8 Chapter 1: Biblical Foundations glorification (Rom. 8:18–25). As Adam’s sin plunged all creation, including the human body, into decay and death, so Christ as the Second Adam saves creation by his own death and defeats death in his resurrection (Rom. 5:12–20; 1 Cor. 15:20–23). Thus, Jesus Christ can declare, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die“ (John 11:25–26). The promise of eternal resurrection life is for all those who believe and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation. Even as Christians die physical deaths, they await physical resurrection. And just as Christ’s resurrection body is a transformed physical body (John 20:19–29), so the Christian’s resurrection body will be a transformed physical body (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:35–53; Phil. 3:20–21). Christians’ resurrection bodies will have both continuity and discontinuity with their earthly bodies, but the Bible does not give us much in the way of specific details. Biblical Theological Foundations of Physical Fitness and Body Care Though the Bible is not primarily about physical fitness and the care of the human body, that does not mean that the Bible does not address how Christians should think about these issues. How does this biblical theology of human embodiment described above affect the way that Christians should think about using their bodies? Even if it is not the main point of Paul’s argument, we can also ask what is the value in physical discipline and exertion that Paul describes incidentally (1 Tim. 4:8)? What biblical categories or concepts should be primary when the Christian thinks about physical fitness and wellness? Worship. Often people equate worship with singing, and this certainly is one form of worship (Rev. 5:9-10). However, the concept of worship is more encompassing than that. Paul tells us that we are to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, and that this is our reasonable worship” (Rom. 12:1). As such, worship, which can be defined as ascribing worth and praise to God, is done as we offer our entire lives to him as a living sacrifice. This means all of life should be viewed in some measure as worship before God. This then includes something like exercise, which, the apostle Paul states, is of some value (1 Tim. 4:8). Your time in exercise can and should be done as an expression of worship to God. It is a chance to humble yourself and recognize that any level of fitness or athletic ability you possess is because God granted that to you (1 Cor. 4:7). Thus, worship can be accomplished in exercise by humbly thanking God for the gift of physical exertion. Also, stewarding all that God has given is an act of worship. Therefore, steward your body well, putting it through physical exertion as a means of worshipping God and for the sake of being able to use your body to worship him in a variety of ways for years to come, if he so wills. Stewardship. The claim that a Christian should be a good steward of his body is an extension of the claim that everything belongs to God. The Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14–30) is a vivid description of God entrusting to people certain things and requiring that they make good use of them for his glory. Because God rightly owns everything, we will give an account for how we steward or faithfully use everything that is entrusted to us. This call for faithful stewardship includes how we use our bodies for his glory: for holiness not impurity, for worship not idolatry,
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