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A Whole Person

July 23, 2010 by Fritz

[T]he very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1st Thessalonians 5:23

It is a mistake to believe God is only interested in our “soul”.

God created us spirit, soul, and body1 in his image2 and for a reason. One should presume the original intent has not been changed, only delayed, by humanity’s obstinance.

Jesus came to preserve the whole person and fulfill God’s design in us. Submitted to God, our bodies are holy and pleasing3 to him and he has a divine purpose for them.

Take care of your body, God has a use for it.

– fritz
1 – Genesis 2:7 – “breath” and “spirit” are the word in Hebrew
2 – Genesis 1:26
3 – Romans 12:1

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This Old House

July 22, 2010 by Fritz

“[O]ffer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God …. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:1a, 2a

I enjoy TV shows like “This Old House”. They start out with a damaged, worn down, obsolete house then , piece by piece and with the help of the owner, transform it into something valuable.   Still recognizable on the outside, the inside has become very livable.

God does something similar with our bodies.

We start out in sad shape, full of sin and strife, hangups and phobias, broken relationships – you name it.   God purchases us 1 and begins piece by piece to transform us, with our cooperation, into something valuable.

We are usually still recognizable on the outside, but the inside becomes very livable for both him and us.

– fritz
1 – Acts 20:28

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Biblical Assumptions

July 21, 2010 by Fritz

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” – Romans 15:4

The biblical viewpoint has always been that the scriptures were written not just for their times but for us, and written in such a way normal people could understand and be encouraged.

I was impressed by what philosophy professor Dallas Willard wrote concerning his own assumptions about the Bible:

“I assume that it was produced and preserved by competent human beings who were at least as intelligent and devout as we are today.”

“I assume that [God] did not and would not leave his message to humankind in a form that can only be understood by a handful of late-twentieth-century professional scholars, who cannot even agree among themselves on the theories that they assume to determine what the message is.”1

– fritz
1 – Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy (HarperCollins, 1998) 13.

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