Man is a spirit, who has a soul and lives in a body.
Our spirit is renewed already when we get saved.
Our mind (soul) and body, however, still like to fight for control
Bringing our bodies into submission – 1 Cor. 9:24-27
We are running a race – our goal is perfection.
The race is a marathon, not a 100 meter dash. It’s also a marathon that will take us through an insanely difficult obstacle course
This race is not about being the first one across the line, it’s about finishing. Unfortunately, many people don’t finish the race – it takes great endurance.
We can learn much from athletes.
Paul points out that they train and discipline their bodies to be able to compete for earthly rewards.
He writes that they are “temperate in all things”
Temperate means to “exercise self-restraint in diet and chastity”.
Food and sex are the quintessential lusts and desires of the body – to bring it into submission it’s only fitting that we will have to deny ourselves these things at times.
Bringing our bodies into submission is imperative for our physical well-being.
Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit – He deserves better than a broken down shack!
1 Cor. 6:12-20
If we’re sick and in pain constantly due to poor health, we can’t do the work God has called us to do.
Matthew Henry’s commentary
Say no to our desires occasionally – our bodies need to be reminded that they are not in charge!
An unsaved friend of mine made an offhand comment last week about how people never want to say no to themselves and that it is a problem. We like to say that this is true of people in the world, but is the church any different?
Bringing our souls into submission
In order to bring our body into submission, we’ll need to get our mind lined up with God’s Word.
The good news: Once we get our soul into submission, the body will generally follow.
The bad news: Getting your soul into submission is more of a battle.
Everything we talked about with bringing the body into submission applies to bringing the soul into submission as well.
Switch out a disciplined diet of food, with a disciplined thought life.
This is where the enemy can have opportunities to attack.
He will suggest thoughts to us, and play off our inward desires.
1 Peter 1:13-16
Gird up our minds – gather up the loose aspects of our minds.
In the ancient world, people wore robes not pants. If they were traveling, laboring or fighting, they would need to tuck the ends into their belts so they wouldn’t get in the way. Think of it as a necessary form of self-discipline. We need to tuck up the loose corners of our minds – don’t let ourselves indulge in lustful, carnal thoughts since they will trip us up.
2 Cor. 10:4-6
Paul is more militant than Peter about this. He points out that we have weapons that can be used to subjugate our thoughts.
We need to bring our thought life into submission to God’s Word.
That’s why we study. If we don’t know the Word, if it’s not deep down inside of us, we can’t readily bring our thoughts into submission to it.
We need to be able to recognize when we are getting off into thoughts that do not line up with the Word of God before we can subjugate those thoughts.
The Holy Spirit is absolutely critical to this endeavor – we cannot police our thoughts in the flesh.
Prov. 4:23
Be careful what you allow to come in and what you allow to stay in
What we read, watch and listen to will impact our thought life. We can give the enemy a foothold.
When we hold onto unforgiveness, fear, bitterness, etc. we give the enemy more material to work with in our lives.
This is why Jesus was very successful at keeping His mind submitted – He did not give the enemy a foothold.
