1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Does what we do matter? Or to go a bit deeper, do you see union with Christ only as a spiritual union, or do you also see it also as a physical union?
One of the gravest errors we can make as Christians is to separate the body from the spirit. This was the error the Corinthians were making. They saw the body as simply a shell for the much more important soul. To them the body was just a necessary evil. Neutral at best, bad at worst. Physical appetites like food and sex were either meant to just be met so that we can move on to the more important “spiritual” matters. Or they were meant to be totally avoided and suppressed so that we can then move on with the more important “spiritual” matters. Either way, being “spiritual” meant not caring about what you did with your body. Including how we treat people, or sharing our stuff, or what we eat, or who we sleep with.
Have you ever let this same attitude toward your bodily actions creep in? Do you struggle to see bodily holiness as important? How do you treat people? Do you share? Or what about how and what you eat? Is eating an act of worship for you? Or what about your sex life? Is it too an act of worship? Do you have your thought life under control, but you never physically serve anyone? Or worse, do you use your actions as a way to control others, or to gain control of your own life?
God created everything, including our bodies, for the purpose of glorifying him – So glorify God in your body. The Christian life is not just a spiritual connection to Christ, it is also a bodily connection to Christ. What we do with our bodies matters very much to God. Here’s why:
1. Because what we do with our bodies demonstrates our faith and dependence upon Christ. Do we trust him to satisfy us enough to live a submissive, self-controlled, sharing, sacrificial life? Or will we use our own bodies for self-satisfaction?
2. Because Christ lives out his life through us bodily. Our bodies are the physical expression of Jesus on earth. And together, the Church is the body of Christ making him and his love known to the world.
3. Because our bodies are the holy temple of the Trinity. Your body is where God meets man, and where man worships God. Everything is spiritual now. Every bodily act is an act of worship. Every part of you and everything you do is set apart to God.
4. Because your body is God’s possession. You were bought with an infinite price. God has purchased you out of the slave market of sin and made you his own. Our bodies are Christ’s purchased possession. We are now slaves to his righteousness.
5. Because your body will be resurrected. In 1 Corinthians 6:14 Paul says, “And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.” We will live forever in an embodied state. There will be continuity between our present bodies and our future bodies upon resurrection. In other words, your body is important because you will have it forever. You will relate to God eternally in your body. You and Jesus will share walks, and hugs, and high fives, and great meals together forever.
“To live is Christ” means we are the purchased, priceless, possession of God – body, soul, and spirit. We are God’s holy dwelling place. Now the question is, will we live out bodily what we are spiritually?
You
Have you tended to see your body as less important than your soul or spirit? Do you see your body as belonging to Christ?
You in Christ
How does the idea that you have been purchased at great price impact you?
Christ in you
What behaviors need to change in your life today in order to reflect that your body is God’s temple? (Eating? Sex? Sharing? Reactions?)
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Playlist: God’s Temple.
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To see today’s post from the TLIC Family blog –> Click Here
To Live is Christ 