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What the Bible says about Stewardship of our Bodies
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 2:15

In verse 15, God clarifies why he gave man powers. At first glance, it only appears to cover what is physical and material, but with God's spiritual revelation and other scriptures, it carries far greater implication.

In the King James Version, the word meaning "tend" or "cultivate" is dress. The Hebrew means "to work at." In 1611, when the King James was translated, the word dress meant "to set in order," but gradually, it was applied to applying decorative details, "to embellish."

Today, when we say that we are going to dress, we include both parts of that definition. We put ourselves in order and embellish how we look.

In modern Bibles, “dress” has been translated "tend" or "cultivate." They have subtle meanings that are slightly different from "dress." Tend means "to pay attention to" or "to serve." For example, “I am going to tend to the dishes.” It means "to apply oneself to the care of" or "to manage the operations of."

Cultivate, which is the best of the three definitions, means "to put through a finishing process," "to foster the growth of," or "to further or encourage." Neither "dress" or "tend" is wrong, but "cultivate" most accurately applies the Hebrew meaning of the original word.

There is the word "keep" as well. We are to "dress and keep." Keep means to "guard," "preserve," "be faithful to," and "maintain."

God has given man powers to carry out the responsibility that has been given into his hands: to have dominion. Man must do the following: Put what has been placed into his hands through a finishing process, watch over it, guard it, protect it, and preserve its beauty.

This was all given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, a beautiful place. God let them and us know that, as beautiful as the Garden was, it would not stay that way. It was subject to natural law and would degenerate. The Garden would need to be maintained, cultivated, dressed, and kept, requiring a great deal of work. Man was not only to preserve, control, and direct it, but also to strive even to ennoble the Garden of Eden through work.

It begins to become clear that God intends mankind to make more of his environment than he has been given. God has given the powers to do that. We are to understand this not only physically, but more importantly, spiritually.

Here in Genesis, God has shown the fact that a person works, the reason why he works, and the way he works all have a great deal to do with his spiritual development. It is important to note the difference between "salvation" and "development." We are saved by grace. But if there is going to be development from where God begins whenever we first receive His Spirit, then it requires something on our part to enable the fullness of development to take place. That involves work.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Right Use of Power

Exodus 15:26

As God's children, we can call upon Him for healing. He is our Healer and promises to keep us from the terrible diseases of this world if we obey Him. He assures us in Psalm 103:3 that He is the One "who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases." During His ministry, Jesus healed everyone who asked "according to [their] faith" (Matthew 9:29). He gave Himself in sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, and it is by His stripes that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; I Peter 2:24). John writes, "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (I John 3:22), showing that our healing is conditional upon obedience and right living.

This is wonderful promise! These days, it is a welcome relief to know that God is the Great Physician and our Father. We can conduct our lives confidently, knowing that we can rely on God's protection.

On the other hand, we should not be foolish, stupid, or careless in these matters. Certainly, we should not put ourselves in harm's way or tempt God to force Him to act in our behalf (Deuteronomy 6:16; see Matthew 4:7). There may be no quicker way to invoke the wrath of Almighty God (Exodus 17:1-7)!

So we should ask ourselves when we are sick and tired and in need of God's healing, "What have I done to bring this on? Have I tempted God with my lifestyle? Has He withheld His protection so that I might get sick and have the opportunity to learn a lesson and repent of a sin?" If we are honest with ourselves, we will find ourselves answering, "Yes" to several or all these questions.

If so—if we have not been treating the temple of God's Holy Spirit properly—if we have been burning the midnight oil or the candle at both ends—if we have been feeding it low-quality fare, skipping meals, or overindulging in sugary or fatty foods—if we have been skipping even moderate exercise, such as taking walks—if we have been carrying too much weight, etc.—then we need to do something about it! That is the essence of repentance: change!

For too long, I feel, members of God's church have not put enough emphasis on this last part of the process. We are happy and eager to take advantage of God's mercy and blessing to be healed, but too often we have not made the necessary changes to show Him that we indeed have learned our lesson and wish to please Him by living healthfully from then on.

The process works the same physically as spiritually because it is a universal, eternal law. If we do wrong and seek forgiveness, God by His grace and mercy forgives and leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). But He cannot repent for us! That is our job. He takes us as far as He can along the way, but we must make the changes so that repentance actually occurs. We must, by whatever strength we can muster with God's help, bear down and change.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Sick and Tired

Luke 16:1-13

Our bodies belong to God, but He has bestowed their care on us as a stewardship responsibility to glorify God in our body as well as our spirit. In the parable, Jesus mentions "unrighteous mammon" (verses 9, 11), which He also terms "what is least" (verse 10) and "what is another man's" (verse 12). Each term is synonymous with the other two.

Jesus does not say to ignore these. He simply points out that they are secondary to the "true riches" (verse 11), "what is your own" (verse 12), and "[what] is much" (verse 10). Similarly, each of these is synonymous with the other two. He points to a direct connection between the two levels of responsibility by saying, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much" (verse 10). Care of our body falls within the parameters of unrighteous mammon, what is least and what is another man's.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Eating: How Good It Is! (Part One)

2 Corinthians 6:16-18

This principle clearly covers the care of our bodies. In an overall sense, our stewardship is not merely to labor not to destroy the established relationship but to improve it. Good health is extremely valuable. Even though one can overcome poor health in one's vanity, of greater importance is that good health promotes the strengthening of the relationship. This is so because it is bound within the sanctification process. It is tied directly to growing, overcoming, purifying one's life, avoiding the pitfalls of life, living the abundant life, as well as to our witness before the world in glorifying God.

We can undertake a great deal of serious effort in keeping ourselves from committing sins like idolatry, fornication, adultery, lying, or stealing, while virtually ignoring the physical care of the body itself. Oftentimes, we do this by being ignorant of the responsibility or foolishly thinking that maintaining or improving our health is of little concern. The younger among us may find it helpful to ask someone older—one whose health is deteriorating or who has had to deal with poor health much of his life—how important having good health throughout life is. In no way should this reduce our efforts to overcome spiritual weaknesses, but it should encourage us to add another area of overcoming that will glorify God.

Genesis 2:15 says, "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend [dress, KJV] and keep it." Dressing and keeping is an overall responsibility for everyone in what we are to do with life. It applies to life's spiritual and physical aspects. We are to begin where we are and cultivate, embellish, and encourage growth, while at the same time preserving, guarding, and protecting through maintenance from decay and deterioration.

A direct line connects this concept and Jesus' instruction in the Parable of the Unjust Steward. The spiritual level is more important, but God wants faithfulness in the physical level also because both are inextricably bound in yielding to Him in the building of character. Both require study, meditation, and setting goals, as well as consistent, faithful application. We do both to glorify Him.

Unfortunately, some will not do what is necessary for success, perhaps because of ignorance of their responsibility. Others know but lack the character or the sense of responsibility. Some spend their time rationalizing and justifying the way they are or proclaim to themselves and others that they are victims of the system and have no way out. Nevertheless, God is in heaven, and He is the way out.

Eating is a major part of life, as substantiated by the Bible's 700 references to it. The abundant life that Jesus proclaims He wants all to lead hinges upon what we eat spiritually and physically. We must make a major effort to feed our minds and bodies with the best nutrition available, if we desire good spiritual and physical health.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Eating: How Good It Is! (Part One)


 




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