Verse 26 says, "I therefore run in this way, not as though without a clear aim; I box in this way, not as though beating the air." This means that Paul was not running in an aimless way; he knew where he was going. He said that he buffeted his body. This means his boxing was not beating the air; he was beating his own body. We should consider verse 26 together with verse 27. Verse 26 tells us that Paul was not without a clear aim. He did not run in whatever way others directed him to; he had a definite direction in his running. Neither was his boxing a beating of the air. Then in verse 27, he immediately points out that he was buffeting his body. He was hitting his own body. We pointed out earlier that buffeting means a kind of hitting, one which produces bruises all over one's body. It is not ordinary hitting, but a kind of severe beating. Ordinary hitting does not produce bruises. Paul dealt with his body in a harsh way so that his body would come under his control. He did it to make his body his slave. This means he would not allow his body to become loose. He brought it under his own control.

The goal for such an exercise is to make the body the slave, while the means is the buffeting of the body. We buffet our body so that it may become our slave. Brothers and sisters, if we do not overcome in this matter, it would be better for us to wait for three to five years and learn this lesson before we attempt to touch God's work. Every servant of God must learn to bring his body under his control. The Bible shows us that a worker of the Lord is like a runner. He may take great pleasure in the work, but it will have little value if his body is not under his control. Service to the Lord is not a simple thing; it is not merely a matter of preaching sermons from a platform. There is no such thing. Paul shows us here that only those who will buffet their bodies and make them their slaves can serve the Lord. If your body cannot obey, you need more training from the Lord. Do not think that a little aspiration will qualify a person to serve the Lord. God's workers must buffet their body and make it their slave. If their body will not obey them, they are of little use to the work.