Glorifying God With Our Bodies (Sat. Sept. 28)

 

The Word of the Day is “body.”  Of all the gifts of God, one of the most precious and yet neglected and mistreated is the body.  Yet in our reading of 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, the apostle writes, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own” (vs. 19).  Today the apostle teaches us the proper reverence for the body that Christ has “bought with a price” (vs. 20).

Many people have a complex relationship with our bodies.  When it comes to the treatment of their bodies, many vacillate between self-indulgence and self-punishment.  We have found in the current pandemic that our bodies are vulnerable, whether they are strong or frail.  The virus has reminded us that our bodies are subject to corruption.  And from the time we are born, we experience the relentless process of aging toward our death.

The Wonder of Our Bodies

Still no matter whether we spoil them or abuse them, the basic bodily functions do their work of keeping us alive: the lungs, heart, digestion, lymphatic system, and brain all work together while our bones and muscles respond to the directions that they are given.  Truly the body is a miraculous gift of God.

Yet the body needs discipline.  St. Paul says, “But I discipline my body and bring it under subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).  The Greek word for “discipline” comes from the sense of striking a blow under the eye as if boxing (Strong’s #5299, 260).  Accordingly, some translations translate it as “strike a blow” (NIV 1 Corinthians 9:27) or “buffet” (AMS 1 Corinthians 9:27).  The thought is of an athlete in training who brings the body under “servitude” that is, under “bondage” or “slavery” (Strong’s #1396, 73).  We might say the athletes “bring it under control.”

The Purpose of Bodily Discipline

This discipline is not to inflict pain.  It is to subdue the body’s appetites and passions, its sensual desires.  The apostle mentions two bodily sources of temptation:  food and sexual immorality.  In the case of food, he reminds us that food is simply nutrition.  And if we view it as that, eating need not control us.  On the other hand, sexual immorality is an assault on oneself (vs. 18).  Furthermore, it is a desecration of the holy place where the Spirit dwells since the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (vs. 19).

Despite its role in temptation, the body deserves our utmost reverence.  The Apostle writes, “You are not your own; you were bought with a price” (vs. 19-21).  In this way, the apostle refers to our “redemption,” a term that refers to the purchase of slaves in the marketplace in order to free them (Strong’s 1805, 90).  Paul uses this term when he writes, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:5).  Peter uses another term for “redeem” that means to be released from slavery by the payment of a ransom.  He writes, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18)

Because of this redemption, we now owe our freedom to the one who bought it for us.  In Galatians, the consequence is that we receive the “adoption” as “children of God” (Galatians 4:5). In 1 Peter it is that we live in fear, that is reverence to God (1 Peter 1:17).

Glorifying God with Our Body

But note that in our reading, the effect is that we should “Glorify God in your body and in your spirit” (vs. 20).  This is a startling statement of the Lord’s regard for the worth of the body.  It is redeemed and made holy by the blood of Christ along with the spirit.  And it is now a means of glorifying God.  We should not treat it as mortal stuff that we can mistreat until it dies and is buried.  But it is a gift of God to be cherished and used to love our Creator and serve our neighbor.

For Reflection

As Lent approaches, we might consider our attitudes toward the body during that sacred time of prayer and fasting.  Our reading discourages us from punishing our body as the cause of sin or as a payment for our trespasses.  Rather, Lent is a time for repentance, the redirection of our hearts and minds to God, and the reorienting of our way of life.  To accomplish this turning around, the discipline of our bodies is necessary to align our bodies with the intention of our spirits.