Focus: My Body Is His!
Text: Rom.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."
In all Paul's teachings he finds ways to connect creed and conduct, belief and behavior, and doctrine and duty. For Paul, it is not enough to know, for knowing should naturally translate to doing.
In Act.9 when Paul met with the Lord Jesus Christ, he asked Him two basic questions. First, who are you, Lord? And lastly, what do you want me to do? For him, everything boils down to knowing the Lord, knowing what He wants, and doing it. In another place, he says, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." That's all! That's the nitty gritty. That's the bottom line. That's concrete theology. That's talk and walk forever glued together.
*God wants a body
Look at our text and you will see the word 'bodies.' That is where the message is. God wants a body, your body. God came here in a body. He lived and died here in a body. He talked and walked the earth in a body. He was not raised from dead as a soul or spirit, but He resurrected in a body. In Hebrews 10, the writer by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit makes Christ say, "A body you have prepared for me." Remember that this is a quotation from Psalm 40 where 'ear' is used, not 'body.' Why the change? It is because Christ is being referred to in Hebrews, and as far as we know, Jesus had no ear problems. Christ wanted a body through which He would express and fulfill the will of God on earth.
The earth is not for spirits without bodies, but for spirits in human bodies. Even the Spirit of God lives and moves in a body known as the church, and in every believer in Christ. Paul says, "Your body is the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in you."
*God wants a yielded body
Yes, God wants a BODY, but not just any body! God wants a DEDICATED and CONSECRATED body. A body that is totally yielded to the Lord for whatever He wants to do in and with it. A body that is available, accessible and pliable. A body wholly given to doing all the will of God. So Paul says, "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice…" Sacrifices require an altar. So bring your body to the altar of God. Hand over your body for divine use. Let your body become God's vehicle of vision, God's medium of manifestation and expression, God's instrument of illumination, God's vessel of honor. For whatever God does on earth He does through a body.
*Give God your body
Give God your body - your hands, your feet, your mouth, your ears, your eyes, your heart, your head, indeed all your bodily parts. God wants to take possession of it - the whole thing. He wants to make an indelible impression on earth. He wants to leave a trace of divinity in humanity. He wants to express Himself through you without suppressing or oppressing you.
Presenting your body as a living sacrifice to God is key to knowing and doing the will of God right here on earth.
We worship in the spirit through our bodies. We encourage each other through the instrumentality of the body. Our body is God's medium of expression. The Spirit of Christ inhabits and uses our body. By laying of hands God's power is released. God touched Jeremiah's mouth and put His own words in his mouth.
True spirituality is down-to-earth physical. You do something, say something, go somewhere, act and behave in a certain way. True spirituality involves the whole personality. Rom.12:1 mentions "bodies" - present your bodies. Verse 2 mentions "mind" - renewing your mind, and verse 11 mentions "spirit" - fervent in spirit. It is the spirituality of the whole personality.
We sing with our mouths, clap with our hands or lift up holy hands, give offerings with our hands and from our hearts, go places with our legs, hug one another, see with our eyes, think God's thoughts after Him, pray from our hearts and with our mouths, and do all other stuff as an expression of spiritual worship to God.
Give God your body - your whole self. Let Him take possession of and use you. Amen.
by Bishop Moses E. Peter