God's Investment In Me

; Romans 12:1-2

God’s Investment in Me

Introduction

Investments-

Our body is God’s temple, paid for by the blood of Jesus.

Willmington, H. L. The Outline Bible. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999. Print.

...in v 19* it is a case of the earthly body as the dwelling place of the Spirit. The point, as in 3:16*, is holiness, which includes also sexual purity.

What was said in 3:16 of the community, that it is the temple of God, that the Spirit of God dwells in it, is here transferred to the individual.37 The pneumatological grounding of the paraenesis links up with v 17*,38 but in so doing strongly modifies the thought. In v 17* it is a question of the pneumatic body of Christ; in v 19* it is a case of the earthly body as the dwelling place of the Spirit.39 The point, as in 3:16*, is holiness,40 which includes also sexual purity.

“Invest(ment) - expend money with the expectation of achieving a profit or material result by putting it into ...property...”

* 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

(NRSV)

38 Passing over v 18*. According to Lietzmann, v 18* argues from the very concept of an ἴδιον σῶμα, “body of one’s own,” which is rejected in v 19*, cf. v 13*; *. Lietzmann fails to realize that the idea of the body of Christ does not abrogate individuality. Each has his own gift, his own measure of faith and remains in his individual position. It is precisely as an individual that he is addressed and is responsible.

* 17 But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

(NRSV)

* 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?

“Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.” (The Message)

(NRSV)

39 *. God in us: Epict., Diss. 1.14.14; 2.8.12. Sen., passim. The soul as the house of God: Philo, Somn. 1.149: σπούδαζε οὖν, ὦ ψυχή, θεοῦ οἶκος γενέσθαι, “Be zealous, therefore, O soul, to become a house of God” (Loeb 5:377). See on 3:16f.*.

* 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

(NRSV)

40 Cf. the emphatic position of ἁγίου (B transposes).

41 Paul says “God,” not “Christ.” The point ἀπὸ θεοῦ, “from God,” is maintained.

42 *.

Conzelmann, Hans. 1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975. Print. Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible.

48 This statement is a general one. It is not to be restricted to the specific context, the avoidance of fornication.

The body is the place and the means of glorifying God.48 This statement is a general one. It is not to be restricted to the specific context, the avoidance of fornication.

48 δοξάζω, “glorify”: *; Ps 49:23*.

Conzelmann, Hans. 1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975. Print. Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible.

#1 - v. 19a The Nature of the Investment

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

“What was said in 3:16 of the community, that it is the temple of God, that the Spirit of God dwells in it, is here transferred to the individual.”

“The non-mystical sense of the idea of the Spirit is plain. The Spirit does not lead us away from the body, but defines existence in the body as existence before God. As one who has bodily existence, I belong to God; or to put it otherwise, the body is the place of divine service....”

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The New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.

#2 - v. 19b-20 The Cost of the Investment

“You are not your own...you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

Redeemed…Redemption...

“Our body is God’s temple, paid for by the blood of Jesus.”

“The body is the place and the means of glorifying God.”

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The New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.

#3 - The Responsibility of the Investment

“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—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”