The God Who Is Love created man male and female for love.
Human sexuality is a gift of Creation. The image of our God who is love is borne by "man" as "male and female," with no hint of either sexʼs imaging the divine more fully than-or apart from-the other. Through this gift, we may love and be loved deeply, may enjoy a profound oneness in marriage, and, from loveʼs natural self-giving, may give life to children, the greatest ongoing fruit of such love.
Despite all its goodness, many on this planet experience sexuality in brokenness and pain. We know sin and evil spoil and steal from Godʼs good creation, but we do not despair. The Good News of Jesus Christ reckons seriously with every enemy of human flourishing. His victory has won healing the Holy Spirit applies to the broken, through loving ministry.
These truths of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration unify the essays in this book. Most began at the Scholarsʼ Consultation of the Empowered21 Asia Global Congress in Singapore in 2017. Here they explore Godʼs intention for our sexuality, ways we misuse and abuse this gift, and ways Spirit-empowered communities help heal brokenness and restore the divine image. Expressing theological and social science scholarship and front-lines ministry experience from the First and Majority Worlds, these essays probe gender theory, inequality, and fluidity and dysphoria; sexual exploitation of children and women and their resilience; homosexuality; fighting HIV/AIDS; promoting sexual wholeness; and more. Readers will deepen their biblical, theoretical, and practical understanding so they may minister healing and restoration with wisdom and compassion in the power of the Holy Spirit.
