[ The ] Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:35
The wisdom of probing the depths of the insemination of the People of God with the Holy Spirit of God might well be called into question because of the intimate nature of the subject. One might also question in return, if this is not part of the problem in American Christianity today! Whether because of our Puritanical conditioning or what, most Christians are afraid to go there, at least in public! We seem to be embarrassed about the sexuality that our Heavenly Father built into us. Now I can see the point of not walking around au naturel all the time, or engaging ( with your wife, of course ) in sexual intercourse just anywhere, especially in public, but why is it even taboo to talk ( or think ) about; why is the act of sexual intercourse viewed almost as dirty?
Well; the wrong practice of sexual intercourse ( 'sex', for short ) is definitely prohibited in Scripture, and looked down on as sin by most if not all Christians! Although not in so many words maybe, Scripture prohibits sexual relations outside The Bonds of Marriage, and it is definitely frowned upon by most Christians,and is not a wise endeavor in any case! Probably the clearest and most familiar or famous injunction against 'sex' outside marriage is based in the 7th Commandment, 'You shall not commit adultery'; put simply, and according to accepted definition, adultery is, 'sex between a married person and someone who is not that person's wife or husband'. So then, one might wonder, 'is it okay to just have sexual relations with just anyone as long as you are not married, and the person with whom you want to have intercourse is not married?' In that case then, 'why get married?'.
The Hebrew Scriptures, most notably Deuteronomy 22:22-30, on the Laws of Sexual Morality, make no clear distinction between sexual relations with a married woman or one who is betrothed; in both cases the perpetrator is to die. Depending on the situation, the woman might be stoned to death as well! If, however, the woman was not betrothed or married, the man simply had to make arrangements with the woman's father ( bride-price ) and marry the woman.
John 8:2-7 chronicles the story of The Woman Caught in Adultery. Although certain manuscripts do not contain this story, and its authenticity is thus questioned by some, it seems very possible or even probable that this actually occurred! Jesus was famous for challenging the Pharisees concept of the Law, so when they brought Him a woman caught in adultery ( the text does not say whether this alleged act happened inside or outside the city ); He reminded them, first of all, or the actual tenets of their Law, that the man involved must also be stoned to death, and then subtly pointed to none yet all of them, and to them that he among them who had not also committed this heinous act should throw the first stone! Note that the text does not say either whether the woman was either married or betrothed!
Fornication, which Scripture, both Hebrew & Greek, does speak very strongly against, is popularly defined as 'consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other'. Fornication, unlike physical adultery, includes illicit sexual intercourse between two people who are not married at all, not just to each other!
Fornication, or 'porneia' in the Greek, is used in the context of the spiritual adultery of Israel! One may ask then, or wonder, 'does it still apply today?' If, according to the doctrine of Fulfilled Eschatology, all has been fulfilled, then are there still those outside the City? Does that still apply today? Are there those who are In, and those who are Out? Are there still those today committing spiritual adultery?
The act of Sexual Intercourse, whereby a man enters into a woman in maybe one of the most intimate ways possible, is not in itself a dirty or corrupt thing; on the contrary, it can be one of the most beautiful events in a persons life! When used wrongly, either for selfish pleasure, or outside the Bonds of Marriage ( and please don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that 'pleasure' is an invalid reason for 'sex' ), the act is then corrupted & defiled until &; if it is sealed by a Covenant of Marriage! 'Sex' between two individuals who are married, but not to each other, carries its own set of problems!
When Jesus was born of Mary, or rather, when He was first conceived in her womb, Heaven Itself entered into Earth, or metaphorically, the Land! This Intersection brought to Reality the Promise of the Presence, that can be seen throughout the Scriptures. Jesus, as Man on the Land, was also He who dwelt in the Heavens, so when these two were brought together, the New Temple that Jesus spoke of in John 2:19-21, was formed!
The question that now comes to mind is, 'was Yahweh married to Israel before or after the Immaculate Conception?' And, 'if He was not married, but simply betrothed, does that mean sexual intercourse acceptable within the Bonds of Betrothal?' The reader must decide for himself ( or herself ), but let that one remember as well that we live in a much different culture and a much different time than they.
For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e]This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:30-32
If the apostle Paul compares the the union of man & woman to the Marriage of Heaven & Earth, how ought we as the Body of Christ & the Temple of the Holy Spirit conduct ourselves when it comes to our sexual relation as man & wife?
This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.
Genesis 2:23
Wonderingly,
Charles Hadddon Shank
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