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Faith Embodied: Glorifying God with Our Physical and Spiritual Health
Scientist, physician, and pastor Stephen Ko explains how to live and worship incarnationally and glorify God with our bodies. Many of us don't see much connection between spiritual and physical health. We say grace before digging into greasy, fatty meals we know are bad for us. We read Scripture on our phones before switching to social media feeds that hijack the neural circuitry in our brains. Or we take our physical health too seriously, distancing ourselves from the sick and the needy whom Jesus embraced. On his journey from pediatrician to public health officer for the CDC to senior pastor of the largest New York Chinese Alliance Church, Stephen Ko has seen that these divisions between physical and spiritual health are artificial. In Faith Embodied, he reminds us that our "bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19). Christ incarnate is deity in flesh, and His spirit is incarnate in us. Living and worshiping incarnationally is consciously embracing what the Creator has designed in His image, from the finest, microscopic details to vital organs within our body, enabling the Holy Spirit to work in us. Faith Embodied will teach you Weaving together insights from faith, science, and medicine, Ko reveals the marvelous ways in which our physical and spiritual health can prepare us to become instruments of God's healing in the world.
- GenresChristian
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2024
12 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 19, 2024
The first half is interesting, but you can take it or leave it. The second half is a deep theological exploration of our bodies as a gift of God from the perspective of a pastor/physician -- well worth your time.
June 7, 2024
Goes into all the senses with scripture to back it up.
Second part of the book incorporates the senses with our bodies for worship.
Very easy read
Second part of the book incorporates the senses with our bodies for worship.
Very easy read
August 16, 2024
Summary: Bringing physical and spiritual health together, a physician/pastor connects senses and bodily functions with our worship of God.
“Most of us treat our bodies as separate entities from our spirits, related in only minor ways–if at all.”
Stephen Ko opens his book with this observation. And he is qualified to do so. He is a physician who has worked as a pediatrician as well as a public health officer. And he is the senior pastor of New York Chinese Alliance Church, the largest Chinese Alliance in New York City. He’s seen the separation in his own life, divorcing devotions and exercise. We watch questionable material on Netflix and then say our nighttime prayers. We offer our lives as spiritual sacrifices in worship and then gorge on an unhealthy lunch.
Ko wants us to bring the two together. This involves making incarnational health choices and understanding how our embodied life is often an object lesson in living healthy spiritual lives. The book reflects this intention. First, Ko considers the wonder of our five senses of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing, what can go wrong with each of these senses, and how they connect to our spiritual lives. For example, our sense of smell can detect both perfume and poison. When we lose it, food tastes off. Fragrance, such as the burning of incense, are often a part of worship. Likewise, our lives are a fragrance of God and an aroma to the world.
Second, Ko considers five bodily functions: breathing, movement, creative endeavors, rest, and our hearts and their link to love. Similarly, he explores the wonders of our bodies in all these functions and ways these link to our spiritual lives. He writes about breathing as life and ways we use our breath in prayer and our voice to advocate for the vulnerable. He observes how essential movement is to our health, and how it fits us for spiritual service over the long run. And fundamental to the Great Commission is going!
Each chapter includes questions for personal or group reflection as well as references. The strength of this book is that it views our bodies as integral to spiritual life. The are neither irrelevant, nor evil distractions. My observation is that God’s people do not pay attention to physical health, except in our prayers for the ill. At the same time, others do follow the health guidance Ko offers and still suffer, sometimes chronic pain, and at others, acutely. Despite all, they get sick, sometimes desperately so. I recognize this is a large subject, perhaps beyond the scope of this work, But Ko might have acknowledged this, and perhaps touched on what it means to live an embodied life of faith under these circumstances.
Our bodies are not mere vehicles to convey our minds or souls around. Ko, as physician and pastor, brings together physical and spiritual health. He offers both precepts and examples for living fully toward God in our bodies. In so doing, we anticipate our resurrection hope, in which we will more fully than ever embody our worship and love for God.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
“Most of us treat our bodies as separate entities from our spirits, related in only minor ways–if at all.”
Stephen Ko opens his book with this observation. And he is qualified to do so. He is a physician who has worked as a pediatrician as well as a public health officer. And he is the senior pastor of New York Chinese Alliance Church, the largest Chinese Alliance in New York City. He’s seen the separation in his own life, divorcing devotions and exercise. We watch questionable material on Netflix and then say our nighttime prayers. We offer our lives as spiritual sacrifices in worship and then gorge on an unhealthy lunch.
Ko wants us to bring the two together. This involves making incarnational health choices and understanding how our embodied life is often an object lesson in living healthy spiritual lives. The book reflects this intention. First, Ko considers the wonder of our five senses of sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing, what can go wrong with each of these senses, and how they connect to our spiritual lives. For example, our sense of smell can detect both perfume and poison. When we lose it, food tastes off. Fragrance, such as the burning of incense, are often a part of worship. Likewise, our lives are a fragrance of God and an aroma to the world.
Second, Ko considers five bodily functions: breathing, movement, creative endeavors, rest, and our hearts and their link to love. Similarly, he explores the wonders of our bodies in all these functions and ways these link to our spiritual lives. He writes about breathing as life and ways we use our breath in prayer and our voice to advocate for the vulnerable. He observes how essential movement is to our health, and how it fits us for spiritual service over the long run. And fundamental to the Great Commission is going!
Each chapter includes questions for personal or group reflection as well as references. The strength of this book is that it views our bodies as integral to spiritual life. The are neither irrelevant, nor evil distractions. My observation is that God’s people do not pay attention to physical health, except in our prayers for the ill. At the same time, others do follow the health guidance Ko offers and still suffer, sometimes chronic pain, and at others, acutely. Despite all, they get sick, sometimes desperately so. I recognize this is a large subject, perhaps beyond the scope of this work, But Ko might have acknowledged this, and perhaps touched on what it means to live an embodied life of faith under these circumstances.
Our bodies are not mere vehicles to convey our minds or souls around. Ko, as physician and pastor, brings together physical and spiritual health. He offers both precepts and examples for living fully toward God in our bodies. In so doing, we anticipate our resurrection hope, in which we will more fully than ever embody our worship and love for God.
____________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
October 16, 2024
This wasn’t what I was expecting it to be when I first read the concept.
This is Zondervan Reflective so this is filed under a Christian Living category. Meaning, to me, that this is going to touch on topics but not necessarily give the depth you would get from their academic imprint.
So while I was initially disappointed this didn’t dive into the depth I would love on this topic it was still interesting enough to keep my attention and not feel like a slog.
There are ten chapters split into two parts. Half cover the five senses and the other half covers embodied worship. Each chapter is broken up into the importance of the topic to our lives and how the Bible speaks on the subject. Sometimes they didn’t feel like they flowed together well.
Altogether though I enjoyed the concept and felt it was worth reading if you haven’t considered worship through every day life broken down to each of your senses.
This is Zondervan Reflective so this is filed under a Christian Living category. Meaning, to me, that this is going to touch on topics but not necessarily give the depth you would get from their academic imprint.
So while I was initially disappointed this didn’t dive into the depth I would love on this topic it was still interesting enough to keep my attention and not feel like a slog.
There are ten chapters split into two parts. Half cover the five senses and the other half covers embodied worship. Each chapter is broken up into the importance of the topic to our lives and how the Bible speaks on the subject. Sometimes they didn’t feel like they flowed together well.
Altogether though I enjoyed the concept and felt it was worth reading if you haven’t considered worship through every day life broken down to each of your senses.
January 29, 2025
Dr. Ko combines his knowledge as a physician with his wisdom as a pastor in uncovering profound connections between our physical bodies and our creator's plan for our lives. Although those in healthcare will especially enjoy Dr. Ko's insights, his explanations will be understandable to all. I came away with a greater appreciation for how we humans are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made!
January 9, 2025
Theologically rich, personally applicable, and deeply convicting! A new paradigm for holistic health.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews