WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
SEPTEMBER 11, 2026
TOPIC: GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY
BY T. O. BANSO
“For ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, American Standard Version).
Man is a spirit. He has a soul and lives in a body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). This is referred to as trichotomy—the belief that humans have three distinct parts—although some Bible scholars hold to dichotomy, which teaches that humans have two distinct parts: a combined spirit and soul, and a body.
Some people erroneously think that God is only interested in their souls and spirit; they think He is not interested in how they use their bodies. That’s not true. God is interested in your spirit, soul, and body. “For ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, American Standard Version). To glorify God, in this scripture, means to honour Him. When you become a Christian, you don’t own your body. It is wrong to think like non-believers that you can do whatever you like with your body. However, your body belongs to God, not you. Use your body to honour or glorify Him.
Why should you glorify God in your body? Glorify God in your body because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Your body is the house of the Holy Spirit and, therefore, the house of God because the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Each person of the Trinity is fully God. The three are divine and distinct persons, coequal and coeternal. The Holy Spirit dwelling in the body of a believer means that God is dwelling in him.
1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (New King James Version). The preceding verse says, “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.” (Verse 18, New King James Version). Your body is not for sexual immorality.
Engaging in sexual immorality does not glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:13b says the body is not for sexual immorality but the Lord, and the Lord for the body. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:15-17, New King James Version).
When Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood, He bought you—spirit, soul, and body. He paid for the whole of you, not a part of you. Although only your spirit is born again at salvation, your body will be redeemed at the resurrection, as stated in Romans 8:23 and Philippians 3:20-21. Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (New King James Version). This scripture means that God is interested in your body. A sacrifice once offered does not belong to the person who offered it.
You must present your body as a living sacrifice. Though you’re still alive and can move about, you don’t own your body. It belongs to God. Therefore, God demands that you do what will honour or glorify Him with or in your body.
Gluttony does not glorify God. Eat to live, not live to eat. Romans 14:6b says that he who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. Eating to the Lord does not mean eating the wrong things or in the wrong ways that will jeopardise your health, thereby making you ineffective in the fulfilment of God’s purpose for your life. Such a body does not glorify God.
A negative lifestyle, including substance abuse, will have negative effects on your body. God needs you alive to glorify Him. Only the living can praise the Lord. “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.” (Psalm 115:17, New King James Version). Isaiah 38:18a says a similar thing: “For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise.” (New Living Translation). David says, “For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?” (Psalm 6:5, New King James Version). Glorify God in your body—honour Him; worship Him; praise Him.
Glorify God in your body. As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct (1 Peter 1:15). Be holy, for God is holy (verse 16). Avoid using your body for anything that will not bring glory to God. “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:13-14, New King James Version).
Before you do anything, always ask yourself: Will this bring glory to God? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says that whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. According to 1 Timothy 4:8, physical exercise has some value. It will help keep your body fit to do things that will glorify God. However, you must not become excessively body-conscious so that your body becomes the god you worship, as some do. They spend lots of money to look good, particularly on vanity-driven cosmetic surgeries rather than essential medical procedures. Such people are guilty of self-objectification or excessive pride in their appearance. They are not glorifying God in their bodies but glorifying themselves in their bodies! Glorify God in your body.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you must repent of your sins and confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour now. Please take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life, your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, you will be taught how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Jesus into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, forgive me for the ways I have not glorified You in my body. Holy Spirit, help me henceforth to glorify God in my body. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; I will not use it for sexual immorality. I will not offer any part of my body to unrighteousness but to righteousness. I pray that those who use their bodies to glorify Satan will repent, give their hearts to Jesus, and serve God, the Owner of their bodies.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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