Title:

Temple Maintenance

Objective:

To give an understanding of the importance of taking care of our bodies.

What:

The physical body is a temple.  It is where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Temple: sanctuary

Why:

Why is maintaining our body important?

Our bodies do not belong to us

·        1 Corinthians 6:19-20

As the body of Christ, we are accountable to God

·        1Corinthians 12:14:27

Abuse of the physical body limits what we can do

God desires our physical body to be whole just as are Spirit and soul

·        1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

How:

How do we maintain our bodies?

Get rid of sin

·        1 Corinthians 6: 9-20

·        Romans 6:23

Rest to be refreshed

·        Exodus 23:12

·        Mark 6:31

Rest: ¹ to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength, ² to give rest, refresh, to give one’s self rest, take rest ³ to keep quiet, of calm and patient expectation

Eat- for physical an spiritual nourishment

·        Deuteronomy 8:3

·        Matthew 15:32

Exercise

Proverbs 31:17

Conclusion:

It is important to maintain our spirit man; however, we are accountable for this physical temple as well.  The proper treatment of our body enables us to live longer and thereby do more for the kingdom of God.  Think of a Christian musical artist who tours 50 weeks out of a year.  Without the physical stamina created by proper maintenance of their bodies, they would be unable to perform and their music ministry would be limited.   We are Spirit beings inside a physical body.  God has blessed many of us with bodies free from malformation or disabilities; it would be irreverent for us to let them decline due to neglect.

Definitions taken from:

Greek lexicon based on Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the "Theological Dictionary of the New Testament." These files are public domain.