Will you please turn to 1 Thessalonians, 1
Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 23 and 24.
1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 23 and 24.
Now the God of peace himself sanctify your
holy and your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is faithful who calls you, who will
also perform it.
1 Corinthians, chapter 6, 1 Corinthians, chapter 6,
we begin with verse 12 to 20.
All things are lawful to me, but
I will not be brought under the power
of any.
Meats for the belly, and the belly for
meats, but God will bring to nothing both
it and them.
But the body is not for fornication, but
for the Lord, and the Lord for the
body.
And God has both raised up the Lord,
and will call us, will raise us up
from among the dead by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are
members of Christ?
Shall I then taking the members of the
Christ make them members of a harlot?
Far be the thought.
Do you not know that he that is
joined to the harlot is one body?
For the two, he says, shall be one
flesh.
But he that is joined to the Lord
is one spirit.
Flee fornication.
Everything which a man may practice is without
the body, but he that commits fornication sins
against his own body.
Do you not know that your body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit which is
in you, which ye have of God?
And ye are not your own, for ye
have been bought with a price.
Glorify now then God in your body.
Let's have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we are in thy presence,
we do look to thee to speak to
us through thy word, by thy Holy Spirit,
that we may be brought into thy truth
and allow thee to be glorified in our
bodies.
We ask in thy precious name.
Amen.
We have been considering together on this matter
of being wholly sanctified.
It is God himself who will do this
work because it is God's purpose that our
whole being, our spirit and soul and body,
be wholly set apart for his purpose, that
at his coming we will be blameless.
And he promises us that he will perform
it.
So dear brothers and sisters, we do thank
the Lord that this is a work that
not only he desires, but this is a
work that he himself will perform.
The only thing for us is, are we
willing to yield ourselves, our whole being, spirit
and soul and body to him and allow
him to work out this full salvation.
Now we have been considering together on this
matter of how our spirit is being wholly
sanctified and also how our soul is being
wholly sanctified.
And this morning we will come into this
matter of our body.
Our body is to be wholly sanctified, set
apart for the Lord and be preserved blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus.
Now brothers and sisters, so far as the
world is concerned, the body seems to be
everything to them.
They live for their body, they live for
eating, drinking and clothing.
That is their life.
Or to put it another way, they worship
their body.
We know this is not God's will.
But we who are redeemed by the Lord,
strangely we neglect our body.
Sometimes we even abuse our body.
We do not really understand what our body
is for.
So brothers and sisters, we want to consider
together the Bible sense of our body.
This is very personal.
It affects every one of us.
And hopefully by the grace of God, we
may have an understanding of our own body.
First of all, God is the one who
creates our body.
You remember in Genesis chapter 2, verse 7
it is said, God took the red earth,
the dust of the earth, and formed it
into the form of a man.
So in other words, our body is made
of dust, of earth, of red earth, and
yet God has done such a marvelous work.
Just think of it.
God uses the most common, cheap, worthless materials
and built us a body that is a
marvel, a wonder.
So you remember the psalmist David in Psalm
139, verse 14.
He said, I will praise thee for I
am fearfully, wonderfully made.
Brothers and sisters, look at your own body.
Think of the material that God uses to
make your body, and then consider what a
wonderful body you have.
It is fearful in a sense.
If you really understand what your body is,
it is fearful, awesome, marvelous, wonderful.
Our body can do so much, and what
we have been doing actually is just using
a part of it, not a whole of
it, and yet God has done marvelously.
But remember, God gives us a body for
a reason.
It is not just that we may enjoy
ourselves, use it as it pleases.
God gives us a body that we may
glorify him in all the things that we
do.
To put it another way, God gives us
a body that we may be useful to
him, that we may be useful to his
purpose.
Our body, in a sense, is made of
matters, but it is known by
its functions.
We have five senses.
We can see, we can hear, we can
smell, we can taste, we can touch, and
by these five senses, we are in communication
with the world around us.
We know what's going on, but
unfortunately, man sinned.
And when man sinned, you know what happened
to man?
The Bible said, on the day that you
eat the forbidden fruit, you shall die.
A death sentence is pronounced over sin, and
we know the moment our forefather sinned, his
spirit was dead unto God.
In other words, his spirit has lost its
communication with God.
The spirit as an organ is still there.
It still has its function, but it has
lost its proper function.
And that is what the scripture considers as
death.
But then, how about our soul?
In one sense, it is true.
Our soul lives on, actively, still functioning.
And yet, in another sense, in the sight
of God, it is dead.
Because, you remember, the Bible says, you who
were once dead in sins and transgressions, because
our soul has fallen.
Our soul is dominated, ruled, not by God,
but by sin.
And therefore, you find that all the functions
of our soul turned hell-wide.
Our understanding was darkened, our will was
alienated from the life of God, and decided
selfishly, and even our emotion was out of
control.
So, so far as God is concerned, our
soul was also dead.
And how about our body?
The body seems to be still alive, and
still able to contact the world around us.
But, so far as God is concerned, it
is a dead body.
Why?
Because, you remember, in Romans chapter 6, verse
6, it mentions the body of sin.
And then, in Romans 7, it mentions, 24,
it mentions the body of death.
In Romans 6, our body, this body of
sin, is unnerved.
And then, in Romans chapter 7, verse 24,
who can deliver me from this body of
death?
Thank God, through Jesus Christ.
So, so far as God is concerned, even
our body is now a body of sin,
and a body of death.
To put it another way, the body is
still there, it's still living, but it is
under the domination of sin, and it is
under the law of death.
By the law of sin, it simply means,
you do what you should not do.
And that's what your body is doing.
By the law of death, it means that
you cannot do what you should do.
You cannot do the will of God.
And that is death.
So, brothers and sisters, to those who were
not redeemed, before we were redeemed, that's what
we are.
To the world, we seem to be living,
but to God, we were dead.
Sin ruled over us.
Self became the life of our soul, and
our spirit was completely disconnected to God.
That was the pitiful situation of man.
But thank God, who was rich in mercy,
and in his great love, he came to
us.
Through his son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and
he redeemed us.
Not only did he restore, cleanse, and make
our spirit anew, that we may have communion
with God again.
He also redeemed our soul, delivered our soul
from the dominion of self, and let Christ
be enthroned in our soul.
So our soul will express Christ instead of
ourselves.
That's the salvation of the soul.
And that is something that is going on
throughout our Christian life.
Now, how about our body?
In 1 Corinthians 6, we are reminded, do
you know that you are bought with a
price?
We were like slaves in
the slave market, and our Lord Jesus came.
He paid a tremendous price, even in his
own life, his own blood, to buy us
to himself.
So brothers and sisters, so far as our
body is concerned, we are bought.
He bought us out of sin, out of
death, and he bought us for himself.
And that's the reason why, when we believe
in the Lord Jesus, our body becomes the
temple of God.
In other words, God's original purpose for our
body begins to be recovered.
Our body becomes a temple of God.
The Holy Spirit dwells in us.
Our body becomes members of Christ.
Now think of that.
This body is now a member of Christ.
Because we together are the body of Christ,
and each one of us is a member
of that body of Christ.
Now how glorious, how noble is our body
now?
Brothers and sisters, do you really see this?
Your body is a member of Christ.
Whoever touches that body, touches Christ.
Your body is a temple of God.
Whoever corrupts that temple, will be corrupted.
So here you'll find a glorious redemption.
But remember, this redemption of our body is
positionally complete.
But, conditionally, it is yet to be completed.
In other words, when we are saved, our
body is being bought and brought back to
God.
Becoming a member of the body of Christ,
and becoming the temple of God.
And all the potentials of full recovery are
there.
But these potentials need to be processed and
need to be fulfilled.
So that is the condition of our body.
Now if this is the case, what should
be our attitude towards our body?
What should be our response to the great
love of God in redeeming us?
How should we look at our body today?
Now when you look into Romans chapter 6.
For instance, in Romans chapter 6, verse 6.
It said, our old man has been crucified
with Christ.
That the body of sin might be annulled,
that we shall no longer serve sin.
Here you'll find our old man was crucified
with Christ.
Now we mentioned last time, God's way of
delivering us from the power of sin.
Is by the principle of isolation.
In other words, sin that dwells in our
soul is as a master.
Now formerly God is the master who lives
in our spirit.
But because our spirit was dead.
So you find that sin instead dwells in
our soul and becomes the master of our
being.
And then seeing through our flesh.
He will direct our soul, our fallen soul.
That is a flesh.
He will order our fallen soul.
And our fallen soul will submit to that
order.
And transmit it to our body to act
it out.
That is to commit sin.
Now that is the process.
And now how God delivers us from the
power of sin.
By isolation.
Sin is still there.
Sin as a nature.
As a law.
Or what theologically said, original sin.
It is still in you.
You are not delivered from that until you
die.
But it is now being isolated.
Because the old man was crucified with Christ.
You know sin can only direct the fallen
soul, the flesh, the old man.
And now the old man was dead.
And so sin was isolated.
He couldn't, it couldn't order our body to
commit sin.
And for this reason the Bible said the
body of sin was annulled.
Now annulled doesn't mean destroyed.
No more.
Annihilated.
Annulled means disemployed.
Disemployed.
Our body was employed by sin.
But now the master couldn't reach us.
So the body becomes unemployed.
Nothing to do.
But it shouldn't be unemployed for long.
In other words, when Christ bought us, redeemed
us, then this body that has been unemployed
needs to be re-employed under new management.
No longer under sin, but under Christ.
So that's the reason why you'll find in
Romans 6, verse 13, it says, Neither yield
your members instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but
yield yourselves to God as alive among the
dead, and your members instruments of righteousness to
God.
Since you have been unemployed, separated from sin,
now what should you do with your body?
Don't yield your members to unrighteousness anymore.
Because you're dead to sin.
But instead, yield your members to righteousness and
to holiness.
And to God.
To be an instrument of righteousness to God.
And that is the same thing as you'll
find in Romans 12, verse 1.
Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual, reasonable service.
In other words, you are now under new
management.
So, brothers and sisters, this is what you
should do.
After you have believed in the Lord Jesus,
after you have been bought with a price,
what are you going to do with your
body?
Don't yield your body, your members of your
body, to unrighteousness.
Because you were dead to sin.
But instead, you should present your bodies a
living sacrifice to God.
Lord, you have bought me and set me
free.
I'm willing to serve you all my life.
Present your bodies a living sacrifice.
That you may prove what is the perfect,
acceptable, good will of God.
In other words, from now on, your body
is to be used by God and is
to do His will and serve God.
That's just what your body is for.
Remember, your body is not your own.
Before you were saved, your body was under
sin.
But now, after you are redeemed, you are
not your own.
You are God's.
You belong to Him.
And therefore, serve Him with your whole heart.
That is how you use your body.
I remember long ago, I read about a
story.
During the First World War, one day when
the soldiers were being transported on train to
the front.
And they had nothing to do.
So some soldiers began to play cards.
But they need four people for that play.
And they had only three.
So they saw a soldier sitting by.
And they asked the soldier, come and join
us.
And that soldier said, I have no hand.
They looked at him.
He has hands.
So they said, what do you mean?
Well, he said, this hand is not mine.
I cannot use it as I please.
This hand belongs to the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, that should be our attitude
towards our bodies.
Towards the members of our body.
Do not think that you can use your
body as you please.
It is not yours.
It is the Lord's.
Therefore, we have to present our bodies a
living sacrifice.
You know, consecration is not optional.
Consecration is mandatory.
Every child of God, redeemed by the Lord,
constrained by the love of Christ, must present
their bodies a living sacrifice.
That is to say, live sacrificially for God.
You cannot do with your body as you
please.
Think of our Lord Jesus.
Before he came into this world, the psalmist,
in Psalm 40, verses 6 to 8, prophesied,
saying that sacrifice and oblation, God does not
want.
But you have prepared me an ear.
And in the original, it says, a pierced
ear.
A hollowed out ear.
Lord, I come to do your will.
Your law is in my heart.
Now, this prophecy is fulfilled in our Lord
Jesus.
Because in Hebrews 10, verses 5 to 7,
it is quoted.
And there it quotes.
It doesn't say an ear.
It says a body.
Thou has prepared me a body.
This body is to do your will.
And that is our Lord Jesus.
So all who follow the Lord will do
the same thing.
We need a pierced ear.
And you know in the Old Testament, when
a slave so loved his master and his
family, he does not want to go out
free after six years of service.
He wants to serve his master for life.
And what they do to him.
The master will take him to the door
and pierce his ear.
And he will be a loved slave for
life.
That is what we all are.
Why the ear?
Because we need to hear him.
You cannot serve him if you do not
hear him.
But actually it means the whole body.
Your whole body.
Your hands, your feet, your eyes, your ears,
your nose, your mouth, everything.
It's his.
And it's meant to be used by him
for his glory.
So that's the reason why you'll find the
Bible said, do all things for the glory
of God.
Our body is to be restored to God's
original purpose for it.
Now, how should we take care of our
body?
In 1 Timothy 4, verse 8, bodily exercise
is profitable for a little.
It is true.
The exercise of our body profits us.
But it's profitable for a little.
Why?
Because it is just for the lifetime.
When we have a spiritual body, that bodily
exercise is unnecessary.
And also physical exercise, it profits us to
a certain extent.
But not as much as exercising of godliness.
Spiritual exercise.
Because spiritual exercise is profitable not only for
now, but for the age to come.
But still, this is important.
In other words, the principle is, because this
body of yours belongs to the Lord, therefore,
God requires that we take good care of
our body.
And in taking good care of our body,
you must eat well, rest well, exercise well.
These are our responsibilities.
Now, brothers and sisters, I'm afraid, we as
Christians seem to be the very opposite.
The world worship their body, do everything for
their body.
The body is their god.
But we Christians seem to neglect our body,
abuse our body, and do not see our
body as anything worthwhile.
And unfortunately, we suffer for it.
I know what I'm talking about.
We have to take care of our body
for God.
Treat our body carefully, moderately.
Do not indulge, do not abuse.
You need certain rest.
You need proper food.
And you have a responsibility God has given
you.
Do not think that you can eat whatever
you want to.
Do not think that you can do with
your body as you like.
It's not yours.
You have to take care of it for
God's sake, that he may be able to
use it.
To young people, you need to take good
care of your body for the Lord.
You need to rest.
You need to eat properly.
You need to exercise.
Now, even older ones, we need to exercise.
I'm starting to exercise now.
But I've neglected it for years and years
and years.
Because this body belongs to the Lord.
Think of it.
God has created it so marvelously, so fearfully.
And how can we neglect it?
Take good care for the Lord's sake.
But on the other hand, put your body
under you.
In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 17, Paul said,
I buffet my body to put it underneath
me.
In other words, do not let your body
be your master.
Your body is to be your servant, your
slave.
So do not allow your body to rise
above you.
So that you have to give in to
the passions and the lust of your flesh.
Put it under.
So that you control the body.
You can use the body.
For the Lord's sake, whenever there is a
demand.
It is true we need to eat, sleep,
eight hours.
But when there is a demand, you can
have a whole night prayer.
Because your body is under you.
Not you under your body.
So brothers and sisters, these are the things
that we should understand.
I'm afraid we as Christians, we do not
really know how to deal with our body.
If only we remember, the body is for
the Lord.
The body is for the Lord.
Now if we remember this very simply, I
believe our whole treatment of our body will
be completely changed.
But brothers and sisters, this redeemed body today,
so far as its material is concerned, hasn't
changed.
It is still a mortal body.
Do not think that because you are saved,
you are redeemed, therefore your body has already
been immortal.
Incorruptible, undefilable, eternal, not at all.
This redeemed body today is still mortal.
Because it is still made of earth.
One day by the grace of God, our
body will be changed.
But today this is still a mortal body.
And because this is still a mortal body,
we are still being affected by the circumstances,
surroundings around us.
And that's the reason why if there is
a flu going around, because you still have
a mortal body, you may catch it.
If you already have an immortal body, you
won't catch it at all.
We are still subject to the physical environments,
influences around us.
And because this is still a mortal body,
therefore it can be weakened.
Weakened.
Do not think that your body is immortal,
therefore it will never be weakened.
It can be weakened.
Even falling sick.
All these are possible.
But if the body is for the Lord,
the Bible says the Lord is for the
body.
Remember this too.
People today, they do not use their body
for the Lord and they expect the Lord
for their body.
You cannot do that.
Unless your body is for the Lord, you
cannot expect the Lord for your body.
Do you remember Romans 8.11?
Romans 8.11. But if the spirit of
him that has raised up Jesus from among
the dead dwells in you, he that has
raised up Christ from among the dead shall
quicken your mortal bodies also on account of
his spirit which dwells in you.
In other words, even this is still a
mortal body.
You can experience the quickening of the mortal
body by the Holy Spirit who dwells in
us because he is the power that raised
up Jesus from among the dead.
So therefore today we can experience this resurrection
power, this quickening power to our mortal body
so that we may do God's will.
And this is very, very true.
When there is a demand, when there is
a calling, when there is a work that
God has called you to do, he will
quicken your mortal body to do what you
ordinarily will not be able to do.
So brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters, thank
God that one day even this mortal body
will be changed into an immortal body.
That is the time when we have full
redemption.
That is the time that we receive sonship.
So the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15, one day when the trumpet shall
call, we shall not all die, but we
shall all be changed.
In an instant, in the twinkling of the
eyes, our mortal body will be changed into
an immortal body.
Our corruptible body will be changed into an
incorruptible body.
And that is the time when death is
swallowed up in victory.
So brothers and sisters, we have something to
look forward to.
Even though today we groan in this body,
just like Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter
4 and chapter 5, he said our outward
man is decaying day by day, but our
inward man is renewed all the time.
It is not that we want to get
rid of this earthly tabernacle, but we long
to be closed with that eternal home, that
spiritual body, just as when our Lord was
raised from the dead.
He has a body, but it is a
spiritual body, immortal, incorruptible, cannot be decayed, eternal.
Brothers and sisters, one day this will happen
to all of us, because of what Christ
has done on Calvary's cross.
That's full redemption.
So dear brothers and sisters, we need to
remember that the God of peace Himself will
sanctify us wholly, and our whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus.
He who has called us is faithful.
He will perform it.
So may the Lord help us.
Let's pray.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for
Thy marvelous salvation.
Oh, we do thank Thee that Thou dost
save us to the uttermost, not only our
spirit, but our soul and our body, and
not only just saved, but wholly sanctified, preserved
and blameless for Thyself.
Oh Lord, do pray that Thou will be
glorified in us, in our spirit, soul and
body.
We ask in Thy precious name.