READ: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection…” – 1 Corinthians 9:27
When you get saved, your body is the same old body. You do not change physically. If you were tall and skinny before salvation, you will be tall and skinny after salvation. If you had long hair before you got born again, you’ll still have long hair after salvation. Does this mean that nothing has happened to you Not at all! Your spirit is recreated in God.
When people give their lives to Christ, they often believe that everything would be different from that moment onwards. However, they get home only to realize they still have the old feelings they had before salvation. They experience lust within their bodies. The old feelings of jealousy, hatred and anger return.
The devil begins to tell them, “You are not a real Christian. You are not saved. You are not born again!” Satan continues to harass you and says, “If you were really born again, such a thought or feeling would never occur to you. Satan tells you; None of the Christians sitting in this church has the kind of thoughts you have.”
But satan is a liar! We all have thoughts and feelings that we don’t want to have even though we are born again. Everyone who is born again still has to contend with the flesh. Even Paul was worried about his flesh. He knew that his flesh could disgrace him one day. That is why he kept his flesh under constant control.
…I KEEP UNDER [control] MY BODY, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:27