Stewardship of the Body in the Bible

The believer's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and must be honored as such. Paul reminds us forcefully: "know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Good stewardship of the body embraces the care of physical health, moderation in eating and drinking, rest, exercise, and abstaining from the habits that degrade this dwelling place of God. Far from setting the body against the spiritual life, Scripture makes it an instrument of living worship: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1). Caring for one's body thus becomes an act of worship; to neglect it knowingly is to despise the gift of God. Temperance and physical discipline are not mere principles of hygiene but the fruit of the Spirit at work. The body is not an obstacle to holiness; it is offered to God, consecrated to his service, and called to glorify him as much as the spirit. To honor God with one's whole being, spirit and body together, is the calling of the redeemed Christian.