For bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come.
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation.
For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe.
For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe.
But solid food is for fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
When we come before You and sing, our hearts are filled with praise and worship. In this age, You still give us the opportunity to draw close to You.
We believe that You have words to speak to us, and we want to open our hearts to You.
May Your words be sown in the good soil of our hearts, that we may bear fruit a hundredfold to glorify You. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
We thank the Lord that we have this opportunity to come together before Him. I do not have the burden to give you some exhortations; I simply want to have some fellowship from my heart to your heart.
This time before the Lord, I have had the feeling that I should share a little concerning spiritual exercise with the brothers and sisters.
Paul says that bodily exercise profits a little. We need to exercise our bodies. If you have food but no exercise, you will not have a healthy body.
The Lord has given us this body, which is His temple. He paid a heavy price to redeem us, and we need to glorify God in our bodies.
I feel that there is a misconception among brothers and sisters: if we want to be spiritual, we do not have to care about our physical bodies. In one sense, that is correct. For the Lord’s sake, we may be willing to pay a price.
But in our normal life, it is the will of God that we care for our bodies, because our bodies are the temple of God. We cannot be careless about the body. We need to offer our physical bodies so that we can work for the Lord.
We need to eat normally, have normal rest, and exercise our physical bodies so that they may be used by the Lord.
I especially feel that young people need good exercise for their bodies. Even though bodily exercise profits only a little, it is still useful, because it profits the physical body during this present life.
But today, I am not merely encouraging you to exercise your physical body. People in the world pay much attention to physical health—sometimes they almost turn it into the meaning of life.
We praise and thank Him that we not only have a physical body; He has also given us a spiritual life. That is why Paul says that godliness is profitable for all things.
The term godliness can easily lead us to pay attention only to an external attitude—to being solemn or reverent before the Lord. But godliness is much more than an outward appearance.
Many years ago, when I was in the Philippines, I visited a monastery. As I entered through the main door, I saw several people kneeling before the altar. They did not move at all. My sister said, “They are very godly.”
But I wondered, what does this mean? Yes, they were very solemn outwardly, but what was their condition inwardly? Was the Lord receiving their worship?
God is Spirit, and we need to worship Him in spirit and truth. Physical appearance alone is not enough. Even beautiful music is not necessarily worship. We need to serve Him in our spirit, because God is Spirit, and what He seeks is worship in spirit and truth.
A more appropriate understanding of this word is: exercise yourself unto godliness. Godliness means to be like God—not merely outwardly, because God does not have a physical appearance. To be like God is to have His nature.
This is real godliness. It is not an external appearance. Of course, if you have something inwardly, it will express itself outwardly; but what appears outwardly is secondary. The most important thing is what is within you. Deep in your heart, are you truly worshipping God?
Paul helps us here. We need bodily exercise, though its profit is limited. But as believers, we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness.
Before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ. He wills that those who belong to Him should bear the image of His Son.
In other words, all those whom He has saved, He wants to have His character constituted in them. This is the highest will that the Lord has determined for His people.
God does not merely deliver us from sins. Those whom He justifies, He also glorifies. Glory is to be like God, because God is glory. If the character of God is constituted in us, then we have His glory.
This is the will determined by the Lord for every one of His children. Let us not be satisfied simply because our sins are forgiven and we have received righteousness. We may be satisfied, but God is not.
We receive this grace not for ourselves, but for Him, so that His will may be accomplished in us and He may be satisfied.
What satisfies God? It is that we receive grace to such an extent that the image of the Lord may be revealed in us. This is the will of the Lord for every one of His children.
Because we are saved and have His life, that is not the end. We praise and thank Him that the blood of the Lord has washed away all our sins. We praise and thank Him that He has given us His life, so that we have spiritual life.
This life needs to grow, and it needs to grow into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. How can this life grow into His image? It needs to be exercised.
That is why Paul says that we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. If we do not, even though we have the life of God within us, we cannot manifest the glory of God. We can only express our own life, and we cannot glorify Him.
Why are many children of God like babies? Certainly, we all need to pass through the stage of being babies. Everyone loves babies; they are cute.
But a baby, though he has life, has the life of Adam—the life of the old man. Outwardly he is very cute, but truly speaking, he is very selfish.
When he is hungry, even in the middle of the night, he will cry. He does not care whether you want to sleep or not. In his whole world, there is only himself. You have to serve him, and if you are slow, he will have a temper.
That is the world. But after we believe in the Lord, we have the life of the Lord. Yet this life is initially like a baby, while our old life is still controlling us.
Therefore, we need this spiritual life to grow and overcome the old life, so that we may manifest Christ and not Adam. Where is the secret? Exercise.
Hebrews 5 tells us that a baby can only drink milk. Why? Milk is food that another person has already digested. The baby cannot digest food himself, so the mother gives him what has been digested.
But when you become grown, your senses have developed through exercise and use, and you can discern what is right and what is wrong.
If we lack spiritual exercise, we will never grow up. We need spiritual exercise; then we can grow spiritually.
Listening to messages is good, but if you do not exercise spiritually, it is just like zero. Even when you read the Bible, you need to exercise your spirit.
We need to read the Bible every day. But if you only read the Bible and do not exercise your spirit, it is still nothing. All these means of grace are good, but if we do not exercise our spirit, they are of no profit.
This is the condition of many children of God who do not grow up. I have a deep feeling within me that many of God’s children do not grow in spiritual life because they do not exercise godliness in their daily living.
We understand physical exercise well because we can see the body. But when we speak of exercising our spirit, how do we do it? We cannot see it.
Now, let me treat you like babies—you have to excuse me. These are very elementary things. I am sure that you have heard them before. But the question is this: you have heard them, but have you actually exercised them?
God created us in a very wonderful way. Psalm 139:14 says:
I will give thanks unto thee;
For I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
Wonderful are thy works;
And that my soul knoweth right well.
If you truly study the human body, you will be amazed at God’s creation. How can we have such a body? When God created us, He made a very glorious creation. Therefore, we need to care for this body so that God may be glorified in it.
In 1 Corinthians, we are told that our body is the temple of God and that we need to glorify God in our body.
Genesis 2:7 tells us that when God created man, He formed man from the dust of the earth. In itself, our body is only dust; yet God created such a glorious body.
God breathed into the nostrils of this created being the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
When the breath from God encountered this physical being created from dust, a third element appeared: the soul.
What was the breath that God breathed into man? That breath from God, entering into this created being, became the spirit of man.
We therefore have three parts: outwardly, the physical body; in the middle, the soul; and deepest within, the spirit of man.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 tells us:
And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly;
And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our whole person includes spirit, soul, and body. He not only created us, but He will preserve us until the Lord comes again, because He is a faithful God.
The physical body enables us to be conscious of the environment around us. It has five senses and five functions.
Our eyes can see; our ears can hear; our nose can smell; our mouth can taste; and our hands can touch. Through these five functions, we interact with the external environment.
Our physical body enables us to be conscious of the world around us. How do you know that there is a world around you? How do you know that the world has color? Your eyes can see it. How do you know that the world has sound? Your ears can hear it.
You can smell odors, taste flavors, and feel shapes. Through the physical body, we can be in contact with the physical world.
Death means that fellowship or communication with the normal environment has been terminated. If your physical body cannot see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, then you say that the body is dead.
The soul represents ourselves. How do you know that you exist? How do I know that I am different from you? We cannot see the soul because it is within the body, but we know that it exists through its functions.
The soul has three functions: feeling, mind, and will. I think, I feel, and I will. My feeling is different from yours. I have my mind, and you have your mind. I have my will, and you have your will.
Through these functions, we know ourselves. The soul gives us self-consciousness. Greek philosophy says, “I think, therefore I am.” Even though we cannot see the soul, we know that it exists.
It is the same with the spirit. The spirit is inside the soul, just as marrow is inside the bone. It cannot be seen. How do we know that we have a spirit? We know it by its functions.
The spirit also has three main functions: conscience, intuition, and worship.
Our conscience speaks to us. Our intuition enables us to know that there is a God in the universe. When men encounter difficulty or danger, they may cry out to heaven. That is the intuition of the spirit.
Man also has the function of worship. Whether a person is a barbarian or civilized, there is a heart of worship within him. This proves that we have a spirit.
The spirit enables us to be conscious of God. It is the highest part of man, because through the spirit we can have fellowship with God and understand His will.
The spirit communicates the will of God to the soul, so that the soul may gladly receive it. Then the soul gives orders to the physical body so that we can act it out.
The spirit is like the master, the soul is like the steward of the house, and the body is like a servant. This was the order when God created man.
Sadly, when man sinned against God, this order was disrupted. When Adam and Eve sinned, God had already told them that they could eat of every tree in the garden.
All the fruit trees could supply life. In the middle of the garden was the tree of life, which represented the life of God. But next to it was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God told Adam that he could eat of every tree in the garden, but he could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The day he ate of it, he would surely die.
But Adam and Eve ate of that fruit. Did they die? Adam lived almost a thousand years, had children, and lived a long time. Eventually, his physical body died.
But when God said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” what died on that day? His spirit died.
When Adam sinned and rebelled against the commandment of God, his spirit died. His communication with God was terminated. His spirit remained, but it lost its proper function toward God.
A person who does not believe in the Lord is called a natural man. He lives only in soul and body. The proper function of his spirit toward God has been terminated.
How do we know that the spirit is still there? Though communication with God is terminated, communication with the devil may still be there. This proves that the spirit remains.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they immediately realized that they were naked. Their glory was gone. When they heard the sound of God, they hid themselves. This was the function of the conscience.
Strictly speaking, unbelievers live in soul and body, without the functioning spirit that communicates with God.
But we praise God: when we believe in the Lord, the Holy Spirit revives the spirit of man. By the blood of the Lord, He covers our sin and iniquity.
The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, enabling us to cry to God, “Abba, Father.”
We praise God that when we believe in the Lord, we receive the life of God. This spiritual life needs to grow so that the will of God may be accomplished.
Christian living is to live in the spirit. If you live in the spirit, you will grow. But your spirit needs to be exercised.
If you exercise your spirit, your spiritual stature will increase. This is the most basic matter in Christian living. It is like the ABC.
If we do not know this, do not give attention to it, and do not exercise in this way, then we will have no real spiritual living to speak of. We will only live outwardly and not truly live before God.
Therefore, I believe that exercising our spirit is part of our normal Christian life. The question is: Do you exercise your spirit?
This is something for which every one of us must answer before the Lord. From the day I believed in the Lord until today, have I exercised my spirit?
What does it mean to exercise? In the days of Paul, the civilization was largely Greek in character, even though political power was in Rome.
The Greeks were very conscious of the physical body and wanted to attain a perfect stature. Therefore, they had many gymnasiums, where they exercised their bodies.
They did not simply exercise in any way they pleased. There were instructors who knew how to train the body. They could see which part of the body needed attention and which part needed exercise.
Under an instructor, a person would follow the instructions and exercise until he attained a well-developed body.
Spiritual exercise is the same. It is not disorderly. If you exercise in a disorderly way, you may cause harm rather than receive benefit. We need instruction.
Who is our Instructor? Other men? No. Our spirit is too precious to the Lord for Him to give responsibility for it to someone else. He Himself takes responsibility.
He Himself came to save us, and He Himself takes care of us until the end. Every day and every hour, He continually instructs us. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
If we act according to our own understanding of ourselves, we will only cause harm to our spirit. God wants us to submit ourselves into the hands of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit dwells in every one of us, and He is one with Christ and with the Father in heaven. Our Lord is our High Priest, praying for us before the Father every day, and the Holy Spirit within us responds to that prayer.
That is why the Bible says that we have the anointing within us. This anointing teaches us not only in great matters, but also in small matters. It does not act according to its own will; it teaches us according to the will of the Lord.
We need to learn to submit to the teaching of the anointing. If we submit to the teaching of the anointing, we abide in the Lord. This is found in 1 John 2:27.
We praise and thank God that He not only saved us through His blood, but also gave us His life and His Holy Spirit, who teaches us day and night how to exercise our spirit.
This is the secret of Christian living. If we do not know how to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we have no way to live the Christian life.
This is the first matter. Everyone who believes in the Lord needs to offer himself to the Lord.
Romans 12:1 says:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service.
The Holy Spirit is in us, and He teaches us how to exercise our spirit. But He desires our cooperation. We need to submit ourselves into His hands. This is offering.
Offering is not merely working for God. Offering is allowing God to work in you. God respects you. He will never do something that you are unwilling for Him to do. He wants you willingly to submit to Him.
To offer yourself is to submit yourself into His hands. Just as a Greek child entering the gymnasium submits himself to the instructor and follows whatever the instructor tells him to do, so it is with us today.
Are you willing to offer yourself into the hands of the Lord? Are you afraid that He will make a mistake? Do you think that He will hurt you? No, it will never be like that.
No one loves you as the Lord loves you. He was willing to give up His body and His life for you.
Therefore, we should submit ourselves completely into the hands of the Lord. Complete submission enables Him to do a deeper and quicker work in us.
When we are unwilling, we tie the hands of the Lord. This is why we need to offer ourselves. The preciousness of offering is not that, once you offer yourself, you can do something for God. Rather, because you offer yourself, God can work in you.
Exercise must be continual. You cannot say, “I exercised today, and in another week I will come back and exercise again.” You need to exercise every day.
The Bible gives many instructions concerning daily spiritual exercise. Many Christians live only for a crisis. When a crisis comes, they respond and become excited for a moment. But crisis is not our normal life.
Our normal life is our daily living. If you do not pay attention to your daily living, then when a crisis comes, you will not be able to overcome it.
The Bible teaches us to do these things every day. We need to pray every day—indeed, to pray unceasingly.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us:
Pray without ceasing.
Even when the Lord was on earth, He prayed continually.
Psalm 119 tells us that we should praise God seven times a day. First Thessalonians 5 also tells us to give thanks in everything. We need to praise Him at all times.
What about reading the Bible? We need to gather the manna every day. If you sleep in and the sun rises, the manna melts away, and you will be hungry that day. Therefore, we need to read the Bible every day.
Encouraging one another also needs to be done daily. Bearing the cross is also a daily matter. The Lord says in Luke 9:23 that we are to take up our cross daily.
Paul says, “I die daily” in 1 Corinthians 15:31. Throughout the Bible, we find this emphasis: every day, every day.
We need to exercise all the time, continually. It is not merely a matter of three times or seven times a day, because the Holy Spirit leads us in every day and in every matter.
His heart is so earnest toward us. What about us? We need to be earnest in exercising.
The Bible often uses the word diligent. We need to be earnest, adding one thing to another, so that we may enter richly into the kingdom of God.
This morning, brothers and sisters, I want to share this ABC with you. Do not despise the ABC. If you do not have ABC, you will not have XYZ.
I trust that we will bring these words before the Lord. This is the foundation.
If the Lord is willing, in the remaining sessions we will consider how to exercise our conscience, how to exercise our intuition, and how to exercise our worship.
Brothers and sisters, let us pray earnestly.