My Body; His Gift!

July 17, 2022

The idea of the body being evil finds its roots in Docetism (“to seem”).
We need to keep Paul’s concept of the “flesh nature” separate from the “body.”
Our bodies are ground zero for our sinful nature and give visibility to that nature.
Early attacks on Jesus denied His bodily existence and His resurrection.
Our own embarrassments at our bodily functions/limitations might be at odds with the God who gave them to us.
Finite bodily form is an existence that God put in place and becomes part of.
The God of creation began the work of re-creation by entering it in bodily form.
Human flourishing and glorifying God come in the healthy wholeness of our creaturely limits.
We misunderstand creation by confusing our limitations with sinfulness.
Your body is part of who you are… your identity.
Body shaming undermines the goodness of our Creator’s work.
We are called to affirm our creaturely existence in its distinctiveness, seeing it as a blessing rather than a curse.
Jesus is at the core of what it means to be a particular human being.
If the body itself was sinful, God could not have taken up residence in one.
Every form of worship to God is done with our body.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” is the highest compliment the human body has ever been paid.
The problems that we experience with our bodies will never completely be solved by our own bodies. It is through the cross that our bodies will ultimately be fixed.

How do you feel about your own body?
What are some of the ways that you glorify God with your body?
What are some ways that you don’t glorify Him with your body?
If someone told you that the body is evil, how would you explain the human body in reference to the Bible’s teaching on creation, the fall, and redemption?