15 Bible Verses About Peace, Healing and Inspiration

This Is What the Bible Really Says About Sex, For Those Who Are Wondering

When it comes to the Bible and sex, you might be surprised to learn some of what's in the Holy Book. From procreation to pleasure, here's what the Bible really says about sex.

God wants us to procreate.

In fact, one of the first things God says is instructing Adam and Eve to procreate. Genesis 1:28 reads, "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

        "Be fruitful and multiply."

Other verses in the Scripture — like Psalm 127:3 and Genesis 9:1 — also highlight how joyful it is to create and raise children. God created relationships and sex because he wants us to grow our families and produce more people who reflect his image.

But sex isn't just about procreation.

Although followers of God have been instructed to "be fruitful and multiply," sex isn't meant solely for procreation. It's meant to be a joyful, intimate experience between partners. Genesis 2:24 reads, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

What does it mean to "become one flesh"? Obviously this refers to physical intimacy, but it also suggests that within a relationship, two peoples' hearts and souls can become so intertwined that they effectively become one. They share in all the joys and pains of life. What affects one also affects the other.

You might be surprised, but parts of the Bible are pretty steamy.

Take for example, Song of Songs 7:7-10. "Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.' May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine. May the wine go straight to my beloved, flowing gently over lips and teeth. I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me."

Similarly, Proverbs 5:18-19 encourages people to physically appreciate their partner. "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."

Sex outside of marriage is considered a sin.

You likely already knew that "You shall not commit adultery," is one of the Ten Commandments. But the Bible has many, many more verses about adultery.

Hebrews 13:4 reads "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous." Within a marriage, partners are meant to be faithful to God and each other.

"The sexually immoral person sins against his own body."

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 also notes that to commit adultery is to sin not only against God, but against oneself. "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body," reads this verse. "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." If a person physically cheats on their spouse, they aren't only dishonoring their marriage, they're dishonoring God.