January 31, 2020

Your Body Isn't Really Yours

By Skip Heitzig

Did you know gluttony was once on the list of seven deadly sins? In our culture of hyper-consumerism, it's now on the acceptable sins list. Now, I'll be honest, gluttony makes me think of Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars. But the basic idea of gluttony is overindulgence in just about anything, not just food.

In light of this negative topic, I want to share four positive, affirming truths from 1 Corinthians 6 about your body:

1. Your body is a holy place. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?" (v. 19). The Corinthian culture during Paul's time was obsessed with bodily pleasure. But here Paul said your body serves a higher purpose than just your pleasure. He regarded the Christian's physical body as a holy place—the temple of God. And when we view our bodies as a temple, it raises life to a higher plane.

2. Your body has a holy person; in fact, that's what makes it a holy place. "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God" (v. 19). The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the physical body of the Christian (see John 14:16-17). That means your physical body is the base of operations from which the Holy Spirit works in the lives of people around you.

3. Your body had a hefty price. "You are not your own[.] For you were bought at a price" (vv. 19-20). What was that price? "The precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:19). Because God paid that price, He owns your life. Don't you want to make sure that your body is a well-tuned instrument that's usable in His hands for as long as physically possible?

4. Your body has a heavenly purpose. In verse 20, Paul said, "Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." In other words, because God gave His Son to buy you, your body should be a billboard to point people to Him. That means your mouth can preach the gospel, your hands can help the needy, your feet can go to the lonely, your ears can listen to the brokenhearted, your lips can smile at the oppressed, and your eyes can give attention to the forlorn. In all these ways, you are telling the world, "God loves you."

Going back to the issue of gluttony, how do you overcome it? First, you need to say yes to the Word of God; you need to develop an appetite for truth (see Psalm 34:8; Matthew 4:4; 1 Peter 2:2). Second, say no; develop self-control (see Galatians 5:23). If overeating is something you struggle with, for example, that might mean saying no to certain kinds of food or large portions of food. And finally, say go—get up and move. Keep your physical human body as healthy and usable in God's hands as possible until the day He calls you home.

We're born with these bodies for better or for worse, and they're the receptacle for the Holy Spirit to live in and shine from. I pray you would realize that your body is a temple, bought by the Lord at a hefty price, and because of that, your purpose is to glorify Him and use your body to communicate to the world that He loves and cares for them.

For more from Skip Heitzig, visit ConnectwithSkip.com, and listen to today's broadcast of Connect with Skip Heitzig at OnePlace.com.