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Devotional For the Week 1st November 2004

Devotion – Our body; who is in control?

Scriptural reference: John 14:16-17

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (NIV)

We are living in the new covenant because of what our Lord Jesus has done for us. What is this new covenant? It is a new relationship we have with God. It is made possible by the blood of Christ shed for us at the cross. (1 Cor 6:19-20) “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.

This truth that God’s Spirit is living in us is revealed in today’s devotional scripture, 1 John 14:16-17.

Now the question we should ask is who is in control of our body. The scripture, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, tells us that God Himself sanctify us so that our whole being, spirit, soul and body will be kept blameless. This means that we have a body and our spirit and soul live in this body.

However, in the natural we tend to see our physical body as the real us. We are more aware of our outward nature and appearance than our inward person. In fact God does not look at a man’s appearance or height but at the heart of man. The spirit man. (1 Samuel 16:7) The real person is not the body but the spirit man. The important question is our spirit man walking in obedient with the Holy Spirit?

Who is in control of our body?

We can only honour God with our body if we let God’s spirit have full control of our body. That is for us to yield our will, thoughts and emotion to God. As an illustration, a family moved into a new house and it began to show the effects of their slipshod lifestyle. Every thing in the house was a shambles. It was never clean or in order. Then another family eventually took over the house. They began the process of cleaning and maintaining it. There was a dramatic improvement in the overall appearance and state. In the same way, it is impossible that there not be a change in a person’s life once that person becomes a born-again Christian and allows the indwelling Holy Spirit to have control over the person’s life.

How then do we surrender or yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit of God in us?

James 1:22-24 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. The key is to be doer of the word and not hearer only.

Applications:

• We are to let the Holy Spirit of God be enthroned in us. This is an act of our will. When we first became a believer we struggled and often allowed our worldly nature to get the better of us. Even though we knew what God wants us to do but yet we do what we want. John the Baptist taught us the right way. John 3:30 “He (Jesus) must become greater; I (John) must become less. God’s Spirit must increase in us and our spirit must decrease.

• We are to saturate ourselves with the word of God. How can we yield ourselves to God in obedience if we do not know enough of God’s word to yield? Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The Holy Spirit in us will help us to bring into remembrance God’s instructions and promises for our lives. We must therefore be diligent to practice our daily reading and meditation of God’s word.

• We are to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. Love for God will strengthen us in our walk with God. Love for God results in our complete obedience to God. Love for God casts out all our fears and builds our faith in God. Love for God means our complete surrender, spirit, soul and body to God. Matthew 22:37. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Reflection:

Let us encourage one another to take the step of faith by walking in complete obedience with the Holy Spirit in us. To let the Holy Spirit have full control of us. We can start by making ourselves accountable to a body of Christ (join a care-group).

Romans 12:1. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.” (NIV)

1 Corinthians 10:31. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (NIV)

— Tan Lye Whatt

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