“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.”
The Battle
Paul names possess his vessel here, worth examining directly, active, deliberate stewardship, worth holding as this movement’s own needed picture, your own body named as something to be genuinely, actively possessed and governed, not passively subject to whatever impulse or circumstance happens to arise.
Notice in sanctification and honour, both qualities held together, worth holding as this movement’s own combined aim, not merely restraint alone, but this fuller, described dignity, your own body genuinely treated with honour, worth examining whether this described dignity has actually characterized your own self-treatment.
This is worth applying against however much you have treated your own body as merely a source of impulses to be managed or suppressed, rather than this verse’s own fuller picture, something to be genuinely possessed, in sanctification and honour, worth practicing as this movement’s own actual, dignified aim.
Consider today what possessing your own vessel in sanctification and honour might actually, practically look like, not mere restraint alone, but this fuller, described dignity, worth practicing today as genuine, active stewardship, treating your own body with the honour this verse names directly.
Walk in the Spirit
- Consider what possessing your own vessel in sanctification and honour actually requires today.
- Notice whether you have treated your body as merely impulses to manage, missing this described dignity.
- Practice one specific act today that treats your own body with genuine honour, not mere restraint.
Prayer
Lord, let me know how to possess my own vessel in sanctification and honour, actively, deliberately, not merely restraining impulses but genuinely honoring my body. Amen.
Carry this today
The body is meant to be actively possessed in honour, not merely restrained impulses managed.