Hey Christian Friend – Your Body is a Temple

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, who you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A TEMPLE?

In the beginning, God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. They knew each other intimately. Sin put a divide between them. It fractured the relationship between God and man. Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, but throughout the Old Testament, God comes to his people. He seeks them out because he wants a relationship with them.

In the Old Testament, God tells his people to build a tabernacle. There, he will dwell with them. When God’s people settle in the promised land, Solomon builds a permanent temple. But with both the tabernacle and the temple, there is still a separation between God and man. Both have a holy, inner room that is not accessible to everyone. Only priests may enter on behalf of the people. There must be a mediator.

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When you cross into the books of the New Testament, you see that Jesus comes as the mediator for all people of all time. He sacrifices himself for our sins so that we can go before God once again. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, God sends the Holy Spirit to create faith in the hearts of unbelievers. It is then the Holy Spirit that dwells within believers. We call ourselves a “temple” because God now dwells within us.

HEY CHRISTIAN FRIEND – YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE

In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us that our bodies are a temple. Let’s examine the whole paragraph to gain context and more fully understand what Paul means by this.

‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.‘ Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, who you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 6: 12-20

We are free to make choices in life, but some choices are destructive to us. Just as God raised Jesus after death, we too will physically rise because our bodies have value to God. Much of this text is a warning against sexual immorality, yet in a broader sense, we see God’s good intention for our bodies.

WHAT DOES GOD WANT FOR OUR BODIES?

God wants our bodies to be pure and honorable. Our bodies are to serve him. Our bodies are a dwelling place for him. Paul reminds us that our lives are temporary. “ ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’—and God will destroy both one and the other.” (1 Corinthians 6:13) We live, and while we live, we nourish our bodies, but such a state is temporary. Every body will fail. Every body will face the destruction of death. Yet, God has a plan to redeem even our bodies. It’s not just our eternal souls that concern the Lord.

Job knew this. Many years before Christ, Job said, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19: 25-27) Job understood the promise. He knew that his body would be redeemed. Our bodies are part of God’s redemption story.

So what does God want for our bodies now? Before death? Before resurrection? Romans 12: 1-2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” God wants us to rationally and continually seek his will for our bodies.

WHY DOES THE HEALTH OF OUR BODIES MATTER?

Hey Christian friend – your body is a temple.

I think most Christians recognize sexual immorality as a sin against the body. I think still more would see drug or alcohol abuse as a sin against the body. What about lack of exercise? What about inattention to one’s nutrition? I’ve never heard anyone in the church speak about these things. I think that sometimes, in our attempt to avoid legalism, we inadvertently avoid conversations or topics which Christians should consider.

In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world. I believe that, in America, it’s easy to become wrapped up in the cultural standards of the American diet. Fast food is “normal.” Processed food is “normal.” High fat and high sugar consumption are “normal.” I saw a tweet recently that read, “Society eats so much junk food that eating real food is considered dieting.” Even the Christians in America have conformed to this worldly view of nutrition. But is this God’s will for our bodies? Does he intend for us to be overweight, fatigued, brain-fogged, and riddled with auto-immune diseases? These are the known consequences of following the culture’s “normal” standards of nutrition.

I believe that God wants more for us. He wants our bodies to be of service in his kingdom. We can’t serve to our fullest ability if our bodies are sick and tired. Paul tells us to continually “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This should inform the way in which we treat our bodies. God has given each of us one body. We each have one life to live. By conforming to what’s culturally “normal,” we squander God’s intentions for our bodies. We disrespect the creation that he considers “holy” and “good.”

WHEN YOU KNOW BETTER, YOU SHOULD DO BETTER

I’m not without guilt. I used to continually abuse my body with fast food and processed food. My sugar addiction was epic. At some point, years ago, I learned that what I put in my body matters. I now know from experience, that my brain functions better without sugar. My body is more energized and more productive when I fuel it with nutrient-dense foods. After years of being too sick to serve in God’s kingdom, I’m now physically able to answer his call. This has led me to the conclusion, that when you know better, you should do better.

I once lived in a state of ignorance. I truly did not understand the harm I was causing to my body by the culturally “normal” choices I was making daily. But now that I know what causes harm, I see it as a sin to fall back into that behavior. I’m not perfect. I live and struggle, even in this part of my life. In Romans 7: 18-19, Paul says, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Hey Christian friend – your body is a temple.

We all struggle with sin. Even the most devout Christians face a struggle between what God wants for them and what they want for themselves. God wants our bodies to be pure and honorable. He wants our bodies to serve him. God loves our bodies. He made them in his image. God wants for us to love our bodies as he does.

HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE?

Hey Christian friend – your body is a temple.

I believe that our choices should be conscious choices to honor the body that God created – to honor the place in which he dwells. I’m not proposing perfection. I fail everyday. Perfection isn’t possible, and striving to eat or work-out “perfectly” will lead one to obsession or compulsion, which is in itself a sin. Our healthy eating habits cannot save us. Our physical fitness cannot save us. Only Jesus saves.

I do offer a challenge, though, Christian friends.

• Remember that your body is a temple, the dwelling place of God.
• To the best of your ability, make choices to nourish that temple.

Seek God’s will for your body. You have one body to nurture and nourish. Be strong, that you may fulfill the work of the Lord. Rejoice, that even when your body fails, God promises to make it new.

Defend your body from our cultural “norms.” We’re called to live apart from the culture. As Christians, we should stand against the things that pervert God’s will…even the things that are convenient or otherwise pleasant.

I honestly believe that Satan is at work in the physical destruction of our bodies. If he can weaken God’s people with obesity, disease, and other physical disfunction, he can hinder the effectiveness of God’s people as we strive to serve in the kingdom. It’s time for Christians to take responsibility. We have to own our state of health and acknowledge that our personal choices have the power to damage our bodies or honor them.

Lord, help us to honor what you have made. Help us to love what you love. Help us to desire what is good and right for our bodies. Give us the strength and will to make hard choices for our ultimate good.