The Believer and His Body 653
body on the tree” (1 Peter 2.24). United to Him by faith, our bodies
were crucified with Him as well; and thus has He released them from
the power of sin. In Christ this fleshly tent of ours has been
resurrected and ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit is presently
dwelling in us. Therefore may we say that the Lord is for our body—
not just for our spirit and soul but for our body too.
The Lord for the body embraces several meanings: (1) It conveys
the idea that the Lord will deliver the body from sin. Nearly every sin
is related somewhat to it. Quite a few sins arise from special
physiological causes. Feasting for example is an indulgence of one’s
physical taste and drinking is a catering to one’s bodily lust. Many
moments of anger are triggered by physical discomforts.
Oversensitive nerves may cause people to be brittle and harsh.
Peculiar personalities often result from a peculiar physiological
make-up. Many notorious sinners physically are constructed
differently from normal persons. Even so, with all these
manifestations, the Lord is still for the body. If we offer ours to Him,
acknowledging Him as Lord of everything and claiming His promise
by faith, we shall see how the Lord can deliver us from ourselves.
Irrespective of how we physiologically are made, even possessing
special weaknesses, we can overcome our sins through the Lord.
(2) The Lord is additionally for our physical ills. As he destroys
sin so will He heal diseases. He is for every matter related to our
body; He is consequently for our sicknesses also. Diseases are but
the manifestation of the power of sin in our bodies. The Lord Jesus is
able to deliver us from sicknesses as well as from sins.
(3) The Lord is also for our living in the body. He will be its
strength and life so that it may live by Him. He desires us to
experience in our daily walk the power of His resurrection in order
that our body too may live by Him.