Sex Belongs to Christians - John Piper

We are not supposed to be embarrassed by the forthright sensuality of sexual love in marriage as the Bible portrays it — sometimes graphically. (Flickr/Creative Commons)

John Piper: Sex Belongs to Christians

9/30/2015 JOHN PIPER  charisma news

In 1 Timothy 4:1-5, Paul confronts certain ascetic false teachers who believed that sex in marriage and eating foods freely were at best for second-class Christianity. Paul called these false teachings demonic.

First, the false teaching, as Paul summarizes it in verses 1-2 and the first part of verse 3:

"Now the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith and pay attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods."

Then, Paul's response, starting in the middle of verse 3:

"... which God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and not to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

For those who know the truth of the gospel and who revel in the word of God concerning the all-satisfying glory of God, and who pray (Hallowed be your name!) and dedicate everything to God, the sex of marriage and the pleasures of food are made holy—that is, they are set apart from the sinful use of the world and made pure and precious and beautiful by participation in the goodness of God.

Unembarrassed by the Bible

We are not supposed to be embarrassed by the forthright sensuality of sexual love in marriage as the Bible portrays it—sometimes graphically.

"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. Let her be as the loving deer and pleasant doe; let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love. Why should you, my son, be intoxicated by an immoral woman, and embrace the bosom of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his goings" (Prov. 5:18-21).

It is no shame that "a man's ways are before the Lord" as her breasts fill him at all times with delight. This is why God made her that way and him that way. In fact, that this delight in her is "before" the Lord—in the presence of the Lord—points to the truth that all our joy in what God has made is meant to be a delight in God. There is something of His glory in all the glories of the world.

We are not meant to revel in His creation instead of Him or more than in Him but because of Him, and because there is something of Him in all that is good and beautiful. The heavens are telling the glory of God. We are to see it. And worship him. So it is with the breasts of our wives. The breasts are telling the glory of God, the goodness of God, the beauty of God and more. We are to see it. And worship Him.

Let the Song Stun You

The Song of Solomon is in the Bible, among other reasons, to make sure that we take seriously the exquisite physical pleasures between a bride and a groom as a picture of Christ and his church. The point is not that we nullify the physical pleasures of this Song by seeing it as a full-color image of Ephesians 5:22–33. The point is that we let the Song stun us that God would design such a relationship between man and woman — from the beginning — as the image of the covenant-keeping pleasures between Christ and his church.

"Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you" (Song 4:5–7).

"Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Carmel, and your flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses.

"How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights! Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine.

"It goes down smoothly for my beloved, gliding over lips and teeth" (Song 7:3–10).

This is part of what Paul had in mind in 1 Timothy 4:3–5, when he said, "God created [food and sex] to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ... It is made holy by the Word of God and prayer." Sex is for "those who believe and know the truth."

The Pleasures of Sex Are for Christians

We might lose sight of this, since Hollywood has ripped the curtains off the sacred marriage bed and turned a luxuriant, holy pleasure into a cheap spectator sport. We might be tempted to think that, since sex is so sinfully misused and is so universally undermining to the all-satisfying beauty of Christ's holiness, maybe we Christians should have nothing to do with it.

Paul says the opposite. It is the world that has stolen what belongs to believers. Sex belongs to Christians. Because sex belongs to God. "God created it to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." If it is used by those who do not believe and know the truth, it is prostituted. They have exchanged the glory of God for images. They have torn sex from its God-appointed place in the orbit of marriage. But they do not know what they are doing. And the price they will pay in this life and the next is incalculable.

The pleasures of sex are meant for believers. They are designed for their greatest expression by the children of God. He saves His richest gifts for his children. And as we enjoy His gift of sex, we say, by our covenant faithfulness to our spouse, that God is greater than sex. And the pleasures of sex are themselves an overflow of God's own goodness. This pleasure is less than what we will know fully in Him at His right hand. And in it, we taste something of His very exquisiteness.

When the preciousness and pleasures of Christ are supreme, all dimensions of sex, including experiencing pleasure, seeking pleasure, giving pleasure, and abstinence from pleasure, will all find their biblical and Christ-exalting expression.

Everything God made is good. Everything is for the sake of worship and love. And this is true both in the feasting and the fasting. In the sexual union and in abstinence. Sex is made for the glory of Christ — for the Christ-exalting glory of covenant-keeping faithfulness in marriage, and for the glory of Christ-exalting chastity in singleness. It is always good. Sex is always an occasion to show that the Giver of sex is better than sex. 

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books.

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Is America About to Be Knocked to the Mat?

Is America about ready to hit the canvas? (iStock photo )

Is America About to Be Knocked to the Mat?

9/27/2015  Jon Jones charisma news

Editorial note: The Bible says "now we see through a glass, dimly" (1 Cor. 13:12), indicating that looking at the future is never clear. We at Charisma Media feel that prophecies from respected leaders should be considered and discerned even though they sometimes disagree with what others are seeing.

By Jon Jones

Over the next several years, the world is going to experience upheaval, turmoil and extremely hard times in governments, economies throughout the world and in geophysical realms. These things will not come all at once, but will come upon the earth similar to a boxing match.

In the first rounds of most boxing matches, the blows delivered by each fighter are absorbed. However, eventually a blow comes that, because of the previous blows, will cause a fighter to fall to the mat.  

During a fight there are times of reprieve. We have been experiencing a reprieve and will experience more of those times in the future. Eventually, the ability of the fighter to absorb the punches diminishes and the final punch is delivered, resulting in a knockout.  

For many years now, our country has been able to absorb numerous punches, but we are now entering the later rounds of the match. Punches that were absorbed in the early rounds are about to come again. This time, those punches will not be as easily absorbed. America is about to be knocked down to the mat. 

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes to the believers, fulfilling what Jesus said in John 16:7-11. In Acts 2:14, Following this encounter with the Holy Spirit, we find Peter speaking to the people, explaining what is happening. Peter refers back to a prophetic word by the prophet Joel, speaking of a time when God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh.  

At the time of Joel's writing, the Holy Spirit would rest upon a few men or women who would then prophesy, declaring things God had revealed to them about people, nations, armies, weather, famines and other things. This passage establishes that we are in the last days and, when His Spirit is poured out on us today, we can receive revelation from God.  

This revelation can come in the form of a predictive warning, direction regarding decisions and many other things. However, the most important result of prophecy is described in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4. Here we find Paul explaining that his "message and preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."  

Prophecy is a physical manifestation of a spiritual gift confirming to the hearer the message of Jesus and the cross. It demonstrates the reality of a sovereign God who interacts and communicates with His creation, which separates Christianity from all other religions.  

In 1 Corinthians 14, we find examples of how prophecy is used in combination with the preaching of the gospel. In summary, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:2, this is about Jesus Christ. Based on this foundation, I would like to share some things that have been revealed to me regarding what is coming in the near future.  

We Prophesy in Part

Scripture is clear that prophetic revelation coming from a single individual will not paint the full picture. First Corinthians 13:9 says, "For we know in part and we prophesy in part." Prophetic words have three parts: revelation (prophetic word), interpretation (meaning of the revelation) and application (what, if any, action should be taken and when, or if this should take place).

We are also told in 1 Corinthians 14:29 that we should "let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge." These revelations should be considered prayerfully and brought before the Lord for discernment.

On June 24, 2013, I had a dream that I titled "The Redo of 2008." The dream revealed to me that our country was going to experience economic troubles similar to what happened in 2008. The difference is that the intensity and depth of the troubles will be greater and affect more people.

During the crash of 2008, there were many people who did not immediately feel the effects of the crash. Unless you were an investor in the markets or an employee who lost a job, life may not have been much different than before the crash. This time it will be different. While there will still be some who will not be affected, many more will feel the effects of the economic challenges that lay ahead.

I also believe that the "Redo of 2008" will carry over into other areas to include political, governmental and geophysical events. Many of the mistakes and actions to solve the problems that took place in 2008 will be attempted again. But unlike last time, those solutions will not be as effective.

On May 3, 2015, I had a dream that I titled "The Unprepared and the Unaffected." The dream revealed that during the next phase all economic classes would experience varying degrees of hardship. Some will notice little change and will be in a position to help others, while some who could have prepared did not and will need help.

I want to stress that the fall of 2015 will only be the beginning of economic turmoil. The economic shifting that is coming will continue to increase and intensify, eventually affecting the entire world in the years to come. As was illustrated in the boxing analogy, there will be short periods of reprieve, but we are entering into a historical time that will result in great change for people throughout the world.

The Doors of August 2015 through January 2016

On April 5, 2015, I had a prophetic vision that I will share with you just as I received it. While some of the things revealed seem to have an obvious fulfillment, other aspects are open to interpretation.  

In the vision, I found myself in a long hallway with many doors. Each door represented a month of the year beginning in August of 2015 through January 2016. When I opened the door, I was able to get a picture of what life was like during that time for people in the U.S.

The first door I came to had August written on it. I opened the door and when I looked inside there were people walking around, talking and living life. I got the sense that everything seemed normal.  

The next door had September written on it. When I opened the door, at first everything seemed to be normal. But then I began to see dollar bills falling from the ceiling. It was as though the beginning of the month was normal, but something happened that caused things to change.  

The next door had October written on it. I opened the door and saw people who were crying and very upset. I sensed that they were upset because of what had happened in the previous month.   

The next door had November written on it. When I attempted to open the door it was locked. It is possible that, in the near future, what is behind this door could be revealed.  

The next door had December written on it. When I opened the door I saw rioting and looting taking place in a large city. The people were angry and very upset, but I didn't know why.

The final door in the hallway had January written on it. When I opened the door I saw extreme violence and killing that looked like war. I could not tell where this was taking place, but I saw U.S. soldiers fighting.

The months have an obvious progression of intensity, but I am not sure that they are all related. Keep in mind that these are like windows into the future and could represent isolated events that are unrelated. Not everyone will be affected by what is coming, but many will.

How Do We Respond?

We have to answer the question: "How do we respond?" We must decide if we should make changes in our lives, and ultimately that decision is different for everyone. The most important thing we can do is align our thinking with the reality of who God is in our lives and then look at all things through that perspective.

If you read this and fear rises in your heart, remember this truth: Our God is greater, our God is stronger and He is more than able to sustain us and carry us through any storm. Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), is greater than anything we will face here on earth. He will provide for our all our needs, both physical and spiritual, according to His riches in glory.  

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, power to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Eph. 3:14-21).

Jon Jones of Gadsden, Alabama, is a successful businessman who has ministered numerous times in the Ukraine. For years he was nondenominational but now is a part of a Vineyard Church. He originally gave this word on July 8, 2015, and called it "What I See Coming to the U.S. This Fall 2015."  

He says this about himself: "Prophetically, I am what some refer to as a 'seer.' I do not consider myself to be a 'prophet' and would disagree with anyone who might try to label me as such. I have been receiving prophetic words, visions and dreams for over 20 years. I do not have a ministry organization nor have I felt called to start one or make it my primary profession. I have the ability to interpret dreams and have taught dream interpretation classes at churches in other countries and in my local church. Over the past several years, I have begun receiving revelation about things that are coming to our country and the world."

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!