Top Stories

Be the Body

  Sometimes, sin comes from forgetting that we’re in a body. When we sin, we as Christians might be forgetting that what we do in our bodies is directly related to our spiritual lives. We act as if our bodies don’t matter – we can do immoral things and it doesn’t have an impact on our standing with God.

  Every level of our faith proclaims the opposite: you are one person, body and soul. Adam was created from the ground and God breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). When Adam and Eve committed the first sin, it was both a soul and body problem: the soul stopped fearing, loving, and trusting God above all things, the handpicked, and the mouth ate. Moreover, God promised a Savior in the flesh, which would be necessary to rescue humanity (Genesis 3:15).

  So God became man. It was Jesus’ human life in the body that produced the righteousness we need before God. No spirit could suffer for our sins; Jesus did so by having his human flesh nailed to a cross and laid in a tomb. His bodily resurrection promises a new, future, glorious created life for those who are connected to Christ.

  When we are brought into the church, our bodies are involved as much as our minds and hearts. We may come to faith by hearing the word of God with our ears, proclaimed by another human. Many of us are brought to faith by baptism, which applies water to the body for the cleansing of the conscience. We are claimed, body and soul, for the kingdom of God. We experience strength to use our bodies for good when we receive the body and blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. And we are not called to serve abstract people. God has not commanded you to honor all parents, but your flesh and blood parents. He has not called you to be faithful to all spouses, but your flesh and blood spouse. He has not called you to live in harmony with ��hristians” as an abstract concept, but with the flesh and blood people who stand next to you and confess their sins, who kneel next to you and receive the same bread and wine, the same body and blood of Christ. "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

  The body that has been united to Christ is not designated for sin anymore ((Romans 6:1-14). Yes, our flesh and its passions and appetites are a handle the devil and the world uses to draw us away from holiness, but our bodies have another force within: faith and the Holy Spirit. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Yes, it is the righteousness of Christ alone that makes us acceptable before God. But with our heavenly future guaranteed by Jesus, we are left in the world to be of service to the bodies of others.

  Providers for the family sustain the bodies of their spouses and children by earning an income. Law enforcement officers protect our bodies by restraining danger and evil. The state provides peace and stability for our human lives to flourish with opportunity. The church has as its main goal getting you to the new creation – getting your body to rise in glory from your grave someday.

  So take seriously the responsibility that having a body puts on you. Every sin of thought, word, and deed requires confession and faith in Jesus. But this body, claimed for the kingdom, is renewed to be a blessing to others as Christ gave his body to be a blessing for you.