Human Sexuality and the Holy Spirit

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 sex¿s 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 love¿s 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 God¿s good creation, but we do not despair. The Good News of Jesus Christ reckons seriously with every enemy of human fl ourishing. 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 Scholars¿ Consultation of the Empowered21 Asia Global Congress in Singapore in 2017. Here they explore God¿s 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 socialscience scholarship and front-lines ministry experience from the First and Majority Worlds, these essays probe gender theory, inequality, and fl uidity and dysphoria; sexual exploitation of children and women and their resilience; homosexuality; fi ghting 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.