PODCAST
Physical and Spiritual
April 17th, 2016
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Some have suggested that since God is spirit (John 4:24), spirit alone is good. From this perspective, then, the physical world has little importance. This denigration of material elements prompted some to see the human body in one of two ways. Some engaged in all forms of sexual perversion and promiscuity since they believed it really did not matter. Others adopted a severe form of asceticism that denied all pleasure.
Neither view accurately reflects the Bible’s teaching on the human body. God deemed the entire physical world, including humans, as very good (Genesis 1:31). Further, the Word that spoke everything into being “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Reconciliation with God is “by Christ’s physical body” (Colossians 1:22) and the hope of all Christians is the resurrection of the body even as Jesus was raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 6:14).
There is a physical side to being spiritual. God’s good creation of humans included both body and spirit. One influences the other and neither is adequate alone.
Author: Keith Schwanz
