Glorifying God in Body & Spirit – The Body (Part 1)

Today, I will be talking about glorifying God with our bodies and how we shouldn’t allow the world’s view of glorification undermine and twist how we should honor God with our bodies.

So, what does it mean to glorify God in body and spirit? Well, glorify comes from the Hebrew word “kabod” meaning “weight or worthiness of something”, but it also translates to Honor. Okay; so, if glorify means to honor God then why don’t we honor God with our bodies? Why do we continue to allow our flesh control over our bodies? Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 6:13, where it talks about how our bodies are not meant for personal sexual pleasure but for God.

1 Corinthians 6:13
“…. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”

Because God created our bodies as physical manifestations of His temple on Earth, why then do we still taint and corrupt His temple with sexual immorality? Because of lust and our own sexual desires. When we give into the sexual desires of our flesh, we are corrupting not just our bodies, but God’s temple. Personally, this has been a struggle for me because I have talked about myself engaging in the sexual acts of the flesh. I recently read a blog post by WordPress blogger T.R. Noble who wrote a blog post entitled, “Where is God’s Temple?” which talks about God’s Temple.

In the blog post, T.R. Noble asks the question, “Where is God’s Temple” and she later goes on to answer the question saying, “…. the temple of God is inside each and every one of us.” So, if the temple of God is in each and every one of us; then what does that say about our physical bodies. In Genesis 1:26, it shows how God originally designed our bodies; according to His likeness.

Genesis 1:26

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”

God created human beings to reflect His image, His Glory on Earth, but when Adam and Eve sinned; the cycle of sexual impurity and sin began and contaminated the glorious nature that God originally imbued in humans.  When we wear revealing clothing or have tattoos on our bodies, we are acting like the “pagans” of the Old Testament as stated in Leviticus 18:3. SpaniardVIII wrote a blog post entitled, “Should Christians have Tattoos?” where he talks about this topic but in a different manner. In the blog post, SpaniardVIII asks the question, “If it’s not right to mark up a church that’s not yours how much more your body that belongs to Christ?”

SpaniardVIII said, “No Christian has the right to do what he wants with his body because you are not your own, you were bought at a price according to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20…. your body is God’s temple and it is sacred to Him meaning it is holy.”

In my opinion, the statement is important in today’s society because as people and as Christians, have grown accustomed to tattooing and piercing our bodies that we don’t even realize that we are damaging not just our physical bodies, but the spirit that resides in them. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul condemns the people of Corinth saying that our bodies are meant to be temples for the Holy Spirit and that we were bought at a price.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“19. 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 you are not your own? 20. For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

In Verse 20, it gives us a clear indication that in my opinion, shows that we were bought by Christ so that we could present ourselves to the world as the living embodiment of God’s mercy and glory on Earth. Making sure that our bodies are a representation of Christ on Earth is difficult because society has the warped mindset of wearing what we want, how we want it but not understanding that by wearing what we want, how we want it is just another form of sexual immorality.

Ezra Taft Benson, a former government official and religious leader said, “The human body is the tabernacle of the spirit, and God expects that it be kept clean and unimpaired.”

For men, a way that we can glorify God through our bodies is by resisting the lust of our eyes by learning to restrict what we watch on our phones or TV, listen to, and read on newspapers and magazines. Job, a man who lost everything and was a “blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” said in Job 31:1 a phrase that we men should take to heart.

Job 31:1

“1. I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman.”

We men should make a covenant with our eyes and with God so that when the urge to lust after a young woman occurs, we refrain from looking at her in a sexual manner and turn to the Bible as our source of strength. Now, for the women; in this day and age, it’s hard to glorify God because society gives off the notion of “wearing skinny shorts are fine. So, what if it shows a little skin” or “So what if the shorts are too low”, but God says otherwise. 1 Timothy 2:9 shows us how women are meant to dress as temples of the Holy Spirit.

1 Timothy 2:9-10

“9. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10. but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.”

Women, God has called you to dress in modest attire with self-discipline and respect as daughters of Christ; don’t dress as the world dresses. Blogger Nicole Weider has Staff Writer Phylicia Masonheimer write a blog post called, “3 Ways to Glorify God With Your Body” where she focuses on how God called our bodies to be “temples” and how we can glorify God with our bodies. In the blog post, Nicole says, “… when Paul says our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit,” he’s indicating just how valuable our bodies are to God. We have the profound honor, as Christians, to bear the Spirit of God within our very hearts.”

Also in the blog, Nicole has 3 ways that we as people and Christians can use to help give glory to God through our bodies.

• Be a Good Steward
  • “True health is not about looking good on the outside but treating our bodies with the respect and care they deserve, so they function at optimum performance.”
    • “What we eat, how much we sleep and how often we exercise all have an effect on our body’s overall function.”
  • “God blessed us with bodies to house our souls. In order to do God’s kingdom work, we need our bodies to function.”

• Remember Your Value
  • “Real confidence cannot come from something external.”
  • “Our bodies have value in God’s eyes.”
  • “Stylishly covering our bodies is not a lack of confidence; it shows we are giving our bodies the same glory and value that God gives them.”
    • “Don’t cheapen the beauty God gave you by advertising it for the world to see.”
  • “… you are God’s temple and give His Spirit an honorable house in which to live.”
• Bless Others
  • “… our bodies are meant to bless others.”
    • “By honoring our bodies physically and spiritually, we are equipped to bless the people God puts in our path.”
  • “It doesn’t matter what your body looks like.”
  • “You are a temple of God, bringing His love and truth into a world that desperately needs it.”

The 3 ways mentioned above are just some of the examples we; as people and children of God can use to help tell others about Christ and to remind ourselves of how we are supposed to dress. Phylicia Masonheimer wrote a similar blog post entitled, “What a Bikini Taught Me About Modesty” where she talks about how she initially wore a bikini in order to “fit in” with her peers, but later learned that her body was a temple of God’s Holy Spirit.

In the blog post, Phylicia states, “Now as Christians, His glory (through the Holy Spirit) resides within each of our bodies. We ARE the new “temples” of God’s glory” and that statement should give us an example of how we are to treat our bodies. When we give our bodies over to God’s Holy Spirit, we are able to go out into the world and not be ashamed of being rejected by the world because we know that we are glorifying God with our bodies and not the world.

Phylicia said, “…my bikini was not advertising my God-given value, but advertising the beauty of my body to a world that would never appreciate it the way God intended.”

Phylicia’s blog post has several statements and key points that I feel that women; whether Christian or not should take to heart because we are all called to be “temples” of God’s Holy Spirit; even when we don’t realize it.

• Modesty Isn’t Just About the Guys
  • “While we should desire to help, Christian men uphold purity, we have our own responsibility to walk purely.”
  • “Modesty is humility in action”
  • “God loves imperfect girls like us is humbling, and our response is to worship God in every area of life, including how we dress.”
• Recognize Your Value
  • “Recognize that you, and your body, have value”
  • “By embracing your value, you will reflect the kind of confidence that no swimsuit or “hot body” could ever provide.”

In the end, though if we continue to use our bodies in a sexual manner, we will only glorify ourselves and our own sexual desires, but if we turn our bodies’ attention towards being the “temples” of the Holy Spirit then we could glorify God and reach others. Our bodies are not ours to use as we please; our bodies are given to us in order to show who God is to a sinful and lost world and give God the glory.

So, what will you do? Will you continue to give your body control over your sexual desires and lust and let the world tell you what to do with your body? Or, will you read God’s Word and let His Word tell you that your bodies were created to be unique and to let others see Christ through you? Will you give God a chance and let His Spirit into your life? Are you willing to become God’s “temple” on Earth? Please comment below and join the discussion.

God’s Blessings,

Joshua Reid

 

References

Masonheimer, Phylicia. “3 Ways to Glorify God With Your Body” projectinspired.com, 6 Feb. 2016, http://www.projectinspired.com/3-ways-to-glorify-god-with-your-body/ . Accessed 5 August 2017.

• “What a Bikini Taught Me about Modesty” projectinspired.com, 28 May 2016. http://www.projectinspired.com/what-a-bikini-taught-me-about-modesty/. Accessed 5 August 2017.

SpaniardVIII. “Should Christians have Tattoos?” spiritualminefield.wordpress.com, 7 Jun. 2016, https://spiritualminefield.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/should-christians-have-tattoos/ . Accessed 4 August 2017.

T.R. Noble. “Where is God’s Temple?” nobledevotionblog.wordpress.com, 27 Apr. 2017, https://nobledevotionblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/27/where-is-gods-temple/ . Accessed 3 August 2017.

 

Picture References

Author Unknown. “Culture Says vs God Says” https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4d/86/7c/4d867ce3b598cd3be88b87763481b51c.jpg . Accessed 7 August 2017.

Author Unknown. “Job 31:1 HD Wallpaper” http://www.godswordimages.com/wallpaper/self-control/job-31-1/ . Accessed 2 August 2017.

Benson, Ezra Taft. “The human body is the tabernacle”. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/ezrataftbe610971.html . Accessed 6 August 2017.

Myers, Jerry. “Genesis 1:26-27 – Let Us Make Man in Our Image” https://redeeminggod.com/genesis_1_26-27/ . Accessed 7 August 2017.

Rogers, Adrian. “Jesus did not bathe this planet with his blood” http://www.azquotes.com/quote/849522 . Accessed 6 August 2017.

Praison. “Glorify God in your body and in your spirit” https://biblerevelation.org/2015/11/26/glorify-god-in-your-body-spirit/ . Accessed 4 August 2017.