The Body Is A Temple

What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20

Man was made in the image and the likeness of His creator (Genesis 1:26). From the dust of the ground, the elements of the earth, God formed Adam and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. That life-giving force that only a mighty God has the power to give, and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7) Not possessed a “soul” or “spirit” entity as erroneously taught by the Christian world, but became a living, breathing creation composed of “body” and “breath”. From this first man, he took a rib and created Eve. Male and female were created fresh from the creator’s hand on the sixth day of creation week to inhabit the earth, have dominion over it and to populate it. Composed of a physical, intellectual and moral nature, man has been given the opportunity, the responsibility, the choice to offer unto the Lord a temple, a body, that is fit for His dwelling. Through the power of the indwelling Spirit, God desires to dwell with His people. Do we daily consider our obligation to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God (Romans 12:1) How important is it that we present to God a body, mind and spiritual strength that stands ready to do His will, to battle successfully with the forces of a depraved world and be more than conquerors? How can we fight against the forces of evil if our physical strength is weakened by disease or sickness? How can we fight against the forces of deception if our mind is polluted with the corrosive attitude of today’s liberal agenda? How can we fight against the spiritual apathy that pervades our society when God has been removed from the heart of humanity? Satan, who delights in our continual defeat and our eternal destruction, presents before the minds of man every possible seducement to draw our weakened humanity into his snares.

God has given us a miraculously designed body, and has wisely given us a manual for its proper care. The scriptures are replete with all the necessary instructions to finely tune this masterpiece, His creation. If only we will heed and obey the words of our creator, much “dis-ease” would be avoided and we would enjoy the abundant life intended by an omniscient God. As our designer, He knows inside and out what we need to operate at peak efficiency. Satan, however, desires to cloud this perception with false and misleading ideas that ruin God’s ultimate plan of happiness. As the signs of the times point ever nearer to our Lord’s return, is it time to stop and look at our life and see a real need for change to prepare ourselves for that glorious day? Are we content to return to our creator a body, mind and spirit that is riddled with disease, apathy and error due to years of thoughtless abuse or neglect? Should we have a more determined desire to return to Him the best that is within our reach to attain?

Does the body, mind and spiritual nature of man work in harmony with one another to radiate a truly “healthful” life? A life that can function at optimum performance to give us a strength of body, intellect and character that glorifies God and defeats the plan of Satan to steal, kill and destroy the life that God gave us at the beginning of creation? If God had not endowed us with such a vital life giving force, the centuries of abuse would have brought man long ago to the brink of extinction. Man has abused the delicate working of his body with every imaginable defilement, never realizing or thinking that his destiny will be the result of the choices he makes.. Eating, drinking and dress are made the aim and preoccupation of our life. Does the old adage “you are what you eat” hold true as we look around at the problems that face our world today? Not only what we feed our body, but our mind and spirit as well.

As we take a look at our generation, we see a serious abuse of tobacco, a leading cause of lung cancer and emphysema; poisonous drugs that destroy the lives of young and old alike; alcohol, one of the worlds leading causes of health problems, violence and death; gluttony, leading to overweight and obesity with its myriad of eventual health risks; and sexual perversion, with its continual rise in the aids epidemic. Could our over indulgence of caffeine, coke, chocolate, sugar, salt, fat or certain meats, such as pork with its sometimes fatal infestation of trichina larvae, also be causing unnecessary health risks? We know that highly saturated fats as found in meats and dairy products cause a rise in the cholesterol level of the blood... an important factor in vascular and heart diseases. Could our eating habits and the lack of exercise be the cause of the rise in so many of the life threatening diseases we battle daily? In Leviticus 11 we find a classification of the animals, fowl and fish which God said were clean to use for food. Done away with? Or has modern research discovered that our creator knew all along what was best for our bodies. Whatever we chose, has it all been to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)? Man has conveniently accepted these conditions or choices as part of his culture, but is it? Did God intend for His children to be constantly suffering from continued illness, disease and debilitating problems? Maybe we should look back to Genesis and survey the original diet that God laid out for our healthful living, and search further into God’s word to understand His choice of behavior for His children that would avoid defilement of the body and bring unwanted disease. It is a far cry from the lifestyle of which we partake today which seeks only to gratify every desire of the flesh without a thought to its consequences. Have we turned a deaf hear to God’s warning in 1 Corinthians 3:17: If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. What will we do with these “earthen vessels” in which God, in His holiness, desires to dwell? Our human nature has fallen under the sway of worldly devices and deceptions urged on by Satan for the indulgence of our perverted senses. Man has partaken fully of the lethal poison of a world drunken with the sin of his own wantonness. Whether in eating, drinking, dress or conduct, we seek continually to glorify “self”. God has warned us that at the time of the end man would again be overwhelmed with the woes of wickedness that brought about the death of the antediluvian world (Luke 17:26,27). Dare we ignore the warnings of God to His people today to turn from their sin? As creatures of an ordered God, we have certain boundaries set for our lives with warnings against violating any of the basic conditions of our existence. Could the problem be a matter of our selfishness, self-indulgence and self-will versus God’s desire for self-sacrifice, self-denial and self-control? God continues to call our attention to health reform, one of the works of preparation for the coming of the Son of man. Many have caught this vision with a resurgence of the need for healthful living in the areas of nutritious food, exercise, fresh air, sunshine, water, and especially rest and trust in divine power as beautifully designed in God’s holy seventh day Sabbath (Exodus 20:11).

Does physical abuse have any effect on our mental or spiritual state of mind? The defilement of the human body can take on many forms. If we fill our “mind “ with the garbage of the world, in the form of movies, music, books or magazines that promote the basest passions, what do we expect to happen. Will it be garbage in and garbage out? On what will we place our focus? Do we take lightly our responsibility to place within our mental reservoir things that elevate our integrity, our character and our purpose in life. What lesson book have we chosen as the rule of our life? Man may acquire all the knowledge possible to be imparted by the human teacher; but there is still greater wisdom required of them by God. They must learn meekness, lowliness of heart and distrust of self The Savior Himself, bearing the test of humanity, acknowledged that of Himself He could do nothing. We must also learn that there is no strength in humanity alone. Man becomes efficient only by becoming a partaker of the divine nature. Nothing will strengthen the mind more than Bible study. No other book can lift the thoughts as does God’s word (Conflict and Courage EGWhite).

God will not work a miracle to counteract the violation of His laws. What we sow we must reap. What we are or can be is in essence essentially tied to how we treat what God has given us. How can God bestow His blessings upon us in full measure if we are under the control of satanic agencies that ruin our health, self worth or spirituality? God is a God of love, and he is deeply concerned about the health of His people. 3 John 2 says Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health. God created us with the intention that we enjoy a beautiful, joyous, abundant life. Sin has ruined His plan for mankind. As we look around at a world that has fallen captive to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, how can we as Christians stay faithful, stay committed and untouched by the evils that pervade a decadent society? The obligation is within each of us to follow what we understand of God’s plan for our life. The choices that burn within a committed heart, will shine without to show the world whom we serve. Though the world be controlled by the lust of the flesh, we who profess to follow Christ must be controlled by the will of the Spirit. Man has not learned self-denial, self-sacrifice or self control as evident by the woes of a liberal society today.

The condition of the world and the urgency to present a message of preparation for earth’s final events, calls for every ounce of strength and courage we can possess. Our priorities and our choices should reflect a living relationship with our God. Unhindered by the thoughts and ideas of our unprincipled world, we must understand fully the battle that lies before us. A clear mind, a dedicated heart and a sound character that has its roots and foundation in the will and word of God, is the only safe road to follow. Demanding? Yes! But remember what manner of love God has bestowed upon us, that He was willing to sacrifice all for us. Can we offer Him less? We must remember what price has been paid to redeem us....the blood of Jesus Christ. He loves us in the depths of our sin and longs to cover us with His righteousness. We are not our own, free to do as we please with God’s temple. Our body, our mind and our spirit belong to Him, our creator. If we desire to follow Him fully, the strength must come from Him. Of ourselves we can do nothing. He and He alone can save us in our sin and from the power of sin over our life. Satan knows this and he will do all in his power to thwart our success by laying before us every obstacle that will enfeeble our strength in every aspect of our life. Thus he will succeed in turning us from the only source of strength, hope and victory in the great controversy of good and evil. Every perversion will be offered as pleasing to the senses, and without the strength to withstand these temptations, we are in jeopardy of falling victim to its allurement.

A healthy body, a healthy mind and a healthy spiritual relationship with God is a force that Satan cannot penetrate easily. Our focus must ever be on the will of God in every word, deed and action of our life. We cannot fail as long as we hold fast to Him and remember...We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).