Part 4: Our Body
In a great house, not every vessel is used the same way. Some are set in plain sight: clean, useful, and ready for the Master’s hand. Others are used for low purposes and kept hidden in the back. This passage shows that the difference is not what you were made as, but what you choose to be.
2 Timothy 2:20–21, “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
A man can live like a toilet, taking in filth and putting it back out, or he can be like gold furniture in the house: set apart, useful, and bringing honor to the One who owns it. Your body is the vessel that carries this out. It is a loan from God, and it is either given over to the flesh and wasted, or it is kept clean and used for His work.
How do we ensure our bodies are loaned to the Lord for a great work and not one cast aside for collecting waste?
1. Realize Your Body is a Loaned Sacrifice
God’s will is not something to be played with. He desires to use you, but you must be a sacrifice to be used. This means you must wake up every day and put your body on the altar. Loaning your body to the Lord means you are a willing participant in His plan.
Romans 12:1–2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Loaning your body means giving every part of it over: hands, feet, eyes, and tongue. Each is set apart for God’s use. This is “reasonable.” It’s not extreme or optional. If God has shown you mercy, the only right response is to loan Him back the life He gave you.
2. Realize Your Body is a Loaned Temple
The body is not yours anymore: it has been bought. Since the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer, the body becomes a sacred place.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20, “What? 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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
You are a steward of a temple that someone else owns. Sin done in the body is especially serious because it defiles property that belongs to God. On the other hand, using the body rightly, in purity, discipline, and obedience, brings honor to the Owner directly.
3. Discipline the Loan
The body has appetites, desires, and tendencies that will take control if left unchecked. We must learn to tell the flesh NO! God provides the help, but the discipline starts with us.
1 Corinthians 9:27, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Paul was bringing his body under control so it wouldn’t lead him into disqualification. If you don’t keep the loan under subjection, the flesh will lead you to a place where you are no longer “meet for the master’s use.”
4. Your Members are Loaned Tools
Each part of your body can either serve sin or serve God. A hammer is used for nails, but it could also be used for murder. If you desire to follow God, you must use the tools He loaned you for the purpose He designed.
Romans 6:13, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
The body naturally drifts toward sin. To prevent the loan from being wasted, you must be intentional:
- Use your mouth to spread the gospel.
- Use your hands to help others up.
- Use your feet to carry the burdens of the weak.
- Use your eyes to find the lost who need the Lord.
You are either a vessel of honor or a vessel of dishonor. Don’t let the body God loaned you become a waste bin for the world’s filth. Purge yourself, yield your members, and become a tool that is fit for the Master’s use.
