The term “fitness” is one of the favorite
marketing buzzwords that has attracted many to health clubs and spas,
and it even has an appeal for those who are so out of shape that it
remains yet wishful thinking. There is little doubt that the physical
part of life just seems better when one is physically fit.
The Bible gives some credence to this idea in 1 Timothy 4:8, where
Paul tells Timothy that bodily exercise profits [a] little. The verse
continues, “but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise
of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” In other words,
godliness, which is the spiritual exercise of
living out what the Word of God teaches,
is significantly more to be sought than “bodily exercise” in order to
improve a believer’s everyday life on earth as well as to yield rewards
in one’s eternal life.
The goal of spiritual fitness, according to the Scriptures, must be
godliness. The Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “exercise thyself” unto
godliness, and Peter declares that God has given believers “all things
that pertain unto life and godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Peter 1:3). I
hope that every believer reading this desires to achieve that goal no
matter how far short of it he might feel that he comes right now. The
good news is that there is good news, no matter what one’s condition!
In the sports world, when a team is struggling in more than one
aspect of the game, many coaches have their teams return to practicing
the fundamentals of the sport. That usually gets things turned around
and headed in the direction of improvement. Such an approach may also be
helpful for those who want to achieve spiritual fitness but are not
exactly sure how to go about it. (And I am not recommending seeking out
so-called “spiritual directors” or “spiritual coaches,” who frequently
utilize the latest trends, methods, or techniques that are far from what
the Scriptures teach.)
What are the scriptural fundamentals for growing in godliness? First
of all, it must begin with a new birth. As Jesus declared to Nicodemus,
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God….Ye
must
be born again.” (John 3:3,7—emphasis added). Without that
transformation of being born spiritually from above, it is impossible
for anyone to manifest godliness. This new birth comes about when a
person admits that he is a sinner, turns to Jesus by faith alone,
believes that He paid the full penalty for his sins, and accepts the
free gift of salvation that only Jesus could and did provide. He then
becomes a “new man”: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature…” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even though he has been miraculously
transformed into a new being, a born-again believer retains his old
nature, but no longer is he under its sinful control: “But now ye also
put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off
the old man with his deeds; And have
put on the new man, which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”
(Colossians 3:8-10 —emphasis added). “And that ye put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”
(Ephesians 4:24). We shouldn’t be surprised, however, when within the
born-again believer, the resident old nature, though no longer in
control, causes a sometimes-fierce struggle in our hearts and minds.
This spiritual battle will continue throughout our temporal lives, but
daily victory can be ours. Why? Because God himself has provided
everything that a believer needs to grow in “righteousness and true holiness.”
What are some of these things that He has provided? One help that is foundational is that the Holy Spirit
indwells
every Christian at the moment that he believes the gospel. “Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). “And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”
(Galatians 4:6). “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit
of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not,
neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is foundational, for without the Spirit of Christ, there would
be no life
in Him.
This could be compared to having the latest model car but the engine is
missing. Just as an engineless car would be useless regarding the
purpose for which it was intended, so a person who doesn’t have the Holy
Spirit (and thus does not belong to the Lord), is helpless when it
comes to living above one’s circumstances, being a light in the world,
and ultimately spending eternity fulfilling God’s plan for us. The
analogy may be a little rough, but I think you get the point. On the
other hand, the person who is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ has all
that he needs to live a life of godliness—as long as he avails himself
of it—which certainly includes being spiritually fruitful and
productive.
Consider the incredible abundance that the Holy Spirit provides for the believer. He, the third
person
of the Godhead, is the born-again Christian’s comforter (which includes
the meaning “strengthener”), teacher, enabler, empowerer, guide,
convicter of sin, revealer of truth, baptizer, and imparter of numerous
spiritual gifts. It was through the Holy Spirit that we received the
Word of God: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter
1:21). And it is through the Holy Spirit that we gain understanding of
the Scriptures: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John
14:26).
The Holy Spirit’s involvement in giving us the Word of God and its
value in equipping us in Christ is clearly revealed in 2 Timothy
3:15-17: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is
in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works.” Indeed, God’s miraculous revelation through the
Holy Scriptures is truly the Lord’s instruction manual, informing us of
what we need to know in order to live a life of godliness (2 Peter 1:3),
and the Holy Spirit is the One who empowers us to carry out the
teachings of Jesus, who is the Living Word.
Jesus is the God-Man. He is eternally God, and through the
incarnation He became the perfect Man. He will never cease to be both
God and Man. We are finite beings, so that idea, along with others (such
as the doctrine of the Trinity), may seem incomprehensible to us. As
long as we are still in these earthly bodies, we will never be able to
fully
comprehend our Infinite God. Therefore we trust what He has
communicated to us through His Word, and one day, we will be with Him
and will know Him in perfect truth (1 Corinthians 13:12). In our pursuit
of godliness, Jesus not only gave us instructions, but He, as the
perfect Man, also demonstrated the necessity of depending upon the Holy
Spirit’s work in our lives. Consider the following verses:
“And the
Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). “And Jesus
being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was
led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1). “And Jesus returned in
the power of the Spirit
into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region
round about” (Luke 4:14). At a synagogue in Nazareth He declared himself
to be the prophesied Messiah by reading from the Book of Isaiah. His
words began with the statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”
(Luke 4:18). Our Lord not only demonstrated the importance of the Holy
Spirit in His life as the perfect man, but He also emphasized the same
for all who would follow Him: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the
true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for
the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24—emphasis added).
Although this article began by making references to physical fitness
as an analogy, there is a critical difference between one’s penchant for
physical exercise and one’s pursuit of godliness. Too often the former
focuses on self, whereas the latter cannot. It must be “other-directed.”
Godliness is manifested in one’s love for God and for others. This is
made abundantly clear through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which God
has provided to every believer in order to enable each one to grow in
godliness and to be of benefit to one another. Paul, writing to the
church at Ephesus, said: “But unto every one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When
he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto
men.…And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7-13).
As described above, the gifts of the Spirit will certainly generate
individual godliness, but, as noted, they also help us to grow even more
as we minister to others. Peter, in his first epistle, confirms that
the gifts are for all believers and are to be directed for the good of
one another: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the
same, one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1
Peter 4:10).
The development of spiritual fitness is directly related to one’s
dependence upon the Holy Spirit. He has given to every believer one or
more gifts to be used as He wills and enables. If we do not yield to the
working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then the gifts are not being
exercised, and both we and the body of Christ are deprived of what has
been given for the equipping, building up, and edification of the
saints. Sadly, in these days of prevailing end-times apostasy, the
church is backing away from the spiritual strengthening that God has
provided through the Holy Spirit, who is often a much-neglected Friend.
This is most evident in the area of spiritual discernment.
Although spiritual fitness is certainly aided by the operation of the
gifts of the Spirit, there is another important exercise of the Holy
Spirit that is a support for godliness and is necessary for God’s
exceptional empowerment in order to accomplish His will:
being filled with the
Spirit. The Scriptures are very clear in the exhortations for believers
to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was filled with the Holy
Spirit; John the Baptist was filled with Him, as were his parents; Peter
was filled, and so were Paul, Stephen, Barnabas, and the disciples. In
addition to these, every believer is exhorted to be filled with the
Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and with the fruits of righteousness
(Philippians 1:11).
In his
Believer’s Bible Commentary, the late William
MacDonald (who was a TBC Board member) shared these biblical principles
regarding Ephesians 5:18, “How then can a believer be filled with the
Spirit? The Apostle Paul does not tell us here in Ephesians; he merely
commands us to be filled. But from other parts of the word, we know that
in order to be filled with the Spirit we must: 1) Confess and put away
all known sin in our lives (1 John 1:5-9)…. 2) Yield ourselves
completely to His control (Romans 12:1-2)…. 3) Let the word of Christ
dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16)…. 4) Finally, we must be emptied of
self (Galatians 2:20)….” Mr. MacDonald then quotes an unknown author:
“Just as you have left the whole burden of your sin, and have rested on
the finished work of Christ, so leave the whole burden of your life and
service, and rest upon the present in-working of the Holy Spirit. Give
yourself up, morning by morning, to be led by the Holy Spirit and go
forth praising and at rest, leaving Him to manage you and your day.
Cultivate the habit all through the day, of joyfully depending upon and
obeying Him, expecting Him to guide, to enlighten, to reprove, to teach,
to use, and to do in and with you what He wills. Count upon His working
as a fact, altogether apart from sight or feeling. Only let us believe
in and obey the Holy Spirit as the Ruler of our lives, and cease from
the burden of trying to manage ourselves; then shall the fruit of the
Spirit appear in us as He wills to the glory of God” (pp. 1945-1946).
No one can obey Jesus’ command, “Take up the cross, and follow me”
(Mark 10:21), without the enablement of the Holy Spirit. A person who
claims to be a Christian but doesn’t utilize the power of the Holy
Spirit in his life, perhaps because of wrong teaching or simply because
of personal apathy, will likely be crushed by the cross that he is
attempting to carry.
Spiritual fitness is vital and more crucial for believers than ever
before. Times of persecution loom on the horizon for Christians in
countries in the West, where seduction rather than overt persecution has
until now prevailed. We can learn from the example of Paul and
Barnabas: “But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and
the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they shook off the
dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the
disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost” (Acts
13:50-52).
Therefore, our encouragement and prayer for all of us who know Jesus
and desire to glorify Him is this: Let the study of His Word be our
continuous habit, and let the leading, guiding, and filling of the Holy
Spirit be our daily experience. That is true spiritual fitness!
TBC