God as the Life of the Body 713
attack the powers of darkness incessantly for God? Who refuses to
use his body for his own success? The life of the Lord Jesus shall be
manifested in the bodies of such believers as these. If we take care of
the death side God will look after the life side: we offer our weakness
to Him and He gives His strength to us.
Natural Power and the Power of JesusIf we have presented ourselves utterly to God we can believe that
He has prepared a body for us. We often imagine how nice it would
be had we had control over how we were made. What we most want
is that our bodies shall not contain many inherent defects but possess
a greater resistance instead in order that we may live long without
pain or illness. But God has not consulted us. He knows best what we
should have. We should not judge our ancestors for their faults and
sins. Neither should we doubt God’s love and wisdom. Everything
which concerns us is ordained before the foundation of the world.
God fulfills His excellent will even in this body of pain and death.
His purpose is not for us to desert this body as though it were a
burdensome weight. Rather, He urges us to lay hold of a new body
through the Holy Spirit Who indwells us. In preparing whatever body
He gives us God is fully aware of its limitations and dangers;
nonetheless He wants us through painful experiences to desire a new
body so that we may no longer live by our naturally possessed power
but by the power of God. Thus we shall exchange our weakness for
His strength. Even though this body of ours has not been
transformed, the life by which it lives is already a new one.
The Lord delights in flooding every nerve, capillary, and cell of
our body with His might. He does not transform our enfeebled nature
into a vigorous one, nor does he dispense a great deal of strength to
be stored in us. He wants to be the life to our mortal flesh so that we
may live momentarily by Him. Perhaps some may think that to have
the Lord Jesus as life to our body means God miraculously grants us