An Ordered Body

Tonight’s topic is an ordered body—and for women in particular, this can be a tender, sensitive subject. Maybe you’re here tonight wrestling with what Jane Austen called 'being purely decorative.' Maybe shame has shaped how you experience your body. Or maybe you simply couldn’t care less.

Studying an ordered body is challenging because our hearts and bodies are inseparable. That’s why last month, we began by focusing on an ordered heart, rooted in our walk with Jesus. Drawing from Psalm 86, Amy shared five heart postures to cultivate. They are:

1. A Teachable Heart

2. A Surrendered Heart

3. An Obedient Heart

4. A Hungry Heart

5. A Worshipful Heart

These postures align our inner lives with Christ so we can truly live out our faith through and with our physical bodies.

Illustration

Growing up, I learned that my mother’s value, her worth was tied into how she looked—how she was perceived, how carefully she curated herself for the world. She was gorgeous and quite the fashionista.

But as a Vietnamese woman married to an American man beginning in the 1970s, she spent much of her energy navigating prejudice—hoping people would see her beauty before they heard her broken English accent. Appearance was currency. Presentation communicated value.

She learned early the power—and powerlessness—of her body. Wanted and unwanted attention showed her beauty could be both leverage and vulnerability. Then came the cancer. She lost her hair, her teeth, and, in her mind, much of her worth.

What she never realized—and what no one modeled for her—was that her value was never dependent on hair, beauty, or the admiring gaze of others.

Why? Because she was created in the image of God.

And so are you, and I.

PRAYER: Let me pray for our time.

ROAD MAP

The Bible is filled with references to the body from cover to cover. I told the women on the teaching team that it’s impossible to teach on the body without starting in Genesis and continuing all the way through to Revelation. I mean there are over 140 references to the body in the New Testament alone.

Melanie Reeve, kindly reminded me that I only had 35 minutes. She’s a good woman, she’s looking out for y’all!

So, while we won’t cover everything, we will start where God starts—in the very beginning, in the book of Genesis. We will examine the exquisite and unparallelled truth, that you and I are created in the image of God, and because of this it gives us our value and our purpose. This theology has massive implications for how we navigate our bodies.

Here is our road map for tonight:

              An ordered body is anchored in 2 key truths:

1. The body is created BY God (REPEAT)

2. The body is created FOR God (REPEAT)

Transition

We’re focusing on the creation narrative tonight. Even though we won’t have time to read the entire text, go ahead and turn to Genesis chapter 1 in your Bibles.

Have you ever heard someone say they don’t believe in “organized religion”? I’m always curious—are they advocating for chaotic, haphazard religion instead?

The very first words of scripture tell us God is neither chaotic or haphazard.

“In the beginning God created . . . “

Here’s how one Genesis commentary puts it:

“All of us from our earliest days are delighted with patterns. We make patterns in the sand, we look for patterns in the stars. We find delight in crystals and snowflakes, in number series . . . . One of the most striking features of Genesis 1 is its pattern. The story is structured around the theme of one week of six days leading to a seventh. The regular refrain moves the story along: there was evening and there was morning. The gradually increasing complexity of what God creates, beginning with the formless empty waste (1:2), and ending with human beings, male and female in his image (1:27), gives a sense of deepening order and meticulous structure.God is bringing order and form into his world.”

Right away God clearly communicates 2 very important things –

· HE is God - all powerful, uncreated and before all things

· He is the God of order - not He is a God of order, but He is actually the author of order.

·

All these biblical principles of an ordered heart, that connect to an ordered body to ordered emotions and to ordered resources, are not the brilliant programming of FCC women’s ministry. NO. Order is rooted in the character of God and his design for us.

Hear me ladies, ORDER is rooted in the character of God and his design for us.

Transition

An ordered body is anchored in the key truth that the body is created BY God.

The body is created BY God.

1. The body is created BY God

Why is it important that we start here? This truth answers the question: Where does my value come from. The ramification of this truth is that God is the one, the only one that endows us with value, worth, and dignity. Our bodies are part of this—they are not separate from it.

What the text says:

After we read all the amazing things God did through the effortless act of speaking the world and all the creatures into existence, we come to the climax of creation starting with verse 1:26:

              Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

In verse 27 we read:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

4 times we are told He created man. 3 times we are told man is created in HIS image. Then in Genesis 1:31 God says “. . . it was very good.” That’s pretty straightforward isn’t it friends?

Skipping over to chapter 2 verse 7 we get a more detailed description of how God uniquely created man. He forms out of the dust from the ground and breathes into his nostrils the breath of life.

In my sanctified imagination, I see Adam gasping for his first breath, sighing with satisfaction. And the very first being he encounters—through his newly created eyes and ears—is his Maker, God Himself. Adam does not see himself first; he sees God first. The first experience both Adam and Eve have after being created is of their Creator: His majesty, His power, His holiness, His beauty, His love.

Adam and Eve didn’t have to do a single thing to earn God’s love. They didn’t have to be pretty enough, thin enough, rich enough, fit enough, smart enough—nothing. They didn’t have to do anything enough. God loved them first. Back in the Garden of Eden—and still today.

Sister, this morning, before you even rose from bed, while your Creator watched over you all night, you did nothing to earn or lose His love. Your value in His sight was already secure.

That’s why David can sing in Psalm 139:13-14

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

SIN

But there is another voice that enters Genesis. In chapter 3, verses 6–7 we see how the serpent entices man with the promise of wisdom—to “be like God.” The immediate result of this disobedience is awareness of their nakedness, a symbol of shame and the rupture in their relationship with God. Humanity is plunged into sin.

When sin twists God’s truth, we can become prideful, ashamed, or both. Pride drives us to devalue others; shame drives us to devalue ourselves. Both let the fear of man, rather than God, define the worth of the human body.

When we assign value, worth and dignity to our bodies outside of God’s Word, we can be like Adam with sin skewed perspective. Adam’s response to God after he’s sinned is this: “The woman YOU GAVE me . . . .”

We look at ourselves in the mirror and because we do not value as God values, we echo Adam’s complaint back to God, “The body YOU GAVE me . . . .”

For others of us, we easily hear the enemy’s whisper, “Did God really create YOU in his image? Are YOU really an image bearer?”

You cannot have an ordered body, if you do not value what God values. Because we are created BY God, our value, worth and dignity will always come FROM God and be defined by His Word.

Quote: Paul David Tripp puts it this way in his book, Do You Believe?:

The image may be marred, dinted, dirty, and damaged, but it is still there. That dignity, that value, that worth is carried by every person who has ever lived. It is not something earned; it is printed there by the Lord Creator. Sin does not have the power to wipe it away. It is the foundational identity of every human being, each one made in the image of God.

When we allow God to define our worth, we are freed from pride, shame, and fear in our relationship with Him and with others. We are no longer driven by motives that cause us to question whether we are good enough for God or for one another. We do not succumb to imposing false standards on our bodies based on appearance, abilities, or limitations. This freedom enables us to live as true image bearers, bringing God glory and worshiping Him fully.

The freedom to live this way only comes through Christ. 1 John 4:10 says:

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Because of God’s love for us, He willingly sent His son to die on the cross for our sins. He crushed, CRUSHED the physical body of Christ on the cross on our behalf so that we could be in right relationship with Him.

God is the one that endows us with value, worth, and dignity. Our bodies AREpart of this—they are not separate from it. An ordered body worships and glorifies God through and with our bodies because of this truth.

Transition

Knowing that our bodies are created by God tells us who we are and why we matter. But God doesn’t stop there. God never creates without intention, which leads us to the deeper question of purpose. This brings us to key truth #2.

An ordered body is anchored in the key truth that the body is created FOR God. (REPEAT)

2. The body is created FOR God

Illustration

I loved my college experience because it introduced me to people from all over the world. Among them was Santiago, from South America—always well dressed, kind, and joyful in his faith. We were part of a close-knit group of international believers, and I still remember to this day how he would say with conviction to every woman in our group —not just the “pretty” ones—, he would say, “You must use your looks for God. You must use your looks for God.”

We would laugh, but there was wisdom underneath his words. Unlike my mother, who clung to her looks for her own purposes, Santiago was pointing to a biblical principle—however God made you, whatever you have, whoever you are, leverage it for God and His purposes.

As the apostle Paul captures in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

What the text says:

Let’s return to Genesis 1:26-29. Here, God instructs Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over” creation. He provides them with food from the plants and trees that bear seed. He sets boundaries down to protect them to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Moving along to Genesis 2:18-24, we see God establishing purposeful relationships among humans through the creation of Eve. This passage highlights the foundation of marriage and family, which ultimately extends to the development of community.

What the text means:

God clearly created our bodies with intention and purpose. By defining the roles, responsibilities, and boundaries of man and woman, He establishes the framework for our loving relationship with Him and with one another.

God commands humanity to care for His creation through work and stewardship. He also calls us to care for our own bodies, graciously providing plants and trees bearing seed for our sustenance—reminding us of our dependence on Him. In addition, God commands us to multiply, bringing forth more image-bearers through marriage, family, and community, all for the reflection of His image and, therefore, His glory.

I want to acknowledge, with care, that the words “be fruitful and multiply” can carry deep pain for many women. Living on this side of the Fall, we know that sin has touched every part of life. We are all born into a broken world and live in bodies that do not function as they were originally intended. Because of this, we must speak with tenderness.

To those who have walked the long road of infertility or to those who are currently called to singleness, please hear this clearly: God’s call to fruitfulness does not exclude you, nor does it lessen your value or purpose. Your life bears real meaning and fruit beyond physical motherhood, and you are fully seen, deeply loved, and faithfully called by God.

This command is not merely about procreation—or simply having children. To be fruitful and multiply is to fill the earth with image-bearers, extending the imago Dei—the image of God—throughout the world which brings God glory and worship.

Because sin has marred the image of God in man, the glory and worship God deserves does not occur through the unbeliever. Whether one can bear children or not, on this side of Christ’s work on the cross, we are mandated to share the gospel and make disciples. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is the only way an image bearer is restored to God and able to glorify and worship Him.

Jesus commissions us in Matthew 28:19–20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Quote: Again, in his book Do You Believe, Tripp captures this truth powerfully. He writes:

As Creator, God alone has the ability and the right to tell me how to live and what the driving purpose should be for everything in my life. He designed me in a certain way for a certain purpose. This means that making God's purpose for me the driving purpose of my life should be my deepest motivation and my constant commitment, no matter who I am or where I am living. The doctrine of creation teaches us that we do not look to ourselves for purpose, but we look to our Creator.

We were created to be living reflections of God on the earth—mirrors designed to display His character, exercise His rule, and proclaim His glory.

SIN

Sin, however, persuades us that God’s design for our bodies is deficient—that He is withholding something better. It plants doubt and then offers a lie, reordering God’s good purpose into disorder by convincing us that we can be our own god.

Sin celebrates when we neglect, exploit, indulge, or deprive God’s creation, other people, and even our own bodies. Our purpose will be to either grasp for dominion over others or surrender ourselves to other voices.

As one author aptly writes:

“When we use our bodies to rebel against God or to worship false gods of sex, youth, or personal autonomy, we are not simply breaking an archaic or arbitrary commandment. We are using a sacred object—in fact, the most sacred object on earth—in a way that denigrates its beautiful and high purpose.”

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says it like this: 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.

Created for His purposes, our bodies are meant to honor God and reflect His glory. We do this when we live within the safe and loving boundaries He has set. An ordered body honors God by fulfilling the purpose He designed for us.

Transition  When we consider what it means to have an ordered body as believers in Christ, we often focus on what’s permissible and what’s prohibited. These conversations can quickly—and unhelpfully—turn into a checklist of do’s and don’ts. We want clear answers: “Yes, you can do that,” or “No, that’s off-limits.”

As believers, it is dangerous to assume we understand God’s Word and rush to apply it—or to neglect learning it altogether. Either way, it is not applied rightly. That’s why this teaching is first grounded in why God created our physical bodies.

APPLICATION The goal is not to dictate what you can or cannot do with your body, but to help us discern our choices through the lens of our worth and purpose in Christ, shaped and instructed by God’s Word.

Tonight we’ll look at some ways of how to practically apply these 2 key truths. We will look at examples about what we put ON our bodies and what we put IN our bodies.

Okay, let’s take a look at the what we put ON our bodies . . . .

What we put on our bodies / Bride of Christ Illustration This past holiday season, I did my first gig as a wedding photographer for a friend. To be clear, I am not a professional photographer in anything! No pressure, right?!

I wanted to capture every detail, big and small. The bride in her PJs, hair and make-up underway, calm and unhurried. Her bouquet resting in water until its appointed time. The dress hanging patiently amid the quiet rush of anticipation. Handkerchiefs waiting for tears of joy. A circle of hands held as the mother of the bride prayed over her daughter.

So many details. So much preparation. So much intention, purpose and meaning.

The bride was, of course, stunning as she walked down the aisle. But her beauty wasn’t for the admiration of her guests—it was for her groom. Every detail was an offering of love to him. And the rest of us? We were simply blessed to witness it. We couldn’t look away, knowing her full focus, attention, and intention belonged entirely to him.

She didn’t care whether we thought she looked beautiful; what mattered was whether he thought she looked beautiful. But the truth is, before she ever walked down that isle, she already knew with full confidence that her groom saw her as beautiful.

The Bible describes the Church as the Bride of Christ in passages found in Ephesians, 2 Corinthians and Revelation. What rich imagery that is to be called the Bride of Christ. Not the girlfriend, the partner, the spouse or the wife. The Bride of Christ.

Sisters, we ARE the outward representation of God. Our bodies are not accidental or neutral—they are meant to reflect Him. What we put on our bodies matters, not because God is obsessed with appearance, but because our lives are visible testimonies. Like our words and actions, our physical presence communicates something—either about ourselves or about God.

Our personal preferences or definitions of modesty must be guided by what the Bible teaches. Paul sums it up perfectly when he writes to the Corinthian believers about the freedoms we have in Christ:

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. (1 Cor. 10:23)

Modesty is the wisdom—the heart posture—that leverages your body to reflect God, not distract from Him. We don’t have to show any skin to be immodest, because it’s not about exposure—it’s about intention. Modesty honestly asks: "Does this reflect God, or draw attention away from Him?"

There is also the heart issue wants to avoids dealing how we dress altogether, so we use 1 Peter 3:3–4 as a shield, dismissing all outward care as vanity. But this passage is not a call to sweatshirts and leggings, nor a rejection of jewelry or makeup.

Lack of intention is not godliness. The Bride is neither sloppy nor careless. She is adorned in a way that honors the One she belongs to. This isn’t about fashion preferences—it’s about intention. I’m not here to be the fashion police. Well, okay maybe I am the fashion police for Libby, but . . . .

1 Peter 3: 3-4 is Peter’s exhortation is for us to know the difference between the world’s definition of beauty that says, “Hey! Look at ME” with God-centered beauty that says, “Hey! Look at Him.”

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair, the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

Let’s look at some illustrations

1. My friend Libby was not born to be a professional basketball player. And because of that, she is comfortable being a cutie patutie wearing shorter skirts and skorts that fit the body type God gave her. Libby is not wearing short skirts because she is a slave to our culture’s emphasis on revealing clothing.

Although, I am not tall enough to be a professional basketball player either, I don’t feel comfortable wearing shorter skirts because, on my body type, it could be too short. My personal conviction is not based on Libby’s choices. I have no issue with her choice. But I’m also not a slave to our culture that pushes me to show more skin.

2. Here’s the second example. My friend Lydia is a stylish woman, and I love it—especially when she wears a great hat to church. She looks lovely, and I don’t think a thing of it. It doesn’t offend me, distract me, or bother me at all.

But I’ve come to realize, through personal conviction in my relationship with the Lord, that I shouldn’t wear a hat to church. Why? Because for me, it feels like wearing a big sign that says, “Hey—pay attention to me.”

None of you probably care whether I wear a hat to church or not. And this conviction isn’t driven by Lydia or by you. It’s driven by the Holy Spirit and how God is pointing me to set aside my inclination to wear a hat to church.

Okay, moving on example #3. You all still with me?

3. Nina knows all things swimming. Once, while talking about modesty and swimsuits, she shared a story from a homeschool swim gathering. She wore a full-coverage one-piece, thinking she was dressed appropriately—until she noticed the other moms in swim shorts and T-shirts or long-sleeve tops. To her surprise, she was the least covered one there.

After that, she chose to dress similarly at these gatherings—not to please others or give in to peer pressure, but to honor her sisters in Christ. It cost her little to adapt to that homeschool culture, and her choice was guided by what honored those around her rather than by her personal comfort or freedom in Christ.

In all three examples, we’re examining how we choose to present our bodies through clothing. Because we’re focused on what we put on our bodies, we can’t avoid the topic of modesty.

There is not a one size fits all for Libby, Lydia, Nina and me. Modesty isn’t a dress code—it’s a heart posture. It’s about reflecting God through our choices, our presence, and our intention for the benefit and edification of others.

Transition  Okay, now let’s examine what we put IN our bodies.

What we put in our bodies / Body for spiritual worship

Illustration

As the story goes, my father fed me ice cream when I was 9 days old. My mother recalls thinking, “Well, I guess this is what Americans do.” I like to blame my dad for the “rocky road” relationship I’ve had with ice cream ever since.

Food. Yes, I’m going there. It’s interesting that Satan tempted Eve with food—and from that moment on, our disfunction with food began. To clarify, we’re not talking about our relationship with weight—we’re talking about our relationship with food. What should that relationship be?

Some of us seek gratification in food, others of us in denying it—but either way, it distorts God’s purpose for it. So what is God’s purpose for food?

Our bodies are created by God and therefore He gives us value. Because God loves us, He provides food to nourish our bodies. It reminds us we are dependent on God, therefore food should allow us to worship God.

Our bodies are created for God and therefore God gives us purpose. Because God provides food to sustain us for His purpose, we use our nourishment to glorify God, to serve and bless others.

Before we consider what we eat, I want to acknowledge that some health/medical factors affecting our relationship with food are beyond our control. We aren’t ignoring them, but we won’t be addressing them tonight.

Illustration Let’s continue with the wedding theme. How ridiculous would I look if, at my friend’s wedding, all I did was obsess over the cake? The creamy white frosting! The perfectly moist layers! I hope the room temperature is just right. I hope each slice is cut perfectly. I hope it photographs flawlessly—even when the bride and groom feed each other their first bite.

But of course, the cake isn’t the main attraction. It’s one part of a celebration that blesses the guests and honors the newlyweds. Along with the other food, it delights our senses, marks the joy of the occasion, and points to something greater: God’s goodness. In savoring it, we savor not just the flavors on our plates but the love, the laughter, and the spiritual union we’re there to celebrate.

Yes, wedding cake can and does glorify God—and all God’s people said, “Amen!”

But when our relationship with food strays from the purpose God intended, it can take dominion over our thoughts and choices. God hasn’t called you to ban cake, nor to consume the whole cake—He’s called you to freedom and purpose by glorifying him with what you eat and put in your body.

Back to 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

So for some of us, a slice of wedding cake allows us to freely celebrate the newlyweds. For others, we honor them by abstaining, keeping our focus undistracted from celebrating the couple.

Quote: In his excellent and forthright treatment on this subject, Tripp says in his book Lead:

“Bringing our bodies under subjection doesn’t begin with diet and exercise, but with searching for and confessing idols of the heart that interfere with the discipline to which we have been called and which grace makes possible. You see, stewardship of our physical body is not in addition to our gospel ministry; it is a significant part of it.”

This is not about the number on the scale or the size of our jeans. Unhealthy, unbiblical relationships with food are about distracting or even disqualifying the believer from a faithful testimony. It is about worshiping something other than God—allowing food to control us instead of pointing us to its true purpose as a good gift from Him.

It matters what we put ON our bodies. And it matters what we put IN our bodies. We are image-bearers of a holy and loving God. Our bodies are instruments of worship. What we eat, how we eat, how much we eat, all of it is meant to be an act of worship.

Paul tells us 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.

Conclusion: We too are the bride preparing for our Bridegroom, Christ. Preparation takes time, intention, and attention to detail. My friend who recently married didn’t begin preparing for her wedding on her wedding day. When she knew marriage was coming—months in advance—she began making practical plans. But the deeper preparation had been unfolding her entire life.

She cultivated a walk with Jesus, surrendered her dreams to Him, practiced spiritual disciplines, studied God’s Word, sat under biblical teaching, and welcomed godly women into her life. She had been preparing for the Bridegroom all along—and it didn’t happen overnight.

An ordered body never exists apart from an ordered heart, and an ordered heart is formed only through consistent, intentional, faithful time in God’s Word—studying it, meditating on it, and obeying it. There are no shortcuts.

An ordered body is anchored in two unchanging truths: it is created by God, and it is created for God. We must return to these truths daily, because they anchor our value in Christ and clarify our purpose in Him. When we remember who created us and why we were created, our hearts are re-ordered, our lives come into alignment, and we are formed—day by day—into a bride ready for the Bridegroom.

Here’s the truly amazing news: we are never meant to walk these truths alone.

Hebrews 13:20-21 reminds us: Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

And in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In other words, God’s strength meets us right where we are. Our weaknesses, our struggles, our imperfections—they are not barriers but invitations for His power to be displayed in us. As we lean into Him, He equips us, strengthens us, and molds us more into His image, like we were created to be.

CLOSING PRAYER: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: 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. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.