A SHORT ESSAY ON BODILY SANCTIFICATION

By Edward Davies

The laws of God pertain to the whole man -- body, soul, and spirit. The sins of the body will bring guilt upon the soul.

God has given us explicit teachings in his Word in relation to the body. It is the will of God, even the sanctification of the body. -- I Thess. 4:3-5. For "this is the will of God, even your sanctification." This pertains to the body, for He adds, "that ye should abstain from fornication;" that every man should know how to possess his vessel -- his body; (see I Sam. 21:5), in sanctification and in honor; "not in the lust -- or burning desires -- of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God." "To indulge the lust of concupiscence is to live like heathens," says Matthew Henry. So that bodily purity is a part of entire sanctification, which God commands, and for which the apostle prays (I Thess. 5:23).

This bodily chastity and sanctification is an honor to the man who possesses it. It ennobles the body and makes it look honorable; while he who indulges the lust of the flesh, Carries the mark of dishonor in his whole body and being, and everybody sees the mark.

All true Christians live in this blessed state, for "they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts."

This bodily sanctification ennobles the soul as well as the body. It makes the whole man walk the earth as one of God's noblemen; whereas, he who indulges the flesh, walks the earth as a slave, and feels mean among men.

The Gospel provides for this bodily sanctification: "For if the Spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Mark! The Spirit that quickens the soul and body now dwells in us, to make the body holy, that it may be a proper temple of the Holy Ghost. Calvin, who follows the comment of Augustine in this matter, says on this passage -- "The discourse is not concerning the final resurrection, which occurs in a moment, but concerning the continued operation of the Spirit, who, gradually putting to death the remains of the flesh, begins a celestial life in us."

Many commentators agree on this explanation.

We should have sanctified bodies, because the body is "the temple of the Holy Ghost." -- I Cor. 3:16. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Again, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you; which ye have of God; and ye are not your own?" -- I Cor. 6:19.

We are commanded to glorify God in our bodies, (I Cor. 6:19), which we cannot do unless we possess them "in sanctification and honor."

Bodily sins are often the last remnants of depravity to be extinguished, killed, or mortified by those who seek entire sanctification.

Bodily sins are often the occasion of the loss of entire sanctification by those who possess, or have possessed it.

It is utterly inconsistent to profess entire sanctification unless we have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts, and continue to crucify them; and thus continue to possess our bodies in sanctification and in honor.

"Whenever the body is as it ought to be, devoted to God, and dedicated and set apart for him, it should be kept clean and pure for his service; and as chastity is one branch of our sanctification, so this is one thing that God commands in His law, and which His grace effects in all true believers." -- Matt. Henry.

Bodily sanctification would greatly increase our happiness while we live.

Bodily sanctification would lengthen our lives on earth, and help us to triumph in the hour and article of death.

We are by no means to trifle with the forces of our bodies. For, "If any man defile the temple of God, him will God destroy."