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| Section: Basic Christian Living:
courses for new Christians |
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Growing in God |
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1. Temple Maintenance: |
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You and Your Body |
1
Corinthians 6:20 'You were bought at a price. Therefore honour
God with your body.'
Romans
12:1 'I
urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.'
Your body is important
Some teach that the body is
a hindrance, tying us down to this material world, and that what
matters is the realm of the spirit, where we can soar away to
higher things. But this is not biblical Christianity. The Bible
teaches that the body is important…
1.
Because Jesus came in bodily form
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He didn't come purely as a
spirit-being, but 'the Word became flesh' (John 1:14).
Hebrews
10:5
'When Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and
offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for
me."'
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| 2. Because
Jesus has a glorified body now After his resurrection
Jesus did not 'graduate' out of his body to some higher spirit-realm.
He was not a ghost but retained a real body (Luke 24:39).
His resurrection body did,
however, have greater powers. He apparently had the ability,
for example, to appear in a locked room without coming through
the door (John 20:19-20, 26). In this same resurrection body
he later ascended to the Father's presence (Acts 1:9-10). He
has that same body now.
3. Because
our bodies are 'temples of the Holy Spirit'
A temple is the special and
honoured place where a god dwells. Our bodies are worthy of great
honour if the Holy Spirit of God has chosen to live there:
1 Corinthians
6:19
'Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you have received from God?'
4.
Because Scripture assumes that we care for our bodies
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To give attention to your body isn't a waste
of time. It's natural and proper:
Ephesians 5:28-29
'Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his
wife loves himself. After all, no-one ever hated his own body, but he
feeds and cares for it.'
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| 5. Jesus'
healing ministry confirmed the body's value A
large part of Jesus' public ministry was devoted to restoring sick and
ailing bodies to healthy normality. His was not merely a ministry of 'saving
souls'. He addressed the needs of the whole person, the body included.
6. Our eternal state is to be a bodily
one
Your ultimate destiny, at Christ's return, is to have a
resurrection body like his. You won't for ever be a spirit-being. The
transformation that will take place is called by Paul 'the redemption of our
bodies' (Romans 8:23). Elsewhere he describes it as being 'clothed with our
heavenly dwelling', in contrast to 'this tent', or mortal body, in which we
now live (2 Corinthians 5:4).
Philippians 3:20-21 'Our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything
under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be
like his glorious body.'
The
body's needs and drives
In the meantime, your body's
needs and drives are all God-given and therefore good. They are:
 | Hunger
and thirst. A healthy
appetite, and good food to satisfy it, is one of God's great
ideas (Psalm 107:9).
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| The sex
drive. Sex was God's gift before the
Fall (Genesis 1:27-28). The sex drive was given not only for
procreation but also for pleasure in the sealing
of the love and commitment between a man and his wife. See Proverbs
5:18-19 (where 'fountain' means the body parts that produce life).
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| Sleep. Sleep is the divinely-appointed means by
which we recover from the exertion of daily living (Psalm 4:8)
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Exercise. Movement
and action are the natural outworking of a healthy body, especially
when the blessing of God puts a spring in the step: |
Malachi
4:2
'For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like
calves released from the stall.'
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Self-control by the
Holy Spirit
While it's true that all these
physical drives are God-given and good, they can quickly get
out of hand if not kept in check. They then become means by which
sin can take hold. The best preventive against bodily excess
is the development of the spiritual side of your being:
Galatians
5:16
'Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of
the flesh.' (NASB)
Only when the impulses of the
soul (mind, will and emotions) and body are kept
subservient to your spiritual drive will you enjoy true
freedom in living. Paul saw the importance of self-control in
this area when he said:
1 Corinthians
9:27
'I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached
to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.'
How, in practice, can you exercise this self-control?
What does it mean to 'beat' your body and make it your slave? It will
include: Right
eating and drinking, and fasting
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| A balanced diet.
You need a balanced diet for good health. There's plenty of literature
available to point you in the right direction without making you a food
faddist
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| Moderation. You
should eat and drink in moderate quantities, in keeping with your workload
and metabolism:
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Proverbs 23:20-21 'Do not
join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on
meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness
clothes them in rags.'
| Drinking. A
biblical lifestyle permits alcoholic drinks, but forbids excess: |
Ephesians 5:18 'Do not get
drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit.'
This verse teaches that the key to avoiding bodily excess
is being filled with the Holy Spirit. If you're filled with the
Spirit, part of whose fruit is self-control (Galatians 5:23), you'll be able
to exercise restraint.
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| Fussiness. A mature
person isn't fussy about food. A long list of dislikes is a social
handicap and a childish trait. Far better to develop an adventurous
approach to food and drink (Luke 10:8; 1 Corinthians 10:27).
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| Fasting. Fasting is
an excellent way of showing your body who's boss. Always fast with a
specific purpose. If you decide to miss lunch once a week, for example, be
sure to spend the lunch break in purposeful prayer, Bible meditation or
memorising Scripture.
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| The Bible assumes that we will fast from time to time.
Jesus, who said: 'When [not if] you pray' (Matthew 6:6) also said: 'When
[not if] you fast' (Matthew 6:16). See also Acts 13:2-3.
Sexual restraints
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The world sees it as normal to be sexually promiscuous.
But in his love and grace, God only permits sexual expression within the
marriage bond:
1 Corinthians 7:2 ' Since
there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each
woman her own husband .'
We'll be looking at the whole subject of sex in some
detail in Lesson 7. In the meantime, God's word to you is, 'Keep yourself
pure' (1 Timothy 5:22).
An ordered life
Sleep is a gift of God, and you need rest and relaxation to function
efficiently. But unless you take care, it's all too easy to lapse into
idleness and time-wasting.
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Discover your sleep requirements and, as far as possible,
tailor the rest of your life accordingly. If you need seven hours of sleep,
don't take nine. For most of us, the set hours of school or job give a basic
structure to our day. If, out of every twenty-four hours, you sleep eight
and work eight, that still leaves you eight to organise—more than enough
time to do all you want to do and ought to do. Plan those precious eight
hours to the best advantage:
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Ephesians
5:15-16
'Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making
the most of your time, because the days are evil.' (NASB)
Set goals in every area of
life. Check periodically as to how well you are succeeding. Don't
let the TV rule your life. Exert your mastery over time and leisure!
Fitness and
grooming
Mind, emotions and spirit function
best in a healthy body. Since normal living today often fails
to keep us physically fit, you need to build some kind of exercise
into your personal schedule.
1 Timothy
4:8
'Physical training is of some value, but godliness has
value for all things, holding promise for both the present life
and the life to come.'
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It goes without
saying that smoking and drug-taking can have no
place in your life as a Christian. They offer no benefits whatever
and are proven dangers to good health. Steer clear of polluting
the temple of the Holy Spirit with such activities. Also, think
twice before yielding to the trend towards tattoos and
body-piercing.
Proper attention to personal
hygiene and good grooming will add the finishing touches
of proper self-respect to you as a man or woman of God who's
healthy in spirit, soul and body.
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Appearance
and mannerisms
These should express your sexual
identity. The blurring of the difference between the sexes
so common in our generation is strongly opposed by the teaching
of Scripture. For example:
Deuteronomy
22:5
'A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's
clothing , for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.'
This is not to deny a woman
her trouser-suit or a Scotsman his kilt but to warn against the
onset of transvestism or similar sexual perversion. In general,
if you're a man, aim to look like a man; if you're a woman, aim
to look like a woman. See 1 Corinthians 11:14-15.
Remember, you're God's shop-window
to the world. People can't see into your mind or spirit; all
they can see is your outward appearance. So let them see something
that commends the Lord.
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