Tag Archives: Body

Stategies Against Sin

Sin doesn’t stem primarily from our physical body; it’s a heart problem rooted within the soul. We know that our soul cannot change until it is influenced by a healthy spirit. And nothing happens until our spirit is first empowered by the life of God. But when it is, the soul, mind and body are pushed automatically toward their purpose. Ultimately this is the answer to the dilemma of the sinful weakness of the flesh.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t consciously try to curb sin in our flesh by saying no to it. It would be pretty foolish to let sin run rampant in our body while waiting for change to happen within our heart. Rather, these strategies are designed to work hand in hand with each other. Only when we renounce sin in our flesh and then couple it with the pursuit of healing and change in our heart do we stand a chance of experiencing transformation in our behavior.

Put God in charge–and then cooperate with Him. He has a plan!

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

An Empowered Body

Paul tells us in Romans 8:10-11, “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

How can our body be spiritually dead because of sin and alive at the same time? Does this merely refer to our glorified bodies when resurrected? I think that may be part of it, but I believe it also means that our physical bodies are being made alive in the here and now. How? By being given the capacity to fulfill our purpose here on earth, in our flesh, by the power of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. It’s His power that makes it all possible!

Hinged to God

Man’s soul, his mind, and his body are designed in such a way that they cannot fulfill their purpose unless the his spirit is alive, and thus capable of action. So movement in our spirit  can only take place when it is securely fastened to God and thus enlivened by the power of His Spirit.

All the elements of our nature (body, mind, soul and spirit)  are interrelated—they are progressively hinged to one another, each changing automatically as its neighbor changes. Progress in the spirit changes the soul, in turn affecting the mind which dictates the behavior of the body. It is impossible for our elements to operate effectively independent of one another, because they are all securely hinged together.

Now, what happens if our spirit is not securely hinged to God? Tug all you want on the body and it won’t effect our mind and soul much at all. The sad fact is that the purpose of man is totally lost when his connection to God severed.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Glorified Bodies

Here’s what Paul tells us about the destiny for the physical body for those who are in Christ: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”(1 Corinthians 15:42-44)

Thus the destiny of our threefold being is to be transformed into some sort of spiritual being—don’t ask me just what, but no doubt something much like Jesus became upon His resurrection.(1 John 3:2) My point is this: our ultimate destiny is not simply to throw off the baggage of our physical body when going to be with the Lord, but a melding of the elements of our nature into a glorified being who retains the original stamp of humanity.

Our body is to be transformed into that which is capable of enjoying a full and eternal union with our Creator.(Philippians 3:21) Our spirit is the starting place of that union here and now.(Revelation 3:20: “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me”.)

Our “Flesh”

          While Scripture often uses the term  flesh to describe the physical body, it is also used to portray that part of our nature which encompasses body, mind and soul. This definition of flesh is epitomized in Jesus’ warning to His disciples, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”(Matthew 26:41). Here flesh is used to describe that part of our nature which stands in contrast to our spiritual nature. It is the carnal nature of man, the seat of sinful passions and affections.

            Our flesh, then, is that part of our nature which is able to live and function freely without any submission to God—although it’s obvious that it can exist only as His sustaining power allows it. And it’s very important to understand that the flesh follows us into our new life in God. It continues to have a life of its own even as our spirit is reborn and brought alive. As a result, we find ourselves constantly embroiled in a battle with the desires of our flesh as we seek to fulfill the desire of the Spirit.(Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…”)

            The Bible also uses another term for the flesh: the natural man. The term natural man is synonymous with the flesh—but only the flesh as it pertains to the unregenerate man. Once we have received Christ and become a child of God, though still saddled with the flesh, we are no longer a natural man but a spiritual one.(1 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.15But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.16For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”)

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Soul vs. Spirit

The Bible talks about man being dead because of sin (Romans 7:9 – “I was once alive apart from the Law ; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died”). This death obviously does not mean the death of the physical body, since it’s plain to see that there are still plenty of sinners running around out there. Rather, it speaks of spiritual death. My point is this: even when a person’s spirit is dead, his body, mind and soul continue to function normally, though not healthfully.

It’s extremely important to understand the significance of body, mind and soul being able to function devoid of the life of the spirit, because living without the support of the spirit has tremendous implications for both our behavior and our experience of life.

Let’s not forget that body, soul and spirit are inseparable in man—these elements of our nature simply cannot function independently of one another, whether or not our spirit is dead. I think back to what it was like trying to negotiate life with the weight of a dead spirit around my neck. I didn’t have a chance at a fulfilling life!

The Essence of Our Being

Created in the image of God? How so? For years I believed that the true essence of man is that he is a spiritual being. This seemed logical since we ultimately will share eternity with God, and the Bible clearly tells us that “God is spirit.”(John 4:24) Only later did I begin to realize that God’s purpose for man demanded that he be fashioned in quite a different way. So God added another aspect to man’s immaterial nature, a soul. And He also gave us a physical element to our being, a body. These three elements of our nature—body, soul and spirit—are clearly laid out in Scripture.(1 Thes. 5:23)

Yet for me the threefold nature of man raises a question. Why would God bother to create a physical universe at all? Since God is spirit, why not merely fulfill His plan strictly within the bounds of some sort of spiritual order? Well, the obvious answer is that God created all that He has in order to fulfill His special purpose for man. And mandkind had to be fashioned in a specific way to achieve that objective. In reality, the more closely we look into our design, the more apparent the brilliance of God’s plan becomes. Here we are; just look at us!

Being human means much more than simply putting up with a physical body for a time before it is cut loose by death to allow our spiritual being to inhabit eternity with God. We need to understand that man is an inextricable mixture of body, soul and spirit, and that anything less simply means being less than human.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

The Good News: Part 5

Having been made righteous through Christ, I am no longer condemned, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). I have been raised up with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). I have also been given access to the Father through Christ and I am sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given as a pledge of my inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14 & 2:18).

His grace has been showered on me according to the measure of Christ’s gift for the work of service for the building up of the body of Christ, of which I am an integral and indispensable member (Ephesians 4:7 & 12, 1 Corinthians 12:27). And through His power, I can now rejoice in any sufferings that result from doing my share on behalf of His body (Colossians 1:24).

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself