What Does the Bible Say About Sexuality?
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In today’s world, questions about sexuality spark intense debate. Thankfully, the Scriptures provide a clear, consistent answer rooted in God’s good creation, His design for human flourishing, and the gospel’s redemptive power. Sexuality is not peripheral—it’s central to how God made us as His image-bearers.
Biblical Truth About Sexuality
The Bible affirms sexuality as God’s intentional, beautiful gift while setting clear boundaries for its expression. Here are four truths that the Bible says about sexuality:
1. God Created Sexuality and Gender as Good and Purposeful
Genesis opens with humanity’s sexual design:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…’” (Genesis 1:27-28).
God declares His creation—including male-female complementarity and sexual union—“very good” (Genesis 1:31). Sexuality serves procreation, companionship, and delight. Genesis 2:24-25 adds:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
2. Sexual Intimacy Thrives in Covenant Marriage
The Bible celebrates marital sex vividly. Song of Solomon is an entire book honoring mutual desire and pleasure within marriage. Proverbs 5:18-19 urges:
“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.”
Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 that spouses should fulfill conjugal rights mutually, not depriving one another except briefly by agreement. Hebrews 13:4 declares:
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
3. Sexual Activity Outside Marriage Is Sin
Scripture repeatedly calls believers to flee “sexual immorality” (Greek: porneia, encompassing all sexual sin outside heterosexual marriage). Key verses include:
- 1 Corinthians 6:18-20: “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body… You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.”
- Matthew 5:28: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
The Bible consistently teaches that sex belongs exclusively within the lifelong covenant of one man and one woman in marriage.
4. Marriage Reflects the Gospel
Ephesians 5:31-32 reveals marriage’s deeper mystery:
“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Faithful, exclusive, self-giving marital union mirrors Christ’s love for His bride.
In Summary — What does the Bible say about sexuality? It is God’s good gift, designed for joy, intimacy, and fruitfulness exclusively within heterosexual marriage. Anything outside this boundary distorts the Creator’s intent and harms us.
Transforming Our Desires
Truth alone does not change us. God’s Word aims to change our hearts as well as our actions. Take a moment to reflect on your own desires and align them with His.
- Reject both shame and idolatry. Past sexual sin does not define you—Christ’s blood cleanses (1 John 1:9). Yet never treat sexuality as the ultimate fulfillment only God provides.
- Treasure Jesus above all pleasures. As we behold His beauty, lesser desires reorder themselves (Psalm 73:25-26). The gospel turns “I must have this” into “I want what pleases Him.”
- Embrace godly delight. God invented sexual desire; within marriage, enjoying your spouse honors Him (Song of Solomon 4:9-11). For Singles, your expressions of self control and delight in the Lord honor Him and your future spouse.
Reflection Questions:
- Have cultural lies about sexuality shaped my view more than Scripture?
- Am I pursuing purity out of love for Christ, not just fear of consequences?
- Do I see my body as belonging to the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)?
Living Out Biblical Sexuality Today
Knowledge and affection demand action (James 2:17).
Universal steps
- Flee temptation actively (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:22)—guard devices, media, and relationships.
- Renew your mind daily (Romans 12:2) with verses like those above.
- Confess quickly and receive grace (1 John 1:9).
For singles
Practice Spirit-empowered self-control. Invest your energies in gospel mission, church service, and pure friendships.
For married couples
Pursue one another tenderly and regularly (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). Make your marriage bed a place of mutual joy, vulnerability, and gospel reflection.
For families and churches
Teach God’s design early, honestly, and joyfully. Model faithful marriages.
Chloe Cole’s Story in Truth Rising – A Living Testimony to Biblical Truth
Chloe Cole’s powerful story, featured in the documentary Truth Rising, powerfully illustrates the consequences of departing from God’s design for sexuality and gender—and the hope of returning to it through Christ.
As a teenager, Chloe struggled with gender dysphoria, influenced by online voices and cultural pressures. Encouraged by medical professionals, she began puberty blockers at 13, testosterone soon after, and underwent a double mastectomy at 15—procedures presented as the path to happiness. Yet regret came swiftly. Within a year, she realized the irreversible losses: fertility, natural femininity, and wholeness she once hoped for. She detransitioned, going off hormones abruptly, and began healing.
What changed everything? Her realization that transitioning had not brought the healing or identity she had been promised. Chloe then encountered the truth of Jesus Christ—the One who is Truth (John 14:6). She discovered her true identity not in self-redefinition or cultural narratives, but in being fearfully and wonderfully made by God as female (Psalm 139:14). In Truth Rising, she shares how embracing biblical reality brought clarity, healing, and purpose. As one account notes, she concluded: “There is no my truth or your truth. Jesus is the truth.”
Chloe’s journey echoes Scripture’s warnings about distorting God’s design (Romans 1:18-25) and its promise of redemption for the broken (Isaiah 61:1-3). Her courage to speak out—despite backlash—models what the Bible calls believers to: standing for truth in love, fleeing deception, and finding identity in Christ alone.
Her story reminds us: When culture pressures us to redefine sexuality or gender, God’s Word remains the anchor. Detransition brought Chloe grief over lost years, but faith in Christ brought freedom. It’s a call to compassion for those struggling, boldness in proclaiming truth, and hope that no wound is beyond the Great Physician’s healing.
