In the first Fit For Jesus article, I mentioned the following scripture:

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

This is only the beginning, but what a clear beginning it is! Our body is the literal, physical temple of the Holy Spirit. By taking care of our bodies, we are taking care of our wonderful Holy Spirit’s temple. Our body is a gift from the Lord, and we should all, in a simple act of thankfulness and love, take care of our body and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Are we required to? Technically, no. Salvation through Jesus Christ is a gift of God’s grace. Our salvation does not depend on our actions, but don’t you want to give something back to our gracious Heavenly Father, who gave His Son for us?

(In the coming weeks, we will get into a lot of detail about how, while our actions here on earth have NOTHING to do with “deserving” salvation, our actions here on earth – including your levels of health and fitness – potentially have MUCH to do with our reward in heaven!)

Here is more scripture:

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

John 2: 19-21

Jesus states that His body is a temple. I know when I first came across this scripture, my gut response was, “Yeah, but that is Jesus. I can’t compare myself to Him and call my body a temple!”

It almost seems uncomfortable to compare ourselves to Jesus, doesn’t it? Yet, in the Bible, it clearly states that we are “made new in Christ”, and through the Holy Spirit “conformed to the likeness of His Son.” Yes, we are conformed into the likeness of His character and His righteousness and holiness, but Jesus was also very human.

Jesus was exceptionally clear: His human body was a temple!
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21-22

This really seals the point, doesn’t it? We are, both individually and collectively, becoming a “dwelling in which GOD lives by His Spirit!”.

I think we can all agree that the Bible is conclusive: our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, a tremendous amount of resources, including time, talent, attention, and money were devoted to the building of God’s temple. The temple of the Holy Spirit – our body – should be no different!

Pray today for the Lord’s strength to help you build a temple worthy of the Holy Spirit. Ask for strength to choose the right foods, the desire to plan your meals, the shift in priorities to create time to exercise. Start with the clear scripture, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you in more detail about His desire for you!