Conception, Birth & Coming of Age in the Family of God

We are in the midst of a decades long sexual revolution. Many see this as a liberating process of throwing off the shackles of shame and taboos... inherited from the influence of the bible on western culture.

Actually, the bible teaches that human sexuality is a good thing and that it is only the wrong applications and uses of sex which cause shame and feelings of guilt. But that’s a technicality to most.

In western culture the dominating perspective is to regard human sexuality as primarily pleasurable activity with a somewhat inconvenient connection to actual reproduction. Its a rather lame human attempt to come to grips with trying to interpret sex as something good… the bible does   a better job but does a lot of restrictions on a person’s sexual activity.

SPS: Our purpose today is to explain how human sexuality and reproduction teaches us about God's plan for creating His own spirit born family. That understanding is highly motivating, convicting, and can change the way you live your life and is why sex should not be a matter to be taken lightly.

The true spiritual meaning of human sexual reproduction is unknown to most people because of deception and misdirection.  Stupid, harmful ideas such as yesterday’s “sex is shameful”, or today’s “sex is recreation and pleasure” contribute to covering up and keeping us from understanding God’s awesome purpose.

The key players in this whole process are: God, Human, and the Church.

1. Who and What God is:

• God is not a stand alone personality. God is a family - in the bible God is clearly presented in family terms... Father, Son, Children, Brothers, Bride, Wife, etc.
• From the very beginning God said "let US make human beings in OUR image" - there is more that one person in the God family, but there is only ONE family. It is a divine, life giving, universe ruling family which human beings can be born into.

2. Who and What Humans are:

• Humans are physical/material beings. We are made up of the material stuff of the created universe. God more poetically says “we are made up of dust”.
• Human beings reproduce themselves through a process of sexual reproduction. We are conceived by your father and mother,  born into your flesh and blood material life, and placed within a human family.
• Humans are capable of receiving God's holy spirit. In this way we have the potential to be conceived by God through His spirit which enters into us and begins a new life.

3. The Church:

• When conceived of God this new spiritual work in progress is placed within the Church of God. It is the begotten family of God's children.
• These children are not yet grown into the full maturity of sonship. In a direct parallel to a properly functioning human family, the church protects, guides, instructs, and nourishes the growing child… like a nursery, classroom, or an apprenticeship. 

Note: When Christ returns those spiritually conceived children who have developed and matured will be resurrected to life once again and receive the full benefits of a member of God’s family. This includes; receipt of new bodies composed of indestructible spirit, the gift of eternal life, and they come into full inheritance… meaning they take up a role within the family of God which rules over all things.

In this way God is creating children in His likeness and kind. That process of spiritual conception, birth and maturation is directly paralleled by the process of human reproduction. This is why physical sex, marriage, and family life are set apart by God, protected by specific regulations, and declared holy… these physical institutions are considered sacred by God because of the spiritual reality they represent.

Children Must Be Taught

When you were born of your mom and dad you were helpless… a human baby left on its own will die. But you were born into a family where you were taught how to eat, dress yourself, co-operate, work, communicate, you even begin to learn about sex and other skills and knowledge needed for physical life.

The human family is vital for preparing new-born children for life. Babies need parental care, affection, protection, teaching, training, love. They need the warmth and companionship of human family life.

This too parallels God’s current work of training and educating His spiritually conceived children.

God our Creator is also the master educator

God is your parent and He has things He wants to teach you in preparation for spiritual life.

The foundation of that necessary knowledge is available to you in the bible, His written word. It contains information that is not otherwise discoverable by humanity.

Leviticus 23:3 God has established the Sabbath and set it apart as a day of instruction and assembly for His children. Consider also the example of Jesus, or Paul, the Sabbath assembly was an occasion for teaching!

Genesis 2:15-16 this may well be happening on the first Sabbath. God used this day to begin delivering some essential instruction to the first humans. We don't have a record of every word said but we have brief statements on topics covered. He instructed them concerning:

• Commandments to obey "you may eat of all the trees but not the tree of the knowledge of good & evil". We could assume He told them the tree of life was available to them.
• He told them about judgment "if you disobey me and eat of that tree you will die"

 

God also gave them instruction about sex:

• He gave them instruction about the reproductive purpose of sex "go forth and multiply"... and that it was part of His creation which was very good.
• He gave them instruction about the fidelity of the marriage covenant and family life "that is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife and they become one flesh".

 

Created in His Image is About Sharing His Spiritual Character

At creation of humanity God said “let us make humans in our image, in our likeness”. The physical aspects of the man and woman are not what make them in the image of God. The man and the woman actually looked very different... people of different races and nationalities look different... but all are in God's image. The likeness of God we bear is the spiritual character.

Like all animals, plants, rocks…  we are made of the material stuff of the created universe [dust]. However humans are unique. We also have a spiritual component added to us. This "spirit" is not God’s spirit, nor does it have any independent life of its own... it cannot see, hear, think... it does not live on after our flesh dies. This spirit in man is merely a component part that gives flesh and blood humans a spiritual and moral capacity... something which animals don't have.

In this way human beings [our bodies, mind and spirit] are designed as the starting point for something bigger and better… spiritual conception through the receipt of God’s holy spirit 2 Corinthians 5:17.  

Of itself the material human body and mind serve no lasting purpose they just decompose  John 6:63. 

Spiritual conception also is paralleled by the process of human reproduction.  Which is why it is important to God that it not be perverted, or made common.

Special Lesson of Human Reproduction

Not all learning is from books or the written word... sometimes an example or parallel from our own life experience is what's needed to get the point across. God provides just such a lesson in the form of human sexual reproduction.

Wrong attitudes toward human sexuality will blind us to truth. Sex is not dirty… rather it pictures the sacred and holy process of spiritual conception. Sex is not merely for personal pleasure, it serves God’s purpose of creating life [with personal pleasure as a much appreciated side benefit].

Your sexual attitudes and sexual practices will shape the way you see God, God’s purpose,and God’s methods of achieving His purposes. Confusion on sexual matters… leads to confusion on spiritual matters… confusion on spiritual matters leads to missing out on the blessings of eternal life, joy, peace, and getting in on your full potential as a child of God.

Review of Human Reproduction:

1. human life begins with an ovum (egg) and sperm that unite... we call this conception. The act that brings it about is human sexual activity
2. this new life form grows about 9 months and is delivered into the world.
3. it is brought into a family where it is nurtured, protected and educated
4. grows until it is mature... then moves on to live its own life

Note: then this human lives about 75 - 80 years and then dies and the materials it was made of dissolve and return to the earth... dust to dust. During those 75 -80 years that flesh and blood human has the potential to be spiritually conceived by God through the holy spirit

Spiritual Conception

Through Christ a repentant human being may receive God's gift of eternal life John 3:1-12.

50. A physical human life has to be conceived by his father “that which is born of the flesh is flesh”. This happens through the act of human sexuality.
50. A spirit human life has to be conceived by His spiritual Father... which is God. This comes about through repentance, baptism, and the receipt of the holy spirit through the laying on of hands [water and the spirit].

In this way each human life is like the ovum in the mother. Unless there is conception it only has a short finite existence. It is not meant to last. It is merely a vehicle for potential physical life. Our physical lives are only a temporary vehicle for spiritual conception.

Romans 8:16-17 the h.s. combines with the human mind and like a fetus in a womb begins to grow and transform.

Remember: the human mind is more that mere flesh and blood… it has been given the capacity to make moral decisions, adopt spiritual attitudes. This is how human beings are fashioned in God's image 1 Corinthians 2:11-12.

Eternal life can be started in us through the H.S. which imparts the divine nature 2 Peter 1:4.

The beginning of eternal spiritual life is now those who have repented, become baptized and received the holy spirit through the laying on of hands. You have been conceived anew... you have been born into a newness of life through baptism…. you are a child of God… but you have not yet matured to the point where you are ready to receive the fullness of sonship. These things are reserved for those who have grown into the fullness of Christ. Which is where the Church of God comes into the picture Ephesians 4:11-13.

Spiritual Family Life

You are a child who has much to learn. And to help you learn those things you have been brought into the household of God... which is the Church of God.

The household of a physical human family nurtures, protects, instructs, and loves the new born baby. They teach them what they need to mature and take on a life of their own.

The  family God’s newly born children are brought into is the Church of God. The church’s purpose is to feed you spiritual food through instruction in the word of God... intercedes for you in prayer... protects from spiritual harm or neglect... creates a culture of grace, peace and belonging through Godly fellowship. So that… you grow into a fully mature member of the family.

Jesus marveled that Nicodemus could be considered a teacher in Israel and not grasp this basic truth about God's plan to bring many spirit born children into His family! Nicodemus was a good man but he was blinded by the culture he grew up in.  

In the same way wrong-headed social and cultural attitudes and practices related to human sexuality hide these precious truths from human beings. Don’t let yourself be deceived, or confused. To prevent this darkening in understanding God tells us to set our sexuality apart… it is not for common or unclean use.