The Grace Gifts of the Holy Spirit
3 - My Body - His Temple 1
Romans 12:
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. New Living Bible
When Paul says we must offer our bodies to the Lord, he means we should offer our whole being but, we are to begin by first offering our bodies for the following reasons.
If you are one who believes that your body is a hindrance in life, only a burden to yourself and of no importance to God, you need to offer Him your body so you can find out the value God puts on your earth suit.
And if you are at the other end of the spectrum and you worship your body in whatever way, then you also need to offer Him your body and so give up body worship so you can worship the Lord.
The Bible is full of reasons why as Christian disciples we should offer our bodies to God. Here are just some of them.
1. Since I am a Christian, my body is bought by the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:
23 You were bought with a price, purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ; then do not yield yourselves up to become - in your own estimation - slaves to people, but consider yourselves slaves to Christ. Amplified Bible
2. Since I am a Christian, I know that God paid a great price for me.
1 Peter 1:
18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And [the ransom He paid was not] mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
New Living Bible
3. Since I am a Christian, my body has been bought, so it no longer belongs to me.
1 Corinthians 6:
19 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. New Living Bible
We glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for our lives. We glorify Him by worshiping Him, loving Him, obeying Him and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. We glorify Him by becoming like our Lord Jesus and bringing pleasure and joy to the Lord.
4. Since I am a Christian, my body is the temple or the home of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:
16 Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. New Living Bible
Prayer:
Father in heaven, today we come and offer You our bodies, which You have bought at a great price.
Father, if I think that my body is of no value, I ask that You will change my thinking so that I will view my body as You do and take care of it so that I can serve You well as I live in it.
And Father, if I worship my body, I ask that You will change my thinking so that I will learn how to worship You and put my body under discipline.
And so I thank You today for my body and I bless You and I ask that, as Your temple, I will bring You great glory.
Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord, in Jesus name, Amen.
Hope we can get together again tomorrow,
God willing.
Meanwhile, have a great day
walking with The Lord Jesus Christ! |
