#34 Gods Radical Truth About Your Body (Becoming Whole Series)

Why Your Physical Self Matters More Than You Think

Ever catch yourself thinking your body is just a temporary shell you're stuck with until heaven? Or maybe you're on the other end of the spectrum, spending hours at the gym trying to achieve that perfect beach body?

Both extremes miss something profound about how God sees our bodies.

This week, Matt Edmundson shared something that challenges our thinking on this topic. He talked about how his kids once patted his stomach to make it wobble and asked about his "baggy belly" - and how that sent him straight to the gym the next day. But more importantly, he unpacked why caring for our bodies isn't unspiritual, and why neglecting them isn't holy.

The Great Body Deception We've All Bought Into

We live in a culture that's utterly confused about bodies. On one hand, we're told our bodies are everything - hence the endless pressure to look younger, fitter, more Instagram-worthy. On the other hand, we're told our bodies don't really matter - that the "real you" is just your mind, your feelings, your consciousness.

A BBC documentary where someone struggling with gender identity described their body as just a "meat skeleton" they'd been born in. Now, there's real pain behind those words, and that suffering is genuine. But is separating ourselves from our bodies really the answer?

This isn't just a modern problem either. The ancient Greeks largely viewed the body as a prison for the soul. Many Eastern religions share similar themes. Even in church, we can pick up this idea that caring about physical health is somehow less spiritual than prayer and Bible study.

This body-soul split isn't biblical. It's not how God intended us to be.

You're Not a Soul Stuck in a Body

When God created humans, Genesis 2:7 tells us He "formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

Notice what God didn't do? He didn't create a soul and then stuff it into a body like putting a letter in an envelope. He didn't speak humans into existence from a distance like He did with the stars. Instead, the Creator of the universe got His hands dirty, forming and shaping the human body with the intimate care of a master artist. Then He breathed His own breath - His life - into this physical form.

The result? Dust became a living soul. Not a soul trapped in dust, but dust animated by God's Spirit in a unified living being.

Genesis 1:31 says God looked at everything He made, including these physical, dusty, bodily humans, and declared it "very good." It's not just acceptable. Not just functional. Very good.

Your Body Bears God's Image (Yes, Really)

Genesis 1:27 tells us God created mankind in His own image. Your body - with all its quirks, limitations, and peculiarities - bears the image of God. Not just your soul. Not just your mind. Your whole integrated body-self.

Matt shared about his missing finger section (from an accident 20 years ago) and how it still feels constrained every single day, like wearing a glove that's too tight. He gets that our bodies can feel broken, that something can feel deeply wrong. But that doesn't mean our bodies are mistakes or meaningless meat skeletons.

God's design is you - the beautiful, amazing, sanctified whole spirit, soul, and body you, altogether created in His image and likeness.

The Temple You're Walking Around In

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Do you not know that your bodies are temples 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 honour God with your bodies."

Think about what a temple was in Paul's day - a place of divine presence, carefully maintained and beautiful, treated with reverence and respect. It was where heaven and earth intersected, the centre of worship and community life.

That's what Paul's saying about your body. It's not just a shell. It's a sacred space where the living God dwells. Your body is where heaven and earth intersect, where worship and life are carried out. The Holy Spirit himself has made His home there.

God Took On a Body

If you still have doubts about God's view of the body, the incarnation settles the matter once and for all. John's Gospel tells us "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."

Think about the scandal of this in our dualistic world. The eternal, infinite, all-powerful God took on human form. And it wasn't temporary, like trying on a costume. The Son of God permanently united divine nature and human nature, body included.

As Nancy Pearcey puts it: "The incarnation is the ultimate affirmation of the dignity of the human body."

God didn't save us by helping us escape our bodies. He saved us by taking on a body himself.

Jesus healed both physical and spiritual ailments. He felt hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. He wept real tears. And in one of our favourite Bible stories, after His resurrection, in His glorified body, He cooked breakfast on the beach for His disciples.

What This Changes About Everything

When we stray from God's intent and separate body from person, we head down a dangerous path. If your body isn't the real you, then:

• Human dignity becomes conditional on abilities rather than inherent in our nature

• Sex becomes just physical recreation with no personal meaning

• We develop troubling theories about personhood and what it means for the vulnerable

Your body isn't incidental to who you are. It's an essential part of your identity as someone created and loved by God.

Three Ways to Start Living This Truth

1. Repent of Wrong Thinking

Have you bought into cultural lies about your body? Have you worshipped it or despised it? Have you treated it as a meaningless matter or even as your personal property? Time to change that thinking.

2. Receive God's Love for Your Body

God doesn't love some future-perfected version of you. He loves you now, in your current body, with all its struggles and limitations. You are fearfully and wonderfully made - not because your body is perfect, but because God crafted it with purpose and meaning.

3. Respond with Stewardship

Try this simple exercise every morning: place your hand on your chest and pray, "Lord, thank you for this temple. How can I honour you with my body today?"

Perhaps it means finally scheduling that doctor's appointment you've been putting off. Perhaps it's about choosing rest over endless productivity. Perhaps it's about eating food that nourishes rather than just satisfying. Or maybe it's simply thanking God for what your body enables you to do.

The Bottom Line

Culture says your body is either everything or nothing. But God says something much more interesting: it is His.

Your body isn't a mistake. It isn't meaningless. It isn't separated from your spiritual life. Your body is God's radical design - a temple where He dwells, an instrument of worship, a very good gift to be stewarded for His glory.

And that changes everything.