THE WILL OF GOD CONCERNING YOUR PHYSICAL BODY

Pastor Art Watkins of Coden Bible Church (Coden, Alabama)

September 5, 2018

Romans.12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

God's will is for his people to present their bodies unto him as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice seems to be a contradiction, because how can a person be alive and at the same time a sacrifice which is dead? How can something be alive and yet dead at the same time? Paul defines what a living sacrifice is in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 which says: For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

These verses best define what it means to be a living sacrifice. It means we no longer live unto ourselves or for ourselves. We live unto Christ who died for us and rose again. It means we reckon or count ourselves to be dead to self and at the same time alive unto God. We sacrifice ourselves and live our lives totally for the Lord. We give up our life for his life. His life becomes ours. To us to live is Christ. This is what it means to be a living sacrifice.

When a person brought a sacrifice to God in the Old Testament he released all claims to it and submitted it unto God to be disposed of at his will. Today, when we offer our bodies as a sacrifice unto God, we release all claims we have to it and submit it unto God to do with it as he pleases.

When a father presents his daughter to her husband in marriage he in a figure is saying she is no longer mine, she is yours. He releases all claims he had on her and presents her to her husband and then she becomes his to have and to hold from that day forward. She becomes his body.

When we present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God we turn them over to him to use as he pleases and not as we please. The reason God asks us to present our bodies unto him is because any service done for him in this life is done in these bodies of ours.

Albert Barnes says this about our bodies:

----Christians should devote every physical member of their body to God and to his service. Their TONGUE should be consecrated to his praise and speaking the truth in kindness, and benevolence;

----Their HANDS should be employed in useful labor for him and his cause;

----Their FEET should be swift in his service, and should not go in the paths of iniquity;

----Their EYES should contemplate his works to excite thanksgiving and praise;

----Their EARS should not be employed to listen to words of deceit, or songs that are carnal and dirty. Their ears should be open to catch the voice of God as he utters his will in the word of truth.

----If you are saved God wants your BODY, SOUL, SPIRIT, MIND, and HEART for they are all required to serve the Lord effectively. You can’t serve God outside of your body. All Christian work is done in these bodies.

For the following reasons every Christian should offer up their bodies as a living sacrifice unto God.

****Because Of The Enormous Price He Paid To Purchase It!****

To present your body as a living sacrifice unto God is called your reasonable service. Why? Because God owns it. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Your body was bought and paid for by the blood of Christ, therefore it’s only reasonable to present it unto God as a living sacrifice. It would be unreasonable to do otherwise. If you are saved the body you live in does not belong to you. As a matter of fact, it has never belonged to you. Did you know someone else has always owned your body? You may live in it, but someone else has the title deed to your body. Before you were saved, Satan had power, authority, jurisdiction and all rights to your body. He had the title deed to your body, but when you got saved the ownership of your body changed. Christ gave himself a ransom to redeem your body and now it belongs to God. It cost the Son of God his life to ransom your body, therefore God now has the power, authority, jurisdiction, rights and the title deed to your body. But even though it belongs to him, he has given us the privilege of presenting it to him as a living sacrifice. It is only reasonable that you do it because of the enormous price he paid to purchase it.

****Because Of The Divine Person Who Dwells In Them!****

1 Corinthians 6:19 says: What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? Your body has become the temple of God. When God sent the Spirit into this world, he was sent to dwell in the bodies and hearts of his people. Galatians 4:6 says: Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father.

Ephesians 2:22 says: We are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

God purchased your body to live in and dwell in on this earth. Your body is the temple, the house, the dwelling place, the habitation of God on this earth. God does not live in buildings made with hands. God's Spirit lives in the bodies of his people. Before you were saved your body was a house for the prince and power of the air the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. He took up residence in your body and used it for years for his own selfish reasons. (Eph. 2:1-4) Satan kidnapped our bodies in Genesis 3 and God paid a ransom to get them back in 33 AD. When we got saved he cleaned house. He came in and cleansed and sanctified it. He drove out the satanic spirit that lived in it and he took up residence in his place. And now God desires to use your body as a vessel to express himself through. God is a spirit and a spirit must have a body to move and work through. For that reason, every Christian ought to present his body as a living sacrifice unto God. God owns it and dwells in it; therefore it is only reasonable that he uses it.

****Because Of The Valuable Treasure They Contain!****

2 Corinthians 4:7 says: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The earthen vessels are our bodies. They are called earthen for they came from the earth. They are called vessels because of what they contain. These bodies contain a treasure. What is the treasure? Every text should be interpreted from its context and in the context, the treasure is the gospel. In verses 3-6 Paul said:  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The glorious gospel of Christ is a valuable treasure and it dwells in these earthen vessels which is our bodies. In what sense is our bodies the vessels of the gospel? In verse 6 the light of the glorious gospel of Christ hath shined into our hearts and given us knowledge of the glory of God. In other words, we that have believed the gospel have the knowledge of the God’s glory revealed in the gospel in our hearts and minds. In that sense these bodies are vessels of the gospel. It’s in our minds and hearts. If it wasn’t we would not be saved. Also, how is the gospel preached? With our bodies. How is it carried from one place to the other? In these bodies. The gospel is a treasure for it saves sinners, but they can't be saved without hearing the gospel. And they will not hear it until we carry it to them with our legs and preach it with our mouths. When we travel from one place to the other, we are carrying a valuable treasure in these earthen vessels. These vessels contain the most important and powerful message on the face of the earth. We are carrying the power of God unto salvation. We are carrying the only hope that lost men have to be saved from sin and hell. Look at it like this: When Paul went to Asia, the gospel went to Asia. When Paul went to Europe, the gospel went to Europe. And no matter where we go, the gospel goes with us. When you go to work the gospel goes to work with you. When you go to school the gospel goes to school with you. When you meet with your friends and relatives the gospel goes with you and you may be the only person in your circle of friends and relatives who even knows what the gospel is. This is why God’s will is for you to present your body unto him as a living sacrifice. They contain the most valuable treasure on earth; the gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation.

***Because Of The Important Work They Were Created For!****

Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  This verse says we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works and all works, good or bad, are done in these physical bodies. What is the good works that God created us for and ordained us to do in these bodies? I believe it is found in 1 Timothy 2:4 which says: God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

The two greatest works God created us for and ordained us to do is found in this one short verse. God will have all men to be saved; this is the work of evangelism. God will have all saved men to come into the knowledge of the truth; this is the work of edification. These are the two most important works a Christian can do in his body. Both works are done in and through these physical bodies. You can’t evangelize the lost or edify the saints outside of the body. The greatest thing you can do with your body is to use each member of it to evangelize the lost and edify the saints.

Salvation changed the use of our bodies. We don’t use our bodies the same way we did before were saved. When you got saved your body did not change; it’s still the same body, but now it’s used for different reasons. Our bodies are now under new management to be used for different reasons. What does this mean?

----These LEGS and FEET that once carried us to carnal places to do carnal things, should now carry us to places to do spiritual things such as carrying the gospel to lost people and the truth to saved people.

----These HANDS which once handled wicked and evil things, should now handle the word of God and distribute the truth.

----This MOUTH that was once filled with cursing and vile conversation should now be used to preach the glorious gospel of Christ.

----These EYES that once looked upon evil things, should now read the pages of the Bible that describe our beautiful Savior.

----These MINDS that once were full of pride and wicked thoughts and evil schemes, should now devise new schemes and methods to distribute the truth and the gospel to as many people as possible.

----These ears that were open to lies and false doctrine, should now be opened to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The point is: God wants your whole person; not just your soul and spirit and mind, but your physical body, for the work of evangelism and edification is carried out in the body.

****Because Of The Judgment They Must Face One Day!****

2 Corinthians 5:8-11: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

Notice what God will judge one day: The things done in our bodies. Every Christian has a date with judgment. We will all give an account to God as to how and what we have used our bodies for in this life. The works we do in these bodies, both the good and bad, will be on display at this judgment. All will be revealed and all will be judged and all will receive according to what they have done in the body.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 says: For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The works we do in these bodies will be judged. Some of the works we do in our bodies are compared to gold, silver, precious stones, but some works are compared to wood, hay and stubble. Works that are like gold, silver and precious stones are good works such as, the work of evangelism, the work of edification and the work of the ministry such as building up the church that Christ died for. These are the kind of works that will be rewarded at the judgment.

On the other hand, works that are like wood, hay and stubble will burn up and go up in smoke at the judgment. Works that are like wood hay and stubble are the works of the flesh. If you spend your life fulfilling the lust of the flesh, satisfying the desires of the flesh, doing your own thing, spending your time and money and energy on yourself; you will see your works go up in smoke at the judgment seat of Christ. And you will be ashamed of yourself in that day and you will walk away from that judgment empty handed. You will wish that you would have spent your life and the time God gave you working and laboring for the Lord instead of satisfying the flesh.

The work you do in your body now, will determine how your judgment will turn out later. We only have one life or one chance to serve the Lord with these bodies and it’s now. When we got saved the clock started ticking. We are on God's clock now and the time we now have is the only time we are going to have to work and labor for the Lord. When our life is over we won’t have another chance to serve the Lord in these bodies.

God has given us a choice as to how we will use our bodies in this present evil world. He beseeches us to present them unto him as a living sacrifice. When we do, God will give us a job to do. The work God gave us to do in this world is not easy. Evangelism is not easy and neither is edification. The ministry we are in is not called the work of the ministry for nothing; it is work. If you dedicate your life to the work of the ministry, you will have to put up with many inconveniences. You may have to do things you don't want or like to do. It will cost you time and money and friends. You will have to sacrifice what others take for granted. It may cause you bodily harm. You may have to put up with abuse from other Christians. But when you stand before the judgment seat of Christ it will be worth it all for verse 14 says: If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

While you still have a chance, present you body as a living sacrifice unto God and from this day forward dedicate yourself and your body to working and laboring and serving the Lord. Quit wasting your valuable time fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Time is fast running out and you don't have that much time to waste.