Why Does the Body Matter in Christianity?
Christianity is sometimes misunderstood as a religion concerned with saving souls from the physical world. Historic Christianity teaches almost the opposite. God created matter good, formed the human body, became incarnate in real human flesh, sanctifies bodily life, and promises the resurrection of the body. The Christian body is neither an idol to be worshiped nor garbage to be discarded. It belongs to God and participates in salvation.
Christianity Is Surprisingly Physical
Consider how physical Christianity actually is.
Christians are baptized in water.
They receive bread and wine.
They anoint with oil.
They lay hands on the sick.
They kneel.
Fast.
Sing.
Make the sign of the Cross.
Bury the dead.
Why?
Because Christianity does not believe matter is evil.
Genesis 1 repeatedly declares the physical creation good.
God Made the Body
Genesis 2:7 describes God forming humanity from the dust.
Whatever questions Christians may discuss concerning the literary form and interpretation of Genesis, its theological claim is unmistakable:
The material dimension of human existence comes from God.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem therefore warned Christians against those who treated the body as though it were foreign to God. He calls attention to its astonishing design and reminds his hearers that the body can become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Paul says:
“Glorify God in your body.”
— 1 Corinthians 6:20
That command would make little sense if the body were spiritually irrelevant.
God Became Flesh
Then comes Christianity's most decisive claim:
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
— John 1:14
The eternal Son truly assumed human nature.
St. Irenaeus used the Incarnation against those who denied the body's place in salvation. If Christ truly took our flesh, then flesh cannot simply be dismissed as incapable of redemption.
The Incarnation turns Christian anthropology upside down.
Matter is not too dirty for God.
God entered His material creation.
Your Body Affects Your Spiritual Life
Christianity also refuses to separate morality from the body.
Sexual morality matters.
Eating matters.
Fasting matters.
Drunkenness matters.
Violence matters.
What we physically do to other people matters.
Paul asks:
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?”
— 1 Corinthians 6:15
The body is involved in both sin and holiness because human persons act bodily.
That does not mean bodily desires are inherently sinful. Hunger is not sinful. Sexuality is not inherently sinful. Physical pleasure is not inherently sinful.
The issue is whether the whole person is properly ordered toward God.
The Body Will Rise
The ultimate proof that the body matters comes at the end of the Creed:
“I look for the resurrection of the dead.”
Not merely survival of the soul.
Resurrection.
St. Cyril called the resurrection of the body a fundamental doctrine of the Church.
St. Irenaeus likewise argued relentlessly that God saves His own handiwork and will raise the same human beings who died.
Reflection
Christianity gives us a balanced view of the body.
The body is not God.
Beauty, fitness, pleasure, youth, and health must never become idols.
But neither is the body worthless.
It was created by God.
Assumed by Christ.
Indwelt by the Spirit.
And destined for resurrection.
That makes what we do with our bodies far more important than modern culture—or ancient Gnosticism—often imagines.
Sources:
Scripture: Genesis 1:31; 2:7; John 1:14; Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 6:13–20; 15:35–57; Philippians 3:21.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 4.
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies V.1–7.
Orthodox Church in America, “Resurrection.”