A Foundation for the Faith~Body Connection

We first need to establish a foundation for why there is an important connection between our faith and our body. In fact, there is a significant and interconnected relationship between our physical and spiritual health. This directly opposes the idea that a person's "soul" can be entirely separated from their body. A dualistic understanding of human nature, where the body is just a temporary shell for an immortal soul, originates with ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophy.

Plato speaking of the soul said, "Knowledge is the food of the soul". He also stated, "The body is the prison of the soul," though this is often an oversimplification of his deeper philosophical ideas about the soul's relationship with the physical world. Other significant statements include the idea of the soul as the source of its own motion and thus immortal, and that music gives "soul to the universe". Beautiful thoughts for sure, but not Christian.

As these Greek-derived philosophies expanded, the Apostle Paul dealt with them regularly in the early church, mainly in the form of Gnosticism. A particularly insidious heresy in the early church that persists today.

Gnosticism is an ancient set of beliefs that viewed the material world, including the physical body, as inherently evil or corrupt, and the spiritual realm, including the concept of a soul, as good.

Gnostic teachings often posited that the human soul was trapped within the evil body and could only achieve salvation by being freed from this physical prison through a secret, enlightened knowledge (Greek = gnosis). This view contrasts sharply with the Christian belief in the goodness of God's creation and the resurrection of the body. Here are some of the key aspects of Gnosticism:

• Dualism: A fundamental separation between the immaterial, good spirit (soul) and the material, evil body.
  

• Salvation through Knowledge: The belief that spiritual liberation from the physical world comes from possessing special, hidden knowledge, not through Jesus as the early Christian believed.
  

• Critique of Matter: Matter, and therefore the physical body, is seen as a source of impurity or evil. Something to be rejected. In fact, the ultimate goal was the rejection of the physical world and the body to return to the spiritual realm.

What is the answer?

We are a complete, integrated whole that includes both spiritual and physical dimensions. Genuine Christian faith affects the whole person and should be lived out as such in the physical world. Spiritual and physical health are connected through the concept of "new creation". The health of our bodies, both now and in the final resurrection, is an essential part of God's mission to heal and renew the entire world.

Let's look at three key theological points from Scripture to support our answer:

1. The bodily resurrection: The Christian hope is not simply that a disembodied soul will go to heaven. The core of the Christian message is the bodily resurrection—that God's ultimate plan is for a new, physical creation, and believers will receive new, physical bodies. This emphasis on the future physical body highlights the importance of the material world and our physical selves. 

2. Jesus' healings: Jesus' miracles of physical healing were not merely acts of compassion. They were glimpses of the kingdom of God breaking into the present world. By restoring physical health, Jesus was demonstrating God's ultimate plan for the renewal of all creation, including the human body. This reveals that a person's physical well-being is a core part of God's redemptive work. Sickness, brokenness, and evil are symptoms of a fallen world, things Jesus will heal when he returns. 

3. A Temple of the Holy Spirit: As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, the body is meant for the Lord and is the temple of the Holy Spirit. This means that the body is inherently sacred and integral to a person's spiritual life, not something to be neglected or seen as separate from their spiritual journey. We are to take care of our temple to the best of our ability, imperfect as that may be. 

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