. Devastating is the potential of worship, misapplied.
Will you use sex as an act to worship God? Or self?
Threads of Truth
Read the following passages of scripture out loud.
Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Romans 5:20b&21 Grace abounded…. so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 8:10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
- There are four words in all three verses. Did you see them?
R________________________ L________________________
C________________________ D________________________
Just as we’ve seen in these verses, throughout the Bible, we learn that righteousness from God is life-giving. In chapter four, we’ve already seen we have no ability to achieve righteousness on our own and that this life-giving quality is a gift we enjoy when we trust that Jesus’ way of life is the way to life. This gift, given to us through the relationships healed by following Christ, is God’s breath of life, restored by His Spirit, that we enjoy when we are united. Without this righteousness, we remain subject to death.
Death reigns and is the structure by which this world’s system has been built. With this structure in place, our experiences and relationships are characterized by the darkness of broken lives, confusion, and defeat.
From the words gathered above, fill in the blanks:
- A physical truth we all know: Sex is a biological act that gives L__________.
- A spiritual truth we should all know: The R ____________________ of C_____________ placed within the church is L__________
- A practical truth we often fail to see: The act of sex for humankind is both physical and spiritual. God designed it with L__________ giving purpose in both realms.
- In the beginning, God breathed Surrendering his authority to another, man chose the D__________ God’s enemy had to offer.
- God redeemed us back to L__________ by identifying with our experience. In human flesh, C_____________ led the way for us to enjoy once again the R____________________ of God’s original design: healing relationships with Him and others.
By His right patterns of relationship, Christ offers righteousness and life. Accepting patterns of life or death are a choice I have in every relationship.
Threads of Life and Love
Passionate love is a recurring theme in the Bible. Under the satan’s domain, there’s confusion and division among us. God’s truths are difficult to believe because God seems far away. Not relying on God’s Spirit and following Jesus’ ways, death reigns. Still passionate, we regard erotic love as a choice but feel it as an irrepressible need. Since our spirits have been separated from one another and God, we have died and our righteous potential darkened. God changes our perspective through spiritual circumcision. Rejecting the flesh of our passions, His Spirit joins our hearts once again in an attitude of sacrifice that regards an-‘other’ more highly than self.
Consider God’s love for you as you read these truths.
Read Deuteronomy 31:6 and Psalm 139:1-12
- Where is God?
Read Deuteronomy 30:6
- Though God had given Abraham’s family physical circumcision, what spiritual circumcision did God say would result from trusting Him?
- What would be the result?
Read Hosea 14
- What was God’s promise when His people responded to Him (14:4)
Israel had refused God’s ways. Apostacy refuses to follow or obey a religious faith and abandons religious loyalties. Notice from this chapter that God is not criticizing Israel’s apostacy. Rather, God is appealing to them to return to Him and be healed. It’s the epitome of His choice, to love sacrificially even when it is undeserved. God chooses healing and offers forgiveness and blessing when His people turn to Him in a restored relationship.
God changes our perspective through spiritual circumcision that joins our hearts once again.
Read Ezekiel 36:26
- What kind of heart does God want to give us?
Read 2 Corinthians 3:1-6
- When He gives us a soft heart, what will result?
Read Jesus’ words from Luke 10:27&28
- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Do this ____________ ____________ ____________!
Rejecting the flesh of our passions, His Spirit joins our hearts in an attitude of sacrifice that restablishes relationships of life and love, as God ordained.
Threads of Goodness
Psalm 106 is a summary of man’s sinfulness. This chapter shows the path of sin demonstrated by the nation of Israel. They were ungrateful, envious, idolatrous, and prostituted themselves in godless relationships and murder. Nevertheless, when people call on Him, God hears, forgives, and remembers His promise. The Psalmist begins this chapter with a prayer, acknowledging God’s faithfulness amid spiritual harlotry.
Read Psalm 106:1, 4-5
- Everlasting and inheritance; what do these words say to you about God’s goodness?
- What lasts forever?
- What is the inheritance handed to the next generation?
Notice that everlasting and inheritance are generational terms. As we intercourse God’s plan, recognizing spiritual truths punctuated by the realities demonstrated in Jesus’ life, He blesses and saves from one generation to the next! Is my word choice far-fetched? Professor and theologian Peter Kreeft (1990) said, “Spiritual intercourse with God is the ecstasy hinted at in all earthly intercourse, physical or spiritual. It is the ultimate reason why sexual passion is so strong” (Chapter 8, Section 8, para 1).
Read 1 Timothy 4:4
- What describes everything God created?
- Is there anything God DID NOT create?
- Does this include sex?
- In your thinking, is there something about sex to be grateful for?
Author and pastor John Piper (2009) dedicates a section in his book, This Momentary Marriage, to ‘Holy Sex: Satan’s Defeat, Christ’s Display, and Our Delight.’ In it, he says, “Marriage at its exquisite peak of pleasure speaks powerfully the truth of covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church. And that love is the most powerful force in the world” (pp. 134-135).
As we intercourse God’s plan, recognizing spiritual truths with the realities demonstrated by Jesus’ life, He blesses and saves.
Read Psalm 143:9-11
- Who does the Psalmist take refuge from?
- Where does the Psalmist find this refuge?
- What is it that brings us out of trouble?
God’s enemy opposes unity. The Bible is full of God’s direction, desire, and promise to create unity among us. He accomplishes this connection of our hearts through the righteous work of His Spirit as individuals call on Him and follow Jesus in the way of life.
God’s righteousness is a gift, and circumcision links this gift to the intimacy of passionate connection. Passionate connection happens not only physically but spiritually. Intimacy has little to do with marital status and sexual activity. Rather, in God’s plan, we can safely connect our hearts by His Spirit. Jesus’ life demonstrates how to relate to one another in the way of the Trinity. People can be places of safety and refuge when we share a common spirit or understanding.
God wants to be that Spirit we share (Galatians, chapter five). Jesus showed us the way, connecting what is spiritual (God’s righteousness) with the physical (human relationships). Sacrificing personal perspectives to join our hearts with an-‘other’ perspective is how His Spirit leads and redeems our relationships. Sex physically represents these spiritual truths: righteousness, life, and relationships restored through sacrifice. It is sacred. Believing sex is a sacrament implies it is a spiritual act that represents spiritual truth: Christ’s victory over death by uniting hearts as One.
From Psalm 143
- Can you imagine physical intimacy as a place of refuge?
- Can you think of physical intimacy as reviving something?
- If so, what might be revived?
- What happens if sex is not safe and revitalizing?
Sexual intimacy is either a means of trouble, heartache, and conflict, or it can be a way of cementing two humans as one, as they honor and celebrate the Trinitarian Love of intimate community. Christopher West (2004) states, “The sexual confusion so prevalent in our world and in our own hearts is simply the human desire for heaven gone berserk. Untwist the distortions, and we discover the astounding glory of sex in the divine plan” (p. 57).
Finding safety in connecting hearts through Jesus’ way of Trinitarian unity, we become places of refuge because we share a common Spirit of understanding.
Complete the Tapestry!
Those who are not married are also a part of this weave. Single people have equally passionate needs and desires. Traditions and the circumstances of their upbringing have also impacted their views of religion, life, and relationships. They too long for experiences of life and love that are alive and good! Singles are no less sexual than those who are married! Whether they remain single or are single for a time, as they wait on God as He unfolds His plan in their lives, single people have a passionate role to play. The church should embrace, value, and equip them for that role!
Single people honor the picture of Christ and the Church by functioning wholeheartedly in the human relationships He brings into their lives. This is agape love.[iii] Agape love is equally passionate but characterized by compassion that is not eros. Honoring the Biblical picture by choosing to be celibate until the time God provides a spouse equally celebrates that picture by keeping it holy, set apart, and meaningful.
Through the Song of Songs and other passages, the Bible affirms that physical intimacy, eros, is a good thing, though it is not the ultimate in goodness. Eros is a love intended to reflect the spiritual intimacy and ultimate goodness of which we are all designed to be a part. Triunity, the kind of unity where multiples become one, is vulnerable and often scary. Yet, each of us longs to be a part of this goodness, for it is the goodness of God and the remnant of His image that remains in us.
God’s goodness is felt in spiritual intimacy when multiples become one, and together share in the fulfilling, passionate experience of being of one mind, striving toward the same goals, and intent on a common purpose. This is true for everyone. In or outside the church, married or single, participating with like-minded people is the most rewarding and motivating relationship we have. Families, organizations, cultures, and even genders will attest to this. Human longing for unity runs deep and motivates people despite the risks.
In broken relationships, without His Spirit of sacrifice that unites, our longings result in confusion and pain. Without unity, we’ll fight to be heard and understood, or we’ll give up putting to death all hope. Without unity, passionate expressions are not affirmed in health. Without unity, passionate expression is debated, resulting in division and death. As His image bearers, we all deserve, and long, to be heard!
The imprint of Triunity is a shared experience within and beyond the Church that transcends cultures and social constructs.
God asks people, regardless of gender and marital status, to focus on the marriage relationship He has invited all to be part of: Christ and the Church. God desires, for our sake, that we focus on reflecting the marriage of Christ and the Church. Whether practicing agape love in a fellowship of believers, serving Jesus in workplaces and communities by encouraging people to consider the role of Christ in their lives, or submitting our eros love to God and His timing, or the needs of one’s spouse, all require sacrifice. Jesus led the way. With an-‘other’ perspective, together we build His Church by interacting and sharing our lives. Sacrificing our “self-ish” perspective, we’ll regard others above self. Sharing and experiencing the healthy intimacy of overlapping lives is God’s idea: His passionate design. Our communities, especially the church, would be rewarding and deeply fulfilling if we did this well.
Sacrifice is the bottom line. Whether sacrificing eros love in marriage or in singleness, we honor God and an-‘other’ image bearer in the sacrifice of perspective. Sacrificing my “self-ish” perspective to express agape love and connect with another’s experience in compassion, is that sacrifice all are called to. This is the passionate expression of Himself that Jesus modeled and asks us to follow.
Waiting for sex until marriage, for the single person, requires no less passion than sacrificing body and drive on behalf of one’s spouse. Setting aside my perspective and daily experience to comprehend what another person is going through at any given moment is equally difficult for all of us. Without sacrifice, we all suffer. Addictions, loneliness, and even physical and mental illness abound in the unhealth of our broken realities. All of us are asked to honor God by placing our passions under His authority and embracing an-‘other’ perspective. An-‘other’ perspective looks very similar in and outside of marriage and requires the grace and humility of Christ. Without regard for others that would draw us into the fulfilling intimacy, even vulnerability, of our design, all of us suffer, seek answers, and long for something to change that will make it right.
An-‘other’ perspective looks very similar in and outside of marriage and requires the grace and humility of Christ.
Conclusion
Jesus’ righteousness was lived out in spiritual intercourse with His Bride while living as a celibate male on earth! In John Piper’s collection of essays from the 2004 Desiring God Conference, he approaches the dilemma of the sensual and the sacred with a probing question. “On the one hand, sex [has become] a complex darkness. On the other hand, sex becomes a garden of simple, pure delights. Which picture represents you?”[9] In a Spirit of unity, human sexuality reflects the life, love, and righteous relationships of God’s design. Jesus is our model. In Jesus, we observe the Trinitarian way of living. God became flesh. We can identify with our Trinitarian God because of Jesus’ example and by His promised Holy Spirit that guides us into righteous relationships.[iv]
In a Spirit of unity, human sexuality reflects the life, love, and righteous relationships of God’s design.
Time for Reflection
- When you think of sex, does it feel safe or dangerous?
- Does thinking about sex arouse questions, feelings of frustration, or even anger?
- Or do your ideas and experiences surrounding sexual ideas emanate a sense of security and belonging?
- How have traditions, beliefs, and social messages helped or hindered your ideas of sexuality?
Each of us has a concept of what we think love looks like. This is not always consistent with others’ concepts of love.
- When you think of love, what does it look like to you? How does it feel?
- Does your concept of sex feel more like worshipping God or something else?
Ask God to reimage your concept of sexuality and intimacy to conform with His good plan.
End Notes
[i] 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:27, 2:2, 1 Timothy 3:16, Revelation 10:7
[ii] Matthew 12:1-7, Mark 2:27&28, John 8:1-11
[iii] John 3:16
[iv]John 14:15-31
Foot Notes
[1] Bonhoeffer, D. (1943). Reformed Outfitters, Equipping Christians. A Wedding Sermon from a Prison Cell. Retrieved from: http://reformedoutfitters.com/2014/01/15/a-wedding-sermon-from-a-prison-cell-part-1/ January 15, 2017.
[2] Caine, C. (2016). Unashamed -Drop the Baggage, Pick Up Your Freedom, Fulfill Your Destiny. Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan. (p. 154).
[3]Baptism-Immersion-the Mikveh. (2008). Wildolive. Retrieved from http://www.wildolive.co.uk/baptism.htm . March 11, 2014.
[4] Why did John Baptize People?.(September 15, 2013). Gracethrufaith. Retrieved from https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/why-did-john-baptize-people/. March 11, 2014.
[5]Wohlers, C. The Book of Common Prayer-1559. (no date given). Retrieved from http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1559/Marriage_1559.htm on 25 May 2016.
[6] Vander Laan, R. (1996). Echoes of His Presence. Zondervan Publishing House. (p.12-19).
[7]Just, F. (December 2, 2022). The Seven Catholic Sacraments: An Introduction and Overview. Retrieved from: https://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Sacraments.htm. on 27 October 2023.
[8] West, C. [Ann P]. (November 13, 2015). Theology of the Body, Sexual Redemption and the New Evangelization Christopher West. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0mX8cyrCQY
[9] Piper, J.; Taylor, J. (2005). Sex and the Supremacy of Christ. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. Kindle Edition. (p. 66).
Cited In Text
Eldredge J. (2008). Desire, The Journey We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers. Cape Town. Struik Christian Books. (pp. 132 & 136).
Kreeft, P. (1990). Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Heaven. San Francisco. Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition. (Kindle Location 1633, Chapter 8, Section 8, para 1).
Piper, J. (2009). This Momentary Marriage. Wheaton. Crossway Books. (pp. 134-135).
West, C. (2004). Theology of the Body for Beginners, A Basic Introduction to Pope John Paul II’s Sexual Revolution. West Chester. Ascension Press. (p. 57).
Unpublished work. Copyright 2026, Greg and Carlene Seghers