The
. . . only
in regard to the throne will I be greater than you —Genesis 41:40
I am accountable to God for
the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside
the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21).
The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through
Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved.
Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God
has placed within me. To “work out [my] own salvation” (Philippians 2:12)
means that I am responsible for using what He has given me. It also means that
I must exhibit in my own body the life of the Lord Jesus, not mysteriously or
secretly, but openly and boldly. “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection
. . .” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Every Christian can have his body under absolute control for God. God has given
us the responsibility to rule over all “the temple of the Holy Spirit,”
including our thoughts and desires (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We are responsible for these, and we must never give way to improper ones. But
most of us are much more severe in our judgment of others than we are in
judging ourselves. We make excuses for things in ourselves, while we condemn
things in the lives of others simply because we are not naturally inclined to
do them.
Paul said, “I beseech you .
. . that you present your bodies a living sacrifice . . .” (Romans 12:1). What
I must decide is whether or not I will agree with my Lord and Master that my
body will indeed be His temple. Once I agree, all the rules, regulations, and
requirements of the law concerning the body are summed up for me in this
revealed truth-my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
(Taken from Oswald Chambers
– “My Utmost for His Highest” December 5)