The Body, Presenting Yourself to God
Five times in one chapter (1 Cor. 6), Paul says "don't you know?" or in King James "Know ye not..." Talk about making someone feel ignorant! (see verses 3, 9, 15, 16, and 19). Not only that, but back in Chapter 3, verse 16, Paul again asked, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
What we do in our bodies impacts our soul and our spirit. Paul seems to be befuddled that the Corinthians do not grasp some of these most obvious truths. I can only imagine what Paul would think about the state of Christianity today!
In BELIEVE, we have just finished ten lessons, discovering how to act like Jesus. Our behavior in Christ is who we are in the Body of Christ, culminating last week with "Sharing My Faith." It sure is easier to share our faith when we have a body of believers who live like Christ.
I used to minister at a church called Friendly Baptist Church. One person told me a story about them calling Friendly Baptist Church and the person who answered the phone wasn't too friendly. When I asked when that happened, it had apparently happened at least ten years earlier! For at least ten years, this person had told a negative story about the church because one person answered the phone in an unfriendly manner! Talk about a lasting impact and a negative one at that.
Avery Willis encourages us to imagine
or even draw out a circle with a door at the top and a door at the bottom. At
the top is God and that door should be open. At the bottom is our body or flesh
with Satan waging a battle within it and that door should be closed or at least
a one way gateway. In the middle of our circle is our mind (Rom. 12:2), will
(Phil. 2:13) and emotions (Gal. 5:22-23) or our soul and that soul must be fed
from God at the top and influencing our body at the bottom of our circle.
Our body is host to the Holy Spirit.
If you have the living God inside you and are not changed, you are either
stronger than God (not possible) or may not have God in you at all. Read 1 Cor.
6:19-20 and see how this impacts your thoughts about what you do in your body.
James 3:1-12 says we should be joyful
when we grow. Wisdom will help us be like God and that wisdom will come
out of our mouths and in our bodies. Acts 16:25-34 shows us that we need to
glorify God privately and publicly. We should show Christ to strangers and even
our enemies. Our message should be simple and understandable.
How is John 20:1-18 similar to our
resurrection spiritually?
Our bodies are to be in obedience to
Christ, and our lives are to be sacrifices to God, living to Him. Like James chapter
1, Phil. 1:19-26 shows us to rejoice and be glad, knowing that God’s answers to
prayers and help from others will be used for our deliverance. We are here
bodily on earth to help others and ourselves to grow more like Christ.
