Biology was one of the subjects I didn’t like a lot in school. I don’t know why but I never found it interesting, maybe you’re like me or not. But, either way, we are forced to learn the subject up till grade 10(at least in India). In the subject, I learned about the human body, all the parts in it, how they work and so on. Today we are going to see more on the body we learned in the biology class as a continuation of the tripartite series. In this blog, we are going to see the answer to 3 questions about the body, which sums it up well.
What is it?
How is it?
How should it be
WHAT IS IT?
The body is basically all that we can see in ourselves physically. The eyes, the nose, the legs and so on. It is also the internal parts and organs that we don’t see. Like the brain, the heart, the hormones and enzymes secreted etc. The body is not just a matter of organs and parts. It is more than that. It has some other functions to play too. Functions we don’t always realise.
-> Sanctuary
Pauls says like this of the body in 1corinthians 6:19:
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,1 Corinthians 6:19
The body is not just the sanctuary of the holy spirit but of the soul too. The body holds within it, the soul and the spirit. We can see this clearly in the diagrammatic representation of the tripartite.
-> Means of communication with the world
The body as we all know is the means by which we interact and communicate with the world and the people around us. The things of the spirit realm also need the body to express itself outside. We need the body to express ourselves. Therefore it is important to keep our bodies healthy, so we can do the work of the Lord without any hindrance.
HOW IS IT?
I don’t know about you, but I have heard the phrase ‘overcome the flesh’ a lot as I grew up. I didn’t really understand the meaning of that phrase until I was battling the flesh in my own life. When you say flesh, it means the nature of the body or the body’s natural tendency. This term flesh is always used in the negative context because the natural tendency of the flesh is to lean towards sin. Which in turn is because of the decision made by Adam and Eve to disobey God in the garden of Eden. After that moment, sin entered the flesh and has had its rule over us. Paul captures this beautifully in Romans 7:23
But I see in my body a different principle waging war with the law in my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin that exists in my body.Romans 7:23
In the text, we see Paul mentioning the presence of a different principle that keeps us prisoner of the law of sin. The different principle is flesh. This is why he tells us that it exists in the body. Like Paul says, we find ourselves battling in our mind in moments of decision between sin and godly ways. Most of the time, this battle ends in favour of sin as it has dominion over us before we were even born. Although we want to do what God wants us to do we find it incredibly hard to do it. this is natural, but something we need to overcome.
HOW SHOULD IT BE?
In Romans 6 Paul says that the body must be for the lord and not for the world or under the dominion of sin.
Stop offering the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to god as people who have been brought from death to life and the parts of your body as instruments of righteousness to god.Romans 6:13
I am speaking in simple terms because of the frailty of your human nature. Just as you once offered the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater disobedience, so now, in the same way, you must offer the parts of your body as slaves to righteousness that leads to sanctification.Romans 6:19
The bible wonderfully captures the truth that the body, which is usually inclined to sin, must be used as an instrument and be a slave to righteousness. This is how it should be. The body must be a symbol of purity, holiness and righteousness and not a symbol of sin. Although this is not natural, we can do this through Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins, conquered death and the grave; making us free for eternity.
One interesting thing about the body mentioned in the bible is:
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it’s evil, your body is full of darkness.Luke 11:34
The eye is the part of the body that we need to be very careful with. Most of the things that the enemy uses to pull us down will have something to do with the eye. It will be something that we saw. So make sure that you are always looking at Jesus, the light of the world. When He is the light that goes into you, then your life will be full of light and the glory of the Lord. Looking at Jesus does not always have to be external by means of prayer and reading the word of God or seeing visions and so on. It can be as simple as recognising the truth that Jesus is inside of you, looking at Him and allowing Him to come out through your life. MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE 🙂