Rightly Dividing Man: Spirit, Soul, and Bodymade a definite distinction between "it"—his body—and
"I"—the real man on the inside.
Paul wasn't saying he had to bring himself—the
man on the inside—into subjection. No, he said the man
on the inside had to bring his body into subjection.
Not obeying this scripture is one of the major areas
where believers unknowingly give Satan access into
their lives. Satan is given a foothold in people's lives
when they allow their bodies or flesh to dominate them,
instead of allowing their recreated spirits to rule and
dominate their flesh.
Keeping Your Body Subject to Your
Spirit
In First Corinthians 9:27, Paul was saying, "I keep
my body under the subjection of my spirit." That means
Paul didn't let his body do everything it wanted to do. If
the Apostle Paul, this great man of God who wrote
much of the New Testament, had to keep his body
under the dominion of his spirit, evidently his body
must have wanted to do things that weren't right. Paul
had to keep his body under the control and dominion of
his spirit just as we do.
Too many times believers want to try to cast a
demon out when it's the flesh! You can't cast the flesh
out! Or too many times, folks want God to do something
with their bodies. God is not going to do anything with
your body. After all, it's not His body; it's yours, and you
are the one who has dominion over it.
When you're born again, your inward man belongs
to God. But then you must make the decision to keep
your body subject to your spirit, which is only possible
as you present your body to God as a living sacrifice.