YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN!

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) ESV

Who owns you? Who do you belong to? Who rules you life? Your decisions? Your plans? Your goals? Your passions and desires? Your priorities? For those that are not Christians, the mantra of their life is “I am the Captain of my ship, the master of my soul.” But what about those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ? Do you desire to only do God’s will in your life? Do you want a life blessed by God or do want an agenda of yours blessed by God.? Are you willing to humbly submit yourself to the will of God in all things? Do you believe that God’s will is “good, acceptable, and perfect” (Romans 12:2)? I ask these questions because they are the very questions that I am asking of myself.

One of the hardest two words to say are: “I surrender.” Even more so, surrendering is not an easy thing to do. It sure is not for me. By nature I am a high achiever, self disciplined, success driven striver. Call me to sacrifice for Jesus, no problem. Call on me to serve the Lord, piece of cake. Ask me to risk for Jesus, I’m ready, able, and willing. But ask me to surrender? No thanks. I don’t do surrender well. It has taken me thirty five years of being a Christian to learn that the real test of faith is not how successful we are, but how surrendered we are.

When Jesus taught us to pray fundamental on the front end of prayer was an attitude of surrender. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”(Matthew 6:10) The most Christian prayer we can ever pray is the prayer Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

The apostle Paul has taught me the key to surrender. One of the great truths that the apostle Paul teaches about being a Christian is that a Christians belongs to Christ. Paul s says in 1Corinthians 6:9, "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." So the reverse is true too: If you do have the Spirit of Christ, you do belong to him. So as Christians we should think of ourselves as belonging to Christ, as Christ´s possession; wonderfully owned by Him for stupendous purposes!

In what sense are we Christ´s possession? Paul connects the ideas of indwelling and possession in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 in a way that explains: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" In what sense? He explains in verse 20: "For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." Paul describes two ways that Christ makes us his own: purchase and habitation.

John Piper illustrates this:

There was a time in this country when you could lay claim to a piece of land in the west by simply going there and living on it, homesteading it. And of course there is the more traditional ways of obtaining land, paying for it. Christ did both in order to possess a people for himself: he bought us, and he homesteaded us. "You are not your own. For you have been bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) - that´s the purchase. "You are the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . You are not your own" . . . "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9) - that´s the homesteading. He bought us with his blood, and he moves in by his Spirit. If you are a Christian, you are not your own. You belong to Christ. Your body is His home, His dwelling place working out His will and purposes.

So what that means very simply is that surrender means that we are to use our body which has been purchased and is now owned by God in ways that will show that God is more satisfying, more precious, more to be desired, more glorious than anything the body craves.

Paul puts it another way in Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Another time Paul prayed, his own testimony of desire: “It is my eager expectation and hope that . . . Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). Oh to be dedicated and surrendered to a vibrant, fruitful, consecrated life on earth for God and His glory.

One of the most surrendered and consecrated Christians was Jonathan Edwards. He describes his consecration and surrender to God in a prayer dated Saturday January 12, 1723:

In the morning I have been before God; and have given myself, all that I am and have to God, so that I am not in any respect my own: I can challenge no right in myself, I can challenge no right in this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me; neither have I any right to this body, or any of its members: no right to this tongue, these hands, nor feet: no right to these senses, these eyes, these ears, this smell or taste. I have given myself clear away, and have not retained anything as my own. I have been to God this morning, and told him that I gave myself wholly to him. I have given every power to him; so that for the future I will challenge no right in myself, in any respect. I have expressly promised him, and do now promise Almighty God, that by his grace I will not. I have this morning told him, that I did take him for my whole portion and felicity, looking on nothing else as any part of my happiness, nor acting as if it were; and his law for the constant rule of my obedience: and would fight with all my might against the world, the flesh, and the devil, to the end of my life. And did believe in Jesus Christ, and receive him as a prince and a savior; and would adhere to the faith and obedience of the gospel, how hazardous and difficult whatsoever the profession and practice of it may be. That I did receive the blessed Spirit as my teacher, sanctifier, and only comforter; and cherish all his motions to enlighten, purify, confirm, comfort, and assist me. This I have done. And I pray God, for the sake of Christ, to look upon it as a self-dedication; and to receive me now as entirely his own, and deal with me in all respects as such; whether he afflicts me or prospers me, or whatever he pleases to do with me, who am his. Now, henceforth I am not to act in any respect as my own.—I shall act as my own, if I ever make use of any of my powers to any thing that is not to the glory of God, and do not make the glorifying him my whole and entire business; if I murmur in the least at afflictions; if I grieve at the prosperity of others; if I am any way uncharitable; if I am angry because of injuries; if I revenge; if I do anything, purely to please myself, or if I avoid any thing for the sake of my ease, if I omit anything because it is great self-denial; if I trust to myself; if I take any of the praise of any good that I do, or rather God does by me; or if I am any way proud.


Edwards clearly realized that his life was not his own, but that he belonged entirely to God and , therefore, must live in surrender to Him. Oh for humble submission and dedication to God like Edwards, for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ. If we are going to impact the world for Jesus Christ, we must live with extraordinary purpose and firm dedication. God is looking for individuals who will say, “God I am completely Yours!”

Have you come to realize that dear reader? Would you surrender and declare to God and to yourself: “God, I want to be on your side. Who God is, that’s who I want to live on and for. Wherever God is, I want to be. If God is in riches or poverty, sickness and health, at home or far away, I want to be there! Whatever God is doing, that’s what I want to be doing. Nothing else matters. I say “uncle”. “I give up, I give in.” “I surrender.”

May you present your body to Him as a living sacrifice and my you preach to yourself like I do, “Bill, you are not your own, you have been bought with a price, So glorify God in your body.

Pastor Bill