Living for God’s Glory: Honoring Him in Body and Spirit

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body” I Corinthians 6:19-20).

1 Corinthians 6:20 means that believers are not their own but belong to God, having been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. This understanding implies a responsibility to use one's body for the glory of God, rather than for selfish desires or sexual immorality, because the body is considered the temple of the Holy Spirit. What we do in and with our body really matters. So, how do we glorify God in our bodies? Below are only a few examples of how we can glorify God.

We glorify God when we sincerely confess our sin.

“Then Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me’” (Joshua 7:19).

We glorify God when we bear spiritual fruit.

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8).

We glorify God when we praise Him and give Him thanks.

“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me” (Psalms 50:23).

We glorify God when we give sacrificially to God and others.

“Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all” (2 Corinthians 9:13).

We glorify God when we are united in mind and spirit.

“Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-7).

The more we seek to glorify God, the more we become like Jesus, and the more we become like Jesus, the more we reflect his light and love to a dark and lonely world.

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim. 1:17, ESV).