Part 4
Our body belongs to God.
Although we are to keep our bodies fit, God tells us to exercise our souls.
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable in all things, holding promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8 MEV.
God has made us exactly as we are. His wisdom made us in all shapes and sizes, showing His marvelous work. God has given us specific knowledge and skills to jump-start whom we become.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14 KJV.
He ensured that you are given free will to decide how to best utilize your skills and talents for the Glory of God or yourself.
Because we live in a fallen world, our true beauty inside and out is not yet known. When God restores all things and the earth to the Garden of Eden state, we will be able to see all God’s beauty as He intended it. In the meantime, our broken bodies and minds are given over to God.
As Christ gave up His life for us, believers give their lives to Him.
Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 19-20 MEV.
Throughout the Bible, God says we are to live holy, keep our bodies pure, and honor Him with our works. Once you believe that Christ is the Son of God and understand His time on Earth, you become a work in process to become His. It's not enough to say, ‘I repent of my sins,’ but you must actively submit to God daily to shape and transform your mind, body, and soul. Our bodies are made to worship Him, to be of service to God and others.
“My body my choice” is the slogan of depraved women who want to be free to murder their most innocent babies in the womb. It's not their bodies because our bodies belong to God. The baby in the womb has his or her own body that is shared with the mother temporarily. These women are not just choosing their bodies; instead, they choose to kill another body, not their own. Their translated slogan means “my baby’s body, my choice to murder.”
If logic is used, these women would be choosing to terminate themselves or choose to live by saying, "my body, my choice." Advocating to end their own lives, fine, no problem. That's their free will. But, these murderers are advocating the murder of their babies' bodies, not their own is why godly people get involved in stopping the killing of the most innocent. God said murder is a sin and gave the sixth commandment not to kill. "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 ESV. The irony is that they made it into the world without their mothers aborting them. The women's choice was to have sex without protection and get pregnant. They didn't exercise their choice not to get pregnant or abstain from sex. Instead, they want the freedom to sin and murder after the deed is done. Layers of sin upon sin require all to participate, legalize, and fund.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into sin. Yet she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. 1 Timothy 2:14-15 MEV.
The wicked will be pruned out of existence if they do neither, as there is no fruit in them.
If we hold ourselves to a higher standard, we give others the same. But, when people begin to degrade themselves by graffitiing their bodies and clothes and filling their minds with the depravity of life, they become useless to society and God. Their bodies become a torment for others and themselves, constantly needing to be taken care of by giving them money, public programs, or exploited to corrupt others.
Violence and apathy in these people grow. The image of God becomes an image of Satan. Those people portray themselves as rebels, but they are becoming more demonized. The spirit that lives in them is making itself known.
Demons don’t want to live inside people quietly but want their lust for the flesh to be outward, showcasing their personality and sinful desires. The person becomes just a vessel for the spirit that inhabits them. Therefore, it all starts with keeping your mind and body pure.
I urge you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. Romans 12:1 MEV.
If you believe what the Bible says is true, you begin to trade away your sins to live a Godly life automatically. You will not do the devil’s work by your works and appearance. Your face and heart will soften, and your eyes will become bright to shine a light of God within you.
Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:3 MEV.
It's not done by making yourself do it with strong willpower, like losing weight or following the Biblical laws to the tee. Not even the Israelites who lived with God instructing them could honor all the laws. The law was given to show our transgressions; it did not make us holy. It showed how we are sinners.
For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise. But God gave it to Abraham through a promise. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator for only one party, but God is one. Galatians 3:18-20 MEV.
You don’t know that driving 50 miles per hour over the set speed limit is wrong unless the government that sets the law tells you it's an offense to go that fast. The law set is to protect you and others from accidents and injuries. The government also establishes punishment for those who break the laws.
Similarly, God gave us His laws for transgressions where His punishment for our sins is death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 MEV.
However, God gave all humanity a way out with Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 MEV.
The stories in Genesis show us that God protected His people and showed them a way out. Noah was warned about the great flood destroying all life on earth because it became corrupt and unredeemable. God told Noah to build an Ark for his family and the animals to go with him in the Ark.
The man was given the perfect provisions. Man sinned. Man became corrupt and unholy, so God pronounced His judgment. God protected the righteous by providing a way out to those who had faith and listened to His instructions. The righteous were saved, and all others destroyed. This is the story of Noah and the restart of humanity 2.0.
This story is the same for us today, except our Ark is Jesus Christ. He is our safety and refuge from the time of trouble that is here now and continues to increase tomorrow. We submit our body to Christ, but we surrender our mind and spirit to God to dwell under His wings of protection.
Submission
God gave us the good news of Himself to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. What more do we deserve and want that is not given to us freely? People still put barriers and impediments to their blessed and only hope in Jesus Christ.
People do not want to go through hard times and be subjected to the quarry experience with God, the one who transforms us in His image. His image is pure and perfect. He gave us His image, but it became corrupted with sin. To be like God, we must go through refinement by fire and tribulations to know what His image means and who He is.
The first quality that God is looking for in us is our “willingness.” We need to be ready to dwell in His secret place.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 MEV.
If you don't reside in God's quarry, the potter's house, you will not be built or transformed.
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. Isaiah 1:19 MEV.
When the prophet Jeremiah heard his directive to go to the potter’s house, he willingly went. If you are not willing, then you are equivalent to a stone. Uncut rocks are nonliving objects that are subject to control by the living.
If you go to the gym for a workout, willingly make the decision. You can be used by God when you are willing. You are a vessel that God uses for His glory to flow into. The glory of God can manifest in us when we are submissive, willing, and humble to receive it. A mere stone can never be willing, so it cannot reflect God’s glory.
If we willingly desire to be used by God as a fit vessel for honor, prepared for every good work, we must strive to be physically fit and healthy, as discussed in our previous chapter. Staying Physically Fit On Our Journey With God, Part 2.
In a large house, there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some are for honor, and some for dishonor. One who cleanses himself from these things will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, fit for the Master’s use, and prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20-21 MEV.
When a person is unfit, unshaped, and lacks necessary pruning, that person is not yet ready to visit the quarry and the potter's house for refining. That person is an empty vessel that cannot reflect or carry the glory of God or bring down His glory with the Holy Spirit. They are mere noisemakers, clanging cymbals to make the loudest of noise.
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 MEV.
Unfortunately, they are prevalent nowadays in contemporary churches. Such places lack the presence of the Most High God. There is no power of the Holy Spirit in such congregations. If you belong to one, you should leave it to find a true church that knows and worships God as He intended. If no such church is left today, go to God directly and ask Him to lead you where you need to go, even if this journey is being made alone.
The Word of God is written down to understand Him and His instructions to help us conform to His image. Our image is aligned with God through the Holy Spirit who lives inside us, so once you are willing to submit to God, your spirit becomes more like His.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control; against such, there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 MEV.
The next part of our Journey With God will be understanding wisdom and seeking after it to be worth more than diamonds and rubies. Stay tuned until next time!