Christian Pure

13 Bible Verses About Exercise

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • 1 Timothy 4:8 grants that “physical training is of some value” and gives godliness value “for both the present life and the life to come.”
  • The Greek word for physical training there, gumnasia, appears nowhere else in the New Testament, and Thayer’s lexicon reads it as ascetic self-denial.
  • The athlete’s “strict training” in 1 Corinthians 9:25 and the “self-control” of Galatians 5:23 come from the same Greek root.
  • Hebrews 12:1-2, Philippians 3:14 and 2 Timothy 4:7 all picture the Christian life as a race with a prize or crown at the end.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 calls the body a temple of the Holy Spirit in a passage about sexual immorality; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 applies the temple to the church.

The Bible grants physical training some value and gives godliness more, though readers differ over what kind of training is meant. Paul writes to Timothy that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things” (1 Timothy 4:8), and the Greek noun there, gumnasia, is related to the English word gymnasium. Several passages on training use runners and boxers as pictures of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:7). Others concern the…

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Bibliography (Click to show)

Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.

Strong’s Greek 1129, γυμνασία (gumnasia): exercise, training; its only New Testament occurrence is 1 Timothy 4:8, with the HELPS Word-studies and Thayer’s readings. biblehub.com/greek/1129

Strong’s Greek 1128, γυμνάζω (gumnazo): to train, exercise; used in 1 Timothy 4:7 and Hebrews 12:11. biblehub.com/greek/1128

Strong’s Greek 1467, ἐγκρατεύομαι (egkrateuomai): to exercise self-control; Thayer’s note on athletes in 1 Corinthians 9:25. biblehub.com/greek/1467

Strong’s Greek 1466, ἐγκράτεια (egkrateia): self-control, in Galatians 5:23. biblehub.com/greek/1466

Strong’s Greek 1017, βραβεῖον (brabeion): prize, in 1 Corinthians 9:24 and Philippians 3:14. biblehub.com/greek/1017

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