Tuesday, 20 July 2021
PUT YOUR BODY IN SUBJECTION
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness (2 Peter 1:5-6).
Temperance is from the Greek word “egkrateia” and it means self-control, the ability and will to control your impulses, to delay immediate gratification for a long-term gain. That simply means the ability to wait or hold on, saying “no” or “not now” to your impulses.
This was the virtue Moses displayed after he had been raised as a prince in Pharaoh’s house. The Bible says, “…when he grew up, refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25 NLT). “What if I don’t have temperance?” someone may ask.
As long as you’re born again, you have the virtue of temperance. The Bible says it’s the fruit of the recreated human spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The man who desires to operate effectively with this virtue must learn to control his senses. And that can be achieved by training your body.
You have to discipline your body; break it the way you break a horse until it does what you say, not you doing what it says. If your body can’t be subject to you, then it means you’re a slave to your body. And you can’t do anything serious for the Lord if you’re body-ruled.
In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul said, “…I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection…” For instance, you can decide you’ll not sleep whenever you’re in church, or whenever you’re studying the Bible or listening to God’s Word; that’s temperance.
Also, when you fast; don’t find yourself going for food barely an hour in to the fast. Part of the essence of a fast is to deny yourself the natural cravings in order to put your body in subjection to your spirit. You have the ability and will to control your impulses, to subdue your body and tell it what to do, and it’ll comply.
CONFESSION: I’m a soldier in God’s army, and I’ve crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Therefore, I keep my body under, and bring it into subjection. I have the ability and will to control my impulses, to delay immediate gratification for a long-term gain, to the glory of God. I tell my body what to do, and it complies! Hallelujah!
FURTHER STUDY:
Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Acts 26:19-32 & Psalms 19-20
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Luke 9:49-62 & Joshua 16-17