Spiritual Gifts: LIVING FOR GOD
Spiritual Gifts: LIVING FOR GOD
refusing to conform to this world, and by being transformed through renewed minds.
he expects the believers to hand over their bodies to God
two main kinds of offerings
first, those which led to reconciliation
second, those which were an expression of celebration after reconciliation had been accomplished.
the sacrifice of Christ as the means of reconciliation has been clearly described
Paul specifies that in response the believer is to offer his body to the Lord out of appreciation and celebration.
Christians who are aware of the tension to handle it by withdrawing from their contemporary society and protecting their spirituality by developing a ghetto mentality and a greenhouse environment. Conversely
Because human beings are inveterate conformists
Master’s words explaining that we are “in the world but not of it.”
In complete contrast to the conforming tendency, the believer experiences a transforming dynamic in his life.
Master’s words explaining that we are “in the world but not of it.”
To be “transformed” is to be literally “metamorphosed” or changed into another form.
If God had not done what he did for us, there would be no compelling reason why we should now do what he says. The dynamic of God’s ethical instruction arises from its logical and necessary relationship to who he is and what he has done on our behalf.
Only the Christian faith, rooted as it is in a supernatural act that took place in history (the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), has the ultimate moral authority as well as the effective power to transform human life according to the divine intention.
Theology in isolation promotes a barren intellectualism. Ethics apart from a theological base is impotent to achieve its goals.
Only the Christian faith, rooted as it is in a supernatural act that took place in history (the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), has the ultimate moral authority as well as the effective power to transform human life according to the divine intention.
Theology in isolation promotes a barren intellectualism. Ethics apart from a theological base is impotent to achieve its goals.
Holiness of life rarely progresses apart from deliberative acts of the will. While sanctification is gradual in the sense that it continues throughout life, each advance depends upon a decision of the will.
The possibility of bringing pleasure to God provides a powerful motivation for complete surrender of self.
The church should stand out from the world as a demonstration of God’s intention for the human race. To be culturally identified with the world is to place the church at risk. Believers are to be salt and light (Matt 5:13–14), purifying and enlightening contemporary culture.
The transformation of which Paul spoke in Rom 12:2 is not a change effected from without but a radical reorientation that begins deep within the human heart.
Real and lasting change comes from within.
Real and lasting change comes from within.
A renewed mind is concerned with those issues of life that are of lasting importance. By nature our thoughts tend to dwell on the ephemeral. But that which passes quickly is normally inconsequential.
As Paul said in another place, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:18). The mind renewed enables us to discern the will of God.
Released from the control of the world around us, we can come to know what God has in mind for us. We will find that his will is “good, pleasing and perfect.” It is good because it brings about moral and spiritual growth.
John Donne’s “No man is an island” is true of the church of Jesus Christ. “Lone Ranger Christianity” is a contradiction in terms.
John Donne’s “No man is an island” is true of the church of Jesus Christ. “Lone Ranger Christianity” is a contradiction in terms.
“In showing respect, set an example of deference to one another.” In a similar vein Paul encouraged the Philippians to “consider others better than” themselves (Phil 2:3).
The first is a call that his audience offer themselves to God (12:1), and the second is an appeal that they not be conformed to the world (12:2).
‘mercy,’ of which the most frequent is ḥesed, which means loving-kindness, mercy, love, loyalty, and faithfulness.
One of the most essential qualities of God (Ex 34:6, 7; Dt 4:31; Mi 7:18–20). Specifically it designates that quality in God by which he faithfully keeps his promises and maintains his covenant relationship with his chosen people despite their unworthiness and unfaithfulness (Dt 30:1–6; Is 14:1; Ez 39:25–29; Rom 9:15, 16, 23; 11:32; Eph 2:4).
Prominent in the concept of mercy is the compassionate disposition to forgive an offender or adversary and to help or spare him in his sorry plight.
At the heart of the concept of mercy is the love of God, which is freely manifested in his gracious saving acts on behalf of those to whom he has pledged himself in covenant relationship.
In the OT it was his chosen people Israel whom he elected to be his own and to whom he showed mercy (Ex 33:19; Is 54:10; 63:9).
The psalmist describes God as a father who pities his children who reverence and trust him (Ps 103:13).
Hosea pictures God as a loving father who looks down from heaven with a yearning heart of compassion upon his rebellious and wayward people (Hos 11; cf. Jer 31:20).
In the NT a very descriptive Greek word is used for Jesus’ mercy toward the needy (Mt 9:36; 14:14; 20:34). It expresses his pity and compassion by means of an intense verb literally translated “to be moved in one’s bowels.”
The Hebrews regarded the bowels as the center of the affections, especially that of the most tender kindness.
The most characteristic use of mercy in the NT is that of God’s provision of salvation for mankind in Jesus Christ (Rom 11:30–32; Eph 2:4). God is “the Father of mercies” (2 Cor 1:3), which he bestows on those who believe in his Son.
It is because he is “so rich in mercy” that he saved those spiritually dead and doomed by their sins—“only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved … all because of what Christ Jesus did” (Eph 2:4–6 LB)
12:1 The apostle commences to spell out the ethical implications of the gospel with the exhortation: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
Elsewhere in his writings Paul speaks of the mercy of God by which he himself has been made a minister of the gospel (1 Cor. 7:25; 2 Cor. 4:1; 1 Tim. 1:13, 16), the mercy of God shown to those who believe in Christ (12:1; 15:9; Gal. 6:16; Phil 2:27), the mercy of God bringing salvation (Eph 2:4–5; Tit 3:5), the mercy of God he invokes upon those who have helped him (2 Tim. 1:16, 18) and upon those to whom he addressed letters (1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2), and finally of God as ‘the Father of compassion/mercy’ (2 Cor. 1:3).
The verb ‘to offer’ has already been used by Paul in 6:13, 16, and 19 when urging his audience not to ‘offer’ the parts of their bodies to sin, as instruments of unrighteousness, but rather to ‘offer’ them as instruments of righteousness to God.