How to Honor God with My Body

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I read, “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, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (NLT)

“Sanctification” means to dedicate something for God’s purpose. I can sanctify anything. I can say, “God, I sanctify this car; I dedicate it to you for your purposes. God, I sanctify this home; I dedicate it to you for your purposes.”

God wants me to dedicate my body to him. The Bible says, “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, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT).

So how do I honor God with my body? It’s simple: I take care of it.

“Sanctify your body” basically means “get in shape.” If I want God to use me, I’ve got to get in shape. Because the better shape I’m in, the more energy I’ll have and the more God can use me.

Psalm 119:73 says, “You made my body, Lord; now give me sense to heed your laws” (TLB). God set up the principles of good health. He doesn’t just want me to have a pure heart. He wants my body to be in shape so he can use me more effectively.

Some aren’t getting enough sleep, and need to get proper rest. In this case, the most spiritual thing to do is take a nap!

Some need to work on food intake. In 1 Corinthians 6:13, the Bible compares overeating to sexual immorality: “It may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!” (The Message). I may never think of cheating on my wife, but God says that, like sexual immorality, overeating is a sin against the body. God is serious about wanting me to control what I eat!

Some have the wrong attitude toward our bodies. Neglect it, reject it (“God, I want a different one!”), or try to perfect it (the way some bodybuilders might worship their bodies). Instead, God wants me to respect my body and protect it. Why? Because God created it, Jesus paid for it, and the Holy Spirit lives in it.

So what’s my motivation to get in shape? The Bible says, “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize” (1 Corinthians 9:25 NLT). My motivation is to please God.

Athletes get in shape just to win an award. But I will have an eternal reward when I make the most of what I was given and take care of my body so that God can use me more effectively here on Earth.

In summary, my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in me and was given to me by God? I do not belong to myself, for God bought me with a high price. So honor God with my body.” “Sanctification” means to dedicate something for God’s purpose. God wants me to dedicate my body to him. So how do I honor God with my body? I take care of it. “Sanctify your body” basically means “get in shape.” If I want God to use me, I’ve got to get in shape. The better shape I’m in, the more energy I’ll have and the more God can use me. God set up the principles of good health. He doesn’t just want me to have a pure heart. He wants my body to be in shape so he can use me more effectively. The Bible compares overeating to sexual immorality: overeating is a sin against the body. God wants me to respect my body and protect it. Jesus paid for it, and the Holy Spirit lives in it. So what’s my motivation to get in shape? My motivation is to please God. I will have an eternal reward when I make the most of what I was given and take care of my body so that God can use me more effectively,

Many believe that they have the right to do whatever they want with their own bodies. Although they think this is freedom, they are really enslaved to their own desires. When I became a Christian, the Holy Spirit came to live in me. Therefore, I no longer own my body. That I have been "bought with a high prices" refers to slaves purchased at an auction. Christ's death freed me from sin but also obligates me to his service. If I live in a building owned by someone else, I try not to violate the building's rules.  Because my body belongs to God, I must not violate his standards for living.