Will you please turn to 1 Thessalonians?
Now the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly;
and your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will perform it.
All things are lawful to me, but all things do not profit.
All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God will bring to nothing both it and them.
But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
And God has both raised up the Lord and will raise us up from among the dead by His power.
Do ye not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then, taking the members of Christ, make them members of a harlot? Far be the thought.
Do ye not know that he that is joined to the harlot is one body? For the two, He says, shall be one flesh.
But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Flee fornication. Everything which a man may practice is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.
Do ye not know 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 have been bought with a price. Glorify now then God in your body.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we are in Thy presence, we do look to Thee to speak to us through Thy Word, by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may be brought into Thy truth and allow Thee to be glorified in our bodies. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
We have been considering together this matter of being wholly sanctified. It is God Himself who will do this work, because it is God’s purpose that our whole being—our spirit, soul, and body—be wholly set apart for His purpose, that at His coming we will be blameless.
And He promises us that He will perform it. So, dear brothers and sisters, we do thank the Lord that this is a work that not only He desires, but this is a work that He Himself will perform. The only thing for us is this: are we willing to yield ourselves, our whole being—spirit, soul, and body—to Him and allow Him to work out this full salvation?
Now, we have been considering together this matter of how our spirit is being wholly sanctified, and also how our soul is being wholly sanctified. This morning, we will come into this matter of our body. Our body is to be wholly sanctified, set apart for the Lord, and preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus.
Now, brothers and sisters, so far as the world is concerned, the body seems to be everything to them. They live for their body. They live for eating, drinking, and clothing. That is their life. Or, to put it another way, they worship their body.
We know this is not God’s will. But we who are redeemed by the Lord, strangely, neglect our body. Sometimes we even abuse our body. We do not really understand what our body is for.
So, brothers and sisters, we want to consider together the Bible’s view of our body. This is very personal. It affects every one of us. And hopefully, by the grace of God, we may have an understanding of our own body.
First of all, God is the One who creates our body. You remember in Genesis 2:7, it is said that God took the red earth, the dust of the earth, and formed it into the form of a man. So, in other words, our body is made of dust—of earth, of red earth.
And yet God has done such a marvelous work. Just think of it. God uses the most common, cheap, worthless materials and builds us a body that is a marvel, a wonder.
So you remember the psalmist David. In Psalm 139:14, he said:
I will praise Thee;
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Brothers and sisters, look at your own body. Think of the material that God uses to make your body, and then consider what a wonderful body you have. It is fearful. If you really understand what your body is, it is fearful, awesome, marvelous, wonderful.
Our body can do so much, and what we have been doing actually is just using a part of it, not the whole of it. And yet God has done marvelously.
But remember: God gives us a body for a reason. It is not just that we may enjoy ourselves and use it as we please. God gives us a body that we may glorify Him in all the things that we do. To put it another way, God gives us a body that we may be useful to Him, that we may be useful to His purpose.
Our body, in a sense, is made of matter, but it is known by its functions. We have five senses. We can see, we can hear, we can smell, we can taste, and we can touch. And by these five senses, we are in communication with the world around us. We know what is going on.
But unfortunately, when sin entered, you know what happened to man. The Bible said, “On the day that you eat the forbidden fruit, you shall die.” A death sentence is pronounced over sin.
And we know that the moment our forefather sinned, his spirit was dead unto God. In other words, his spirit lost its communication with God. The spirit, as an organ, is still there. It still has its function, but it has lost its proper function. And that is what Scripture considers as dead.
But then, how about our soul? It is true, our soul lives on actively, still functioning. And yet, in another sense, in the sight of God, it is dead, because you remember the Bible says, “You who were once dead in sins and transgressions.”
Because our soul has fallen, our soul is dominated, ruled, not by God, but by self. And therefore, you find that all the functions of our soul are turned hellward. Our understanding was darkened. Our will was alienated from the life of God and decided selfishly. And even our emotion was out of control. So, so far as God is concerned, our soul was also dead.
And how about our body? The body seems to be still alive and still able to contact the world around us. But, so far as God is concerned, it is a dead body. Why?
Because, you remember, in Romans 6:6 it mentions the body of sin. And then in Romans 7:24 it mentions the body of death. In Romans 6, this body of sin is annulled; and then, in Romans 7:24, “Who can deliver me from this body of death?” Thank God, through Jesus Christ.
So, so far as God is concerned, even our body is now a body of sin and a body of death. To put it another way, the body is still there, is still living, but it is under the domination of sin and under the law of death.
By the law of sin, it simply means you do what you should not do, and that is what your body is doing. By the law of death, it means that you cannot do what you should do. You cannot do the will of God, and that is death.
So, brothers and sisters, before we were redeemed, that is what we were. To the world, we seemed to be living; but to God, we were dead. Sin ruled over us. Self became the life of our soul, and our spirit was completely disconnected from God. That was the pitiful situation of man.
But thank God, who is rich in mercy and in His great love, He came to us through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and He redeemed us.
Not only did He restore, cleanse, and make our spirit anew, that we may have communion with God again; He also redeemed our soul, delivered our soul from the dominion of self, and let Christ be enthroned in our soul. So our soul will express Christ instead of ourselves. That is the salvation of the soul, and that is something that is going on throughout our Christian life.
Now, how about our body? In 1 Corinthians 6, we are reminded, “Do you know that you are bought with a price?”
We were like slaves in the slave market, and our Lord Jesus came. He paid a tremendous price, even His own life, His own blood, to buy us to Himself. So, brothers and sisters, so far as our body is concerned, we are bought.
He bought us out of sin, out of death, and He bought us for Himself. And that is the reason why, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, our body becomes the temple of God.
In other words, God’s original purpose for our body begins to be recovered. Our body becomes a temple of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in us. Our body becomes members of Christ. Now think of that.
This body is now a member of Christ, because we together are the body of Christ, and each one of us is a member of that body of Christ. Now, how glorious, how noble, is our body now? Brothers and sisters, do you really see this?
Your body is a member of Christ. Whoever touches that body touches Christ. Your body is a temple of God. Whoever corrupts the temple will be corrupted. So here you find a glorious redemption.
But remember, this redemption of our body is positionally complete, but conditionally it is yet to be completed. In other words, when we are saved, our body is bought and brought back to God, becoming a member of the body of Christ and becoming the temple of God. All the potential of full recovery is there, but these potentials need to be processed and fulfilled.
Now, if this is the case, what should be our attitude towards our body? What should be our response to the great love of God in redeeming us? How should we look at our body today?
Now, when you look into Romans 6—for instance, Romans 6:6—it says that our old man has been crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin.
Here you find our old man was crucified with Christ. Now, we mentioned last time that God’s way of delivering us from the power of sin is by the principle of isolation.
In other words, sin that dwells in our soul is as a master. Formerly, God was the Master who lived in our spirit, but because our spirit was dead, you find that sin instead dwells in our soul and becomes the master of our being.
And then sin, through our flesh, directs our soul. Our fallen soul, that is, the flesh, is ordered by sin; and our fallen soul will act, will submit to that order, and transmit it to our body to act it out—that is, to commit sin. Now, that is the process.
And now, how does God deliver us from the power of sin? By isolation. Sin is still there. Sin as a nature, as a law—or what theology calls original sin—is still in you. You are not delivered from that until you die.
But it is now being isolated because the old man was crucified with Christ. You know, sin can only direct the fallen soul, the flesh, the old man. And the old man was dead, so sin was isolated. It could not order our body to commit sin.
And for this reason, the Bible says the body of sin was annulled. Now, annulled does not mean destroyed, no more, annihilated. Annulled means unemployed. Our body was employed by sin, but now the master cannot reach us, so the body becomes unemployed—nothing to do.
But it should not be unemployed for long. In other words, when Christ bought us and redeemed us, then this body that has been unemployed needs to be reemployed under new management—no longer under sin, but under Christ.
So that is the reason why you find in Romans 6:13, it says:
Neither yield your members instruments of unrighteousness to sin;
but yield yourselves to God as alive from among the dead,
and your members instruments of righteousness to God.
Since you have been unemployed, separated from sin, now what should you do with your body? Do not yield your members to unrighteousness anymore, because you are dead to sin. But instead, yield your members to righteousness unto holiness, and to God, to be instruments of righteousness to God.
And that is the same thing as you find in Romans 12:1:
Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
In other words, you are now under new management. So, brothers and sisters, this is what you should do. After you have believed in the Lord Jesus, after you have been bought with a price, what are you going to do with your body?
Do not yield your body, the members of your body, to unrighteousness, because you were dead to sin. But instead, you should present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God. “Lord, You have bought me and set me free. I am willing to serve You all my life.”
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. In other words, from now on, your body is to be used by God, is to do His will, and is to serve God. That is just what your body is for.
Remember, your body is not your own. Before you were saved, your body was under sin. But now, after you are redeemed, you are not your own. You are God’s. You belong to Him, and therefore serve Him with your whole heart. That is how you use your body.
I remember, long ago, I read a story during the First World War. One day, when soldiers were being transported by train to the front, they had nothing to do. So some soldiers began to play cards.
But they needed four people for that game, and they had only three. So they saw a soldier sitting by, and they asked the soldier, “Come and join us.”
And that soldier said, “I have no hand.” They looked at him. He had hands. So they said, “What do you mean?”
“Well,” he said, “this hand is not mine. I cannot use it as I please. This hand belongs to the Lord.”
Brothers and sisters, that should be our attitude towards our bodies. So it is with the members of our body. Do not think that you can use your body as you please. It is not yours. It is the Lord’s.
Therefore, we have to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. You know, consecration is not optional. Consecration is mandatory.
Every child of God, redeemed by the Lord, constrained by the love of Christ, must present their bodies as a living sacrifice—that is to say, live sacrificially for God. You cannot do with your body as you please.
Think of our Lord Jesus. Before He came into this world, the psalmist, in Psalm 40:6–8, prophesied, saying that sacrifice and oblation God does not want, but “Thou hast prepared Me an ear.”
And you know, the original says, “Mine ears hast Thou opened.” “Lord, I come to do Thy will. Thy law is in My heart.”
Now this prophecy is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, because in Hebrews 10:5–7 it is quoted. And there, it does not say, “Thou hast prepared Me an ear.” It says, “A body hast Thou prepared Me.” This body is to do Thy will.
And that is our Lord Jesus. So all who follow the Lord will do the same thing. We need a pierced ear.
And you know, in the Old Testament, when a slave so loves his master and his family that he does not want to go out free after six years of service, he wants to serve his master for life. And what do they do to him? The master will take him to the door and pierce his ear, and he will be a love slave for life.
That is what we all are. Why the ear? Because we need to hear Him. You cannot serve Him if you do not hear Him.
But actually, it means the whole body—your whole body: your hands, your feet, your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth, everything. It is His, and it is meant to be used by Him for His glory.
So that is the reason why you find the Bible says, “Do all things for the glory of God.” Our body is to be restored to God’s original purpose for it.
Now, how should we take care of our body? In 1 Timothy 4:8, bodily exercise is profitable for a little.
It is true that exercise of the body profits a little. Why? Because it is just for this lifetime. When we have a spiritual body, that bodily exercise is unnecessary.
And also, physical exercise profits us to a certain extent, but not as much as the exercise of godliness, spiritual exercise, because spiritual exercise is profitable not only for now, but for the age to come. But still, this is important.
In other words, the principle is this: because this body of yours belongs to the Lord, therefore God requires that we take good care of our body. And in taking good care of our body, you must eat well, rest well, and exercise well. These are our responsibilities.
Now, brothers and sisters, I am afraid we as Christians seem to be the very opposite of the world. The world worships their body, does everything for their body; the body is their god. But we Christians seem to neglect our body, abuse our body, and do not see our body as anything worthwhile. And unfortunately, we suffer for it.
I know what I am talking about. We have to take care of our body for God.
Treat your body carefully, moderately. Do not indulge; do not abuse. You need sufficient rest. You need proper food. You have a responsibility God has given you.
Do not think that you can eat whatever you want to. Do not think that you can do with your body as you like. It is not yours. You have to take care of it for God’s sake, that He may be able to use it.
To young people: you need to take good care of your body for the Lord. You need to rest. You need to eat properly. You need to exercise.
Now, even older ones, we need to exercise. I am starting to exercise now, but I neglected it for years and years and years.
Because this body belongs to the Lord. Think of it. God has created it so marvelously, so fearfully; and how can we neglect it? Take good care of it for the Lord’s sake.
But, on the other hand, put your body under. In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul said, “I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage.” In other words, do not let your body be your master.
Your body is to be your servant, your slave. So do not allow your body to rise above you, so that you have to yield to the passions and the lusts of your flesh. Put it under, so that you control the body. You can use the body for the Lord’s sake whenever there is a demand.
It is true we need to eat and sleep eight hours. But when there is a demand, you can have a whole night of prayer, because your body is under you, not you under your body.
So, brothers and sisters, these are the things that we should understand. I am afraid we as Christians do not really know how to deal with our body.
If only we remember: the body is for the Lord.
The body is for the Lord. Now, if we remember this very simply, I believe our whole treatment of our body will be completely changed.
But, brothers and sisters, this redeemed body today, so far as its material is concerned, has not changed. It is still a mortal body.
Do not believe because you are saved, you are redeemed, that therefore your body has already become immortal, incorruptible, undefiled, eternal. Not at all. This redeemed body today is still mortal, because it is still made of earth.
One day, by the grace of God, our body will be changed. But today this is still a mortal body, and because this is still a mortal body, we are still being affected by the circumstances and surroundings around us.
And that is the reason why, if there is a flu going around, because you still have a mortal body, you may catch it. If you already had an immortal body, you would not catch it at all.
We are still subject to the physical environment and influences around us. And because this is still a mortal body, therefore it can be weakened. Do not think that your body is immortal, therefore it will never be weakened. It can be weakened, even falling sick. All these are possible.
But if the body is for the Lord, the Bible says, “The Lord is for the body.” Remember this too.
People today do not use their body for the Lord, and they expect the Lord for their body. You cannot do that. Unless your body is for the Lord, you cannot expect the Lord for your body.
You remember Romans 8:11:
But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from among the dead dwell in you,
He that raised up Christ from among the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies also,
on account of His Spirit which dwells in you.
In other words, even though this is still a mortal body, you can experience the quickening of the mortal body by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Because He is the power that raised Jesus from among the dead, therefore today we can experience this resurrection power, this quickening power, to our mortal body in order that we may do God’s will.
And this is very, very true. Where there is a demand, where there is a calling, where there is a work that God has called you to do, He will quicken your mortal body to do what you ordinarily would not be able to do.
So, brothers and sisters, thank God that one day even this mortal body will be changed into an immortal body. That is the time when we have full redemption. That is the time that we receive sonship.
So the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that one day, when the trumpet shall call, we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed. In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, our mortal body will be changed into an immortal body. Our corruptible body will be changed into an incorruptible body.
And that is the time when death is swallowed up in victory. So, brothers and sisters, we have something to look forward to.
Even though today we groan in this body, just like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4 and 5, our outward man is decaying day by day, but our inward man is renewed all the time.
It is not that we want to get rid of this earthly tabernacle, but we long to be clothed with that eternal home, the spiritual body. Just as when our Lord was raised from the dead, He had a body, but it was a spiritual body: immortal, incorruptible, unable to decay, eternal.
Brothers and sisters, one day this will happen to all of us because of Christ, because of what Christ has done on Calvary’s cross. That is full redemption.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we need to remember that the God of peace Himself will sanctify us wholly, and our whole spirit, soul, and body will be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus. He who has called us is faithful. He will perform it.
So may the Lord help us. Let us pray.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for Thy marvelous salvation. Oh, we do thank Thee that Thou dost save us to the uttermost—not only our spirit, but our soul and our body; and not only just saved, but wholly sanctified, preserved, and blameless for Thyself.
Oh, Lord, we do pray that Thou wilt be glorified in us, in our spirit, soul, and body. We ask in Thy precious name.