Not Your Own
“It’s your body; do what you want with it.” This is a message that our culture has been feeding us for over forty years, finding its origin in texts like Our Bodies, Ourselves, a book published in1970, as “a book by and for women.” The book intends to celebrate women’s health and sexuality, but it also promotes abortion and homosexual lifestyles, all in the name of, “it’s your body; do what you want with it.” As we read through the Scriptures, however, we do not read that our bodies belong to us.
“Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 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, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
We understand that our bodies are not our own because we have been purchased with the blood of Jesus. We are temples of the Holy Spirit and it is important to understand Paul’s words that “God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple.” To say that our bodies are not our own is not to give permission for abuse. No one has the right to abuse you, not even yourself. If anyone is abusing you, or if you struggle with self-harm, please get help by reaching out to someone in authority, someone in your church, or contacting an abuse or self-harm hotline/website.
“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.” (Romans 12:1)
“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Giving your body to God, being disciplined with your body, allowing your body to be a holy and living sacrifice is what Paul called the true way to worship God. Paul reasoned that his preaching would be disqualified if he didn’t discipline his body and keep it under control. Do you keep your body under control or are you controlled by its urges? Do you feed its every craving, whether that’s pleasures of the flesh or gluttony for food? Do you make an idol of your body, worshipping at its every whim? Don’t be a slave to its urges and don’t destroy or defile God’s temple. Discipline your body and keep it under control.
“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, emphasis added)
As a follower of Jesus, whatever we do should be for the glory of God, including how we treat our bodies. Self-discipline is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and as you grow in the Spirit, you will grow in self-discipline. Keep your body under control and treat the temple of the Lord with the respect and honor it deserves.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
—Redeemed
