IT IS A LIFE FASHIONED ON GOD’s ORIGINAL PLAN (3)

The human body becomes the habitation of the triune God on earth. The spiritual man apprehends the spiritual significance and sacredness of his body. Under the Holy Spirit’s illumination, he learns what it becomes through the new birth.

1. The body is the temple of the living God.

2 Corinthians 6:16
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

2. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

3. The body is a member of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:15
“Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ. Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.”

4. The body is the container of the heavenly treasure.

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

5. The body is the channel for good works.

2 Corinthians 5:10
“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.”

6. The body is Christ’s broadcasting station.

2 Corinthians 4:10-11
“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”

Through this truth, the spiritual man perceives that God wishes to become incarnate and dwell on earth and that He has chosen to do this by having the perfect possession, complete control, and unhindered use of the believer’s human body. Acting upon this knowledge, the spiritual man has presented God with his body here and now as a living sacrifice.

Romans 12:1
“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.”

Not wishing to risk defrauding God or deceiving himself regarding the completeness of this transaction, he makes a special gift to God of each individual member of his body to be used hereafter as God’s instrument.

Romans 6:13
“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

But the spiritual man also knows that the redemption of the body is not yet completed and will not be until the Lord comes again, when this body of humiliation will be exchanged for one glorified, even as Christ’s is glorified now (Romans 8:23, Philippians 3:20—21, R.V.). He knows further that the flesh is still entrenched within him even though he is not now in the sphere of the flesh and that he is still surrounded by a hostile, hateful world.

Romans 8:10
“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

John 17:15, 18
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world.”

So, he understands the need for constant vigilance over the body that it may be kept under the dominating control of the Holy Spirit lest he yield to any of the appetites, passions, and lusts of the flesh or be conformed to the fashions and foibles of the world. The spiritual man is willing for any work of the Holy Spirit within him in the way of discipline that will keep the body under and enable him to possess it in honor and sanctification.

1 Corinthians 9:2
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

1 Thessalonians 4:4
“That every one of you shall know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.”

Thus, we see that in grace, the human personality was sacredly preserved as an entity as it was made in creation and remained in the Fall. All that was ruined was redeemed and restored, plus. Through the new nature imparted and the new life implanted, which in creation was earthly and human only, in re-creation became heavenly and divine. With this perfect adjustment to God, the life becomes righteous and holy; and then of necessity follows adjustment within and without. Through the spiritual man’s perfect harmony with God, with himself, and with others, the Kingdom of God begins on earth, and the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Source: “Life on the Highest Plane” by Ruth Paxson

Dear Lord, You have given us all that is necessary to become a spiritual man and live out your presence through the new creation.