Just what does Sex have to do with the Supremacy of Christ? Such a question would cause John Piper to go nuts to be sure. What might he answer? EVERYTHING!!! For if God be the all satisfying center of the universe, the one being who created all and wills all things for his own glory - Sex is first and foremost about God. Part I of Sex and the Supremacy of Christ sets to answer the question - what is the relationship of God to sex. In Chapters 1 and 2 John Piper sets out to show that sex serves two purposes in God's world:

Sexuality is designed to help us know Christ more fully - it points to Him, and in marriage sex illustrates the deep union of God and his people
Knowing God in Christ more fully is designed to guard and guide our sexuality. That knowing God as God creates a hunger for holiness that guards and guides our sexual passions. In other words all pleasures and passions in this world take their proper orbit when the highest good and passion of our lives is God himself

These two chapters are Piper at his best. Sex is seem typologically - as a reality that points to greater realities. Following Edwards, Piper does a great job in his writings showing how all created things in some way point beyond themselves to their creator. Sex is such a thing. There is also a rich Christology (attributes of Jesus) found in Chapter two. There a rich lists of how Christ is supreme in his character as well as his Sovereignty and knowing him as he is orders our lives. When He is the center of our universe, the massive pull of Christ functions that the sun in our solar system. The sun orders the orbits of all planets by its massive size (Gm1m2/r2 for the physics geeks out there) and pull of gravity on the smaller planets. Christ, in his flawless beauty, exerts a similar pull on our passions to help order other things in our lives (Family, relationships, marriage, sex, career, parenting, houses, things, etc). A great analogy which is very helpful when the sexual passions can be put improperly at the center of our lives. Finally, Chapter 3, The Goodness of Sex and the Glory of God by Ben Patterson, puts forth the wonderful thesis that sex is good. It is not and should never be GOD, but it is good created by God to be enjoyed in its proper orbit. The orbit for sex, the design for its place in the cosmos, is in the committed, covenant relationship of marriage. The Song of Solomon as a view of passionate, good, marital love is expounded upon in this chapter. The chapter closes with five theological foundations - giving God's vision for sex from the Bible. These first three chapters give us a theological vision, a God centered understanding of Sex and why God gave it to us. This approach is rich, helpful, and solid food who want to go beyond "Just say no until marriage." --> Back to Main Review Page

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