KATHALEEN REID-MARTINEZ / Wonsuk Ma
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 isborne by “man” as “male and female,” with no hint of either sexʼs imagingthe divine more fully than—or apart from—the other. Through this gift, we maylove and be loved deeply, may enjoy a profound oneness in marriage, and, fromloveʼs natural self-giving, may give life to children, the greatest ongoing fruitof such love.Despite all its goodness, many on this planet experience sexuality in brokennessand pain. We know sin and evil spoil and steal from Godʼs good creation, but wedo not despair. The Good News of Jesus Christ reckons seriously with every enemyof human fl ourishing. His victory has won healing the Holy Spirit applies to thebroken, through loving ministry.These truths of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration unify the essays in thisbook. Most began at the Scholarsʼ Consultation of the Empowered21 Asia GlobalCongress in Singapore in 2017. Here they explore Godʼs intention for our sexuality,ways we misuse and abuse this gift, and ways Spirit-empowered communities helpheal brokenness and restore the divine image. Expressing theological and socialsciencescholarship and front-lines ministry experience from the First and MajorityWorlds, 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 deepentheir biblical, theoretical, and practical understanding so they may minister healingand restoration with wisdom and compassion in the power of the Holy Spirit. 3
