OUR BODIES Devotion 4 of 15 "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Rom 8:10) – Tomorrow:
" . . . Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body . . . Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? . . . Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:13-20, KJV).
The "body" is the part of us that is "dead." It is not recognized by God, and cannot be reconciled to Him. This condition exists because of sin. As our text states, "But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness" (NIV). Our bodies have the seeds of death within them, while our spirits, in Christ, possess God-bestowed and sustained life. This is why "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 15:50). It is why "the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63). "The body IS dead."
The "body" is the part of us that remains unaffected by salvation. It must be subdued and brought into subjection to Christ. As Paul affirmed, "but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor 9:27, NASB). Your body can keep you out heaven! It cries out to have the dominance in your life. Yield to its demands, and it will cause you to be disqualified for the prize of eternal life! Candidly, it appears as though this perspective is nearly extinct in the professed church. There are congregations that have more activity in their gymnasiums (now called family life centers) than in their [for want of a better term] sanctuaries. It is not unusual to see more professed church members at a picnic than when the Word of God is preached. All such people have a high veneration for the body, but little for their spirit.
Keenly sensitive of the real situation, Paul spoke for every sensitive soul. "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24, KJV). Death "finds a lodgment in the body." It is at home there, because the body has been denounced with an irreversible curse. "For you are dust, And to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19, NASB). The appointment of death (Heb 9:27) provides for release from the cursed part of our persons, and is thus a mercy for those in Christ Jesus.
Paul knew this, and anticipated the deliverance. His question is rhetorical (Rom 7:24). It is a cry of frustration, provoked by the distracting influence of "the body." By faith, he knew victory was on the way. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin" (Rom 7:25, NASB).
A religion that accentuates "the body" is destined to fail! "The body is dead because of sin." It cannot be allowed to sit in the driver's seat, so to speak. Those that make health or wealth their main thrust have erred. As important as diet and appearance may seem, they must not be allowed to occupy places of preeminence. The aspects of life that depend primarily upon "the body" must not become our focus. Whether it is government, the family, or other social relationships, they must not be viewed as primary! "The body is dead because of sin." As such, it is the subordinate part of us, and must be so viewed.
The stance of the believer is determined by a keen perception of the situation. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom 8:13, KJV). The "deeds of the body" are the activities that are stimulated by the godless and unregenerate part of our persons. They are "deeds" that are to be refused preeminence! They proceed from the cursed part of us. Yielding to such impulses brought Adam and Eve down, and it will bring you down also! The satisfaction of your lower nature, as vital as it may appear at times, is never to be at the heart of your attention.
Fasting, for example, involves the subordination of the body, which is "dead because of sin." It is a period of time when the individual concentrates on spiritual life, even to the neglect of temporal life. Those who are sensitive to the Lord are acutely aware of the enmity of the body. The closer they draw to the throne of all grace, the less significant "the body" becomes. In the presence of the King, it becomes a "vile body," or "a body of humiliation" (Phil 3:21, KJV, NRSV). Isaiah experienced this awareness when he saw the Lord "high and lifted up" (Isa 6:1-3). In the presence of the Almighty, Moses "did not eat bread or drink water" for "forty days and forty nights" (Ex 34:28). Jesus confronted a focused attack from Satan "after fasting forty days and forty nights." It was only then – after His lengthy fast – that "He was hungry" (Matt 4:2). The strengthening of His spirit enabled Him to overcome the devil--something impossible for those who insist on pampering the body.
However you wish to view it, the body is a liability, not an asset, to the child of God. Forget this, and you will invariably fall into the snare of the devil! Any and every emphasis that places the body, in any sense, at the center is seriously flawed.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to always be aware of the liabilities associated with my body, and then to bring it into subjection through the Holy Spirit.