People treat their physical body in a variety of ways. Some people take better care of their automobile than their body, whereas other people treat their body as an idol. The Apostle Paul gives us a proper perspective:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Paul’s question implies an answer in the affirmative, they should know that their body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and belongs to God. This is an amazing declaration – the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you! God is the master of our lives, and we have a stewardship to take care of the body. We were a slave to sin, but we have been purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Our bodies do not belong to us, so we don’t have the right to pollute and abuse God’s property. Since our bodies belong to God, we have a responsibility to use our bodies for His service.

How are you taking care of God’s temple? Practically, here are four tactics we can implement to be good stewards of God’s temple:

  1. Nutrition – we must be wise about what we eat, when we eat, and how much we eat.
  2. Movement – God created us to move and not be sedentary. We must give attention to our aerobic capacity, strength, and flexibility.
  3. Sleep physiology – sleep is restorative to our body and it aids in strengthening our immune system. A lack of sleep is not a badge of honor.
  4. Stress tolerance – stress is an inevitable fact of life; therefore, we need to  learn how to effectively manage stress in our lives. We must realize that it’s not simply the challenges in life that we face, but how we interpret them that may cause stress.

Paul ends this passage with an imperative – we are to glorify God through our bodies. The force of this imperative calls for immediate action. What does it mean to glorify God? Jesus revealed that we glorify God be living a fruitful life:

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:8)

One way to live a fruitful life, is to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our character:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

We also bear fruit externally as we perform good deeds:

so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (Colossians 1:10)

May you bear much fruit and bring glory to God.

Rick

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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