We have previously seen how our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We should pay particular attention to the fact that the apostle was very concerned for our body. Ordinarily we think that Christ's life is for our spirit and not for our body. But actually, after our spirit receives the Holy Spirit, God's salvation goes to our body also. If God intended for the Holy Spirit to dwell only in our spirit so that only the spirit would benefit, why did the apostle not say, "Your spirit is a temple of the Holy Spirit," rather than saying, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit"? By now we should be clear that the fact of our body being the temple of the Holy Spirit is more than a special privilege; it is also an effective power. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit not only strengthens our inner man and enlightens the eyes of our heart, it also makes our body healthy.
We have also seen that the Holy Spirit gives life to our mortal body. He is not waiting until we die before He resurrects us; even today He is imparting life to our body. In the future He will resurrect our corrupted body, but today He gives life to our mortal body. The power of His life enters into every cell of our being and causes us to experience His life and power.
No longer do we believe that our body is a pitiful prison; rather, in it we see God's life. We are now going forth to experience the words, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." Christ is now the source of our life. He lives in us today as He lived in His body of flesh in those days. We should be more clear about these words: "I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly." This abundant life supplies all the needs of our body. The apostle told Timothy to "lay hold on the eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:12). In this instance, however, Timothy did not need eternal life to be saved. Therefore, is not "eternal life" the life that is "really life" in verse 19? Does not the apostle mean that Timothy should experience eternal life in this age and that this life is powerful enough to overcome all the effects of death?
We are not ignorant of the fact that our body is a body of death. But we must know that we need life to swallow up the power of death. Within our body are two forces: death and life. On the one hand, there is the breaking down, and on the other hand, there is the replenishment by food and rest. The breaking down leads us close to death, while the supply of food and rest maintains our life. An oversupply makes the body produce an "excess" because the force of life is great; overexhaustion makes the body weak because the force of death is also great. It is best to keep the forces of life and death in balance. The weariness that a believer feels in his body is in many ways different from that of ordinary people. His exhaustion is not merely in the physical body. Since he walks with the Lord, bears the burdens of others, has compassion for his brothers, works for God, intercedes before God, fights against the power of darkness, and buffets his body, food and rest alone cannot replenish the loss of strength in his body. This is why many believers, who were very healthy before they were called to the work, feel weakened not long afterwards. Our contact with the spiritual realm and all of our spiritual life, work, and warfare are beyond what our physical body can bear. Our contact with sins, sinners, and evil spirits dries up our body's resources so that we become unable to meet many needs. Therefore, if a believer relies on only natural means to replenish his physical needs, he will not make it. We need Christ's life because this alone can satisfy our needs. We should realize that if we rely on material food, nutrition, and medicine, we are looking to the wrong source. Only the life of the Lord Jesus can meet all the needs of our spiritual life, work, and warfare. He alone can replenish the strength we need to fight against sins and Satan. Only when a believer really knows what spiritual warfare is and how to wrestle in spirit with the enemy, will he know the preciousness of the Lord Jesus as life to his physical body.