Jesus, Lord of my personal life (Study 51) (26/8/16)
I started by saying that we often associate what is 'personal' (e.g."personal matter", "personal reasons") with 'what is nobody else's business but mine'. And so what is 'personal' is often that which is not under scrutiny by others, that which we feel we have no need to be accountable to others for. As I prepared this study I found many times when I caught myself many times thinking in this way. But the goal of this study is to show to us how we must surrender every part of our actions and thoughts to God. Every part of us is accountable to Him and comes under His direction.
I Co 6:12-20 gives us the Biblical foundation of why we are to surrender our bodies to God's control:
1. The body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body (v.13), i.e. the purpose of the body is to glorify God, and the Lord is pleased with, affirms the value of and purposes good for the body.
2. The body will be raised from death. In heaven we will be glorified bodies, not disembodied spirits ( (Phil 3:21). This destiny is a way that God affirms the value of the body.
3. Our bodies are members of Christ (v.15), joined to Him in one spirit (v.17).
4. Put another way, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit as a temple (v.19). This is why we are not to engage in sexual immorality, which has not purely physical, but spiritual significance (v.16).
5. Our bodies are not our own, but bought with a price.
6. The purpose of our bodies is to glorify God.
With respect to our actions, Paul gives the following foundational principles:
1. What is "lawful/permissible" is not always helpful (1 Co 6:12a). We must discern if seemingly harmless activities will draw us closer to Christ.
2. What is "lawful/permissible" must not master us (1 Co 6:12b). No one and nothing should control us or have a hold on us apart from God.
3. Everything we do must be done to the glory of God (1 Co 10:31). This involves thankfulness (v.30) because God is the provider and source of all our needs and pleasures.
4 Everything we do should avoid giving unnecessary offense (v.32) but should instead aim to please others, not ourselves in order to bring them to saving faith. (Ro 14)
In our attitude to various activities we note that excess of a good thing (e.g. exercise, rest) can be bad, and under-use of what is good is also wrong. So we must balance our involvement with God-given wisdom.
With respect to our thought life, I said I felt that 2 Cor 10:6) is mainly about Paul's defense of his own ministry and the thoughts he takes captive are not mainly his own. He is referring to the spiritual power he uses to defeat his opponents. But Phil 4:8 teaches us to fill our mind with good things. This is important because our actions spring from our desires (Js 1:15-16, Mt 5:27-28). Good desires resulting from our discerning God's preceptive will (Ro 12:2) will result in good actions. We transform our minds by "storing up God's word" in our hearts (Ps 119:11). What is remembered of Scripture is in the final analysis what will transform us. That is why the study and memorization of Scripture is foundational to transformation of our thought life and actions.
I Co 6:12-20 gives us the Biblical foundation of why we are to surrender our bodies to God's control:
1. The body is meant for the Lord, and the Lord for the body (v.13), i.e. the purpose of the body is to glorify God, and the Lord is pleased with, affirms the value of and purposes good for the body.
2. The body will be raised from death. In heaven we will be glorified bodies, not disembodied spirits ( (Phil 3:21). This destiny is a way that God affirms the value of the body.
3. Our bodies are members of Christ (v.15), joined to Him in one spirit (v.17).
4. Put another way, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit as a temple (v.19). This is why we are not to engage in sexual immorality, which has not purely physical, but spiritual significance (v.16).
5. Our bodies are not our own, but bought with a price.
6. The purpose of our bodies is to glorify God.
With respect to our actions, Paul gives the following foundational principles:
1. What is "lawful/permissible" is not always helpful (1 Co 6:12a). We must discern if seemingly harmless activities will draw us closer to Christ.
2. What is "lawful/permissible" must not master us (1 Co 6:12b). No one and nothing should control us or have a hold on us apart from God.
3. Everything we do must be done to the glory of God (1 Co 10:31). This involves thankfulness (v.30) because God is the provider and source of all our needs and pleasures.
4 Everything we do should avoid giving unnecessary offense (v.32) but should instead aim to please others, not ourselves in order to bring them to saving faith. (Ro 14)
In our attitude to various activities we note that excess of a good thing (e.g. exercise, rest) can be bad, and under-use of what is good is also wrong. So we must balance our involvement with God-given wisdom.
With respect to our thought life, I said I felt that 2 Cor 10:6) is mainly about Paul's defense of his own ministry and the thoughts he takes captive are not mainly his own. He is referring to the spiritual power he uses to defeat his opponents. But Phil 4:8 teaches us to fill our mind with good things. This is important because our actions spring from our desires (Js 1:15-16, Mt 5:27-28). Good desires resulting from our discerning God's preceptive will (Ro 12:2) will result in good actions. We transform our minds by "storing up God's word" in our hearts (Ps 119:11). What is remembered of Scripture is in the final analysis what will transform us. That is why the study and memorization of Scripture is foundational to transformation of our thought life and actions.
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