Purity Of Body
by Bobby Witherington
We begin by citing Matthew 5:8 in which Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Indeed, the Bible has much to say about the importance of “purity of heart,” and rightly, so for out of the heart “are the issues of life,” Proverbs 4:23. Outwardly one can not continually rise above what he is inwardly, for it is “out of the heart” that such things as “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies” “proceed,” Matthew 15:19. Hence, purity of heart is absolutely essential if one wants to go to heaven.
However, the Bible also stresses the importance of there being purity of body as well as purity of mind. With that in mind, please note these scriptures: “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service,” Romans 12:1. “… Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body,” I Corinthians 6:13. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s,” I Corinthians 6:19-20. “Therefore, having these promise, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” II Corinthians 7:1. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God,” I Thessalonians 4:3-5. These are but a few of many scriptures which stress the importance of there being purity of body. Let us now consider each of these passages.
Romans 12:1, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” In the verse which immediately follows the apostle stresses the fact that Christians are not to be “conformed to this world.” Contextually, the manner in which one presents his “body” helps to determine if one is “conformed” or “transformed.” Earlier, in Romans 6:3-5, the apostle taught that it is through baptism that one enters “into Christ,” and that it is from the waters of baptism that one is to rise to “walk in newness of life.” As a result, those forgiven of sin (Christians) must “no longer be slaves of sin,” verse 6, sin must not henceforth reign in the “mortal body,” and the members of the body must therefore be presented as “instruments of righteousness to God,” verse 13.
I Corinthians 6:20, “… therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” This verse is from a general context which stresses the necessity of moral uprightness. In verse 9 the apostle clearly stated that “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” In verse 13 he said “the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” In verse 18 he stated that “he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” Then in verses 19-20 we have the real clincher! First he stated that “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” That being the case, one must not defile or desecrate this temple! And, secondly, he stated that God’s people are “bought with a price,” that “your body and your spirit” belong to God, and therefore one must glorify God in both his body and his spirit, verse 20. You have no more right to desecrate your body than you have to take a sledge hammer and beat up on your neighbor’s car. Your neighbor’s car does not belong to you; it belongs to your neighbor. By the same token your body does not belong to you; it belongs to God; it was “bought with a price.” Therefore you must use your body in a way which brings glory to God - not simply in a way which gratifies worldly lusts.
I Thessalonians 4:4, “… that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.” While there is some controversy as to what the word “vessel” means as used in this verse, the context favors the idea of it referring to the “vessel” of one’s body. For example, in the verse which immediately precedes this verse, the apostle said “you should abstain from sexual immorality,” or from “fornication,” KJV, and it is with the body that one commits fornication, a sin in which one “sins against his own body,” I Corinthians 6:18. Moreover, referring to himself and other inspired men unto whom the gospel message was revealed, the apostle Paul said “we have this treasure in earthen vessels,” II Corinthians 4:7. In this text, the “treasure” was the inspired message revealed to the apostles and prophets, and the “earthen vessels” were the inspired men themselves - they were the “earthen vessels.” Also, from II Timothy 2:21 we learn that every Christian is to “be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” In brief, your body is a “vessel,” which you are to “possess … in sanctification and honor,” I Thessalonians 4:4. It is to be used for God; it is not to be used for the devil! However, this “vessel,” the human body, by so many, is often desecrated and polluted.
How Can A Person Maintain Purity of Body?
1. Meditate on things that are “pure,” Philippians 4:8. In other words, keep your mind clean. This can be accomplished in two ways: (1) Don’t read, listen to, watch, or focus your mind on moral filth! (2) Read, study, and reflect on the word of God. To His disciples, Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you,” John 15:3. Please note Psalms 119:9, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word.”
2. “Flee fornication,” I Corinthians 6:18. One who “is joined to a harlot is one body with her;” they become “one flesh,” and in this act a person “sins against his own body,” I Corinthians 6:16,18. Job referred to adultery as a “heinous crime,” Job 31:11. Whereas man so often minimizes the sin of adultery, the Bible calls it a “heinous crime,” and we are told elsewhere that the Lord is “the avenger of such,” I Thessalonians 4:6. Sexual cohabitation is to be reserved for the marriage bed. The Bible says, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge,” Hebrews 13:4.
3. Do not smoke! Tobacco is literally filled with poisons of various kinds; that is one of the reasons why it is so addictive. If it is wrong to be “brought under the power of” meats which are inherently lawful, I Corinthians 6:12-13, can it be right to be “brought under the power” of an addictive weed which is filled with poison? Is one practicing temperance or self control while he continually fouls his breath, pollutes the air, and barbecues his lungs, while committing suicide by degrees through chewing, smoking, and inhaling a noxious weed?
4. Avoid alcohol, and other addictive drugs. “Sorcery” in Galatians 5:20 is listed as a “work of the flesh.” It is from the Greek pharmakia; it is the word from which “pharmacy” is derived, and is defined as “the use of drugs, whether simple or potent,” (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by Vine). Sometimes “dope” is a word which denotes illegal drugs, and I personally like that term, for surely no one but a dope would deliberately inhale, inject, or swallow substances which have so many adverse and long-term effects upon both the body and mind!
Conclusion: If you are not a Christian, the devil is “your father,” John 8:44, and the Bible teaches that in your present condition you are headed for that place “prepared for the devil and his angels,” Matthew 25:41. However, God is a God of love, John 3:16, and abounding grace, Titus 2:11. If you obey the “gospel of the grace of God,” Acts 20:24, you will then be “added” to the church, Acts 2:47, “reconciled” to God, Ephesians 2:16, and adopted into the family of God, Ephesians 1:5. That being the case, having been redeemed with the “precious blood” of Jesus Christ, I Peter 1:18-19, you will have been “bought with a price,” and thus have the obligation to glorify God, both in body and spirit, I Corinthians 6:19-20. Spiritually speaking, if you are a child of God, your body and mind belong to God. Both are to be kept clean of sin-causing pollutants. Dear reader, how clean is your mind; how clean is your body? Please think on these things!