To train the body means to bring your physical life—your habits, actions, and routines—into alignment with the way of Jesus. It’s learning to live out your faith with your body, not just your beliefs.

Paul wrote:  “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” – 1 Corinthians 9:27 (ESV)

Following Jesus isn’t just a spiritual journey—it’s an embodied one. God calls us to honor Him not only with our minds and hearts, but with our bodies.

1. Because Your Body Is Part of Worship

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” - Romans 12:1

• Worship is not only singing or praying—it’s how you live physically each day.

• What you do with your body matters to God because your body is His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Training the body honors God with how you eat, rest, move, work, speak, and show up in the world.

2. Because Habits Shape Who You Become

Every repeated action—how you wake up, what you scroll, how you respond to stress—forms your character.

• What you do with your body trains your soul.

• Spiritual transformation doesn’t happen apart from your daily routines and rhythms.

Training your body helps you develop holy habits that lead to a Christlike life.

3. Because You Were Made to Live an Embodied Faith

Jesus didn’t just believe or feel the Father’s will—He obeyed it with His body.

• He walked, served, healed, touched, fasted, celebrated, rested, and gave His physical life for others.

• As His disciples, we are called to imitate His physical life, not just His spiritual teachings.

Your body is a vessel for obedience and love.

Training the body is not about achieving perfection—it’s about developing disciplined, grace-filled habits that reflect the way of Jesus. Here’s how:

Step 1: Offer Your Body Daily to God

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice…” – Romans 12:1

Each morning, begin by surrendering your body to God.

• Say: “Lord, this body is yours today—use it for your glory.”

• Offer Him your hands to serve, your feet to go where He leads, your mouth to bless and encourage.

Practice Tip: In your morning prayer, touch each part of your body as you offer it to God: “God, use my eyes to see people with compassion… my mouth to speak truth… my hands to do good…”

Step 2: Practice Physical Disciplines That Shape the Soul

Spiritual disciplines are not just mental—they are embodied.

• Fasting trains your body to say no to cravings and yes to God.

• Sabbath trains your body to rest in God, not strive in self.

• Silence trains your body to wait, listen, and be still.

• Serving trains your body to move toward others in love.

These are not just religious activities—they are spiritual workouts.

Practice Tip: Choose one embodied practice each week. Start small: fast one meal, unplug for an hour, go for a walk in silence with God.

Step 3: Watch What You Feed Your Body and Mind

Your body is shaped by what you consume—food, media, images, words, rhythms.

• Are you feeding your body what leads to life or what leads to apathy, anxiety, or distraction?

• Training the body includes learning to say no to what deadens you and say yes to what nourishes you.

Practice Tip: Do a weekly audit of your physical habits to invite Jesus into your patterns:

• Am I getting enough sleep?

• Am I moving regularly?

• Am I scrolling or snacking out of boredom?

• Am I spending more time consuming than creating?
  
  

Step 4: Let Your Body Serve Others

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31

Jesus trained His body for mission—and so do we.

• Let your body become a vessel for compassion, hospitality, generosity, and action.

• Training the body means learning to show up physically in love for others: helping a neighbor, holding a hand, delivering a meal, hugging a child.

Practice Tip: Ask: “Who can I physically bless this week?” Write a note, give a ride, make a meal, clean a room, sit with someone in silence.

Step 5: Embrace the Power of Repetition

Like physical training, spiritual training takes time and repetition.

• Don’t expect instant results.

• Show up, practice the basics, and let the Holy Spirit do deep work over time.

1 Timothy 4:7 says, “Train yourself for godliness.”  This is a  lifestyle—not a crash course.

Practice Tip: Create a simple rule of life—a rhythm of daily and weekly practices that involve your body (e.g., wake up routine, physical rest, tech boundaries, shared meals, prayer walks).

To train your body is to…

• Surrender your physical self to God.

• Let daily actions become habits that form you into Christlikeness.

• Learn to obey and love God not just with your heart and mind, but with your entire being.
  
  

Why it matters:

• Your body is a temple of the Spirit.

• Your daily rhythms are shaping your soul.

• Your obedience is lived out through your physical life.

The way of Jesus is not only something you believe—it’s something you practice with your body, one day at a time.

If you’re a Christian, you are a disciple of Jesus. And by necessity, a disciple undergoes discipline. If a disciple is a student, then discipline is training. Jesus’ discipline for you, however severe (and it is severe at times), is not God’s wrath against you. If you are tempted to believe that, don’t. It’s your unbelief or the enemy talking to you. When Jesus became sin for you (2 Corinthians 5:21), He removed all of sin’s condemnation from you (Romans 8:1).

No! Discipline is training. Training in what? Training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). The unique training course that Jesus has designed for you (He designs a unique course for each disciple) has one great aim: to teach you to trust Him in everything. That’s His goal for you. Jesus wants you to learn to trust in Him in all things at all times. For the more you trust Jesus, the holier you become. 

- Jon Bloom

• If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers. - 1 Timonthy 4:6-10 NLT

•  I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. - 1 Corinthians 9:22-27 NLT

• I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No lazy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. - 1 Corinthians 9:22-27 MSG

• “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 NIV

• “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV

• Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things. - 2 Timothy 1-7 NLT

• “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.” Romans 12:1  NIV

• “…But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV

• “Or 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 NIV

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV

• Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

• And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.- Hebrews 12:5-13 NIV