"But I keep under 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 Cor 9:27; KJV). Paul is aware that he must set a good example to the people he is preaching to. The Greek word for: “keep under”, in the verse above means to beat, buffet, discipline, and keep under. To: “bring it unto subjection”, means that you sternly tell your body what to do rather than the other way around.

When we get born again, we get a brand-new spirit but we still have the same bodies which need discipline. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and so we should treat them as such. The very next verse tells us that we were bought with a price therefore we should glorify God in our body. That means we should take care of our bodies - watch what we eat and drink and take time to exercise, for example.

It's interesting to note that part of the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23 is self-control and the word for self-control actually refers to restraining the desires of the flesh. Like many other things disciplining the flesh does not come easily, so believe and confess the following familiar verse, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).

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