Our Body~THE Temple of Holy Spirit!
Our Body the Temple of Holy Spirit~
Is Paul saying that if we cannot control our own body (fleshly desires, not a specific reference to sexual lusts but what we eat and drink etc.) that we could be disqualified as leaders in ministry? Hmm…
“24 Isn’t it obvious that all runners on the racetrack[s] keep on running to win, but only one receives the victor’s prize? Yet each one of you must run the race to be victorious. 25 A true athlete will be disciplined in every respect, practicing constant self-control in order to win a laurel wreath that quickly withers. But we run our race to win a victor’s crown that will last forever. 26 For that reason, I don’t run just for exercise[t] or box like one throwing aimless punches, 27 but I train like a champion athlete. I subdue my body[u] and get it under my control, so that after preaching the good news to others I myself won’t be disqualified.” I Corinthians 9:24-27 TPT
He does indicate that by not subduing the body to get it under control after preaching the good news to others he could be disqualified.
Why is this?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (The Passion Translation)
“Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary. You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God!”
And…
Romans 12:1 (Amplified Classic)
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”
Often these verses are viewed a bit antiquated in our society in that they are generally taught regarding sexual purity. Yet, sexual purity is God’s command but these verses not only refer to such as that but much more. Sexual purity relates to the soul even more than the body itself because, when one is joined to another there are layers of the soul being given away and received. That, is a topic for another discussion.
Today…in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 & Romans 12:1 we are going to look at what the body is created for and why.
When we think of the body…we most often equate how it looks rather than how it functions unless, there are issues. Then we really pay attention to it! Pain or inability to do something most times, gets our attention when something is wrong with our bodies.
It requires something done in order to alleviate pain or something done to help the body do something.
Side note~ when “the Body” is out of sorts, everything “feels” it as in “the body of Christ”. We’ll bring that in later with the matter of the soul.
So, is it safe to say our body can demand our attention? Sure. What does extreme hunger do? What about extreme thirst? And like we previously mentioned, pain? These things cause our thoughts to be directed TO our “body”!
That said….according to scriptures we just read, it IS important that we “take care of our bodies”.
Now, even a lost soul knows that they have to take care of their body but may not do it in a way that is healthy. Ah, but this unfortunately spills over into those who are also born again in Christ Jesus. Yet… not to be offensive because I myself have had to deal with being overweight, but if the Body of Christ who, we’ll assume “reads” the Word is overweight and getting worse about it, isn’t there something wrong with that picture? Yes! We should be the shining examples of “health & wellness”!
This may offend some, make some mad at me for saying it or others may feel shamed…. none of which is my goal in sharing this because I too have struggled with loosing the stress weight gain from years of care-giving to an elderly parent.
That said, if you feel offended, or mad, or ashamed…it would be wise to pause and ask Holy Spirit …why?
Just like obesity, or being over weight… there is also another issue just as bad and its anorexia. Where people are in fear of being over weight and starve their bodies, that is not right and its very harmful.
AND….there is another group a bit different and maybe never been touched upon but it is not about eating too much or not eating enough but rather “self idolatry”.
When people are obsessed with being in shape or fit and it consumes their thoughts whether they are an athlete or simply trying to get in shape, when it becomes the focus point of their lives well….according to scripture, that is idolatry and when its about “self” that is called self idolatry. Now here is a catch~ there are some who are called to be fitness guides, teachers, experts in the field of health that will focus more on it but they balance their calling with other life things and most importantly they who are born again in Christ, don’t allow it to become an idol. They learn “balance”.
Being fit and healthy is not just something placed on a wish-list or bucket list, its actually part of commandments too!
Do you not remember the second commandment Jesus said? To love your neighbor as yourself!
He wasn’t promoting narcissism but taking care of what GOD has given and being diligent about it for His glory! Due diligence is not obsession.
How can you love your neighbor when you don’t even love yourself?
Not talking about selfishness or self centeredness but again these verses…Romans 12:1 & I Corinthians 6:19-20!
In the temple….there was an outer court, then an inner court and then the Holy of holies. Remember? It was a picture from Heaven of how God dwells with us only it also was prophetic in how He would one day dwell IN us and with us!
Jesus said this to the Samaritan woman at the well… John 4:23-24
“23–24 From now on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with a right heart. For God is a Spirit,[m] and he longs to have sincere worshipers who adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.”
If you read the whole account, they are discussing the temple and she was saying that she and her people could not worship God in Jerusalem as Samaritans but JESUS shared something revolutionary with her…. that would change the course of history in where to “worship” Heavenly Father!
He mentions the heart and where is the heart (soul) located? IN our bodies! YES!
The body is the “outer court”! Like our skin is the outer layer of our body.
The “inner court” what does this correlate with? Our soul!
The Holy of holies? Our spirit man, the “new you”!
Body, soul & spirit!
“Beloved ones, with promises like these, and because of our deepest respect and worship of God, we must remove everything from our lives that contaminates body and spirit, and continue to complete the development of holiness within us.”
II Corinthians 7:1
So to say that by not taking care of ourselves we could be disqualified in our preaching of the good news, is something to carefully consider. Isn’t it difficult to listen to someone tell you about loosing weight who is overweight and doing nothing to improve their own health? Yes, of course it is. If you saw a preacher yelling at his wife and kids from pure anger or rage wouldn’t it discredit him from preaching about love and mercy, making it difficult to want to believe what he said about it? Sure! Someone living with another person in sin talking about wanting to be holy and follow God, is that not off putting or at the least some kind of twisted paradox? Certainly! Do you get the picture?
When someone is working on their own issues, vulnerable about it and have had success in that area before but still wants to heal and help others to do so, are you not more likely to follow or listen to that person because they are being honest and truthful with you? Of course! You know they have the tools and want to share the with you and you can follow someone on that journey WITH you who is actually doing it too!
We are ALL on a journey! And as the Body of Christ we are all heading the same direction with the Head (Christ Jesus) Who is the Way to the Father in Heaven to bring HEAVEN TO earth!
Beloved…. we owe JESUS ….. EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!!
He has done what no one could do for all of mankind and because of this, we “GET” to join Him in Heaven and not just that… we are even called God’s sons & daughters who are “co-heirs” with Jesus Christ! CO HEIRS, do you even know what this means? That is a subject for another time but its huge!
It is easy to preach with our mouths and not just talking about those of us who actually preach from pulpits and platforms but what we say, day to day with our family, friends and co-workers. BUT what “speaks” louder IS our actions!
Words are cheap when actions do not follow suit! Words have power to create things but when our very lives contradict what we speak… what does it say?
If we talk about health but go out with our friends and eat fast food burgers loaded with preservatives and junk did we not just disqualify what we spoke on or shared?
IF we talk about holiness of GOD and then turn around and live with someone not our spouse did we not just disqualify ourselves regarding what we said?
If we share about fitness but never work out or walk but only sit all the time being sedentary are we not hypocrites disqualifying ourselves in what we shared?
IF we share on the Kingdom of Heaven but only talk about the negative things on earth, did we not disqualify ourselves with others and from seeing “Kingdom” things taking place in our spheres of influence?
Do we take these things into consideration daily? We must! Our lives preach a much louder message than our “mouths” ever could! It is only when our lives and mouths line up as in thoughts and actions being in line with the will of our Heavenly Father that we experience intense freedom and joy demonstrating the Kingdom with His amazing love and truth! This message I preach to myself even if NO ONE else hears it. I want to be fully HIS in every way, do you? Its daily folks… even moment by moment. We choose with our will what we will do, say or even think upon, we have the ability to control these things! Even imprisoned folks choose how they respond inside of themselves. They can remain in anger, hatred, rage, pain, hurt, fear or unbelief…but even in prison Paul was able to sing to the Lord, share the gospel. Even in countries he was not accustomed too, he found a way to talk about Jesus as the Messiah and the good news of Heavenly Father and the Kingdom of Heaven. What am I saying?
IF you are in a gym trying to get off the weight, or walking, or whatever it is you are doing to help improve your body and soul with Holy Spirit leading you… someone is watching and what an opportunity to share why you are doing what you do. Because OF Jesus and ALL HE has done! It doesn’t take a platform or ministry team at the front of an outreach or church to “minister” to folks to see supernatural demonstrations of God’s healings, miracles, signs and wonders!! So,don’t discount your lives as mundane because for many, it’s easy to do that but rather, remember you were worth it to Jesus and YOU are important!! AND- so is that person in line next to you, or in the car in front of you, or sitting next to you wherever you might be. YOUR and my life…. preaches, so…what is it “preaching”?