Running the Race While Resting in Jesus
Running toward an imperishable crown, resting in Jesus’ strength for each step.
In a recent comment on one of our YouTube videos, someone asked whether my emphasis on resting in Jesus to fulfill God’s righteous requirements, through a believer who yields and obeys Him, contradicts Paul’s call to self‑discipline in 1 Corinthians 9:24‑27. They pointed to Paul’s words about running to win a race and disciplining his body. Does resting in Jesus’ finished work mean we should neglect self‑control? Let’s look closely at Paul’s imagery and the bigger story of grace.
Paul’s Athletic Imagery
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he used the athletic contests of their day to encourage them to flee idolatry and persevere in faith. He reminded them that athletes train hard and practice self‑control to win a wreath. But believers run for an imperishable crown; eternal life with God Himself. Paul used this picture to spur the church on to seriousness in their walk with the Lord. Those who run the Christian race must be purposeful, like runners and boxers in a stadium, keeping their bodies under control so they are not disqualified.
It is tempting to read Paul’s words as a call to grit our teeth and conquer sin through sheer willpower. Yet in the wider context of his letters and the gospel, we see a different message. Paul wasn’t urging believers to earn favor with God by self‑discipline; he was urging them to live out what they had already received in Jesus. Self‑control is not the grounds of salvation but the outflow of a heart sanctified by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who equips us for self‑control, and our strength comes from walking in step with Him (see Galatians 5:22‑23). Paul himself testified that his strenuous labor was not self‑generated: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. Yet I labored more than all of them, though not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” He trained and disciplined his body, yet he knew the power behind his training was God’s grace, not his own determination.
Self‑Control as a Fruit of Union with Jesus
The good news teaches that we have been crucified with Christ and raised with Him. We now live by His empowering life (Galatians 2:20). That life produces the fruit of the Spirit, including self‑control (Galatians 5:22‑23). In other words, genuine self‑control doesn’t arise from our own will; it comes from trusting Jesus to live His life in us and through us. When we try to live by self‑effort, drawing from our own limited resources, we find, as Paul did in Romans 7, that we lack the strength to overcome our fleshly desires. Paul discovered that our power comes from walking in step with the Holy Spirit, who changes our hearts and enables us to bring our desires under His rule.
Paul’s statement about disciplining his body is not about self‑punishment or asceticism. Denying legitimate comforts to try to be more spiritual has no value against the flesh. Instead, Paul means that he refuses to allow his natural desires to dictate his life. Rather than letting his appetites control him, he brings them under the Lordship of Jesus so he can serve others and avoid causing anyone to stumble. His “training” is cooperation with grace; he keeps his eyes on the prize; life with God, and refuses to indulge anything that would hinder the gospel.
Resting and Running Together
Far from contradicting rest in Jesus, Paul’s athletic metaphor complements it. Resting in the sufficiency of Jesus, who has “given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us,” does not mean passivity or laziness. It means trusting Jesus’ finished work and His indwelling life as the source of our strength. From that place of trust, we make choices that align with who we are in Him. We deny the flesh not to earn God’s favor but because we already have His favor. We run because we run from the position of victory, not toward it. This is our birthright in Christ.
Practical self‑discipline flows naturally from abiding in Jesus. We choose honesty over deceit because Jesus is truth in us. We refuse destructive habits because the Holy Spirit enables us to walk in the freedom He has provided. We order our lives around our calling because we value the eternal crown more than temporary pleasures. In each case, the ability to say “no” to sin comes from saying “yes” to Jesus’ life within us. As we behold His glory, we are being transformed into His image by the Spirit. Transformation is His work, not ours.
So when a brother or sister in Christ points to 1 Corinthians 9:24‑27 as evidence that we must work harder to crucify ourselves, we can gently respond that Jesus has already taken us to the cross and raised us up with Him. We do run, we do discipline ourselves, and we do say no to the flesh—but we do so by the grace of God, empowered by His Spirit, keeping our eyes on Jesus, through whom we are being transformed into His image from glory to glory. The result is not self‑reliant striving but joyful cooperation with the One who has already won the race for us.
May we continue to run the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus, trusting His life in us to produce everything He commands. His grace trains us to say “no” to ungodliness and “yes” to life abundant. Amen.