Covenant Reformed News – October 2005, Volume X, Issue 18
This article from Covenant Reformed News argues that sexual intimacy is a marital duty rooted in the covenant nature of marriage and the biblical principle that spouses have authority over each other's bodies. Drawing on 1 Corinthians 7:4 and the typology of Christ and the church, the author contends that refusing sexual relations constitutes theft and treachery, stemming from selfishness and unbelief. The piece applies Reformed theological principles to practical Christian ethics regarding conjugal obligations and marital fidelity.
The Duty of Sex in Marriage (2) Married persons owe for the clothes or food that they buy and they also owe their spouse sexual intercourse: “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife” (4). Your spouse has authority over your body sexually; not you. Some might object that they do not remember giving away authority over their body in their marriage vows. Probably this was not mentioned in so many words,...