The Root of the Problem

​“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, honor God with your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

You’ve heard the scripture before.  Almost everyone who talks about Christian weight loss quotes it.  But why?  The reason that you must start here at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 is because the root of the problem is sin, and for sin to be removed, you must start at the Cross.  What are the sins? They are gluttony & idolatry.  However, society doesn’t recognize its weight problem is sin, so it’s no wonder people are not taking the issue to Jesus, the One Who forgives and gives victory over sin by grace.  Why not, you ask?  Because Christians and the world in general have forgotten that gluttony is a sin. 

Furthermore, just as marijuana is a “stepping stone” drug, gluttony is a “stepping stone” sin which leads to idolatry.  Idolatry occurs when a person intentionally or unintentionally worships something as god which is not the One True God.  Most people, Christians included, fail to realize that they are worshipping at the altar of the false god they have made of their stomachs.  In order to understand how to rid yourself of these sins and regain control over your eating habits and declining health, you must look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 more closely to understand how it reorients your thinking about food and weight loss and why you should take the matter to the Cross.
 
 
1.  “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God.”

A.  Your Body:  A Temple

According to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus walked among us on earth, He taught the Jews this principle after He cleansed the physical temple of those selling merchandise.  Specifically, Jesus described His body as a temple when the Jews demanded a sign from Him.  In response to their request for a sign, Jesus replied that He would raise the temple, meaning His body, in 3 days if His enemies destroyed it. 

“So the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?’  Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’  Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” John 2:18-21; see also Matthew 26:61

The passage of scripture teaches that like most people today, including Christians, the religious Jews had a very difficult time wrapping their brains around the concept of the human body being a temple.  Consequently, they assumed Jesus referred to the destruction and rebuilding of the physical temple at Jerusalem which Herod built.  That’s because, traditionally, we define a temple as a religious place or location of worship.  However, the Lord defines a temple as “a house” in His word (Haggai 1:9, 1 Peter 2:4-5, 2 Chronicles 7:16).  Accordingly, you were designed to simultaneously be a place of worship of the One True God and a “house” or place for His Spirit to dwell.  Please don’t misunderstand, this does not mean individuals should bow down before you to worship God through you. 

It simply means that although you are a temple of the Holy Spirit, unlike stationary buildings made of wood or brick, your body is capable of movement.  In other words, your body can move to initiate a spiritual connection with God or react in response to the Lord.  For instance, you can bend your knees and bow before the Sovereign Lord to pray to Him or to reverence Him.  You can raise your arms and hands in surrender to His divine will or simply to worship Him.  You can use your mouth to cry out to Him for help or to give a shout of triumphant praise.  You can reflect on God’s goodness or meditate on His word with your mind.  Consequently, your body can do what a building made by men’s hands cannot do:  it can participate in the act of worshipping Almighty God in conjunction with your soul.  However, just as you would not sin in God’s physical house, that is, a church building, Ephesians 5:3-4 explains that your body is holy ground, and God expects and commands you, His child, to treat it as such.

“Fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting but rather giving of thanks.”  Ephesians 5:3-4
              
B.  Your Body:  A Place of Worship

It all begins with you.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 explicitly states that the Holy Spirit is “in you” because you received Him from God.  You were designed to worship the Lord and to be a place of worship of the Lord, but not everything or everyone functions in accordance with its purpose.  For example, some people will use a butter knife as a make-shift screwdriver or prop open a door with a shoe.  In the same way, human beings, who were designed to worship Jesus and be houses for His Holy Spirit, often refuse to function as designed out of rebellion and disobedience.

Consequently, the first step that is required is acceptance of who Jesus is.  He is mankind’s Redeemer.  Then you must accept who you are.  You are His creation, and your purpose it is to believe in Him, to worship Him, and to house His Holy Spirit.  Until you accept Jesus for who He is and what He has done for you, you cannot function as you were designed.  Why not?  Because only Believers in Christ receive the gift of His Holy Spirit within them after professing their faith in Christ, and only Believers in Christ worship Him.  Since Jesus never forces Himself on anyone, the choice is yours.  Will you function as designed and worship the One True God in every aspect of your life, including how you eat, or will you continue to live a life, in this one area at least, which does not conform to God’s will and plan for you?

C.  Your Body:  A Vessel which can Worship

People also have very concrete ideas about worshipping God, especially when it comes to temple worship.  The word “worship” is synonymous with love, adoration, glorification, devotion, and reverence.  Very often, the idea of worship conjures images of faithful believers kneeling inside of a temple or sanctuary with their eyes closed in prayer or hands and voices raised in thanksgiving.  But worshipping God should be a part of your daily living not simply something you do on Sunday morning at church.  You should give Him the fruit of your lips, hands, mind, and entire being 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  In other words, worshipping God should be how you live your life as it is evidence that you reflect His holiness.  Consequently, you were made not only to be a temple which houses the Spirit of the Lord, but also a temple that can worship the Lord. 

“Whatsoever you do in word or in deed, do it all in the name of Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  Colossians 3:17

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

As indicated by the words “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,” we understand that all things, even the way that we eat, should be done in Jesus’ name with thanksgiving and glory to the Father.  So as your life reflects God’s holiness in every activity, you, His temple, should also have an attitude of gratefulness toward God.  Since a grateful heart is often evident because it produces an atmosphere of worship within the Believer, it follows that God’s people should constantly be in a state of worship.  Does that mean you will walk around all day with your hands lifted and shouting, “Hosanna?”  Probably not.  It does mean that you will consciously and purposely choose to live a life of obedience to God because you love Him and are grateful for what He has done and is doing in your life.  By doing so, your life glorifies God before men.  And as noted before, loving God and glorifying God are forms of worship.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  John 14:15

2.  “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
 
This verse reminds us of Christ’s redemptive work on our behalf at the Cross and that our lives now belong to God.  The analogy is that of a slave being bought or redeemed for money or something of value.  We, humanity, represent those who are enslaved to sin.  Jesus is our Redeemer.  Jesus bought us for a price, His life.  We now belong to Him.  However, His sacrifice simultaneously set us free from the bondage of sin.  Nevertheless, we, like Gomer, the adulterous wife of the prophet Hosea, still often find ourselves re-entangled with the bondage of one sin or another when we, including born-again Believers, become tempted, enticed, and drawn away by our own lust (James 1:14-15).
 
1 John 1:5 – 2:6 teaches that Christians who say they have no sin deceive themselves and are effectively calling God a liar, proving God’s word is not in them.  But when Christians and unbelievers confess their sins to Jesus, He is faithful and just to forgive their sins.  Just like Gomer didn’t honor Hosea with her body by remaining faithful to her husband, we dishonor God with our bodies each time we sin against Him.  The difference between Gomer and today’s Christians is that she was fully aware that she was committing adultery.  Conversely, most people today are not aware that their weight problem is due to sin, and consequently, that are committing spiritual adultery.

3.            “Therefore, honor God with your body.”

This verse reminds us of what we owe God in return and commands us to fulfill the requirements of Romans 12:1 which states:
 
“I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.”   

In other words, once you become aware of the problem or sin in your life, you must turn away from it.  The sin can no longer reign in your body (Romans 6:12).  On the contrary, you should deny yourself in honor of the Lord, presenting your body as a holy, living sacrifice.  Heretofore, you have been conforming to the world’s system, and it has dictated your way of thinking about eating, losing weight, and worshipping God.  You’re fighting a good fight against being overweight at times, but you keep losing the battle because you’re on the wrong side of things right now.  In other words, you’re fighting in your own strength with ineffective weapons.   

Ephesians 6:10 reminds us that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  So what do you need to do?  Change sides on the battlefield!  In order to have true victory in this area of your life, you simply need to remember your ABC’s.  That is, accept, believe, confess and repent from your sins.  Even those who are already Believers in Christ must confess and repent from newly revealed, unconfessed sins.